Savage Action Problems?

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learningman

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Ok I spoke with a freind of mine last night about a Savage rifle. I do not as yet own one but a new Savage has caught my eye. Its the Savage Model 10 Predator. When we were talking about it he told me that a rep. from Savage had been at their store and said that the action had some problems with it. Apparently if after you have put a shell in the chamber and go to fire it but hit the trigger and make it move sideways, not backward, but sideways then the firing pin becomes "disabled " and will not fire until you cycle the action again. The rep. said that the pin does not strike the bullet causing it to fire but releases the firing pin making it unable to fire until you recycle the action. I try to inform myself as much as possible about a purchase I'm planning and I have done as much as I can from my computer, but I have read nothing about this problem or anyother problem for that matter about the Savage action. The only real complaint I've read about Savage's is the composit stocks. Some people just don't like them. So I would love to pick the brains of my fellow High Roaders and get any feedback I can about the "problem" so called. Thank you for all your help in advance.
 
It is a function of the Accu-Trigger, not a malfunction.

Think of the Accu-Trigger more like the grip safety on a 1911, if the trigger gets is pulled without the grip safety being engaged the sear is released but the firing pin is blocked so that the gun cannot be fired, the gun must be re-cocked in order to fire.

In the case of the Accu-Trigger, the center portion of the trigger acts as the safety, until it is depressed the firing pin is blocked and the gun can't be fired. If the outer "trigger" is pulled without the center portion engaged, the sear will fall, but the gun will not fire, the gun will have to be re-cocked in order to fire, again. You have to try pretty hard to pull the outer trigger without engaging the safety trigger.

I haven't heard of this being a problem unless you have the trigger set so light that just moving around is going to set off the gun. I have heard that the Accu-Trigger can be a pain if you wear gloves, but I don't see how that would matter much.

I wouldn't mind having an Accu-Trigger gun, but, if a gun didn't have it, it wouln't be a "deal-breaker" for me.
 
I've only shot a couple of the Savages but have never heard of this problem. Seems to me you'd have to go out of your way to do it, if it's actually true. The accutrigger is widely considered to be the finest trigger ever on a porduction gun.
 
I bought a Savage cub with the accutrigger as my son's first rifle. As mentioned above, pulling the trigger without pressing the center safety portion of the trigger will deactivate the rifle- its a nice added safety feature. The accutrigger is an outstanding trigger. It doesn't come with a 9lb lawyer, its easy to adjust (savage ships an adjustment tool with every rifle), and the break is as good as any trigger that I've ever felt. I only wish they made aftermarket trigger for other rifles.
 
As previously mentioned, pressing the trigger independent of the center portion will deactivate the trigger. But it's not necessary to cycle the action to reset the trigger. All that is required to recock the rifle is to rotate the bolt up and rotate it back to it's locked position.
 
As I've said I have zero experience with the accu-trigger, so hearing from those who do is a big help. I really believe that the Savage I want would be a good gun. Thanks for the insight, and feedback. I'm going to wait till Novemerber to buy anything so I will still have some time to research and hear from Savage owners. Many thanks.
 
I've got an old non-accutrigger Savage. It's okay accurate, 1 MOA with a couple of bullets/loads. Real load picky, but it's a hunting rifle, not a bench rest gun. The only action problem I've had is I can't load three in the mag and top it off with one in the barrel. I have to load three in the mag and feed one of 'em in. However, if I can't do the job in one shot, I've got no business hunting. :D I don't let that bother me.

Oh, it's a magnum caliber, 3 only in the magazine. I tuned the trigger to 3 very crisp lbs, perfect for hunting. I don't need no stinkin' accutrigger. My two Remingtons and the Savage all break at 3 lbs. The Savage is a cheap rifle and pretty fugly, but it's a lot of performance for the money. I can't knock it, gets the job done, elegant or not. It's a good working rifle.
 
