I resisted them for a while.
For me at the time I looked at them, I wanted the lightest trimmest factory rifle I could get. In 308.
Knowing that the Tikka action was sized to fit long action cartridges, and holding it side by side with a Model Seven, the Model Seven action just seemed so much more efficient. And I prefer an internal mag and floor plate. My model seven doesn’t feed anywhere near as smooth as that single stack Tikka mag.
I also didn’t care for their proprietary scope rail weirdness. Who would want that in the age of the pic rail? With Sportsmatch rings or UM options that are out now, that’s a non-issue.
Now my views have changed a bit. The advantages of the improved reliability, consistent barrels, excellent trigger, etc. all combine to be what I think is the best rifle available under $2000. It’s not perfect. But I think you would need to spend well over $2k to get something significantly better.
Like other mentioned, I have had some old CRFs that feel amazing, and I have used several Defiance actions that felt amazing when clean and run carefully. The Defiance can take some muscling when it gets dirty. We had a gunsmith mount new barrels and at the same time, he did some action work on the defiance, now they are slick as a Tikka. But that’s a $4,500 rifle we are comparing now.
Savage is far worse on the slop.
Just get used to the idea that the slop contributes to the ease of feeding. The other advantages all outweigh the bit of slop you feel, which by the way is usually at the rear of the bolt travel, where it really doesn’t matter.
What actions have " no slop" and aren't too tight and crud up easy like some customs do that feel nice at home, but a little pinch of dust or a pine needle getting in some of them can lock them up.
