Sako 85 Varmint v Remington 700 SPS tactical v Savage FCP SR

[Fatboy5108]

Hi does anyone on here have advise / opinions on which of these rifles are better and why?

[jehu]

better for what? The Sako is the better made rifle IMO.

[Fatboy5108]

Better alround, mostly target at my local gun club with some feral pig and kangaroo shooting in mind. going for .308 cartrige as it will put down just about any game OZ has to offer with the exception of water buffalo which require a large magnum cartridge for a one shot kill. im too far south to ever see one though

[Saltydog235]

The Sako is hands down a nicer rifle. Smoother and much more polished than the others on your list. The Savage would be second with the Remington being the rear as far as fit and finish. Not sure if there's going to be a major difference in the accuracy of any of them.

[Rimfire5]

I have two of the three models that you have listed.

The Remington SPS Varmint (mine is in .22-250 with a 26 inch varmint barrel) was bought on sale for $436. In factory form with a 'Tupperware' stock and a gritty 6+ pound trigger, it still shot around 0.6 to 0.7 MOA at 100 yards. Not bad for the price but I could see the potential so I replaced the trigger with a Timney and set it at 2 lbs. That improved its accuracy by 0.15 or so. Then I replaced the stock with a Bell and Carlson Medalist pillar bedded stock and improved accuracy even more. Its best 25 hand loadings now average 0.350 for 131 groups. All of the hand loadings (good and bad) average 0.526 for 921 measured groups. Total expenditure in 'tuned' form = $ 775. The modifications were worth the money and it has become a great varmint rifle.

I have two Savage model 10s - an old 10 FP with a hidden magazine, 24 inch barrel, and no accustock and a new 10 FCP-K with 26 inch barrel, muzzle brake, a detachable magazine and accustock - both in .308 caliber. The model 10 FP/FCP series are in the law enforcement series. They are heavy, durable rifles but the FCP-K with its longer barrel is the heaviest. Both came out of the box with a 2 lb 11 oz trigger and shot really well.
The accustock on the 10 FCP-K makes it a bit more stable on a bipod, but both shoot accurately.

The old FP averaged 0.623 for 1629 measured groups and 0.438 for its best 25 hand loads. Some of the overall average is biased by my using it to learn to hand load and experimenting with different powders, bullets and seating depths. That often leads to some inaccurate loadings. The barrel is about shot out now and is going back to Savage for a new barrel. Original expenditure $ 709. At that price, it was a bargain and has served me well for a number of years.

The new FCP-K is averaging 0.591 for only 97 measured groups.
Expenditure this year was $850.
There aren't enough representative different loads shot yet with the new rifle to get a good 25 load recipe sample but its top 10 hand loads are averaging 0.425.
I attribute the difference in accuracy between the two Savages primarily to the accustock.

Considering the drop off in accuracy that comes with the moving up in caliber from the .22-250 and the .308, I would say that both heavier recoiling .308 Savages clearly shot better than the 022-250 Remington out of the box and now shoot about the same or slightly less accurately than the Remington now that the Remington has been 'tuned'. The Savages are still in pure factory form, untouched other than cleaning.

Every Savage that I have ever been in contact with has shot accurately out of the box and none of the 9 that I am familiar with (my son and I have 4 between us and 3 range buddies have 5) have ever been modified. One of the .308s that my buddy bought had the scope mounting holes drilled off center (it still grouped well but forced severe scope adjustments that made it impossible for him to shoot long range). Savage replaced it with a 'QA built' equivalent model that is a true 'tack driver'. He feels that it was worth his inconvenience of having to ship it back to the factory.

I have never tried a SAKO 85 but it has a great reputation. I would suspect that it is probably more expensive than a Remington SPS or a Savage 10.
If it is in hunting rifle form, it will be a better hunting rifle than the heavier bull/varmint barrel models. However, a thin barrel will heat up faster than a heavy barrel on the range and you will wait a lot when testing loads. If it is a bull barrel version, it will probably be about the same. The fit and finish should be better but only shooting the rifle will let you decide on accuracy.

I have one SAKO (a SAKO Quad with 4 interchangeable barrels) that isn't in the same class so my opinion of the rifle doesn't matter in this discussion.
However, I can attest that it shoots 1 MOA with all 4 interchangeable barrels in .22LR, .22 WMR, .17 M2 and .17 HMR just like they claimed it would.

[handlerer2]

This poll is like comparing a Ford Pinto and BMW M5. They will both get you where you want to go, but in one you arrive in style and class.

Sorry, but I now have a pretty low opinion of rifles made from drilled bar stock, with fused bolts and washered recoil lugs. Both MDL 700 and the Savage, suffer from cheapness. I don't mean to say that they aren't quite servicable, I have owned them too. I have found more joy in $2000 rifles, such as Sako, Cooper and Weatherby. I have decided that I would rather have a few premium rifles than a safe full of overpriced economy jobs, my 2 cents.

[Fatboy5108]

Im pretty sure im going to go for the sako varmint, from comments on here and other forums its the clear winner and i probably wont have to do much more to it than bolt on a scope and a bipod

[NWPilgrim]

Sako rifles are very accurate. I believe the factory guarantees them for under 1 MOA. My A7 easily hoots 5 shot groups of 1/2" - 7/8". I am not even interested in loads that shoot 1" or more. My SIL has a Tikka T3 that also is a tack driver even though it is not guaranteed. All the Sako and Tikka barrels are made in the Sako plant.

While I am a huge fan of Sako and Tikka rifles, if you want to replace stocks and bolts and other parts then the Remington is probably king. But if you want a precision rifle out of the box I would look at the Tikka Tactical or Varmint ($800 range), the Sako A7 Varmint ($1,200 range) or the Sako 85 Varmint ($1,700 range?).

[Hummer70]

I just got a new Tikka stainless in 06 and while I haven't shot it yet, there is no doubt this a rifle to be on my NWIH its leaving my collection list. Wish I had found it 30 years ago but alas I have come to the conclusion that SAKO/TIKKA is the best kept secret in the gun industry. I am sure you will not be disppointed with a SAKO or TIKKA.