The American Savage is now the respectable age of 125 and it is a pleasure to subject one of the many rifled rifles that the company offers to a shooting test: a pleasure because it is a pleasure to re-observe once more the mechanical concept conceived in the early 50s by Nicholas Brewer comforts in the idea that creativity is a significant added value. Secondly, by maneuvering the weapon, it is appreciated how even an industrial product allows pleasures not always inherent in machined guns; third in the shooting tests there is mathematical certainty that the mind and the arm have moved in perfect synergy of intent to produce high quality results.
In short, to put it in a nutshell, you have a shotgun in your hands where the maneuvers are not only easy and ergonomic, but also lead to results, the shot patterns to get to the point, definitely appreciable. All made even more pleasant by very favorable prices.
Castle and shutter
According to the good rules, this House also adopts two different action lengths so as to present aesthetics and measures suitable for the series of cartridges used: here we have the short one suitable for the .308 Win. The system is to be counted among those with a revolving and sliding shutter with a two-flap closure on the head: and so far nothing particular. However, it must be considered that the Savage motto lies in providing, compared to the competition, something technically better at the same price, or economically more advantageous for the same mechanical solutions. Starting from the castle obtained from a cylindrical bar of alloy steel, it is possible to observe how the ring and bridge are a little longer than the norm and how the right edge of the ejection window is detected with respect to what was codified at the time by the Mauser K98 mechanics, always a valid touchstone for everyone: in this way you have a little more material in a point where it is needed for the rigidity of the assembly and to improve the smoothness of the shutter.
A design concept that still greatly differentiates Savage from the classic Mauser sees the creation of some components in detached parts and not in a single block, such as the upper codette on which the button of the two-position safety is placed: it is joined with a joint to the bridge coming then fixed with the union screw between the castle and the stock. Same concept for the shutter formed by a cylinder in which a first pair of fins with a shim washer is inserted at the front between the elements; on these a second pair of fins is inserted, provided with a peg which lodges in the cylinder: a game of joints in which the firing pin participates and a round crossbar block the assembly.
It should be noted that the pair of rear wings does not rotate, acting only as a guide for sliding while the constraint in the mortises made in the ring is guaranteed by the front pair, obviously rotating by about 90 °. In the standard the other particularities such as the lowered face in which the firing pin hole and the ejection pawl appear: the extraction nail is embedded in the right wing, the motion is orthogonal and the adjustment takes place thanks to a ball with a contrast spring . There is no lack of ingenuity also for the rear part in which the different components are made with many micro-cast pieces, inexpensive and very precise: inserted in the cylinder you can see a tube linked to the firing pin and from which a flat rod protrudes that implements the armament thanks to an inclined ramp.
Next is a C-shaped block of appreciable thickness and with the lower left profile angled: in closing, the whole piece goes against the bridge, saturating the space that would otherwise remain open to the entrance of foreign materials and acting as a firewall. As for the angle, we first mention the micro-cast handlebar consisting of a comfortable pear-shaped knuckle and the arm on which a thick disc is the base: everything is held in place by a screwed plate, with a central hole for the passage of the firing pin shank as a warning armed mechanics; the upper profile of the disc has an inclined plane which, in the last degrees of rotation, contrasts with the angle of the C-shaped piece, realizing the primary extraction with a very low cost device. Furthermore, this work takes place when the firing pin cocking effort has already taken place: this fractionation of forces makes it very easy to open the bolt.
The barrel and its fastening
The barrel of this model has a length of 66 cm and is furrowed by four right-handed lines with a pitch of 1/10 "which, in the .308 Win. adopted, allow you to play with high ball weights, always useful for long-distance shooting. The roto-hammering produces both the grooving and the cartridge chamber which is thus perfectly coaxial. The external shape is very gritty, with deep grooves and clear stainless steel finish to which is added a substantial section equal to 21 mm in the muzzle: here a drop that is first conical and then cylindrical keeps the grooves suitably protected.
For the joint, a long thread is made on the breech: the distal part is screwed into the ring while a solid shaped and perforated plate fits on the barrel going into contact with the ring and inserting, with the lower part, into the special pocket obtained in the stock; lastly, a knurled nut is always inserted on the barrel, the internal thread of which copies the remaining external part of the breech. The tightening with a torque wrench, combined with a practical system for controlling the relative positions between the elements, allows you to perfectly adjust the headspace, one of the very important elements for shooting accuracy.
