I agree. The savage is ugly to some people because of the barrel nut, and the bolt supposedly feels sloppier. Well the bolt in my remington feels pretty sloppy too. It doesnt really matter though as long as it feeds reliably and locks up tight. I have had both, and i dont think a remington is a "better" gun, but its nicer looking, has a better factory trigger, and i like the safety location better than the savage. If money is tight, id buy the savage on sale for less than $300 and spend the rest on a good leupold scope. I had a savage in 7 rem mag and it the recoil was nasty, not really due to the caliber, but due to a totally insufficient recoil pad. A better recoil pad can always be installed later. I would look at some of these things when you look at the rifles. Pick them up and see what stock feels better to you when you shoulder the rifle. Check out the safety. Lots of people really like the winchester three position safety, i cant stand it. Wal mart should have some buys on a winchester in the same price range as the remington. If it was me id probably buy a remington, maybe waiting until i found a nice used one i really liked, with a good leupold 3x9 or similar already on it if the price was right.