SmallCaliberCentral

I am new to this site, but I have looked back at alot of post trying to figure out which Savage that I want to buy. I have 5 here that all look great and appear to have everything that you would want in a good gun. If some of you that have alot of experience with Savages could maybe rank them some sort of way or just any help in deciding would be great.

12 LRPV
12 BGTV VARMINTER
12 BTCSS
12 1112 VARMINTER
12 BTCSS DBM

I want a thumbhole stock, but the LRPV seems to be the most accurate. I hope to have about a $1500 budget to buy the rifle, and a good scope. All we do is shoot at paper for fun out to 500 yds.

Any help would be appreciated

I was in your shoes last August when I wanted new prairie dog hunting rifles. I bought two Savage LRPV's and love them to death. One rifle is in a .204 and the other is a 22-250. I do not have any experience with the other rifles you listed, but I can say the Savage LRPV .204 will outshoot my ruger .204 anyday. The load that I use in the Savage will shoot .3's and If I would spend more time on seating depths I could make that group even better. I am so impressed with Savage, and will continue to buy their rifles from now on!

Good luck with your quest for a new rifle.

I have a savage 12 FV single shot. Two years ago I paid $400 for the gun new. Another $290 for a Bushnell 3200 5-15. I use a set of Lee 204 dies, and best group to date is .114". If I had $1500 to play with, "wow"! I would have put a Lupy 6.5-20 w/30mm tube on it for sure. I will say this, Savages are not pretty to look at. But they will shoot with any gun costing 2 or 3 times as much.

I just bought a used Savage 204 LRPV and love it. I would highly recommend it, mine shoots great!! It really likes 39gr BK and Reloader 10X..

I'm not a thumbhole stock fan, so my choice would probably be the VLP or the LRPV. I like both rifles a lot, and think the VLP is the best stock Savage makes. That's highly subjective, though, and my opinion only.
I DO like the LRPV action, and the right bolt/left port convenience of it all, but I miss every now and then, and like to have a couple of rounds in the magazine to make up for those misses Since you're "just shooting paper" that won't be an issue for you.
It's hard to go wrong with the picks you've made, just get the one that fits your shoulder and your budget best. You're the best one to decide that.

Good luck and good shooting!

Model 12FV and buy a B & C medalist/tactical stock.

I have 13 Savage rifles to include a LRPV in .204. I would have to say that the way I would go if I was in your shoes and had a $1500 budget would be get the modle 12 LRPV and get a Leupold target scope, just because your going to shoot paper right. So you might as well buy a custom gun that is made at good price. Now if you shop you can pick them up around $1000 but if you get lucky like I di and catch a sale you could get it for $859.00 new in box. So do some home work and have fun. Ride Up!!!

I currently have 3 savages 1. LRPV 204r 2. LRPV 22-250 3. model12 bvss 223, IMHO for what you pay savage makes a great rifle, all shoot very well and with proper load development they will shoot sub 1/2 moa with no problem. I have owned most of the other factory guns including remmy's and winnies browning A-bolts ect. I can tell you this the only production gun I will own in the future will be a savage.

I have a 12VLP and a 11BTH, they are both accurate 204s. If you are just going to be on the bench, I would look at the 12BTCSS. I really like the VLP for the bench. I use it for long range sage rats. I made mine into a single shot to easily load the rounds one at a time, so the barrel does not heat up too quickly. The detachable magazine was not a big factor for me in that rifle. The 11BTH is much easier to carry around for yotes. I like the thumb holes myself.

ssm2009 wrote:All we do is shoot at paper for fun out to 500 yds.

Any help would be appreciated

I assume that your new rifle will be chambered in .204, but wanted to ask because that might impact some choices. In .204, I agree with most others that the LRPV would be my top choice.

If you were looking for something in a 6BR or larger, I'd seriously consider the new Benchrest model.

My vote is for the LRPV as well. They will flat out shoot tiny groups. A bit on the heavy side for a carry gun but for bench shooting and working in a prairie dog town it is perfect!

Thanks Guys! I really like everything I hear about the LRPV, but the ones with the thumbhole grip sure do look good. But looks don't make a bullet hit the X.

I would love a 6 BR, but I know absolutely nothing about reloading. With the 204, I can start with factory ammo, then get into reloading and fine tune my set up.

Thanks for the input, there is a wealth of knowledge on this site.


Is there anything you would have done to a LRPV by a gunsmith to improve on the accuracy further?

ssm2009

Don't think about it.....just buy the LRPV. -Dan

ssm2009 wrote:I would love a 6 BR, but I know absolutely nothing about reloading. With the 204, I can start with factory ammo, then get into reloading and fine tune my set up.

I believe that you can get some 6 BR factory loads, but they are more limited than .204 would be.

ssm2009 wrote:Is there anything you would have done to a LRPV by a gunsmith to improve on the accuracy further?

Honestly, if you're going to start tweaking something like an LRPV you may be just as well off buying a used custom rifle or getting something like a Cooper (though the LRPV can likely hold its own with either, especially with factory ammo). That's just my opinion though, so do what makes you happy.