Savage Elite Precision vs Ruger Precision

[jladd]

Am ready to take the plunge into a factory precision chassis rifle and looking at either the Savage Elite Precision in 6CM or the Ruger Precision Custom also in 6CM. Thoughts on these 2 rifles much appreciated. I shoot a lot factory bench matches out to 500 yards and that's primarily what I'll be using it for however want something I can go out to 1000 yards with as the opportunity arises. I was ready to buy the Savage EP and then just read about the Ruger Custom. I currently use a factory Savage LRPV in 6BR in factory matches and it does very well. I have ready the Elite Precision has issues with ejection and is not nearly as smooth as the Ruger (no personal experience other than my 6BR is single shot and it ejects fine).

Thanks much!

 

[owtlaw]

Of those I would take the Savage. I had the Savage and the Ruger. I sold the Savage prematurely due to the fact that I couldn't justify both. I regret the decision. My buddy bought it and it consistently shoots 3/8 MOA with multiple loads. My Ruger is capable but is very finicky about ammo. It is also 75 ft/sec slower than the Savage. YMMV

 

[Mjnelson]

Premier LRP 2.0 Rifle - Bergara USA

The Premier Series LRP rifle features a Bergara Branded aluminum chassis made in partnership XLR Industries. This Chassis is CNC machined from solid 6061 T6 aluminum and features an AR15 style grip, adjustable length of pull, adjustable comb height, and the butt plate can be canted to give a...

www.bergara.online

 

[Dead Eye Dick]

An interesting comparison. Things I did not like about the Ruger Precision, was the stock, it would loose adjustment. Replaced it with a Target Tool stock and the difference was quite noticeable. Expensive, yes, but worth it. Next, just to match another rifle I was shooting, I went with a vertical grip and thumb rest.

Our rifle shoots quite well. Consistent and not picky In 6.5CM. Barrel was rather slow, but with an adjustable scope, that is immaterial. Have close to 2000 rounds through the original factory barrel.

The Savage Elite has an MDT chassis. So, rear stock issues should not be a problem. Can’t vouch for accuracy or smoothness of action or ejection/extraction issues. .

For someone wanting to dabble in long range shooting without the fuss or muss, I highly recommend the standard RPR. Shoots great very affordable and upgradable. As said, Price is great and they work, but not sure the extra price of the Custom Shop model is worth the extra dollars. For just a few dollars more one is getting into the MPA / GAP / Bad Rock price range.

 

[Chief_Rick]

The Savage uses a standard action in a chassis. If you decide you don't like the chassis you can change it out with another stock to suit a different purpose.

The RPR uses an upper receiver concept. You have a few options to replace the buttstock, you can change the pistol-grip, maybe the forend (I haven't looked). If you don't like a chassis you're SOL.

 

[Doc68]

My old RPR before I sold it only had the action left that was factory original. Everything on it is replaceable minus the action. When I sold it, I had it set up in a 6BR chambering. It was amazing. Bot the smoothest action, but for a factory rifle it was worth more than I paid for it. I have savages also, and i think i would take the RPR over a savage any day of the week.

Doc

 

[Dirty D]

The MSRP I saw for the Savage was $1900ish, I’m sure that the street price is lower. For $1900ish you could have a Defiance.

BadRock Precision Rifles South Fork - Firearms for tactical and target use.

BadRock Rifles are built for tactical and target use, the South Fork uses a precision bolt action, set into an aluminum chassis. Call us at 406-897-2776.

badrockrifles.com

 

[jbuck88]

If you are currently shooting a savage then I don't have to explain my experience with fit and finish. The ones I've seen have shot decent, but lacked severely in other areas. I do own one savage currently as well as a couple of rugers. I think the Rugers do have a nicer feel to them and would 100% reccomend the RPR over the savage.

 

[esbraunie1]

Never shot a ruger, but have had 4 savage rifles, still have one and they are OK for the money 5 years ago but today, Zermatt gets all my money. The Origin is a great deal for the $$$

 

[jladd]

Have performed much online research on both these rifles and observed many positive comments. Quite a bit more reviews on the Savage as this particular Ruger model is still relatively new. Not a fan of the red colored parts on the Ruger, still undecided. Thanks for the responses.

