savage vs. stiller

Duff

Duff

Sergeant
Full Member
Minuteman
Jan 29, 2010
230
0
Laramie, Wyoming
#1
i know this is kind of like comparing a honda to a maserati but hear me out! I'm planning out a 338 lapua build I'm going to start this summer. I've already decided to bite the bullet and go for a top end scope and a top end barrel and it go me thinking i might as well look into custom actions too. if i go the savage route ild buy a .338 donor rifle and try to sell off the barrel and stock and hopefully make a little money back. the advantage to this as far as i see it is that chassis systems are a lot easier to come by than for custom actions. other than getting the lugs lapped most people say there is no real need to get a savage action trued because of the floating bolt head. if i get the savage i also will hopefully do away with the "ugly" barrel nut and the barrel installed like a 700 and have a larger diameter breech. some stiller actions have the same footprint as a remington 700 but their 338 model is a touch wider and about half an inch longer so i would either have to go with a normal stock or find a chassis that has inlets available for it (XLR and Cadex as far as I've found). as i understand it stiller actions are essentially a trued 700 action thats beefed up a good bit. I'm not real crazy about the xlr chassis (just personal preference on looks) and the cadex chassis is awesome but limits my flexibility on scope bases (USO recommends a 30moa base) and costs near $2200.

i could go to the savage shooters forum and ask the same question but obviously i feel they would be pretty biased. I've always felt i could trust you folks here on the hide for an honest opinion. will i gain any real noticeable accuracy over the savage action? what would be the advantages of the stiller? thanks!
 
#3
I would not go cheap either, bite the bullet and do it right, get an interim SWFA scope and spend your money on the stiller or other custom action. You might try to locate a Rem action and have LRI do the whole thing for you. I am also a Savage lover.
 
#6
whats the real advantage with going with a stiller though? unless savage is wanting a lawsuit i figure their action would be plenty strong to handle the 338 lapua. i probably will end up with the stiller so i guess my real question is what do i stand to gain by going the custom action route? thanks for the help guys, i appreciate it!
 
#7
Well if you are going custom, go custom, the Savage will be fine, the only complaint I ever had with a Savage is their extractor ejector is weak. I own 4 Savages and shoot them about 90% of the time. Get the BA and see if you like it.
 
#9
A 338 LM is a very powerful round, not something to be trifled with, they can hurt you very badly. Call up a smith and ask some questions and use the search function here and on the Savage forum to gather some info before proceeding. Give Chad Dixon or another reputable smith a call and discuss what you have in mind, Call Larry Racine if you are leaning toward a Savage.
 
#10
Ugh.

The Savage action handles 338LM just fine. Will there be an accuracy difference between savage action and custom action? Not likely. What do you get for the extra money spent on a custom action? It looks nicer, it feels nicer, and cycles nicer. It has a better extractor, is timed properly and has better primary extraction. It takes Remington triggers.

I actually like Savage. Can't beat them for the price and the DIY barrel changes are great - especially when you can swap boltheads and go from 223 to 338 on the same action. However.... That doesn't change the fact they look and feel like a 1930s vintage John Deere tractor. The "feel" of a Savage is like hammered dogshit. I hadn't shot my Savage in a good while until last weekend. I've been shooting my FN, TRG and Badger M200x rifles...first time I fed a cartridge out of the magazine, fired it, extracted and ejected the spent case - I threw up in my mouth a little.

...but they work.
 
#14
I bought a stiller 338LM and it is a beauty. When I picked it up from the FFL he was drooling over it. Said he been looking to buy one but didn't want to wait 6 months. Guess the difference between me and him is I want it more. So my question is how bad do you want a rifle and how bad do you want a NICE rifle. Don't skimp on quality.
Just my 2 cents
 
#15
No comparison. And yes the Savage does gain some help from truing / blueprinting. The action face and internal lugs to start. But money ahead if you go with the TAC338. Its ready to run out of the box. It may be longer but the action screw spacing is the same as a Rem LA which we know there are a kajillion stock / trigger/DBM choices available.
 
#20
I've got a Stiller TAC338. Completely satisfied with it. Very smooth. The Savage BA cycles a little rough to me, and seems a little loose / sloppy. That might be purely personal opinion.

I guess if I could save more than $500 going with the Savage, it might be worth it. Less than that, I'd get the Stiller.
 
#21
Stiller makes vey nice actions and the guys that work there are very courteous and helpful. I called to see if I could buy a 20 moa base for my action and replace the 0 moa I have on it. I forget the name of the gentleman I spoke to but he was willing to ship it out that day before I sent payment. That made me a customer for life.
 
#22
Here's four three shot groups at 300yd with my Savage 110 FCP 338LM. Average .54 MOA.



If I find the target I'll post it, but my buddy shot a 5 shot group with it that measured out to .8x" center to center at 300yd, prone off of a bipod.

I personally went the Savage route because I couldn't justify spending a ton of money on a rifle I just shoot for fun. Turns out it probably is just as accurate as anything custom anyway.
 
#23
lte82 said:
I personally went the Savage route because I couldn't justify spending a ton of money on a rifle I just shoot for fun. Turns out it probably is just as accurate as anything custom anyway.
Click to expand...

