Anyone bought a new Savage lately?

They're not crap because they have some fouling the bore. That's normal.

They're crap because they now seem to cost the same as firearms with nearly twice the quality.

Oh, they can shoot.

I have owned 6 of them and they each had factory defects which ranged from defective trigger to the receiver needed to be shimmed just to get on paper to Savage skipping the vibratory tumbling part of the bluing process leaving the rifle covered in the brown oxide which I had to manually buff off.

They have really bad finish on their bolt faces - even their $2500 rifles that I've looked at.

Their bluing is always poor. Look at it with a flashlight - CHEAP.

Extractor problems or extractors who's springs need to be replaced with one from a bic pen to work correctly...

Cheaply designed extractor and bolt - no simple takedown with a twist like many others.

The very design of the receiver is to be made as cheaply as possible rather than to be as functional as possible, round, no integrated recoil lug, barrel nut, etc

Why when you can have a receiver made from a block of solid steel rather than bar stock with a more stable square bottom and an integrated recoil lug and no unsightly barrel nut for the same price?

The stocks are flexy and cheap.

The cast bolt handle just reeks of quality with the seam right on it and the different colour/tone than the rest of the rifle!

So many of them need work right out of the box (6 for 6 in my case). Now, someone else might not have known that they needed work - they may not know enough about firearms to know that.

I think that's the demographic that Savage targets so to speak.

At the shot show, Savage was bragging about their manufacturing process and how a human only interact with each rifle for a couple of minutes. That about says it all folks!

I can think of a dozen other rifles I'd rather own in the Savage's respective price points that exhibit better quality control, design, and materiel!
 
Last edited:
alberta boy said:
they're not crap because they have some fouling the bore. That's normal.

They're crap because they now seem to cost the same as firearms with nearly twice the quality.

Oh, they can shoot.

I have owned 6 of them and they each had factory defects which ranged from defective trigger to the receiver needed to be shipped just to get on paper to savage skipping the vibratory tumbling part of the bluing process leaving the rifle covered in the brown oxide which i had to manually buff off.

They have really bad finish on their bolt faces - even their $2500 rifles that i've looked at.

Their bluing is always poor. Look at it with a flashlight - cheap.

Extractor problems or extractors who's springs need to be replaced with one from a bic pen to work correctly...

Cheaply designed extractor and bolt - no simple takedown with a twist like many others.

The very design of the receiver is to be made as cheaply as possible rather than to be as functional as possible, round, no integrated recoil lug, barrel nut, etc

why when you can have a receiver made from a block of solid steel rather than bar stock with a more stable square bottom and an integrated recoil lug and no unsightly barrel nut for the same price?

The stocks are flexy and cheap.

The cast bolt handle just reeks of quality with the seam right on it and the different colour/tone than the rest of the rifle!

So many of them need work right out of the box (6 for 6 in my case). Now, someone else might not have known that they needed work - they may not know enough about firearms to know that.

I think that's the demographic that savage targets so to speak.

At the shot show, savage was bragging about their manufacturing process and how a human only interact with each rifle for a couple of minutes. That about says it all folks!

I can think of a dozen other rifles i'd rather own in the savage's respective price points that exhibit better quality control, design, and materiel!
Click to expand...

ouch!!
 
Picked up a 243 trophy XP hunter youth with the weaver scope for my wife and daugher in October - ran a couple patched through it before the first range trip and they came out clean - I was able to cover my 9th, 10th and 11th shot of cheap federal blue box 100gr with a quarter and 100 - I guess it will kill a deer. no problems here...
 
I haven't seen a Savage yet that isn't accurate, but the fit and finish is horrible!!! Magazine issues, feeding issues, nothing is fitted properly... with some work they can be OK rifles. I just prefer a little more refinement and class in a rifle, and a stock that fits the action, and a magazine that fits and feeds the rifle smoothly. By the time I would have a Savage tweaked and smoothed, I should have just purchased a quality rifle to begin with!
 
ALBERTA BOY said:
They're not crap because they have some fouling the bore. That's normal.

They're crap because they now seem to cost the same as firearms with nearly twice the quality.

Oh, they can shoot.

