RPRNY
Member
Will shoot it this weekend and revert. This is my initial review upon taking it out of the box.
Bought it on GB and brought it home for $452 after cc markup, shipping, and FFL fees.
Initial take: Cheap crap.
The gun metal finish is similar to the Rock Island "parkerized" finish. Rough textured matt black.
The stock feels like the hollow plastic on a kids toy rifle. The magazine is utterly unremarkable shabby polymer. The magazine release is a tiny fiddly little lever in front of the mag, impossible to feel with gloves on.
It has a heavy 22" barrel, not quite bull, with a nicely cut recessed crown. The weight and contour are as expected and this is the first positive. Comes fitted with Weaver style bases. It's a fairly large gap so could be a problem with a shorter scope.
The bolt shroud would best be described as something one might expect to be produced on a last ditch wartime rifle. It looks cheap, though vaguely Arisaka-esque? The two position safety on the right is clunky and loud.
Bolt handle lift is hard/stiff enough that I wonder whether it should be sent back. It is difficult to lift the bolt while holding sight picture in the scope. There is not inconsiderable slop in the bolt when in battery. It slides in and out very easily - removed and replace simply by holding the trigger. Guide slots for the lugs locate it easily. Equipped with the adjustable Savage Accutrigger. Seems excellent as set at factory.
I paid slightly more than this for a T/C Venture in 270 Win last Autumn. By comparison, the stock on the Venture feels much more solid and has textured grip panels, the metal finishing and bluing are traditional and better, and the overall feel of the rifle is much better.
I am used to Savages looking ugly. This however looks and feels like a sub-economy rifle. In a word, initial impression is CRAP. I do not as yet feel that it offers anything like value for money.
Let's see how it shoots as that's what really matters.
Bought it on GB and brought it home for $452 after cc markup, shipping, and FFL fees.
Initial take: Cheap crap.
The gun metal finish is similar to the Rock Island "parkerized" finish. Rough textured matt black.
The stock feels like the hollow plastic on a kids toy rifle. The magazine is utterly unremarkable shabby polymer. The magazine release is a tiny fiddly little lever in front of the mag, impossible to feel with gloves on.
It has a heavy 22" barrel, not quite bull, with a nicely cut recessed crown. The weight and contour are as expected and this is the first positive. Comes fitted with Weaver style bases. It's a fairly large gap so could be a problem with a shorter scope.
The bolt shroud would best be described as something one might expect to be produced on a last ditch wartime rifle. It looks cheap, though vaguely Arisaka-esque? The two position safety on the right is clunky and loud.
Bolt handle lift is hard/stiff enough that I wonder whether it should be sent back. It is difficult to lift the bolt while holding sight picture in the scope. There is not inconsiderable slop in the bolt when in battery. It slides in and out very easily - removed and replace simply by holding the trigger. Guide slots for the lugs locate it easily. Equipped with the adjustable Savage Accutrigger. Seems excellent as set at factory.
I paid slightly more than this for a T/C Venture in 270 Win last Autumn. By comparison, the stock on the Venture feels much more solid and has textured grip panels, the metal finishing and bluing are traditional and better, and the overall feel of the rifle is much better.
I am used to Savages looking ugly. This however looks and feels like a sub-economy rifle. In a word, initial impression is CRAP. I do not as yet feel that it offers anything like value for money.
Let's see how it shoots as that's what really matters.
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