Not new but nowhere else to post this.

[Idaho]

I've been on this site for a couple of years now. Lot's of great advice and understanding shooters willing to help. I own two Savage rifles now and I've been disappointed with both.

The first is a Model 10 Trophy Hunter XP .223 that I bought in December of 2013. I expected that rifle to at least be accurate at 100 yards and found out quickly that was not the case. I sighted it in with 55gr fmj and after missing two easy shots at coyotes with 55 gr ballistic tips I found that the later as 1 1/2 inches high and 7 inches to the LEFT of the fmj rounds. The next year found me trying to unlock the secret of consistent accuracy with that barrel. It was within factory MOA spec at 100 yards but was lousy if anything was changed. I tried bullet weights, powder, charges, seating depth, primers, everything. Even had the action bedded and the barrel fully floated. Finally gave up and ordered a McGowan 26 inch varmint barrel with an 8 twist and that rifle came alive. It now can hit milk jugs at 840 yards but the original barrel was better used as a tomato stake. Last summer I took over 300 rock chucks with that gun and expect to duplicate that again this year.

The next rifle is a new one that I just bought. Stainless BTVSS in 22 WMR with the Boyds thumb hole stock. Shoots straight,,, when it goes off. Almost 50% misfires! Grrrrrrr. I sent an email to Savage week before last and have not heard from them so I called them last week and they wanted me to return the rifle to them. I asked if they could just send me a stiffer hammer spring for the bolt and the lady told me that I needed an FFL for that! I challenged her and she said that they could send me one but I would have to sign a waver to protect them. Really?

There is a Savage gunsmith within three hours of me who will install a stiffer spring and polish up the friction points in the bolt to eliminate the problem for the low cost of $57. I'm going to drive up to see him on Wednesday this week.

I will enjoy both of my guns but it burns me that I've had to have a gunsmith work on both to get them to shoot. As far as I'm concerned new Savage firearms are junk and I won't recommend one to anybody. Too bad, I thought they were supposed to be a great company.

[Idaho]

Are you tripping the Accutrigger? After a misfire can you eject the round and see where the firing pin hit the rim? If not you are tripping the trigger and the safety blade is catching the sear stopping the firing pin. I had to ask.....

You can see where the striker hits the rim, it just appears to be a light strike. I pulled the trigger out and installed a Savage target spring and made sure that the trigger is working properly. It is just poor workmanship on the bolt. Too many rough spots, too much oil from the factory and too weak of a hammer spring.

[Idaho]

I'm having trouble following your info on the first rifle. You sighted in with one bullet, switched bullets, and are surprised that the POI changed? That's not a Savage problem. Did you contact Savage?

So with the second rifle: you've a clearly identified problem. You contacted Savage and they offered to check the rifle over for you and possibly/probably fix it but you decline because you have a gunsmith within three hours of you (one way?) that will do whatever you pay him for. That's not a Savage problem either. If you take it to a gunsmith and he does work on it Savage probably won't honor the warranty if he can't fix it.

I feel for you but if you've not contacted them to fix perceived problems how can you condemn the company?

Rick, the first rifle would shoot within Savage specs at 100 yards with one bullet and load. Change anything, bullet type, powder charge, primer, anything, and it would not stay on the paper at 100 yards. Savage wanted me to send that one back as well however since it was within their specs (for one load) it would not have done any good. The new barrel is deadly no matter what bullet weight or load I use. My complaint is with the low quality of the original barrel.

The second rifle clearly has quality control issues with the bolt assembly. That should not even be happening. Savage offered to send me a new spring if I signed a waver to release them of liability only after I called them on the FFL story. (I was pretty sure that I did not need an FFL for them to ship me a spring)

What burns me is that this is two brand new Savage rifles that I've bought that both have issues that need a gunsmith or a return to Savage to fix! That screams poor quality control to me.

I love shooting my 223. It is deadly accurate as I hoped but I had to put a few hundred dollars into it to get it that way. The 22Mag is a beautiful gun and the Boyds stock is very comfortable and I will enjoy that rifle for years to come. I'm just venting on poor workmanship out of the box for rifles that cost four and five hundred dollars.

[Idaho]

Here's an update. My trip to the gunsmith 3 hours away was more than worth the time. The bolt needed extensive work, he was very dismayed to see the poor quality in the bolt. He polished every moving part and made a bushing to help compress the hammer spring. He also found that the headspace was bad so he reset that. The way to test for bad headspace on a rimfire is to set a fired case on a flat surface to see if it rocks at all. That rocking indicates a bulged base. Cases fired in my rife were visibly bulged. He pulled the barrel and reset the headspace and now fired cases are perfectly flat.

He also worked on the trigger. I had installed a Savage target spring that I had gotten from Gun Shack. He polished the moving parts including the sear and set the trigger at about 14 oz. It works perfectly.

This guy was a Savage gunsmith when Savage used remote smiths to repair firearms. He worked on my rifle for several HOURS and did not charge me ONE DIME! He said he will get it out of Savage. Needless to say he is not happy with Savage quality control on their rimfire rifles.

Now, I expect that I will be happy with this rifle for many years to come.

BTW, back to the comment by FOXX, I hope you did not intend to mean that just because these rifles cost less than $600 it should be expected that they are less than perfect. That is baloney. Not trying to pick a fight, just stating my opinion. My money is valuable and I expect a new weapon to work no matter what I pay for it.

[Idaho]

Sometimes, honest feedback can be seen as a way to process improvement. I hope that Savage will take this in that light. I've also sent them my experience directly through their customer contact service online.

[Idaho]

Wow, that is an amazing story! Three guns, short reimbursement and no apology. At least with my two Savages I was able to finally able to get them both to shoot.

[Idaho]

The way to check for bad headspace for a rimfire is to set a fired case on a flat surface???!! Sounds pretty scientific to me! And all this time we thought you had to measure it! Who knew... Savage factory smith even...

It was a way to indicate a problem with headspace. Apparently it worked because the cases are not bulged after firing now.