There is little/no doubt Savages shoot well.

I agree that only in terms of accuracy, there isn't much reason to get anything but a savage; just like there's no reason to buy anything other a Toyota Corolla if all you require is a little appliance to get you to/from work.
 
#24
HodgdonExtreme said:
There is little/no doubt Savages shoot well.

I agree that only in terms of accuracy, there isn't much reason to get anything but a savage; just like there's no reason to buy anything other a Toyota Corolla if all you require is a little appliance to get you to/from work.
Click to expand...
That's good, Ial just keep driving the F250
 
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#25
There is nothing wrong with Savage, but for this build given the choice its like a Yugo and, well you know. I have seen several Savage 338L rifles that couldn't handle pressure very well. I've seen 3 that peaked at 2650fps with a 300 grainer and hit pressure. All three left the owners scratching their heads.
 
#29
like most of the above guys i too have no doubt that the savage will shoot I'm just trying to find whats best for the money. this rifle will have a TON of money tied up in it but i plan on getting as much fun/cool things i can while I'm young with no super heavy responsibilities and a TINK (Two Incomes No Kids). I honestly have been envying the rifles some of y'all have since i started floating around the hide at 15-16. now that I'm in a position to afford one i want the best money can buy. i know savages are awesome out of the box thats why i was thinking of build a rifle up off of one. if i can get a custom action for the same if not only a couple hundred more that will probably perform a bit better, look better and cycle and function better then I'm gonna hop on that train. again thanks for all the help guys!

garandman I'm definitely looking at good brakes!
 
#30
As long as you don't leave a cleaning rod in the bore - Savage will be just fine ;)

Savage has its quirks - Stiller will make you 100% happy. So, if you got the money and time - treat yourself! and spare possible disappointments. (really, they are not in the same boat, or even same river).

- #1 Savage fanboy
 
#31
I am also a Savage fanboy and own 5 of them at the present time including a 10BA.
That 10BA is my favorite bolt action and it shoots lights out.

The question for me is how much more than the 110BA will a custom rifle cost you to build?
Will it get to the price of a Sako TRG 42?
 
#32
Aside from my gun, my other costs were: ken farrell base $175, NF rings and scope $2000, 200 lapua brass $500, 8lb keg of rl33 $180, 500 300gr scenars $350, 500 215m primers $25, case $200, reloading dies $150, and Im sure Im missing something. Along with the savage itself, Im in about $5000 and will be able to pull the trigger 500 times.

A gun built off of a stiller will run at least $1k more if not $2k more depending on how crazy you get with it. You just need to figure out your budget and go from there.
 
#33
Why not a TRG42? Save some money/time over the custom with one of the finest factory .338LM rifles made.

Savage doesnt even rate to cup the balls of a Stiller/Badger/Sako/AI/Mcmillian action. Its throwing bad money after bad money.
 
#34
HodgdonExtreme said:
Ugh.

The Savage action handles 338LM just fine. Will there be an accuracy difference between savage action and custom action? Not likely. What do you get for the extra money spent on a custom action? It looks nicer, it feels nicer, and cycles nicer. It has a better extractor, is timed properly and has better primary extraction. It takes Remington triggers.

I actually like Savage. Can't beat them for the price and the DIY barrel changes are great - especially when you can swap boltheads and go from 223 to 338 on the same action. However.... That doesn't change the fact they look and feel like a 1930s vintage John Deere tractor. The "feel" of a Savage is like hammered dogshit. I hadn't shot my Savage in a good while until last weekend. I've been shooting my FN, TRG and Badger M200x rifles...first time I fed a cartridge out of the magazine, fired it, extracted and ejected the spent case - I threw up in my mouth a little.

...but they work.
Click to expand...

This. The action is plenty strong. I have a 338 Edge built on a Savage. The comments about Savage feeling like dogshit...very true. I stopped building custom guns on them because even though they work, are accurate, if you know better you will cringe with every bolt lift.

On the other hand if you want to save $1000 dollars to put into a scope, build it on the savage, as long as you go in knowing it may shoot as good but won't look or feel nearly as nice. Really depends on your preference. A lot of people on here start with lower end whatever and then realize it's worth saving for the best, but that makes it hard for a shooter on any kind of a budget.

If you listened to that mindset completely you would only be allowed to shoot LR with a $3K European scope, a custom action and Bartlein barrel.
 
#35
all said and done im think near $9k. definitely not going to be a budget build and it'll take near a year just to get money together! ever since I've decided to go big or go home on the action I've just decided to go for it and make myself a rifle that i can really be proud of and will hopefully catch a few looks at the range. i haven't bought a rifle since i was 16 (ok i didn't actually buy it but i paid for it) so I'm gonna treat myself this time around
Badger M2013
Bartlein barrel installed and threaded
KRG Whiskey 3 (assuming they come out with the Badger long action soon enough, says they planning on it just don't know how far in the future)
US optics ER25 with the H37
Murphy precision scope base
Atlas bipod
rings
cerakote job
etc etc etc

so a touch over $4000 for the rifle itself, $4000 for the scope and the rest in rings bipod and other bits and pieces
 
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