I have a Savage 110CL. I bought it new around 1970 and have had a fair amount of experience with it. The action is as smooth as my Remington 722 action, which is very slick. And smoother then my Remington 700 action, which is not bad.
Over the Chrony with the same load on the same day the barrel on the 110 has proved itself to be 30f.p.s. faster. And it is slightly more accurate then the Remington 700.
I also prefer the Savage safety to the Remington safety. The Savage safety is recessed behind the bolt and is easily accessible from the right or left side. (I shoot both right and left-handed.) I have never had the Savage safety rub-off. In turn I have had both the Ruger 77 and the Remington 700, 722, and 788 rub off when carried by a sling on the left side. The tang safety on the old Ruger 77 sets up and is exposed.
Feed and extraction has always been positive. In 2007 I have fired by rough count close to one hundred rounds in the 110CL. Some years I have fired more rounds in it, and fewer others.
The Ruger 77 is the only rifle I ever sent back to the factory. When it was new it would scratch cases. There had to be a bur in it. The factory returned with a note they could not find a problem. But it no longer scratched cases.
The identified Savage and Remington actions are quieter then the M77 Ruger action. You can quietly slip a round in the Savage or Remington, but there is a mechanical sound produced by the Ruger. If I can hear it a critter will hear it.
The opinions are based on long term use of the above actions and most likely do not reflect on current production by any of the named manufactures.
In the past I have owned a Husqvarna, which was built on a commercial Model 98 action. It had a slick action that held near maximum 30-06 loads and fired them with accuracy. It was on the heavy side, and the wood was not the greatest. But it is a fine hunting rifle. In my father-in-laws hands it took moose, and caribou in Alaska, and deer in the lower 48. If I had the rifle back it would be re-chamber it to 300 Winchester Magnum.
The Husqvarna M98 action is a favorite of my “Wildcatter” brother and he has built two rifles on Husqvarna improved M98 action. I believe the improvement was in the safety, which allowed for scope mounting.
I have had some experience with the Swede M96 action in a customized rifle. Meaning the barrel was cut to twenty-three inches and it has an after market stock on it. The action is very smooth and dependable. And the rifle is accurate. I would not load the M96 action to higher pressures, because it is not recommended. The model 96 Swede has been bang flop on deer. And the positive feed of the action does not have the mechanical sound of the Ruger 77 action. Nor do I recall the Husqvarna M98 action having that same sound.
