Reliability of Savage push-feed extractor ?

[davemuzz]

Negative? I was attempting to answer the question. I absolutely love my Savages. They will be handed down to my Son when I pass from this earth!!

And I will acquire more!!!

However, should I be in a position to ever hunt a dangerous African game animal, I can assure you that my weapon of choice will not be a Savage. Unless Savage comes out with a control round feed and factory trued & timed actions....or factory built doubles.

But I think if that happens, the words "Savage, Accuracy, and Affordable" will no longer appear in the same sentence.

Dave

[Stu]

Not negativity just an honest answer. I like my Savage's. That doesn't mean it's the right choice in every situation...I would'nt choose it as a CQB rifle either.

[Con]

Unless Savage comes out with a control round feed and factory trued & timed actions....or factory built doubles.


That's the crux of it ... if selecting factory rifles you don't have the option of trued/timed components. If you converted a Stevens 200 from 300WinMag to 458WinMag using an A&B barrel ... I bet you it'd function better than an out of the box CZ550 in 458WinMag ... unless the CZ was fed solids exclusively.

On the balance of experience ... I've had more 'factory' CRFs have trouble feeding then PFs. Extraction has been near faultless, the only issue being a tight 223Rem case in a Savage 110. My stuff up due to not FL sizing. I did have a Stevens 200 fail to feed ... but I'd replaced the magazine follower in backwards. ;D
Cheers...
Con

[King Ghidora]

This isn't the only criticism I've seen of Savages on this board. I've seen criticism of the Accutriggers also. Again I've only rarely had feed issues with my 110 and they aren't really enough to prevent me from trusting this rifle for the dangerous critters that populate my yard. I don't need to go to Africa to confront them. I have to worry about confronting them every time I open my front door. I've never had a problem with either of my Savages with AT's either.

After I posted last night I worked the action on my 110 just to see if it would have problems feeding and I couldn't get it to have a single feeding issue or an extraction issue. I will admit that my 12 does have extraction issues but that's almost entirely due to me working the bolt slow. I get it in my head not to work the bolt hard when pushing a round because of the light trigger pull and I find myself pulling rounds out slowly too and that doesn't work very well. Still my target AT has never failed to work perfectly and I keep it set to the lowest pull setting.

I know there are Savage fans here. I just seem to trust them more than some here I think from what I've read. I could probably count on one hand the number of times my 110 has had a feed issue and I've shot a lot of rounds through it. And I bought it used. It's an early 90's model too. I can say I'm not sure I'd like having an AT on a gun that I would use to face a dangerous animal. I could see slamming the bolt hard in a panic causing the sear block to engage. But again my 110 doesn't have the AT.

I understand that a gun designed to work every time no matter what is a better choice. I just happen to think my 110 is good enough. It's been very rare for it to have a problem. So I see no reason not to trust it. I understand and appreciate people wanting to be truthful. That's what I'm doing too. I don't mean to insult anyone. It's just a little odd because most boards dedicated to a brand don't have a lot of critics on the board. Having the 110 is largely a matter of defense against bear for me. I wouldn't want it if I didn't trust it. It's a heck of a lot of rifle IMO and it's worthy of my trust.

[efm77]

Mine are a little weak on ejection and could probably use a stronger spring under the plunger but other than that no problems. However, I have not had the same experiences with CRF's that you guys have but have never owned a CZ either. All of my Rugers and Winchesters are CRF and have never failed in any way shape or form. They have been utterly reliable and I would trust them. Can't say the same for the Remingtons that I no longer own.

[Don - LongRangeSupply]

Savages account for 90 percent of my bolt guns. They are my number one choice for big game, varmint and target shooting out to 2000 yards.

That being said, I would not consider for one second taking a Savage bolt gun after dangerous game, two legged or four.
Two legged, it is going to be one of my semi autos that simply have never jammed - Colt AR15 M4 style, a Springfield / Imbel FAL and an Armscorp M14 built on GI parts.

African type dangerous game, it is going to be a proven gun of some type like a pre 64 winchester type action or a mauser, or a double gun.

[King Ghidora]

That being said, I would not consider for one second taking a Savage bolt gun after dangerous game

I'll tell you what. If you lived with dangerous game in the yard like I do I'm betting you would be willing to use something - anything for protection even if you couldn't spend the thousands it takes to get a double gun. Maybe if I had come across a Mauser or a pre-64 Winchester when I had the money I might own one now. But I have chosen my guns for different reasons I suppose and I have no problem trusting my 110 in .30-06 on the dangerous game I encounter on a regular basis.

As I said before I usually choose something that isn't quite as likely to kill my neighbors half a mile down the road or more but if I had a perfect shot down in the gulley where I do my target shooting and I wanted to take out a dangerous bear I'd pick up the Savage first time every time. Maybe I haven't owned as many as some but I know my 110 is almost certainly going to work because it was worked a very high percentage of the time.