I have owned 6 of them and they each had factory defects which ranged from defective trigger to the receiver needed to be shimmed just to get on paper to Savage skipping the vibratory tumbling part of the bluing process leaving the rifle covered in the brown oxide which I had to manually buff off.

They have really bad finish on their bolt faces - even their $2500 rifles that I've looked at.

Their bluing is always poor. Look at it with a flashlight - CHEAP.

Extractor problems or extractors who's springs need to be replaced with one from a bic pen to work correctly...

Cheaply designed extractor and bolt - no simple takedown with a twist like many others.

The very design of the receiver is to be made as cheaply as possible rather than to be as functional as possible, round, no integrated recoil lug, barrel nut, etc

Why when you can have a receiver made from a block of solid steel rather than bar stock with a more stable square bottom and an integrated recoil lug and no unsightly barrel nut for the same price?

The stocks are flexy and cheap.

The cast bolt handle just reeks of quality with the seam right on it and the different colour/tone than the rest of the rifle!

So many of them need work right out of the box (6 for 6 in my case). Now, someone else might not have known that they needed work - they may not know enough about firearms to know that.

I think that's the demographic that Savage targets so to speak.

At the shot show, Savage was bragging about their manufacturing process and how a human only interact with each rifle for a couple of minutes. That about says it all folks!

I can think of a dozen other rifles I'd rather own in the Savage's respective price points that exhibit better quality control, design, and materiel!
Click to expand...

What in your opinion is quality rifle worth purchasing?
 
What in your opinion is quality rifle worth purchasing?
Click to expand...

In my opinion, there are many.

It depends on your budget. For a lifetime hunting rifle, I would recommend the Winchester M70. conical breech face, controlled round feed, giant external extractor. Incredible fit and finish for the money.

The Browning X-bolt is a quality rifle for the money.

So is the Mark V.

If your budget is tighter, at the $550 mark, the Vanguard S2 is really good. The quality control is apparent in these rifles. The fit and finish matches firearms at twice the price point.

They are very accurate and present possibly the best value today in firearms.

There's not a piece of plastic in them anywhere except the stock if you buy synthetic. The bolt design is wonderful with a great claw extractor. Need to take down the bolt after being out in the rain? Grab the bolt shroud and twist clockwise to remove it and the firing pin from the one piece bolt body. No cast bolt handle. Very good trigger. Pressure point at front of barrel means stock will not flex and change POI when using a sling as a support.

There are many other options, of course.

In my opinion, Savage should be at the very bottom of any list.
 
ALBERTA BOY said:
Savage rifles are garbage. Even their $2500 rifles have the same crap finish and bolt face.
Click to expand...

Then you've obviously never owned one, and are proving your name right. A cheapo Savage package gun was the first rifle I bought when I got back into hunting 8 years ago. .30-06, no AccuTrigger. I did a little bit of trigger work on it, breaks clean and crisp, and accurate as all get out. Still my go-to hunting rifle every year, even though I've got Remington, Weatherby, and Marlin in the cabinet in hunting calibers. Aside from issues with non-loctited scope mounts when new, it has never let me down.

For the OP, Savage does test fire their rifles at the factory, and when I did the break-in on mine, I pulled a lot of crap out until I got to about 50 rounds or so... went through BAGS of patches. Now, a good scrub and half a dozen patches and she's all shiny and good.

Savage makes some of the most accurate rifles for your dollar. They are not pretty, they do exactly what they're intended to do, and they do it well, every time.
 
I have owned 6 starting with one of those 111 Packages. It was the one where they forgot to throw it in the vibratory tumbler. I sold it here on the EE (under my original screen name) and the buyer was really happy - because it took a TON of rehab to get the damn thing to reasonable condition. I put in those hours and $$$ so don't tell me they're not crap.

I've had one with an accutrigger where the safety sear block would trip just by closing the bolt hard as set from the factory. I had to adjust it to maximum weight just to prevent that from happening and even then it still happened sometimes. The accutrigger isn't really a great trigger. It's just designed so that when it fails, it does so in a less dangerous manger so that the user can lighten it to levels that are unsafe in any other rifle and still have it not go 'boom'. It's about liability, not about having a great trigger. I would love to have the Elk I've been hunting for in my sights after a long hard hunt only to find that the trigger has locked up! A quick google search revealed a lot of people with the same problem...

