Remington 700 Varmint .308 or Savage 11 .308

[XC700116]

Here's what I have in mind for either of them. These will be incremental upgrades. Also, the club I belong to only has a 600 yard range so I wont be shooting 1k yards all the time. I just want the capability for when I have the opportunity.

McCree's Precision folding stock
Timney trigger. (Savage model is cheaper)
EGW 20 MOA base (Maybe Badger instead)
Bushnell Extreme Tactical Rings (I own them already)
Nikon Buckmaster 6-18SF target turrets (I own already but will upgrade down the road)
Harris Bipod and Caldwell rests (I own them already)
Possible cut down and threading of the barrel.

Am I missing anything? The listed parts above are available for both of the manufacturers. If I were to base the rifle on looks, the Remington would win, hands down.

With that list I'd lean toward the Remington. There's just more options out there for everything and if you decide on a different stock / chassis later on its easier to sell the first one ect. That and there's more smiths out there that already swim in the Remington pool.

[BPTactical]

I have both, and both are good guns out-of-the-box. It is hard to say if the R700 will be a consistent 1k gun out of the box, probably not.
Most X-mark trigger are not great, but neither are Accu-triggers.
Both will need good stocks and both may need trigger work and a high-end barrel to create a consistant.
A lot of people buy an off the shelf (Dick's/Gander/etc) Remington and throw everything but the action itself in the junk box.
Remington will benefit from "truing and blueprinting" Savages don't usually need this, but can benefit from a little love on the action.
Remington are great for tinkerers because their is tons of parts and upgrades for them.

Unfortunately there is no cheap way to get into LR shooting, if you're really interested you should plan on where you want to end up and don't start cheap.
Don't forget glass, bipods, bags, spotters, LRF, ballistic computers, databooks, shooting mats, match ammo, etc, etc, etc...
If you are really looking to get into long range you may want to build something from scratch, or buy from someone who is upgrading or bored with LR shooting.

I don't want to discourage you at all, long range shooting is fun! But you should be ready for the long haul and big paycheck.
Not to mention if you get hooked, all bets are off! You will quick be considering $2000-$3000 scopes....

Good words on the subject here^^^^
Face the reality, if you are new to the distance game both will serve you well.
Out of the box either will out shoot 98% of the shooters out there.
Remington has the advantage of being the "Small block Chevy" of the bolt guns, more aftermarket goodies available and you can go from mild to wild.
Barrel changes require a 'Smith.
Savage has the advantage of a floating bolt head, which will cover a few sins from the factory. You can also change the bolt handle easily.
Barrel swaps are simple for the average shooter, making caliber changes easy.

If you go Remmy, check the receiver for true scope mount holes, they will wander from time to time.

A good aftermarket stock and bedding, a good trigger, good crown, lap the lugs and decent glass will serve you very well on either platform.
Learn to shoot it and then only make upgrades that you will benefit from. I have watched more than a few folks spend a chunk of money only to feel it was money poorly spent, they never learned to shoot the rifle correctly and did not appreciate the finer things.

[husky390]

If you go Remmy, check the receiver for true scope mount holes, they will wander from time to time.

Thanks for the tip. Stupid question, but can you tell that just by eye balling it?

[BPTactical]

Usually yes, sight down the rifle from the buttstock (the farther you can back off the better) any misalignment is apparent.