Savage BP Discontinued???????????

[J.Solo]

I was at my local Gunshop last night and a customer was picking up a Savage Black Powder rifle that had been sent back to the factory because the customer could not get the gun to group. He had tried many different powders, bullets, scopes and mounts without any results.

The return documentation from Savage said there was nothing wrong with the gun and supplied a 100 yard target with 3 shots within 1". The ONLY load suggested by Savage to get this performance was 41 grains of Vitavorhi (spelling?) with a Hornady 250 grain .45 bullet and MMT (?) sabots. The customer asked the shop owner if he had any of the Vitavorhi powder or knew of any shop in the area that may carry it. The owner said no and did not plan on carring any either.

The return box from Savage contained a lot of extra accessories that the customer said did not originally come with the gun. I would guess to satisfy the customer for the return. (By the way Savage picked up all shipping costs.)

Anyway........ the gun shop owner said a lot of his customers were having trouble getting good groups, some more than others from their Savage guns, maybe due to the lack finding the right components. . He also went on to say maybe that's why they were being discontinued. I said "Wait a minute I'm seriously thinking about selling my Remington, SS, BP rifle and getting a Savage!"

The owner went on to say that in the past two weeks he has tried to order a couple different model Savage BP's from 3 different distributers. All 3 distributers said thay did not have any in stock (becaause they were the hot BP gun this season) and could not get any more from the factory because Savage has quietly discontinued them. When he asked the distributers why they were being discontinued they told him that Savage was tired of all the customer complaints pertaining to the finickyness of the gun.

Sorry for the long story before getting to the point. I really did want to trade my Remington for a Savage last night as I had it cleaned and in the back of the car. Now what?

I hope this is just a simple missunderstanding between the shop owner, distributer and Savage.

J.Solo

[contendernut]

J Solo,  I don't think Savage has quit making the gun.  I think they have changed the designation to II and some minor changes.  I would think Randy Wakeman will comment on it as he recently wrote an article about it and its inventor.

[RandyWakeman]

The owner went on to say that in the past two weeks he has tried to order a couple different model Savage BP's from 3 different distributers. All 3 distributers said thay did not have any in stock (becaause they were the hot BP gun this season) and could not get any more from the factory because Savage has quietly discontinued them.

Far from being discontinued, demand has been steadily ramping up-- and it with be available with an Accu-Trigger for 2004 as standard equipment.

Things have never looked better for Savage, or the ML-10 II.

You might wish to check out http://www.hpmuzzleloading.com for more info.

[J.Solo]

Thanks for that good news guys. Now I just have to sell the Remington. - J.Solo

[Mel Taylor]

J.solo,

There are many powders, including VihtaVuori N110, that will work in the Savage 10ML and the 10ML-II  (I have one of each) and produce groups of less than an inch and a half. I consistently get groups of that  size or smaller using 43 gr. of AA5744 behind a 250 gr. Hornady XTP with an MMP sabot.

The gun can be made to group equally well using Pyrodex or 777.

When shooting smokeless you do have to use the right sabot in order for the powder to ignite correctly. I use only MMP's and order them direct from MMP at a cost of $7.50 per 50 including shipping. Hornady also sells a sabot that will handle the pressures of smokeless.

As far as Savage discontinuing the 10ML, I seriously doubt it.

The best place to go for information is the Savage Message board, run by and for Savage 10ML shooters, at: http://www.dream-tools.com/tools/messages.mv?index+savagemuzzleloader

Hope this helps.

Mel







,http://www.dream-tools.com/tools/messages.mv?index+savagemuzzleloader

[RandyWakeman]

There seems to be enough interest "in-line" to post the ML-10 story here-- so I will.

[Dragon31]

J. Solo

I can't speak to the issue of Savage discontinueing the Model 10ML-II, but I think that it is fair to say that it is a Muzzle loader rather than just a black powder rifle.  Mine has never fired Black powder and has taken several deer including one last Tuesday.  I think the beauty of the rifle is that clean up is much easier and after dragging a deer out, loading him in to the truck in a muddy field, driving home, (about three miles), hanging him in the dark, field dressing him and letting him hang till day light, I'm sure glad that I didn't have to fool with cleaning a rifle that had just shot black powder in a light rain fall.  When I passed my 60'th birthday I just started appreciating doing things the easy way, The Savage makes it a might easier.

[RandyWakeman]

http://www.hpmuzzleloading.com/Features.html