Does Savage Provide ANY Support For Design and Manufacturing Issues

[Chewbacca]

I bought a 6.5 Creedmoor 110 Elite Precision rifle a couple weeks ago and fired it the first time a couple of days ago. I love the rifle but it DOES NOT feed properly. Savage Elite Precision feeding problems | Sniper's Hide Forum (snipershide.com) explains it very well. Savage 110 Elite 6.5 Creedmoor FIXED! Step By Step How to Get Your 110 to Cycle Properly. - YouTube Shows the fix. Some extremely competent long range shooters had the problem, found the fix AND TRIED TO CORRESPOND WITH SAVAGE ABOUT IT. I researched this on a bunch of shooting web sites and not one got any response or even a fix from Savage. Is this the norm for Savage???

[Dave Hoback]

YUP! Savage is not concerned with what “WE” think. Because infact, we make up but a small contingent of thief market. Several here have tried on numerous occasions. Including Jim & Fred here, who are pretty much the leading knowledge bases on Savage.

BTW: those issues you see “identified” & “fixed” on other forums... all those things were identified here, on this forum, FIRST! These threads you see elsewhere are merely regurgitations of what members here identified.

Oh yeah, this isn’t the first time your exact question has been asked either.

[Chewbacca]

Dave, your reply is no surprise. Figured as much. I've got a message in to Savage Customer Support with High Expectations of Results. LOL I'm retired and have lots of time so I'm going to do my best to aggravate Savage.

I'm not a gunsmith but I'm a tinkerer and experimenter. I just went through feeding the rifle a bunch of times and have pics. I can see that "the fix" is easy to do and will do it. I can also see that there is more than one thing going on, like the magazine lips can cause feed issues although to a much less frequent degree. I am encouraged to hear that Jim's and Fred's lurk on this forum LOL. Thanks, Rod

[Chewbacca]

I fixed my 110's feed problem today. Total length of extractor was 0.708" and I took it to 0.705. I'm not sure shortening it by a thousand or two, in this case 0.003 has much effect. I put a bevel of about 60 degrees first and it helped but still had jammed. Took it to 45 and a bit deeper on the extractor and it works like a champ. Used four different magazines and all fed fine.

[charlie b]

Welcome to the forum and glad you got your problem fixed.

It is sad that guns are produced and sold that do not function correctly. Not surprising to me, just sad.

And not surprising that there is little response from the mfg. I suspect if someone sent a rifle back and asked for a refund then it might get fixed, but, that isn't a sure thing either. Not restricted to Savage either. Plenty of people with problems from other mfgs. Just go to forums for those brands and see the complaints that are made public.

[Dave Hoback]

This is part of what led me to just learn on my own. I've owned firearms for over 25 years and I've NEVER sent one back to manufacture for repair or taken one to a gunsmith. I just learned how to fix any problem that came along.

[Chewbacca]

Dave/Charlie, I understand where you are both coming from. My son has a Remington Versa Max that has several problems. Sending it back to Remington is like sending not having the gun for extremely long periods of time and getting it back with no fix. That's why I fixed the issue on my Savage myself.

I had a long and very friendly discussion with a Cabala's store manager. He is well aware of the issue with firearms. We were in agreement that individuals have just about zero impact on the manufacturers. Large volume retailers do, BUT not at the store level. I will be sending a letter to Cabela's/Bass Pro Corporate but again I will be acting as an individual. Fully aware that shooters would rather be shooting than writing letters. Being retired DOES have the advantage of time for writing letters. LOL

[charlie b]

Good for you to send them the info.

A previous job I was a plant manager making wire for automotive mfgs. One of our larger customers was Honda. The wire they specified had a special insulation and twist that made their wire twice as expensive as every other mfg. Honda's senior engineer came out for a visit from Japan (they were visiting the wire harness factories in Mexico). I found out the reason why they specified the wire was from their assembly process. The holes in the firewalls were so small that it took a great deal of force to pull the wire bundles. They were experiencing wire breaks in the harnesses. The fix was to increase the strength of the wire insulation. I pointed out it would have been a lot cheaper to just make the holes a little bigger. The Honda guy was obviously upset about it but hid it pretty well.