But as I said I trust my 12 ga. with K.O. slugs for all the dangerous game in my area. Maybe they should have stipulated African game because I don't think I have an elephant gun and I don't believe Savage makes one. But we certainly have dangerous game here including bear, cougar and bobcat. I would trust my 110 .30-06 on any of those animals. But when I take the garbage down the hill after dark I carry my trusty Pardner Pump Protector loaded with 7 K.O. slugs. Still if I had the perfect safe shot at a dangerous bear I would probably pick up the Savage.

[davemuzz]

But when I take the garbage down the hill after dark I carry my trusty Pardner Pump Protector loaded with 7 K.O. slugs. Still if I had the perfect safe shot at a dangerous bear I would probably pick up the Savage.


Having the safety of your house to return to should you wound something that is going to come back and eat you, vs having the safety of returning to a tent is a whole lot different.

I'll take the rifle that is specifically made for dangerous game. Thanks.

Dave

[King Ghidora]

Yeah but my house is not exactly close to where I put the garbage cans. A bear would have plenty of time to catch me if it wanted. Plus I have a sliding glass door and I'm pretty sure it isn't bear proof. Plus I also have a farm that's 20 miles away and there are bears there too. But I can't take the Pardner there loaded to the gills so I either take my 870 with the same slugs or I take the Savage but mostly I take my Smith 629 .44 magnum.

[762X51]

In general, my pushfeeds have been more reliable (feeding) than my CRFs.

I realize that this is an old post but WOW!... I NEVER thought I'd read a sentence like that. Please understand I'm not questioning your experience and I'm now incredibly curious and I must know more. Please expound on that statement; what CRF rifles have fed less reliably than a push feed Savage? Were they commercial sporting rifles or military rifles converted to other calibers. I'm a huge CRF fan but you may have me questioning my loyalty. I've just never had good luck with push feed rifles no matter the make...always seems to be either some feeding problem, extracting problem, ejecting problem ,or any combination of the prior.

[ellobo]

It seems this posting has rambled all over the place. Even Fred Moreo is sceptical of the Savage extractor or ejector as he stated in a recent post reply. Dangerous game. This thread was supposed to cover that dangerous game that are hunted on purpose, not accidently. In which I will reiterate, I wouldnt use a Savage push feed. The only truly dangerous game here in New Hampshire are wild /Russian boars or large black bear. 20 yrs ago or therabouts a guy shot a Russian boar that weighed dressed 568 lbs. It took 8 .308 slugs to down it. On the other hand, last year over in Maine, a 14 yr old girl killed a 500+ lb boar with one shot from a .243. Go figure. Those boars will charge you if they see or wind you, but they are few and far between here. And, dont get between a 1000 male bull moose and his harem. I had one step towards me and tear up some shrubbery as a warning. I vacated the area.

El Lobo

[stangfish]

my push feed always works on 3am wild game


I thought we were on a family forum!!?? ;D

[jonbearman]

I have had failure to extract just a couple times in my life.Now if you want to throw stones,my remingtons have failed to eject more than the 6 savages I have.As a matter of fact I have had no failure to extract using reasonable loads since going savage several years ago. The savages eject more positively than any of my remmys. I wouldnt think twice about using any of my six savage 100 series rifles om anything that walks.IMHO , I love the savage's for ease of repair and accuracy.

[ellobo]

For those who don't remember, some yrs back, more than five for sure, there was a big rash of extractor problems that seemed to stem from the extractors being cast from silicon bronze. Evidently the casting process let excess metal under the lip of the extractor keeping it from grabbing the rim. Many extractors were changed to steel ones at that time. Occasionaly that problem seems to rear it ugly head.

El Lobo

[broncbob]

Isn't your PH supposed to be standing next to you steely eyed and ready to step in and take care of things if his hunter has equipment or bowel malfunctions at the moment of truth?

That being said, nothing mechanical is fool proof, but with proper feeding and care, it can be made as close to 100% reliable as anything mechanical can be.

The big question is, can you chamber your 110 in a suitable caliber to be hunting ol black death?

[hunter2]

Have 2 that I use quite a bit. The small bolt face has been a piece of junk and am tired of replacing parts. The last ones from SSS with the enlarged button head ejector and oversizer detent ball and extractor have been working good. The other is 06 size head and has worked fine. I have replaced some for others. Would I trust them with with a high priced hunt or my neck on them - NO!. I have never had any trouble with the Winchesters I have. Some are over 1,500 rds. Savage last year at the shot show commented that they were way too busy selling edges to wory with with this problem. They stated there were four vendors making bolt heads for them - of which are way out on tolerences. With the machines they are made on it would be easy to tighten them up...... my 2cents worth

[bootsmcguire]

The big question is, can you chamber your 110 in a suitable caliber to be hunting ol black death?


I have one currently chambered in 458 Win. Mag., I would think that would do it. If not there are other choices that can be done like 375 H&H and I don't know if you couldnt fit a 460 Weatherby in there, but not sure on that one.