Savage wood versus plastic stock

[Oldtimer]

I found a store with several Savage bolt actions with scopes for $304.  The one I am most partial to is a .243 with a wooden stock, and the others are stocked with plastic.  Is there any accuracy advantage to one over the other?  I figure that I could probably talk them into swapping out the wooden stock for a plastic one, if the plastic is better.

[Zachary]

You just hit upon a somewhat sensitive subject - Wood or synthetic.  Some people swear by wood, while others swear by synthetics.

Bottom line is that both have pros and cons.

Wood:
Pros - strong, somewhat heavier (if you consider this a pro), solid platform, less resistant to vibrations.
Cons - subject to warping which changes in weather - temperature and rain/snow etc.  Such warping can affect accuracy. Suject to getting scratched and dinged.

Plastic:
Pros - not subject to changes in weather, lightweight (if you consider this a pro).  You can brush it up against a cactus and nothing will happen to it.
Cons - hollow inside, cheap, flimsy.  Vibrates like heck.  

If it's a choice between LAMINATED wood and a plastic stock, then I would pick a laminated stock.  I like heavier rifles because I seen to shoot them better.  Also, laminated wood stocks are not subject to the same amount of warpage as regular wood stocks.

If it's a choice between Laminated and TRUE SYNTHETIC STOCKS (like HS Precision and McMcillan), then I would get the HS and Precision every time.  They are not cheap or flimsy, and have no vibration.  These are simply the BEST true synthetic stocks.

Your choices, however, seem to be wood or plastic.  What I normally do is get the rifle and then buy either an HS or McMillan stock.  This costs an extra $250 to $350, though.

ONE OTHER THING - I would buy that rifle and scope combo.  Those scopes are VERY cheap.  I would just buy the rifle and spend more money on a better scope.

Zachary

[Advocate]

The Savage bolt action/scope economy package is very popular, especially with new shooters. I've never  owned one, but have shot many in the course of helping new shooters get sighted in at the range. I have shot several in .270, 30-06 and one 7mm Rem Mag.  All were very accurate, all had good trigger pulls and all of the scopes were right on and had accurate calibrations as far as I could tell. I got one .270 sighted in with two shots!  First shot was low and left. Next shot was right at the point of aim at 100yards after making corrections.  Handed him his rifle back and told him how to make changes if he thought he needed more.  (i.e. sight for 200 yards, 1.5" high at 100 yds. etc.)  

Bottom line is that they are plain but they are very well made, very accurate and well put together in my experience with  them. The
Simmons scopes seemed to work very well too.

[Oldtimer]

Thanks for the advice.  I was thinking of whether there was any difference between the Savage  wood stock and their plastic stock.  I mainly plan on using the gun for deer hunting, as I have a 6mm-.284 with a 1 in 12 twist barrel as a varminter.  I will probably pull off the factory scope and mount a scope with a 50mm lens for late evening shooting.

One disadvantage I have run into with a plastic stock that I have not heard mentioned is that the stock on my Browning A-Bolt pulls on my whiskers if I have not shaved.  With a .300 Magnum, it can get irritating in a hurry.  With a .243, I don't think that recoil will be much of an issue, though.

[His lordship.]

I had a Savage model 11f for a few months and was very dissapointed with it.  It had the plastic stock, which had warpage along the barrel parameter, and a heavy trigger.  I liked the fact that the plastic would not ding as much as wood, but I never had the chance to find out as it was sold quickly.

The extractor often would not fully pop out the spent cartridge and the factory said I had to return the entire rifle less scope at my expense to Massachusetts for any warranty work.  I wrote them about any instructions to take apart the bolt and they ignored me.  At least with a Remington I could have gotten local support without having to totally remove the scope.

The bolt also had a pin that was rubbing into the receiver creating high wear.  I have seen this on other Savages as well.  The Tikkas and CZ's I have shot are far more accurate than any Savage.  Savage rifles sell because they are really cheap, for a person who does not have much demand for performance, they would be ok. :shock: