Plenty of companies have been using MIM for a while at this point. Ruger has been doing it for ages, and their guns are priced way higher than Savage.
Yeah, I know, but even Ruger switched from making their 10/22 trigger guards from cast or MIM to plastic because they were getting too many warranty claims for broken trigger guards when owners dropped their rifle and the MIM parts shattered or cracked. Same deal with the trigger and hammer as they also were being far too often being sent back for warranty repair.
Ruger transitioned the 10/22 trigger guard housing from MIM, or metal injection molding to a fiber-reinforced polymer (plastic) design around 2007. The change was made to improve manufacturing tolerances and part durability. The actual trigger blade and hammer within the 10/22 assembly were also changed to polymer at the same time as he trigger guard or housing material was switched for the same reason. The barrel band and butt plate on the 10/22 rifle was also changed from metal to plastic as mostly for cost-saving measures but the cast metal barrel band was also found to crack when over tightened. Ruger has focused on optimizing material usage for specific applications, using more robust materials like forged steel for high-pressure components such as bolts and front trunnions, and using cast or MIM parts for components under less stress. While these changes generated some initial "outrage" from traditionalist gun owners, the polymer parts are functional, help keep the price down, and can be more consistent in dimension than some of the older metal cast parts.
Apparently they did the same with other MIM or cast metal parts on other guns to either plastic or forged over the years for the same reason.
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