Opinions - Armalite AR-30 in 338LM
- Thread starter garandman
- Start date
They used to be about the best deal for a quality 338 when they were $1700ish. Very accurate and low recoil. The only issue was cheek weld which wasn't impossible to get with proper scope height, and the mags rattled a bit. Now that they're in the $3500 range they aren't a very good price. For $3500 you can have a TRG42 and have a better rifle, or spend a little more and be into a custom. You're also starting to get into AI territory at that price. I've seen a few AWSM's sell in the $4000-$5000 range in the last six months. One sat for weeks at just over $4K right around Christmas time. Also Mile High has a very good deal going on a couple AX 338's at $6850 shipped with a spuhr mount that costs almost $500 itself. Yes it's almost twice as much as an AR30 but it's more than twice the rifle.
The AR-50 is under 3500. The AR-30 338 dealer cost is about 1750, so figure whatever markup you like. For a bench gun its fine. They are accurate and low recoil like stated. But sooner of later you may want a more useable stock, if you order an XLR for it thats another 1500 with all the bells and whistles. so for 1750+1500 you may as well buy a TRG42 and have an outstanding rifle. If you think you can live with the factory armalite stock then they are not a bad deal.
I started out in the .338lm realm with one of them. I picked it up new around 6 years ago for $1650. I suppose you could find one used if you looked around. It was a great bench rifle. Almost no recoil with the factory break and produced 1/2 to 3/4 moa consistently with hand loads. The trigger could use a little help but not that bad for a factory product. I think it broke somewhere around 5lbs if memory serves me right. They are extremely long and heavy, so forget hiking it out into the desert of if you ever got the itch to go long range hunting. It is also a bit in the fugly dept imo. But it was a great and cheap way to introduce myself to the 338. I've since picked up an SRS which is much nicer, but twice the price. If your on a budget, then they are what your looking for, and a much better rifle than the Savage. Ymmv.
If it were me, I'd go with the Savage 110BA or 110fcp hs. The Armalite's bolt feels like its gonna break off. My buddy has one and replaced the buttstock with a buttstock from XLR. They are okay but not as accurate as the Savages.
The armalites bolt feels like its going to break off, yet you recommend savage? Savage is the king of feeling like the bolt is going to self destruct. They are by far the sloppiest actions I have ever used.
I'd also suggest doing to searching on the problems reported with the savage 338's. There are a lot of guys what can't get them to shoot anything close to acceptable. My AR30 was a 1/2MOA rifle with minimum load development, of the 5-6 savage center fire target rifles I've had (223's and 308's) none of them shot 1/2MOA with anything.
I'd also suggest doing to searching on the problems reported with the savage 338's. There are a lot of guys what can't get them to shoot anything close to acceptable. My AR30 was a 1/2MOA rifle with minimum load development, of the 5-6 savage center fire target rifles I've had (223's and 308's) none of them shot 1/2MOA with anything.
The AR-30 is a very accurate rifle with little recoil and a lot of muzzle blast. If you dont like the stock, an adapter can be had allowing you to install something else like a prs. They are a blast to shoot and very well built. If you've ever separated the barreled action from the chassis you'd see. There is no way you'd get any movement. Its an extremely tight fit. Very fun rifle to shoot.
Have either of you fellas actually got behind a Savage in this caliber or are we just spewing what we read on the interwebz?
I happen to own a FCP-HS in .338LM, and it does not exhibit any of the "problems" that I keep hearing about from non-Savage shooters. I am new to the long range game, but my rifle shoots 3/4 MOA or better with me (a complete LR noob) behind the rifle.
To the OP, you would be shorting yourself by not looking at the 110 FCP-HS or the BA if you like the chassis. For the money, I have a hard time believing that you can go wrong.
I would also look at the Savage, My buddy has one that shoots .5 moa all day long. And the accu-trigger is awesome. I personally have not seen any of the issues that others have seen, but their are always some bad apples in the bunch. To some it up for 3K their are a lot better options for your money.
"Non-Savage shooters". Is there some sort of a cult? Sorry but I don't play the fanboy game, I call it as I see it.
I have shot a few Savage 338's, I know at least 5 people who have bought them and only one still owns his only because he is too stubborn to ditch it. His shoots around MOA which isn't acceptable in my book, MOA at a mile is 18" in perfect conditions and that is where 338's really shine. One of them wouldn't hit the broad side of a barn at point blank range though. It couldn't keep 5 rounds on an 24" piece of cardboard at 100 yards. I can piss more accurately than that. That others just shot mediocre as well, nothing good or acceptable to my standards. One of them had to go back to savage for the sear not engaging and it took them over two months to figure out it was a faulty trigger and replace it. It's also only been a few months since I sent my personal Savage 111 LRH back to them that was shooting 6-8" groups. They replaced the barrel and the new barrel barely groups 1.5moa no matter what I do.
The quality of Savage is right there with Remington now, with either you don't know what you're going to get and even if you get a good one it's a rifle made as cheap as possible as fast as possible. This is fine for a $500, $800, and sometimes even a $1000 gun but when you're talking nearly $2k, poor quality and a mediocre product isn't acceptable. You could get a good one that prints 1/2MOA and it still wouldn't be worth it IMO because there are rifles out there for not much more that are a night and day difference in overall build quality and reliability.
Being happy with what you have is perfectly fine but there is better out there and I believe the OP is looking for better.
I've been behind one of them, and was not impressed. I felt the overall fit and finish was poor, plus it suffered from extraction issues. And it was shooting around 1.5 moa. I have 3 friends that purchased them and all of them have run into problems. I told them Armalite or if they had the money go DTA or a custom. They got what they paid for.... Of course there are a few that have been lucky and ended up with a shooter, but I'm not willing to take that kind of gamble with 2K of my hard earned money.
I have a savage 110 fcp in 338lm that has been able to print .5-.75 moa groups back to back to back with little barrel cool down. (I hate waiting)
With that said, I went from grouping .5-.75 moa groups back to back to back, to 1.5+ moa yesterday morning. I suspected my stock was giving up, but tonight I found the culprit... my effing rings were barely hand tight and the scope slid all the way back and the ocular section was banging up against the rear scope ring. Now theres a nice gash in my $1600 scope and some damage to the scope base. I forgot I had not torqued them down and only finger tightened them the night before after re-leveling the scope.
My only personal issue with it is that I love shooting it so much my ammo bill is getting me in hot water with the wife!
With that said, I went from grouping .5-.75 moa groups back to back to back, to 1.5+ moa yesterday morning. I suspected my stock was giving up, but tonight I found the culprit... my effing rings were barely hand tight and the scope slid all the way back and the ocular section was banging up against the rear scope ring. Now theres a nice gash in my $1600 scope and some damage to the scope base. I forgot I had not torqued them down and only finger tightened them the night before after re-leveling the scope.
My only personal issue with it is that I love shooting it so much my ammo bill is getting me in hot water with the wife!
