I saw something on a Savage bolt gun a couple of weeks ago that gave me pause. A pal of mine had his HB target model, at the range, and it was misfiring. There was absolutely no firing pin mark on the primers. Hmm, okay, give me the bolt, I'll take it home and run it through the ultrasonic, maybe its gummed up inside. I've never stripped a Savage bolt before and found it to be a straight forward affair. But the steel seemed prone to rust, on recesses on the bolt body, which doesn't matter, and around the edge of the bolt face which could, but the build up was cosmetic in nature and certainly didn't cause the problem. The firing pin and spring were shiny and clean and free of any sign of corrosion or any old grease, dust or dirt which might have impacted negatively upon its reliability.
What I did find was a potential for trouble that for me would take the Savage off the table as a wilderness protection rifle. At the front of the bolt body is a blued cross pin which floats freely in the hole drilled through the bolt body. There is a small hole drilled through this pin, which the firing pin passes through, and so the firing pin is intended to keep the cross pin in place. In the case of my pal's rifle, the blueing was worn from one side of the firing pin, suggesting that the cross pin had moved slightly out of line, and that the friction this created was enough to rob enough energy from the firing pin strike, that the rifle wouldn't fire. I got it cleaned up, put a skim of Lubriplate on the firing pin, and the cross bolt, and got it back to him.
I know there are many Savage enthusiasts out there, who are going to say that they have never experienced a problem with their rifles, and that's great. On the range or for a few days in the woods deer hunting each season, a rifle isn't typically exposed to harsh conditions, and regular maintenance will keep it in good condition and working in a trouble free manner. But Savage has marketed the Alaskan Bush Rifle as a low cost wilderness hunting and protection rifle. Given the challenging conditions of wilderness work, the logic of choosing a low cost rifle is not without merit. But these rifles can be exposed to pretty tough conditions for weeks at at time. While the knowledgeable gun owner does what he can to prevent rust and undue damage to his rifle, there are quite a few working in the back country who need a rifle but aren't enthusiasts by any stretch, and are not prone to giving their rifles and special consideration. These are going to be the guys who'll probably choose the Savage, and won't be reading this in anyway.
In the case of the Savage bolt, the potential for problems occuring under harsh conditions as a result of that free floating cross pin being out of position could prove very serious. If I carried one, I would make a point of stripping that bolt every night, wiping it clean and relubing it. Even so, if you are out in freezing rain turning to snow, and that cross pin freezes in place by low temperature or from a light skim of rust while exerting pressure to one side of the firing pin, you could be in trouble if you need that rifle to save you. "Not likely!" says you. Well the day my pal's rifle wouldn't work it was sunny and 20 degrees, and his rifle was in good maintained condition. Today its -6, warming up to zero with a chance of freezing rain and snow; how confident do you think I'd be packing a Savage bolt gun? So when you see me out out on the coast doing bear work, I'll be packing a rifle made by Brno, Winchester, Mauser, or Ruger.