 

[JAS-SH]

Am ready to take the plunge into a factory precision chassis rifle and looking at either the Savage Elite Precision in 6CM or the Ruger Precision Custom also in 6CM. Thoughts on these 2 rifles much appreciated. I shoot a lot factory bench matches out to 500 yards and that's primarily what I'll be using it for however want something I can go out to 1000 yards with as the opportunity arises. I was ready to buy the Savage EP and then just read about the Ruger Custom. I currently use a factory Savage LRPV in 6BR in factory matches and it does very well. I have ready the Elite Precision has issues with ejection and is not nearly as smooth as the Ruger (no personal experience other than my 6BR is single shot and it ejects fine).

Thanks much!

I can't write about the Savage Elite Precision in 6CM. That said about a week or so ago I had a conversation with a guy at the range who was shooting one in .223. I wanted to know more about the rifle because I had never seen one in person.

After some small talk he said he was really pleased. I then looked at his 100 yard target with the spotting scope - All his groups were bugholes!

 

[Jerzey1]

I purchased a Savage Elite Precision is 6mm earlier this year. It was a PIG. It constantly had ejection and extration issues, not to mention the bolt was not even close to smooth. (run a Tikka action and they are completely different) I replaced the extractor and ejector - parts came from Savage. Savage wanted no part in helping fix the issue. STILL had issues, so I sold the MDT chassis and the barreled action separately. Never will I purchase a Savage again.

 

[Vortex1]

Ruger any day. Savage truly is a pos in every respect!!

 

[Chickentoast]

Savage con - trigger. The Rifle Basix SAV-2 is good, but it's extra money and isn't a TT.
Ruger con - modularity - can't simply swap chassis and stocks etc., but the custom shop model does have a TT.
Bergara con - coned bolt, so limited Prefit options.
Tikka build would come out a bit cheaper, but you'd have to be OK with a ~20 oz trigger at min.
Badrock seems to check all the boxes.

 

[Dead Eye Dick]

Savage con - trigger. The Rifle Basix SAV-2 is good, but it's extra money and isn't a TT.
Ruger con - modularity - can't simply swap chassis and stocks etc., but the custom shop model does have a TT.
Bergara con - coned bolt, so limited Prefit options.
Tikka build would come out a bit cheaper, but you'd have to be OK with a ~20 oz trigger at min.
Badrock seems to check all the boxes.

I got one point to pick on your statement regarding the Ruger The chassis that the action sits in is basically fixed. You are correct on that but everything else can be changed, including the stocks and grips, hand guards, triggers, barrels

 

[Sharpline]

The Seekins HIT looks promising as well:

Havak HIT

Havak HIT We welcome you to Seekins Precision's Havak HIT, the most innovative rifle introduced to the shooting industry. Building upon the success of the Havak series of hunting and target rifles, the HIT is a purpose-built chassis rifle with unparallele

seekinsprecision.com

 

[jladd]

Great info thanks! I just purchased a magazine “Ballistic Best-Gun of the Year Awards”. They tested many different categories of guns and selected (by a team of gun writers/competitors) the best in each category (subjective). One of the categories was “target masters” all rifles were chassis type precision guns. Criteria included such things as accuracy, ergonomics, value/price, reliability, triggers, reload ease etc. Final results were from winner to last place;

1. Accuracy International AT-X - score 41.52
2. Falkor ROC- 41.45
3. Bergara Premiere Competition - 40.52
4. Proof Research MDT Chassis - 39.21
5. Kelby’s NYX - 38.76
6. Victrix Venus - 36.08
7. Surgeon Scalpel Pro - 33.95
8. Savage Elite Precision- 33.70
9. Ruger Custom Shop RPR - 32.95

All rifles were chambered in 6CM or 6.5CM. I realize as mentioned earlier this is a very subjective test however sure got me to thinking about the Bergara. I tried to find one online for sale however no luck. I appreciate thoughts on these test results specifically the Bergara!

Thanks so much!

 

[Chickentoast]

Out to 2 decimal places no less.

