I can say unequivocally that they have been worth it
for me.
Starting with my first 10FP .260 (which became the Snipers' Hide Ghost Dancer .260, one of four), which I shot in National F Open Class beginning in 2002, and for several more years in NRA affiliated Club 1000yd F Open with a 2003 upgrade to an L-W 28" barrel, it still shoots remarkably well to this day. Scope is a Mueller 8-32x44 Target Dot with side focus/parallax.
I have had several others, and still retain the original Ghost Dancer, as well as a pair of significantly upgraded 11FV's, one a .308 F T/R, and another, a .223 F T/R, both identical except for chamberings and chambering appropriate Bushnell AR Drop Zone BDC scopes. This last one (the 223) is the rifle I shot in my last formal Competition, the 600yd MR F T/R stages in the 2017 Berger SW LR Nationals, at Ben Avery Range near Tucson, AZ.
I also own, and treasure, a relatively uncommon 10FCM Scout chambered in 7.62x39. Its .308 bore allows handloads with decent bullets, and it thrives on HDY 110gr V-Max handloads. The Scout mount is gone, and the rifle bears a Tasco 2.5-10x42 Varmint/Target Scope, conventionally mounted.
Add a MKII .22lr bolt action repeating sporter rifle, and that's the current extent of my Savage holdings.
Savage has a reputation for above average O/O box accuracy. We get the occasional report of a lemon, but for the most part I'll take a Savage over a Remmy most times. Not as refined as many customs; but that's not what they are designed to be. They are designed as an affordable, reliable, accurate rifle, and for me, that's exactly what mine have been. YMMV.
Savage Arms has been sold within the past couple of weeks, as part of a broad divestiture of firearms holdings by (and with the help of) its parent group, Vista Outdoors, to a syndicate made up of its own management figures. IMHO, this is a positive turn in Savage's lifeline.
Savage is in the late stages of a complete product line revamp and
the changes, by their look, are also quite positive.
The 12LRP is what I would choose as the basis for a good shooting LR Rifle. Before plunking down the moolah for a chassis; try the rifle out with the existing stock and some decent commercial match ammo. It may be quite good enough without the extra expenditure for the chassis. My experience tells me that that Savage rifle stocks may or may not have ideal ergonomics, but that the rifles also still shoot better than my own meager skills can fault.
The original stocks work quite well enough for a limited number of shots; it's the replacement stocks and mods that make the long strings of fire associated with competition less stressful and more easily completed.
Stocks can be
modified both effectively and economically. Effective stocks can be
upgrades for a decent cost. And they can have additional
tweaks. My pair of 11VF's each have these stocks and the listed mods, including three 3/4" Spacers each. The whole concept can also be had as a
package, but I like my own approach better; it accommodates my own 6 1/2' frame very well. The cost savings inherent in the Savage rifle and my chosen mods have allowed me to have a pair of these rifles.
Savage's new line of stocks can make a lot of these adaptations unnecessary. No matter what the origin, I think the best ones provide a shoulder position where the bore axis passes through, and not above, the shoulder. They still won't accommodate my significantly outside of the envelope 16 1/2" LOP; but for the most part, they work well with much of the targeted market.
Greg