Stock, magazine and trigger
The stock in stratified wood of pleasant color is above all stable, not undergoing twisting or other movements of any kind. The lines show a straight axis as is appropriate for a shooting rifle in support: the stock stands out for the high back and the little raised nose pad, but evident thanks to the two deep lateral bevels, with adequate eye posture in the telescope. The pistol grip with a very simple shape allows you to squeeze effortlessly what the weapon can give. The rest also does its part with the tapered prismatic shaft which is followed by an increase in the section of the shaft to create a wide base, suitable for support. Below is the magazine seat with the release roller button: the construction of this accessory in thick drawn and painted sheet metal ensures the lips against falls while the shaping of the sides holds the cartridges avoiding knocks from recoil.
The release of the Savages arouses some perplexity at first: the system named AccuTrigger® it combines safety, lightness of release, direct release as you like across the Atlantic. Within the sturdy guard fixed by two Torx screws, the curved and smooth part of the trigger protrudes, crossed for almost the entire arch by a pivoting plate: this has a strut inside that insists against a fixed crosspiece, preventing the trigger from retracting. Only the pressure of the finger moves the strut thus allowing the trigger to retract and release the firing pin.
After a few strokes, the finger got used to the new tactile sensations and the brain to the pressure to operate for the actual shot which takes place with a decidedly reduced weight, adjustable between 170 and 2725 grams: in our case we found about 270 g. This favorable calibration is possible only with the safety and tranquility constraint operated by the system, there is no stecher (French or German style) so little loved by the Americans, and then the pressure on the plate for the first junction is favorable to the final one, a bit like on the academic PGC (Big Caliber Pistol) where the first half is also calibrated to 750 g leaving the rest, to reach 1.320 g, at the second half which determines the start of the shot.
Conclusions
The specimen we tested mounts an optic always imported by Bignami, the Weaver Grand Slam 4,5x14x50 which in our subdued opinion presents a very favorable quality / price ratio: from the lattice cross hair perfectly perceptible despite its extreme finesse, the correctness of the images and the regularity of the shots of the graduated turrets all contribute to favoring the results.
With a correct refill of the .308 Win. here you get the best shot and, with minimal variations, you go from tight groups to others practically in a single hole. To summarize, we highlight the unusual action of the Savage and the peculiar joint of the barrel, the hammer rifling together with the cartridge chamber, the trigger, all seen from the point of view of a favorable price: this is how the whole leads to understand why the rifles of this brand are the best sellers in the United States.
Data Sheet
Manufacturer: Savage Arms Inc. - Westfield (Mass. USA) - registered office 118 Mountain Road - USA Suffield (Conn) - www.savagearms.com - [email protected]
Importer: Bignami spa, via Lahn 1, 39040 Ora (BZ) - tel. 0471/803000 - fax. 0471/810899 - www.bignami.it - [email protected]
Model: 12 Varminter
Type: rifle with ordinary repeating rifle
CALIBRO: .308 Wins.
operation: sliding rotating shutter
Castle: milled steel block
Shutter: sliding swivel with raised and pinned head equipped with two rotating front flaps plus two for guide with linear motion only
canna: 660 mm (26 ") long with 6 right-hand lines, 1/10" pitch, rotomammed together with the cartridge chamber
Striker: launched, inside the shutter, with coaxial helical spring
Supply: detachable magazine in deep drawn sheet - two-wire 4 cartridges with single presentation
Triggering device: system AccuTrigger™ adjustable between 170 and 2725 g with single trigger and internal foil as a function of additional safety and preload on the trigger
Extractor: nail with orthogonal movement in drawstring obtained from the right flap
Ejector: spring button in the bolt head
Line of sight: metal sights not provided - holes for the two separate bases of the scope
Safety: two-position with striped key in the tail of the castle
Stocking: in a single piece of laminated wood, soft rubber recoil pad - pistol grip and flattened under barrel
Finishes: matt anti-glare stainless steel mechanics - half-polished wood
Length 1.174mm
Weight :: Approx. 4.540 g without optics
Price: € 1.870,00 for information