I've got a relative who is ready to go smokeless and get a Savage. He says he will probably get the stainless/synthetic model. I only have experience with the laminated model. I would like to hear from some owners of the synthetic stock Savages and from those who have had experience with both the laminated version and the synthetic stocked models. Would he be better off going with the laminated model for only $58 more? I see where the synthetic version weighs 1# less than the laminated stock gun. Are there any other significant differences? What are the pros and cons of these two guns?
Savage laminated VS. synthetic
- Thread starter Nic_58
- Start date
Help Support Modern Muzzleloading Forum:
- Joined
- May 17, 2005
- Messages
- 4,940
- Reaction score
- 146
I would go with the laminated. If it wasnt that great of a shooter, bedding it would be easier and make it a better shooter.
I recently purchased the SS black synthetic. Most of my long guns are wood stocks and blued actions. I needed the ability to drag this gun through the woods in any weather. Several times this year it was raining and I wouldn't take the others out. However, the laminates are very sharp looking.
A
Anonymous
Guest
Nic_58 said:
Easily, not just for aesthetics, though the current darker 10ML-II laminate stock is very, very attractive.
On average, you can expect 1/4" tighter groups with a laminate vs. a synthetic.
You have better balance, less muzzle heavy feel.
The laminated version is noticeably softer shooting.
The laminated stock is quiter in the woods than the plastic.
Adding a recoil pad is easy with the laminate, compared to the synthetic.
For $58, it is a no-brainer.
I have tried both stocks with the same rifle. I have found that the polymer stock is almost exactly 1lb lighter. I like that. The rubber buttplate on the laminated version is softer. I like THAT. The polymer stock is COMPLETELY weather proof. I like that. The laminate is better looking and I like that BUT...you won't worry about hurting that composite stock so it's a wash there... As far as ACCURACY goes...using the same action and one laminate stock then one composite stock...I couldn't tell ANY accuracy difference whatsoever. As is usually the case, looks win here so I usually use the laminate stock! :wink:
- Joined
- Jul 16, 2005
- Messages
- 432
- Reaction score
- 1
I do wish that the Savage was a bit lighter for easier carrying and faster handling in the mountains, woods, and brushy thickets I hunt most of the time, removing weight from the stock doesn't help and, IMO, actually makes it more cumbersome. With the laminate stock, it already tends to be a tad barrel-heavy (slow to swing on a running target, hard on the left arm in prolonged offhand aiming, and almost wants to move toward a barrel-down position when carried on a sling); it is, IMO, significantly more barrel heavy with the synthetic stock. And the laminate certainly looks great! I couldn't be happier with my choice of stock.
P.S. I have no worries whatsoever about taking my laminate/SS 10ML out in damp weather or heavy rain. It has a GREAT finish, and I don't think it will absorb any water in the machined areas under the barrel and action.
P.S. I have no worries whatsoever about taking my laminate/SS 10ML out in damp weather or heavy rain. It has a GREAT finish, and I don't think it will absorb any water in the machined areas under the barrel and action.
As I stated in an earlier reply, I recently purchased the SS synthetic. I prefer wood, but the terrain in which I hunt is rugged and weather is less than ideal at times. The balance of the synthetic is a bit forward, but I anticipated this. I plan on making a few modifications to the synthetic which will lengthen the stock and add weight to the rear. If it wasn't for the conditions in which I hunt, the laminate would be my choice. Don't get me wrong, I am very please with the synthetic and it will serve my needs perfectly.
My first 10ml-2 was the synthetic stock My second one was HB#116 laminated stock. If i were to buy another Savage or any other model it would definetly be laminate or wood . Not only for looks but they are a lot easier to work with.
- Joined
- Jul 16, 2005
- Messages
- 432
- Reaction score
- 1
While I really would like my gun to stay looking like it just came out of the box, it is, first and foremost, a hunting tool. When I hunt, I do not ride in an ATV up to the bottom of an insulated shooting house on level ground and climb a set of stairs to an easy chair with a carpeted shooting bench overlooking a large food plot. Besides the fact that places like that hardly exist in the mountains of East Tennessee, and cost a fortune when they do, I just don't think I'm particularly interested in that style of "hunting."
For me, more often than not, hunting deer means hiking as many as a couple of miles over hundreds of feet of elevation change, climbing around boulders and rock slides, pushing my way through dense thickets of pine, sawbriar, saplings, and blackberry vines, wading creeks, and climbing trees in a bulky 30-pound climber stand that I carried on my back the whole way. If I kill a deer, I have to leave all my gear except my gun and drag the deer back the same way I came in.
