I have the 243 SPS Varmint. My boss bought the Savage M10 Predator in 243. He slapped a scope on his and started shooting tight groups out of the box. I started with 5" groups at 100yds, bedded the forearm and steel reinforced it. Duracoated it to prevent the never ending rust, replaced the self adjusting Xmark trigger and factory bolt knob(mostly for looks) and did endless load work to get where he started. My $500 SPS plus another $400 worth of work finally acheived what his out of the box predator did, plus he bought a barrel wrench and a vise and built his second one in 260 that shoots just as well with no problems at all. I'll end up paying a smith to rebarrel mine when it's time. I don't like the looks of the Savage as much as my Remington. I don't think the resale will be as high as my Remington. If things at Remington don't soon change, this will be my last Remington and my next purchase will likely be a Savage model 10 something or other I build myself. If you don't feel like doing a bunch of work, I'd suggest Savage. If you want to change calibers or think you'll shoot out the barrel, I'd go Savage. If you want to build from the ground up and end up throwing away everything but the action and bolt, buy one of the new Remingtons, or better yet, find an old 700 VS, mountain rifle, or older model 7 that Remington hasn't had a chance to "improve" yet and enjoy a fine rifle the way they use to be made.