I played with a 308 and 30/06. Barrel quality was very good looking with bore scope.
Fast lock time
Barrel free floated from the factory
Steel detachable magazine
Fantastic Recoil pad, limbsaver
Down side, plastic trigger guard
Actions are machined very, very true.
Barrels have some meat on them, like the 788's
I re sprung my trigger, nice 10 oz trigger now.
The 783's are better than average entry level guns.
If you like savages, you are going to think that you have died and gone to Heaven with a 783, especially if you have a bore scope. The actions are very impressive in how true they are machined, and the recoil lugs are perfectly flat on the ones that I have, like they have been ground with a surface grinder.
Re sale on entry level guns is low, and point of pride on entry level guns is low. For families on a budget, this is one of the best guns on the market, along with the TC Venture that is just about gone. I think that the 783 is a better gun than the Venture, in spades.