Savage rifle quality decline

460harry · Dec 21, 2020

I used to own a Savage model 111 in 30-06 that was manufactured in about 2009-10. It was a synthetic stock but it had more steel on it. The trigger guard was steel, the entire magazine was steel, the entire bolt was steel, and it had a nice blued finish. It weighed over 9 pounds

I ordered a new model 111 a few weeks ago thinking it was the same gun, but this one is in 338 win mag. I assumed I would get the same 9 pound rifle. Guess what? The entire trigger guard and magwell is plastic. There is actually a piece of the bolt that is plastic. The magazine is made of plastic so cheapy and haphazardly designed that I have to hit it with substantial force to lock it into place, and gone is the nice blue'd finish, now there is a very cheap, ugly phosphate finish over the whole gun. The old savage's steel magazine gave a very assuring and secure "click" when it was easily locked into place. Guess what else? This gun weighs about 7.8 pounds. I get to shoot 338 win mag in a 7.8 lb rifle.

Oh, and another thing; the Indian Chief is gone, entirely. What I am wondering is why even still use the Savage name? If you're that afraid and/or ashamed, why even sell rifles?

If I had known this, I would NEVER have bought another Savage. Two of my favorite bolt guns, the model 10 and the 700, have completely gone down the drain. I am not angry a much as I am just depressed. Rant ended.

bgrafsr · Dec 21, 2020

Yep, the bean counters and political correctness are ruining good, quality manufactured goods.

I have 2 Savage bolt action rifles a .223 Remington and a .22 Long rifle. Both are very good, accurate, and nicely made. Purchased several years ago.

Sgt911 · Dec 21, 2020

I bought a 25 classic in .204 it has a standard weight barrel. I didn't want a heavy barrel. It does have a plastic magazine and trigger-guard assembly, but overall is a beautifully finished rifle that is incredibly accurate. It is my favorite bolt gun.

sigp220.45 · Dec 21, 2020

Savage seems to have staked out a chunk of the low-end once-a-year shooter market. Its sad to see.

I had an old 110 in .308 Win. It had a plain hardwood stock, but was nicely blued and shot great. It was low-priced, but not low quality. If there was any plastic on it, it must have been the buttplate.

Now - they look like your new lightweight .338 Mag. They do have some wood stocked guns left, but I’m not sure if they also have the plastic parts.

THE PILGRIM · Dec 21, 2020

Lefty here, have owned several Savages.
Recently bought this Axis in 223.
Haven’t shot it enough to give a full report.
So far, not crazy about the Magazine.

gregintenn · Dec 21, 2020

Savage, along with most other American manufacturers dropped quality from their list of concerns in the 1960’s.

I have some high quality Savage rifles. They average about 100 years old.

mauser9 · Dec 21, 2020

Seems so many taking shortcuts these days. Ugly matte finishes, plastic mags, plastic trigger guards, and even synthetic triggers! The bluing leaves much to be desired in my opinion. I bought a Rem.700 back in 83. Walnut and high polish bluing that looks like a mirror. Glad I held onto my older stuff. Used to be just run-of the-mill decent quality. Looks almost custom compared to offerings today.

STCM(SW) · Dec 21, 2020

My Salvage I put a wood stock on. Got it about14 years ago. 25-06 and extremely accurate with a high MV....

460harry · Dec 21, 2020

sigp220.45 said:
Savage seems to have staked out a chunk of the low-end once-a-year shooter market. Its sad to see.

I had an old 110 in .308 Win. It had a plain hardwood stock, but was nicely blued and shot great. It was low-priced, but not low quality. If there was any plastic on it, it must have been the buttplate.

Now - they look like your new lightweight .338 Mag. They do have some wood stocked guns left, but I’m not sure if they also have the plastic parts.

I wanted to get a wood stock version in 338 but none are available, anywhere. I am not sure that Savage even does a wood gun in 338. I am going to order a Boyd's stock and acquire steel aftermarket parts because this sh** is unacceptable. I thought the 111 plastic stocks were still pretty decent like they were 12 years ago. Just goes to show you should never assume anything.

Also, I would like to meet the clown at Savage that thought the bottom bolt release was a good idea. There was nothing at all wrong with the side bolt release. It was a proven design that no one didn't like and never requested a change. Not once in all my reading and talking to guys did I ever hear a complaint about the side bolt release.

460harry · Dec 21, 2020

Savage Arms

FYI, it's true, Savage does not make a single wood stock gun in 338 win mag. Neither does Remington. If you want a 338 win mag in a wood stock and which doesn't have a plastic magwell, trigger guard, and magazine, then you have to pay about $1,500 bucks for a model 70 made in Portugal, a Sako, or some other.

I hate to say it, but guns suck these days. The market is bent on ruthless cut throating of buyers. Complete screw job everywhere you look. It's remarkable that I am here looking back to 2008 and 2010 as a golden age.