All of that means that on occasion, I tumble off of a boulder, slide down an embankment, have to crawl across gravel, or bump gun and limbs into trees, rocks, or metal stands. I try to protect my gun as much as I can, but I'm not going to let my gun stand in the way of hunting. That makes about as much sense refusing to eat because you don't want to get your fork dirty.
I tripped a couple of times while draggin out my last deer, and one of the times my stock bounced HARD off of a rock shelf I was traversing, while the other time it whopped me in the back of the head before flopping into an abandone logging road with roots and rocks in it. After all of that and the rest of this hunting season, if I look really closely, I can see a slightly hazy mark about a half an inch long in the finish on the bottom of the stock between the trigger guard and the rear sling swivel stud (almost like the effect of putting Scotch tape on a window). Given all that I've put the rifle through, I'm amazed at how un-marked the stock still is. I think it's because the laminate is so hard and have no doubt that a plastic stock would have scratches or gouges in it that are absent from mine. I'm impressed and glad I went with the laminate.
For me, more often than not, hunting deer means hiking as many as a couple of miles over hundreds of feet of elevation change, climbing around boulders and rock slides, pushing my way through dense thickets of pine, sawbriar, saplings, and blackberry vines, wading creeks, and climbing trees in a bulky 30-pound climber stand that I carried on my back the whole way. If I kill a deer, I have to leave all my gear except my gun and drag the deer back the same way I came in.
All of that means that on occasion, I tumble off of a boulder, slide down an embankment, have to crawl across gravel, or bump gun and limbs into trees, rocks, or metal stands. I try to protect my gun as much as I can, but I'm not going to let my gun stand in the way of hunting. That makes about as much sense refusing to eat because you don't want to get your fork dirty.
I tripped a couple of times while draggin out my last deer, and one of the times my stock bounced HARD off of a rock shelf I was traversing, while the other time it whopped me in the back of the head before flopping into an abandone logging road with roots and rocks in it. After all of that and the rest of this hunting season, if I look really closely, I can see a slightly hazy mark about a half an inch long in the finish on the bottom of the stock between the trigger guard and the rear sling swivel stud (almost like the effect of putting Scotch tape on a window). Given all that I've put the rifle through, I'm amazed at how un-marked the stock still is. I think it's because the laminate is so hard and have no doubt that a plastic stock would have scratches or gouges in it that are absent from mine. I'm impressed and glad I went with the laminate.
I will be buying one shortly and was leaning towards the SS/SYN because of the one pound weight difference.
I handled both at the Gun Store the other day and found;
The Lam is purdier but the Syn is Beauty as well.
The Syn was more front heavy.
The Lam Stock was a bit larger overall but better balanced.
The Lam seems to have a lot going for it but that one pound of extra weight keeps tugging at me.
Decisions,decisions,don't you just love it ??
I handled both at the Gun Store the other day and found;
The Lam is purdier but the Syn is Beauty as well.
The Syn was more front heavy.
The Lam Stock was a bit larger overall but better balanced.
The Lam seems to have a lot going for it but that one pound of extra weight keeps tugging at me.
Decisions,decisions,don't you just love it ??
There's no doubt about it, the Savage laminated is a HEAVY gun for sure. But, that weight is not all bad, you'll appreciate it when bench shooting heavy loads! You might notice that extra weight if you carry your gun a lot instead of stand hunting.Bwana said:
- Joined
- Jul 16, 2005
- Messages
- 432
- Reaction score
- 1
That's what I would've done for sure, if it had been an option this summer!
Or you can do what others have done - buy the tupperware model and order a custom laminate from boyds brothers http://www.boydboys.com/ or richards stocks- http://www.rifle-stocks.com/sporter_hunting_styles.htm If you like thumbhole or target style stocks this is the best option to have both...Richards now has a lightweight laminate thats about a pound lighter than the regular- that would make it close to the tupperware stock weight....Even though its heavy- I like the laminate I got from Boyds 
Rick
Rickpicked my savage up in 04, didnt have a choice of stocks because i was price shopping,ended up with the synthetic/stainless open site,no accutrigger. the stock was usable but marginal. after looking at a bedding job to correct the shortcomings i was looking at the cabelas page and they had a close out on a bell and carlson synthetic for 90 bucks so i went that route. its not a terrible unit[factory synthetic] but if the price differentials we're seeing now are on the money id go with the lam stock
Similar threads