Never heard of such a thing, and I spend the overwhelming majority of my time on the Savageshooters forum. You might post it over there, but my BS meter is pegging. Savage only makes three triggers - the old 110 (Stevens), the regular accutrigger, and the target accutrigger. The only problem I've heard of is with the target, which can suffer from negative sear engagement if you set it in ounces.
 
skinewmexico said:
Never heard of such a thing, and I spend the overwhelming majority of my time on the Savageshooters forum. You might post it over there, but my BS meter is pegging. Savage only makes three triggers - the old 110 (Stevens), the regular accutrigger, and the target accutrigger. The only problem I've heard of is with the target, which can suffer from negative sear engagement if you set it in ounces.

Re-read the posts, there isn't a PROBLEM, it's just the way the accu-trigger works....
 
Two POTENTIAL problems...

#1:
My son has a new Savage 10FP-HS Precision which we've only taken to the range once. When he let me fire it, I experienced the following "problem" (I use quotes because I don't know if this is a malfunction, or a design feature...). I cycled the bolt foward and closed it, with a vigorous and positive motion, exactly as I would normally do on my Remington 700 or my Ruger M77 MkII. I did not "slam" the bolt closed. The motion was smooth, but firm. When I did this, the Savage trigger was frozen in place. It could not be pulled. It was all the way forward, just like a normally cocked trigger would be, but no amount of pull would move it - including that it would not move the AccuRelease "blade" on the front of the trigger. The whole thing was frozen in place. It took cycling the bolt again, more slowly and gently, to "release" the trigger and get it to fire. This happened to me twice in a row. OTH, my son did not experience this problem. However, in my view, this is not acceptable. I am careful with rifles, and I didn't do anything which, on the surface, would cause it to lock up like that. In my opinion, this is not acceptable, particularly in what is supposed to be a tactical rifle.

#2:
There is a very noticeable gap on the Savage between the bolt body and the interior dimension of the receiver. This gap exposes the top cartridge in the box magazine to direct view with the bolt body closed in battery. See picture below (and please excuse the dust all over the lense). The top half of the picture is my Remington VSF LH, bolt closed. The bottom half is the Savage 10FP-HS Precision. The red object you can see inside the Savage receiver beneath the bold body is a dummy .308 cartridge. I would be very hesitant to use a rifle with an action like that in a dirty, wet, or dusty environment. I would be afraid of too much dirt and mung getting into the action and compromising the bolt cycling or marring the metal surfaces. The Remington action, in contrast, is locked up tight and far less likely to allow debris into the receiver. Again, in my opinion, this gap in the Savage action is not acceptable, particularly in an $800.00 rifle, which is what he paid for it.

I don't have the heart to dump all this on my son. He is only 17 years old, and he loves his new rifle. And truthfully, when it does go bang, it puts rounds into a tiny group. But being a kid, he so badly wanted the "bad ass" look of a tactical rifle that he overlooked the quality of manufacture issue. I tried to point it out to him at the time, but he wasn't having any of it. My Remington 700 VSF was only $31 more, and it is MUCH better put together, but he just had to have the black rifle.
 

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But if you notice, that gap is evidently machined on purpose, at least it shows in the photo that way. Debris cannot get into the receiver per se, because the baffles are closed and the bolt locked. Dust/dirt might be able to get into the magazine under bad conditions, but if you have dirt on the bolt, you're likely going to get it into the magazine in either rifle as to properly clean debris away from the bolt body, you'd probably have to open it.

I don't see a problem with that in the least.

#1 on the other hand, is not a desirable occurrence in any case.

Ash
 
I prefer a Remington action, much smoother, fantastic fit and finish. But, there's nothing wrong with the Savage as far as function. My 7 mag hasn't failed, yet. The only problem it has is nose diving that top round if I try to load 3 in the magazine and one in the barrel. So long as I keep the mag one short, it's fine.

I have an old Remington M722 short action in .257 Roberts. Wow, that bolt is like budda! Open it, slightly raise the muzzle, and the bolt just glides back under its own weight. That rifle is nearly 50 years old and a tack driver, 3/4 MOA the norm. They were budget guns when they were sold, no checkering, just a plain walnut stock, no fancy white line spacers or ebony end caps. A steel but plate, no recoil pad. But, the action is just a wonderful example of fit and finish on that gun. I guess they don't do it like that anymore.
 
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