Gene L · Dec 21, 2020

THE PILGRIM said:
Lefty here, have owned several Savages.
Recently bought this Axis in 223.
Haven’t shot it enough to give a full report.
So far, not crazy about the Magazine.

I had an Axis in .243. The trigger was so bad I called Savage and they told me 8 pounds is acceptable. With the bad trigger, it would shoot 1 1/4 MOA, but I had to work for it. I got a replacement trigger and it still shot 1 1/4. Just less work. I found out from that gun if you take your time on a bad trigger, you can reach the full max, or almost the full max of the gun's ability..

clang444 · Dec 22, 2020

Hunting season will be over soon and there will be plenty of old rifles in the used section of the gun shop. Many of them have no more than a couple of boxes of ammo through them. I have two 110Ls from the early sixties, one in .243 and the other in .30-06 and they have good triggers, are accurate and look great:

And you wouldn't believe how inexpensive they were.

jimbo728 · Dec 22, 2020

I have an Axis II in .223 and a Model 10 TR in .308.
Yes, one does have to make sure the mags are seated. I got used to it.
Both have nice Accu Triggers and the M-10 has the Accu Stock.
What counts is the sub MOA accuracy they both deliver. Maybe Savage does not have all the desirable features of the vintage guns but the barrels still deliver top notch accuracy.
No complaints I cant live with.
Jim

6string · Dec 22, 2020

I can totally sympathize with the OP.
But, it's not just Savage.
As long as buyers are willing to pony up the dough, manufacturers will continue to cut corners.

Unfortunately, it's not just the entry level market that exhibits this trend, either. I've seen cheesy plastic parts appear on some surprisingly expensive goods.
And, that's just the corner cutting that can be readily seen. How many makers fabricate every part in house? How many outsource anything and everything from small parts to major components?
How much actual "making" goes on vs "assembly"?

In some ways, these are age old questions that get redefined over time.

mauser9 · Dec 22, 2020

Guess $350-400 may have seemed like a lot 40 years back but we all got some quality it seems for our money. Am sure the higher cost of materials, walnut, and labor has led to these shortcut cost saving measures. I agree with scrounging the used gun racks for guns made years back. Am often surprised how reasonable the prices can be.

Herky Bird · Dec 22, 2020

Quality of firearms hasn’t gone down, they are just built to a certain price point. In terms of precision and performance the new stuff is light years ahead of the old stuff. If one so desires a “polished beautiful” something built with wood and metal parts it’ll cost you $1,200~$1,500. The plastic-fantastics are an amazing bargain if one only cares about function over looks, look at the Ruger Precision Rifle as an example.

Sgt911 · Dec 22, 2020

Herky Bird said:
Quality of firearms hasn’t gone down, they are just built to a certain price point. In terms of precision and performance the new stuff is light years ahead of the old stuff. If one so desires a “polished beautiful” something built with wood and metal parts it’ll cost you $1,200~$1,500. The plastic-fantastics are an amazing bargain if one only cares about function over looks, look at the Ruger Precision Rifle as an example.

and for what's it worth $400 in 1980 is $1,263.25 today, so they are cheaper dollar for dollar so I cant complain too much. You seem to be spot on.

460harry · Dec 22, 2020

Herky Bird said:
Quality of firearms hasn’t gone down, they are just built to a certain price point. In terms of precision and performance the new stuff is light years ahead of the old stuff. If one so desires a “polished beautiful” something built with wood and metal parts it’ll cost you $1,200~$1,500. The plastic-fantastics are an amazing bargain if one only cares about function over looks, look at the Ruger Precision Rifle as an example.

"1,200-,1500"

Really. Savage was making a model 114 "American Classic" which was chambered in 338 win mag among others (I should have bought one" just about three years ago for about $750-800. The wood 111's were slightly cheaper. Why did they stop?

My theory is that they are purely screwing us. It does not take a $1,200 or $1,500 price tag to recoup the cost of a wood stock, sorry but I refuse to believe it based on the guns I've seen before. They are deliberately withholding manufacturing wood and blued guns, drowning us in the plastic garbage, and then using our frustration to force us to pay 3 or 4 times the actual cost of wood stocks for a $1,500 gun. It is pure cut-throatery.

diyj98 · Dec 22, 2020

I honestly never thought Savage quality was that great to begin with, but some of the plastic stocks they're sticking rifles now are flimsy junk. I've seen rifle that actually rock in the stock even when the action screws are properly torqued down. And forearm that are free floated but pinch the stock when the rifle is put on sandbags.

s&wchad · Dec 22, 2020

Savage was always innovative. Their 1895/1899 were years ahead of their time and the quality was typically first rate.

Their .45 Trials pistol and 1907 were great guns and their current Accutrigger has a strong following. The external barrel nut on their bolt guns is pretty ugly, but it works really well and keeps costs down.

Premium gun companies had a habit of bellying up over the years. It's a shame, but cost/performance has always beat out quality in the American market.

Some of the older 99's were as good or better than anything on the market!

Savage rifle quality decline

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