Re: savage upgrades?
The SH Ghost Dancer project rifle started as a Savage 10FP .260, ended up being upgraded with McM A3 stock, SSS Trigger and Recoil Lug, and was eventually refitted with an L-W stainless BR grade 28", 1:9" Savage Varmint Weight contour SAAMI .260 barrel. It has been my goto 1Kyd F Class rifle for nearly a decade.
These days my access to 1Kyd distances is far too sparse, and I've switched over to FV200, a sorta F Class 200yd program we run at our Club range.
This Winter, the old Dancer's being refitted with a heavy weight 23" 1:10" barrel chambered for 30BR. I think this will be a fun project.
It will be running side-by-side with an unmodified (except to replace the Scout style scope mount with a more conventional pair of Weaver bases) Savage factory 10FCM Scout chambered in 7.62x39. It bears the AccuStock. The rifle is very sound and surprisingly accurate with so-so factory Boxer FMJ ammo, and I think that treating the cartridge as if it were a 30PPC and doing some load development might yield some respectable accuracy.
Both of these shortie 30's will start out on a diet of 110gr V-Max and IMR-4198. Could be a fun comparison.
My suggestion for your starter Savage would be the 10 Predator Hunter Max I .260. Mine is brand new and shoots sub 1MOA out of the box at 100yd with relatively peppy 140SMK handloads. I'm not changing anything on either of these two rifles until old age and wear demand it.
The Max I version is factory upgraded with the AccuStock, which I believe really converts the rifle up to another stage of accuracy.
The original Dancer factory 24" 1:8" .260 barrel shot handloads very accurately to 1Km (documented as 1123yd) at the NRA Whittington Center C/F Silhouette Range in NM back in 2002, and my new .260 Predator's barrel has identical specs.
I think the key point I want to make here is that with the Savage product line, aftermarket upgrades are very possible. But the product line is also quite broad and robust; and many of the factory offerings could make such upgrades unnecessary.
Greg