I figured out the issue. It's a design/manufacturing issue. The top photo shows the back side of the plastic button you push. This should engage with the front side of the metal lever which in turn drops down the bolt stop in the back of the bolt channel. The problem is the back of the plastic lever is too thin. Even though there is more room in the channel so it could be wider. What is happening is the metal lever is slipping off to the side of the plastic button. That explains why the release is not engaging and why the button gets stuck backwards when I pull it. You can see some wear on the edge of the button where it slips off. If I set it in the stock and tilt the action slightly then the lever lines up with the button and it engages the release correctly. The only solution really is to ever so slightly bend the lever inwards so it properly engages the button when the stock is attached. Question is do I do it in a minute on my own or spend weeks in mailing it and all that hassle to Savage to officially fix it. I wish they had gone though just the tiniest bit more effort to create a metal contract surface with some sort of edge retention for the lever.
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