Savage's selection of left-hand models and cartridge options are what drew me to Savage - well, kinda. Initially it was their 10ML smokeless muzleloader in/around the fall of 2000 when I was looking to purchase my first muzzleloader and the smokeless powder aspect of it was a big plus for me. Once I started looking more into the 10ML is when I discovered their wide selection of left-hand options.

Prior to that I'd never even heard of Savage as growing up it was Remington (shotguns) and either Marlin or Ruger for rimfire rifles. There wasn't much need/use for centerfire rifles here in Ohio back then (or even now really) as there wasn't much of a coyote population at the time and the only other thing you could use one for was groundhogs. My dad's philosophy was along the lines of "If it's not a nuisance or something you're going to eat don't waste a bullet on it." Suffice to say the only "target shooting" I did as a kid was limited to a handful of clay birds now and then and a few shots on paper before hunting season to make sure the rimfire was still sighted in, and it wasn't uncommon for a box of 50 rounds of 22LR to last a year or more.

That said, my loyalty to Savage has waned a bit in recent years simply due to what WhyNot has pointed out above. I've been running this site for 20 years now, and the same complaints about Savage rifles that I was hearing back then are the very same complaints we hear about today...

Cheap plastic stocks - the newer AccuFit and AccuStock synthetic stocks are better than the old tupperware ones, but they're still made out of the same plastic as milk jugs and have way too much flex to them.

Heavy bolt lift/timing issue - Why Savage hasn't bothered to address this one is beyond me as to fix it is as simple as a slight adjustment to the program code for the CNC when cutting in the lug ramps on the action and the cocking pin ramp on the bolt body.

Feeding/ejecting issues - I doubt Fred ever imagined that his Extractor/Ejection Improvement Kits would end up being a hotter ticket item than his Competition trigger was back in the day.

Limited aftermarket options due to constant changes - Savage continues to shoot themselves in the foot year after year as they insist on making small and often unnecessary changes to parts making it all but impossible for the aftermarket manufacturers to support their rifles with products of their own.

At this point I don't have to worry too much about finding something else more suitable or up to my standards as I pretty much have all the guns I need (and more than a few I don't) and I've gotten any issues they might have had sorted out so they're good to go. I'm not enticed by new cartridges that offer little to no advantage over an older go-to cartridge, and with newer guns being made with more and more plastic components each year I'm more than happy with my "older" guns with all metal parts even if it means having to carry and extra pound of weight around in the field.