Savage Edge (Review)

I have had the .308 for a couple of months now and have done some mods. I took a turn and a half off the firing pin spring to make the bolt easier to cycle, took a turn off the sear spring and a turn off the trigger spring. Now I like it a lot more. The trigger pull is markedly improved, to the point where I am no longer considering a Rifle Basix unit. Not worried about warranty at this price. I do not recommend mods for this or any other gun, of course, since it doesn't always work out, but would like to hear from any other Edge owner who has done any mods in this regard.
 
Couldn't be easier. Hold the bolt carefully in a padded vise (or put it on a carpeted floor and stand on the bolt handle end just enough to hold it in place) while you undo the end cap using the correct size Allen wrench. It's imperial (good old USA manufacture), but I cannot quote the size without going to the shop. The firing pin needs to be in the uncocked position, which you can do by pressing down on the round cocking pin on the side of the bolt (using the edge of a wooden work bench or some other non marring edge) and rotating the bolt to release the firing pin mechanism.

Once the end cap is fully unscrewed, pull the spring out the end, remove the round cocking pin and tip the internals out. Mine had a fair bit of 'stuff' in it from the factory. I really did not like the amount of force needed to open the bolt (#### on open) so I did something rash and made some mods. Caveat emptor.
 
The last part of the bolt opening cycle is the hardest, as one is cocking the bolt at this point. With the bolt spring set at such a stiff compression rate, I personally found the gun almost coming out of my hands at times while opening the bolt. Either that or I just felt it required too much force to open the bolt. Just my opinion.

As for the bolt wanting to open seemingly on it's own, this is problematic when the chamber is empty, but not as much of an issue when there is a round in the chamber. I surmise the friction of cartridge on bolt face/in chamber is resisting this spring induced action of the bolt. My firing spring mod did seem to improve this odd behaviour in the Edge. Once you look at the sear mechanism and the round cocking pin, you will see why the bolt has a tendency to 'spring' open on it's own when cocked in the closed position (i.e. the bolt tries to 'roll off' the sear ramp on the round headed cocking pin!). It's an inherent design flaw IMHO. I can play in the shop, since I have a set of snap caps for my Edge 7mm-08. I never chamber a live round in the shop!! If you have any doubts whatsoever about any work on your gun, especially a modification, perhaps consider a gunsmith's advice or assistance.
 
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