Too many options, need help on a beginner Bench rifle

[Colorado Osprey]

I want to be able to send 10 rounds down range without it starting to walk. I shoot my savage and the first shot with a cold barrel is low left. The next 3 are on and then after that it starts to walk. I would like a rifle that will be on target first shot and can stay on target if I shoot 10 in a row.

By "fast" I mean 1-3 a minute. I have an AR for rapid.

That savage walking is a pretty easy fix. You have too much pressure on the barrel. Free float it and bed your recoil lug/action and it will settle down. Way cheaper fix than a new rifle.
500 yards is pretty easy for a Savage to shoot fairly accurately.. maybe even better than you can presently shoot.
Are there better rifles, sure.... but I'm not sure you need one to shoot 500 yards. My son is currently shooting a factory model 111 in a .270 WIN with a slight stock upgrade (Boyds $100) and can easily hit 6" steel plates at 400 yards with a Leupold 3-9x40 Vari X II. He is 13 years old.

[fly boy]

Floated from factory. I can hit a gong at 550 with it. When I was sighting in with a new round, it would be okay for the first couple rounds then start walking. I had my buddy check it - who can cloverleaf at 250 with his TC and it would walk on him. I thought about Bedding it, but figured if I am going to do something, do it right - buy a quality rifle first, and then work on it.

[fly boy]

Both the 5r and the PSS are capable of that , the rifle that Mac's would put together also . An M1A is a pain in the ass to put a scope on and depending on the rifle can shift POI as it gets hot . The Steyr is a hunting gun and not really suited as a target rifle . The FN is a solid gun . Haven't had any experience with the CZ rifles other than 22's .

I was told that they steyr is a hunting rifle, but will put the round on target - doesn't matter if the barrel is hot or cold.

FN I think might be too much of an "assult rifle" similar to an AR. Same with an M1A, but was told the m1a is similar to the REM 700 - you can find parts and stuff everywhere.

The 700p is a solid rifle, the 5r is just a barrel upgrade. The "mac's" I can only assume would be a HBar, bedded stock, and the "bottom metal" - is that where it's converted to have actual magazines rather than a drop plate, or in-stock magwell?

[XC700116]

Freely floating barrel, good bedding, and a heavy barrel (quality also has something to do with that) will get you there. A sporter contour is going to heat up much faster and more apt to walk on you. Some won't but some will.

As for the upgrading thing, flexibility is a huge thing, I have a real soft spot for Browning A-bolts, but honestly there isn't shit you can do to them besides re-barreling (and there's very few smiths that will touch them) to upgrade them in the future. You may not plan on changing something now, but you might find down the road you need to do something to fix an ergo issue in your shooting. It's just something about keeping your options open.

[C Ward]

You already got the answer in Your possession . Restock , rebarrel , and upgrade the mounts and glass on the Savage and drive on . Aught to be able to make this happen well within your budget .

[fly boy]

I thought of doing that, but then I still have my basic savage action and trigger.

I Looked at a shillen barrel, bed the stock - didn't think the mount and glass was an issue.

[Zach O]

Everyone has there favorites. Everyone has an opinion. Triggers can be replaced, actions can be worked on. For what it worth, I took a Savage model 110 6.5x284 Norma out to 1 mile. Factory barrel, factory trigger, factory stock, homemade Kydex cheek riser and hand loads. Was it repeatable? No. Was it fun? Yes. It shoot a 3 round group at 1,000 yards at 1 3/8". Great conditions for sure. Anyway, do what makes you happy and have fun!

[C Ward]

I think savages are butt ugly , but they shoot .

The stock on that rifle is the same injection molded junk that is on the SPS's , not worth putting time or money in to , get one of the fiberglass stocks with a bedding block .

One piece mounts are always better than 2 piece mounts in my book , find the thread on scope base bedding and read that . The scope on the gun already is a hunting scope and really not cut out for duty on a precision rifle where you will be dialing your adjustments , the turrets need to track right and be repeatable which is what you really get with the higher end scopes .

The trigger in the picture looks like the old pre accu trigger trigger . I like that trigger better than the accu trigger and it is easily adjustable , similar to a Winchester trigger .

[fly boy]

I think savages are butt ugly , but they shoot .

The stock on that rifle is the same injection molded junk that is on the SPS's , not worth putting time or money in to , get one of the fiberglass stocks with a bedding block .

One piece mounts are always better than 2 piece mounts in my book , find the thread on scope base bedding and read that . The scope on the gun already is a hunting scope and really not cut out for duty on a precision rifle where you will be dialing your adjustments , the turrets need to track right and be repeatable which is what you really get with the higher end scopes .

The trigger in the picture looks like the old pre accu trigger trigger . I like that trigger better than the accu trigger and it is easily adjustable , similar to a Winchester trigger .

Yes it's the not accu-trigger, and we have it adjusted to about 3.5lbs with almost no creep - I was surprised as how easily adjustable it was, and how it turned out.

Maybe I will have to take the Savage to a local gunsmith and see what they think of it. And then could spend the extra cash on a good scope instead of a $250 basic scope.

[Irving]

Have you already read the thread about Spleify's Savage in .223? I think it is in the precision section. Give it a look as it may have info that could apply to your rifle.