 

[jbuck88]

I gave up on paid advertising a long time ago. I found its more reliable to sift thru the BS here or on YouTube.

 

[jladd]

I agree that the 2 decimal places were over the top. It was interesting to view the wide variety of precision rifles out there some of which I never heard of. Having shot benchrest for years I was familiar with that line of factory and custom equipment however this a a whole new ballgame!

 

[Dead Eye Dick]

I enjoy their reviews but the comparison (Bergara excepted) was a bit skewered. Comparing 5 to 6 thousand dollar rifles to 2 thousand dollar rifles and guess who finished first and who finished last. I know, you pays your money and you takes your choice but still expecting a Miata to compete head to head with a Ferrari F40, you know who’s gonna win before the ignition key is turned. (Or the bolt is closed)

 

[powdahound76]

Get a Tikka CTR.
Drop in chassis.
Change trigger spring

Beats other factory options.

 

[Jerzey1]

Get a Tikka CTR.
Drop in chassis.
Change trigger spring

Beats other factory options.

100% - myself I have 2 Tikka's like this and have 3-4 friends at the range who went this route and everyone is 100% happy. If you don't want to spend $5k for a custom built rifle (dont blame you) Tikka or Bergara is the way to go!!!!

 

[jladd]

Thanks for all the terrific information. I will be using this rifle for factory benchrest matches out to 500 to 600 yards so I’ll need to stick with a complete factory setup. Maybe down the road a custom setup will be possible for other types of competition.

Info much appreciated!

 

[Deleted member 173458]

I have shot the Ruger in 6.5 cm and the savage in 300 wm. Both shot 1/2 moa or better with hand loads. I think the action feels much better on the Ruger.

 

[jladd]

Update - am in Florida right now and went to a local shooting range, Gun World of South Florida, for some pistol practice. Lo and behold they had an Elite Precision in stock and I was able to actually hold one. It looked and felt great, I really think for my purposes this will be what I purchase. As mentioned previously I will be using it primarily for factory benchrest matches where we load one round at a time. As I currently compete with a Savage LRPV in 6BR I am used to and really like the accu- trigger which the EP has.

Thanks much for all the great comments!

 

[geebo]

I have both in 6.5CM. They both shoot very well but the MDT chassis on the Elite is way more adjustable. If I could only keep one, it would be the Savage hands down. The Ruger just feels kludgy to me compared to the Savage and I would much rather shoot it over the RPR.

 

[Rocketmandb]

really like the accu- trigger

I know this is a slightly older thread, but one of the best upgrades you can do for a Savage is to ditch the AccuTrigger - too much play. Trigger options for Savage rifles are limited, but Timney makes a solid drop-in replacement. You'll quickly see what you've been missing.

 

[rangerlong]

I have one of the 2nd gen savage precision guns in the mdt chassis. The bronze one, in 6 creedmoor.
It ‘s easily as accurate as my AI. The action leaves alot to be desired though.

I like the bergara premiere action better than any I’ve felt, including the AI and the Origin.
The smooth easy bolt lift after firing is amazing.
I sold mine to help pay for the AI, but I wish I had kept it.

 

[pineoak]

+1 Savage QC is sh*t

Ruger is better of the two, but keep looking

Tikka is much much better, always a good option in short action

Seekins HIT is probably going to be the best value proposition but it's still barely out there (I'd wait for a few more average people reviews and go HIT if reliable)

Skip Savage IME. Their customer service is as bad as their QC

 

[TexT-Rex]

I am 6-month into my Savage 110 Elite Precision in 6.5 CM. It is routinely shooting 1/2-MOA 5-shot groups with handloads. I did have to shave the extractor pin at a 45° angle toward the firing pin to get it to extract/eject consistently. That was an easy 5-min fix. The action is much smoother after 600-rounds, but it will never be a Tika. I don't care about that. I shoot next to a buddy with a .308 RPR. I wouldn't trade with him if he threw in $500 and 500 rounds of ammo. I get the savage-haters, but the two Savage rifles I own are shooters. I only paid $1,550 for the 110 EP new. That was close to the RPR price. I'll shoot this barrel out and go with the best pre-fit I can find.