I stand with my opinion that this is not all a jobber or dealer level issue as dealers with waiting lists as with Dustin and the one Randy mentioned would be quite interested in making a sale and would certainly order them from Savage
Hello Woodseye,
This is neither here nor there, and if it is-- I'd guess it is mostly
there! Few dealers I've talked to have bothered to contact Savage directly about supply problems, in fact
none have. I don't blame them, particularly, as Savage goes through distributors just like Ruger, and other major manufacturers. No dealer can just pick up the phone and order a single rifle from Ruger. Wal*Mart sells a lot of guns, there are a huge account by anyone's standards. Yet-- any non-shelf product is rarely ordered from the manufacturer, they will call a distributor as well (
Lipsey's, last I knew).
The firearm industry has been well known for their huffs, puffs, guffaws, and mis-steps. Several models in published catalogs have never,
ever been made. The Ruger Mini-14 in .308 is one such product. Ruger's "
Gun of the Year" of a few years ago, the "
Gold Label," has yet to be made. Winchester's 9410 .410 received a lot of press-- yet, how long was it before the first few were shipped?
Contingent on when an individual distributor's fiscal year ends, there is little motivation for them to fill their shelves with anything-- that varies by distributor. Also, muzzleloading has always been a cyclical business. It is all
up to any distributor to order or not order as they see fit. Any distributor can place an order-- yet, not wanting to fill their warehouses with product at a traditionally slow time in the muzzleloading cycle, it is strictly up to them what they order and when.
Just take a look at the majority of manufacturers out there. Are their web sites current? Do they even have a 2004 catalog yet? To be fair, 2004 is still young. It is the same year after year-- new models are formally introduced at the Shot Show, and things proceed from there. Any number of "
New Product Press Releases" can currently be cited-- yet, there will be
no availability until the second or third quarter. It gets confusing to the consumer. Knight "Revolution" ads are out there, Cabela's (
as they often are) is a bit premature in adding them to their website. Not one single production "
Revolution" has ever been made, tested, or sold-- and Knight can't even give a specific ship date for the first run-- though "April-ish" has been mentioned. Thompson Center "
threatened" to offer their Contender G2 for a few years-- the first few have been shipped only very recently.
On top of all this, distributors do not always ask for shipment "ASAP"-- a distributor can have a large scheduled purchase order in place, yet with a June or July release date. They can rightfully tell their dealers "availability is expected to be mid-June"-- though, that was
their decision, not the manufacturers.
There is obviously room for improvement in communication and distribution effectiveness all over the board; Savage and their dealers are no exception in that regard. However, I don't believe Savage would invest the time, money, and effort to improve their 10ML-II by retooling for the Accu-Trigger, changing the safety, and upgrading the ramrod for a still better product if
they did not care to sell them! And, all this was accomplished in a matter of months, not years.
The Savage 10ML-II still has room for improvement, IMO, but in more subtle ways. Yet, it is a fabulously competent and well-made hunting machine, and a lifetime gun. Again, IMO, far too many muzzleloaders are built like tinker-toys-- the Savage is a refreshing change from that.
Though instant shipment of 2004 product is not always possible, what remains is that any dealer finding unsatisfactory answers regarding long-lead times from their distributors can contact Savage Arms management directly.
No single dealer that has ever done so has not received prompt help in that regard from Savage brass that I am aware of.