Someone mentioned the 'Axis'. Mine had the receiver warped and was impossible to zero from the factory. I had to shim the rear base three times to even get on paper. Great quality control.

Oh, it would also decock itself all the time. Savage issued a recall for that but the two springs they put in the bolt were no better than the original factory spring. Obviously this was a well designed and tested bolt!

Savage rifles are bagbage. Those who like them, simply don't know them.
 
I find it amusing you call them garbage but seem to like buying them. 6? Nobody out there is mass-producing rifles without some quality control issues. Remington seems to be having the hardest time lately, and Marlin since Big Green took them over. Unless you're buying a $2000+ custom-built rifle, there will always be the odd clunker. If you've had problems, that's unfortunate, but if they truly were the junk you claim they are, they wouldn't keep selling them, and Savage would have to stop making them. They do not pretend or claim to be pristinely finished showpieces.

New rifles have a warranty; why would you not take advantage of that, or better yet, stop buying them, or check them over better before buying them? A warped receiver? How could you not notice that, or not have problems running the bolt or firing it if that were the case? The hundreds of rave reviews in the industry about the AccuTrigger have a different view than you do- and how many manufacturers have since copied that design? Imitation is the greatest form of flattery.

A coworker, who like me is also a firearms instructor, routinely uses his trusty ol' Savage in 7mm-08 to bag his moose, elk and deer every year, and still hasn't replaced the original Simmons scope on it. Garbage implies lack of utility. Savage are inexpensive utility rifles. Jeeps, not Cadillacs.

I'll take a Savage over a Remington, Marlin or Mossberg bolt action any day, thanks very much.
 
I did stop buying them. Because of their almost fanatical fanboy reputation, I thought I kept getting rare lemons. I finally had to give up after those 6 turds.

I thought about trying to polish up that accu-trigger which would trip even on the highest pull weight but you know what? The trigger components aren't even hardened all the way through. Another example of extremely cheap workmanship. Cost cutting at every possible opportunity.

This wouldn't be so bad if they were priced right and you wanted to gamble. They're just not priced that much lower than firearms which have obviously superior design and quality control.

Oh yeah, one of them had the holes drilled for the bases about 15 degrees off. Impossible to mount a scope!

Savage is about many things. Quality of design and QC is simply not one of them.

What was the other one? Oh yeah, wouldn't feed a single round from the magazine. I had to bend the feed lips until I got it working. Q-U-A-L-I-T-Y

A warped receiver? How could you not notice that, or not have problems running the bolt or firing it if that were the case?
Click to expand...

Are you serious? It's easy to run the bolt. It's only warped enough to require a few shims. It's not bent like a banana. You can't see it with a cursory examination.

I'll take a Savage over a Remington, Marlin or Mossberg bolt action any day, thanks very much
Click to expand...

You'll note that I didn't list any of those brands as alternatives ;)
 
ALBERTA BOY said:
In my opinion, there are many.

It depends on your budget. For a lifetime hunting rifle, I would recommend the Winchester M70. conical breech face, controlled round feed, giant external extractor. Incredible fit and finish for the money.

The Browning X-bolt is a quality rifle for the money.

So is the Mark V.

If your budget is tighter, at the $550 mark, the Vanguard S2 is really good. The quality control is apparent in these rifles. The fit and finish matches firearms at twice the price point.

They are very accurate and present possibly the best value today in firearms.

There's not a piece of plastic in them anywhere except the stock if you buy synthetic. The bolt design is wonderful with a great claw extractor. Need to take down the bolt after being out in the rain? Grab the bolt shroud and twist clockwise to remove it and the firing pin from the one piece bolt body. No cast bolt handle. Very good trigger. Pressure point at front of barrel means stock will not flex and change POI when using a sling as a support.

There are many other options, of course.

In my opinion, Savage should be at the very bottom of any list.
Click to expand...

I think my model 14 American is a heck of a nice rifle plus it is in 250 Savage, not a lot of selection in this caliber. FS
 
Yup, they're usually pretty accurate, and that's where it ends. Nothing else is positive. My current list of Savages consists of one 17 HMR that wears shims and Millett Angle Loc rings because the rear base screw holes were drilled canted. It rests in the aluminum bed box in my truck, much too comfy of a place for that POS.
I sent an email to 2 Savage factory repair facilities in Canada, no reply from either. Awesome customer service, as expected. I guess you can't really expect more from a $250 prybar.
 