The next day the local Honda rep came to me and kind of apologized. Turns out that engineering changes are signed off and those signatures are kind of like putting their reputations on the line. Once they sign off they never admit it was a mistake. The engineers did not want to change the hole sizes since it would have meant changing the punch dies for the body panels. To keep the body panel designer from 'getting in trouble' they came up with other reasons to change the wire specs. So, future body panel designs ended up with the same issue and Honda was stuck with paying too much for wiring rather than admit a design error. Don't know if they ever changed.

Oh what complex webs we weave :)

[Chewbacca]

Great story Charlie. Spent some time in Japan they ARE different. Then again, so are we. LOL

[charlie b]

Yep, the culture is a bit different. It does generate some outstanding ideas and engineering in various product lines. I give Honda credit for 'forcing' better quality control by the US big 3. Probably the biggest improvement in auto design and engineering since WWII.

[geezerhood]

I bought a 6.5 Creedmoor 110 Elite Precision rifle a couple weeks ago and fired it the first time a couple of days ago. I love the rifle but it DOES NOT feed properly. Savage Elite Precision feeding problems | Sniper's Hide Forum (snipershide.com) explains it very well. Savage 110 Elite 6.5 Creedmoor FIXED! Step By Step How to Get Your 110 to Cycle Properly. - YouTube Shows the fix. Some extremely competent long range shooters had the problem, found the fix AND TRIED TO CORRESPOND WITH SAVAGE ABOUT IT. I researched this on a bunch of shooting web sites and not one got any response or even a fix from Savage. Is this the norm for Savage???

I am anxious to try the trick in the Video. I have several 6.5 CM Savages that won't feed. I searched this site in the past found a fix for it, though apparently the fix has been discussed previously here.

[Chewbacca]

I am anxious to try the trick in the Video. I have several 6.5 CM Savages that won't feed. I searched this site in the past found a fix for it, though apparently the fix has been discussed previously here.

It ain't hard. First tip is to mark the ejector to put the bevel in the right place. I had a marker of yellow paint my wife used. Marked it prior to removing the ejector. Go slow, that is don't wack too much off at a time. Took me two times to get the angle right and the right amout of material to work. There may be a third cut after I shoot it tomorrow.

[Chewbacca]

Just an FYI. I got a reply from Savage about my feeding issues. They said I could send it in and they would take a look at it. LMAO That means I pay to send my rifle to them and it sits there for an unknown amount of time and when I get it back, I guarantee you, it will still not feed right. Been there and done that. I'm going to send a reply and request they send me two new ejectors so I can experiment with optimizing ejections.

[RPhanks]

If one is going to purchase a Savage, buy the cheapest one you can get. Then you can use the action, put a good stock and a good barrel on it and have a decent rifle at a good price. If you want a high quality rifle right off the bat, don't buy a Savage. I, like you, learned that the hard way, but it won't happen again.

[Dave Hoback]

I tell people the same thing. If you simply want an inexpensive, decent rifle for hunting or just having fun shooting? Cool, grab a Savage. If you want a performer project & are UNABLE to diagnose and repair any problem that may exist, look elsewhere. I am a loyal fan of Savage. I am a fan of buying used, inexpensively, stripping down to bare Action & putting some money into it. I’m not worried about problems with it as I can repair any issue that may surface. I’m also not worried about a custom Action performing better as A: I don’t compete anyway. And B: it wouldn’t perform any better for “ME”. Not at this point in my life. I’m disabled, paralyzed in one arm/hand & completely blind in my left eye. So.... I’m not getting any better. Know what I mean?

Just don’t be one of these douche-canoes who PAYS a smith to have a custom built, then goes & rips on people with Savages, while talking about how great this rig you PAID FOR is.