Had been thinking about getting a .308, and cheap is always good, but I like new. I am also a sucker for stainless which doesn't help. My friend called me and said he was at Dick's sporting goods and they had a sale on Savage rifles packaged with the Nikon scope, so I drove up there to check 'em out.
Turns out they didn't have the stainless Savage scope/rifle package, just the blued/syn stock version for $499.95. But Hey!, what is that next to it on the gun rack? A Remington 700, in stainless with a syn stock and a cheap 3-9x40 scope, for $20 less than the Savage. Hmm...
I was more impressed overall with the Remington, although the Savage had a lot going for it. I was pleased it has a metal trigger guard and metal trigger, the Savage's Accutrigger is metal but the trigger guard is composite. The Remington does have a blind mag, which I will have to practice unloading/loading. Trigger feels very crisp perhaps a tad heavy, but nicer than anything else I own. The Savage had a nicer synthetic stock if it means anything. However, the Savage was very sloppy in comparison to the Remington...almost alarmingly so. Especially in the bolt. That explains why it is smoother out of the box! The Savage had what appeared to be a plastic tang safety button almost a-la the Mossberg, I much preferred the Remington's splined metal knob.
I think I got a great rifle for a great price, and it is also my first centerfire rifle, so I am pretty pumped about that. Sorry about the crappy pics, the gun does look very nice. The stainless is a bead-blasted matte and the bolt has very nice jeweling.