I currently own two savage rifles (a cheap fxcp3 in 300 wm but update the scope to a swarovski 4-12x56 and a 12vlp in 22-250 with a bushnell 4200 6-24x50 tactical) as well as other remingtons, winchesters,and browning rifles.
I honestly can't say I've noticed any of the design and quality control flaws that have been mentioned on here by a few posters. The savages and remingtons are the most accurate of my rifles with the two winchesters be the least accurate...I've never had a feed issue with any bolt action of any brand or an extraction failure (and in my early days of reloading i have had the bolt on my 8mm rem mag so stuck from overloading that I used a non-rebound hammer to open the action) but still no damage and it did extract once I was able to open the bolt.....I've had one miss fire in over 40 years of hunting and that was with the remington 700 bdl in 8mm rem. mag and it was in -40 weather and caused by to much lube on the firing pin.
I honestly don't see why some seem to see a need to run a savage or remington into the ground...from my experience they work and they work good, plus are reasonable in price. Not saying there is anything wrong with anything else ...in the future will get a cooper 56 in 7 stw but I doubt I will see four times the advantage to it. And I certainly will not be running down lesser priced offerings.
Well thats just my experience after 40+years of hunting...your experience may vary.
In the meantime for those just starting out my advice is to not limit your options by the opinions of a few!
 
ALBERTA BOY said:
I thought about trying to polish up that accu-trigger which would trip even on the highest pull weight but you know what? The trigger components aren't even hardened all the way through. Another example of extremely cheap workmanship. Cost cutting at every possible opportunity.

This wouldn't be so bad if they were priced right and you wanted to gamble. They're just not priced that much lower than firearms which have obviously superior design and quality control.


So your complaint is that the accu trigger worked exactly as described? Opening and closing the bolt re-sets the accutrigger
Click to expand...
 
ALBERTA BOY said:
Savage rifles are bagbage. Those who like them, simply don't know them.
Click to expand...

Now that is a pretty broad statement there for a fellow who brags about knowing everything bad about the Savage rifle, yet your recommendations betray your actual lack of broad firearms knowledge to the point where your prejudices become your reality and fact. Particularly your statement about not knowing them.

I own several rifles, including my Predator Max1. With the bullets I use, neither my Weatherby S2, my Remington or a Weatherby SubMoa (a shooting buddy at the range) or a Thompson could out shoot it. My rifle has the accu-stock, accu-trigger a fine medium barrel and the action is smooth. The two magazines I own have functioned flawlessly in over 130 rounds (yes, I count).

You can believe what you like. Hey, this is the internet - so you can spew whatever you like. The garbage, in my opinion, is your editorialized opinion pertaining to all Savage rifles being garbage.

And yes, I can quite easily make it to the SGGC on any warmer weekend. Feel free to name a time and date, and I'll be more than happy to demonstrate my Savage as a superior shooter.
 
Well, I am not particularly enamored with Savage rifles, either.
I own two, but there is not much left of the original Savage in either of them.

New barrels, replacement stocks and triggers, actions tuned by a good smith.

In their original form, they were just so-so rifles. They were not inaccurate, but not excitingly accurate either.
I have at least 4 factory Remingtons, Plus a couple of Vanguards, that would shoot circles around them.

One of mine is now a 6BR, the other is wearing an old 40X barrel rechambered to 225 Winchester.
Both are plenty accurate now.

But they are utilitarian rifles, and many really like them.
I believe Savage rifles will continue to have a fairly steady, loyal following.

I just don't fit into that class.

Regards, Eagleye.
 
My two main choices or preferences in bolt action rifles are:D #1, Schultz & Larsen and 2nd,:) Husqvarna. Can't say I've got any real burning desire to purchase a 2nd Savage but back to my post #18, I am pleased with the price and performance of the one I presently have and will quite likely hang on to it:).
 
I own a Savage rimfire bolt in 22 WMR, all the rest went down the road. I saw not point spending more on them to make them "nice" rifles to end up with a rifle that is still only worth $250. I would rather spend that cash at tradex.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom