Ok, let me throw another wrench into the mix.
Any of you ever considered the newer Savage Rifles? I think they look pretty awesome, not like the old canoe-paddle rifles they used to be. Savage has always had a very good name when it comes to out of the box accuracy. The only thing that ever held them back from becoming a major player was their clunky-dunky appearance. Ask a hardcore varminter what the best set-up is, right out of the box without doing any custom work to it, and most will say Savage.
Now they have the new accutrigger, which is also a very sweet set-up. I had the opportunity to have beers with the designer of the accu-trigger while in Vegas for the 06' Shot Show last Feb. Man, he really knows his stuff. And he's really cool, to boot. A Savage won't cost you nearly as much as any other rifle that's been mentioned on this thread so far, and I bet,if you put it on a gun vice, it would group tighter than any of them. I asked Scott, (accutrigger designer) why their guns have always been so ugly, but shot well. He said that have for years, had a very loyal niche of people that didn't care about anything but accuracy. So, Savage always put their manufacturing money into the metal components of the gun, especially the barrel. Now they want to go after some of that mainstream market share, and I bet in the next couple of years, you will see them do it.
Savage uses Precision Investment Castings for most of the internal parts, rather than MIM or powdered metal. I know this, because I am in the biz. I think Ruger has given the investment casting name a bad repoir, because they have never really been known for accuracy, but they became very well known when they flooded the market with lower cost rifles back in the 80's. At that time, all of the other well-known rifle companies were CNC machining all of their components, which is a tighter tolerance process, but much more costly. (Weatherby still does this) Since then, most have gone over to MIM or Powdered Metal (including Kimber) Investment Casting, although not as smooth, does have stronger tensile and yield strength characteristics. That means alot when you are shoving mass amounts of vibration (firing the weapon)through the assembled components, repeatedly. Steel,can and will fatigue just like anything else, so the denser, the metal matrix, the better, and Investment casting when done properly, offers a better process for material density.
That being said, I don't currently own a Savage, but when I am ready to purchase another Rifle, it will be between Savage and Remington.
Scattergun, how big is the shop you are looking to purchase from? I ask this because alot of smaller shops don't carry anything but the mainstream offerings, but any major store should have something for you to look at in the Savage line. I am not telling you to buy one, but you should at least take a look. I think you can get into one of their "Weather Warrior" models for under 500 bucks. What does it hurt, right?
Regards,
Autumn Pulse
"Be a straight-shooter in all that you do."