Savage Arms
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Savage Arms | |
|---|---|
| Type | Firearms Manufacturer |
| Founded | |
| Headquarters | Westfield, MA |
| Industry | Firearms |
| Products | Rifles, Shotguns |
| Website | Savage Arms |
The Savage Arms Company is a firearms manufacturing company based in New York. The company makes a variety of rimfire and centerfire rifles, as well as marketing the Stevens single-shot rifles and shotguns. They may be best-known for the Model 99 hammerless lever-action rifle, no longer in production, and the very popular .300 Savage sporting cartridge, which was the parent case for the 7.62x51 NATO cartridge.
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Savage Arms was founded in 1894 by Arthur Savage in Utica, New York. Within 20 years they were producing rifles, handguns, and ammunition.[1] Savage merged with the Driggs-Seabury Ordnance Company during World War I and produced Lewis machine guns.[1] In 1920 Savage bought Stevens Arms. In 1939, Savage introduced the Model 24, a rare U.S. double rifle, which is actually an over-under rifle/shotgun combination that sold over a million copies.[2]
During World War II, Savage turned again to military production, making heavy munition. After the war it produced the first motorized lawnmower.[1]
The company was run by a variety of owners from the 1960s to the 1980s. Savage eventually ran into financial trouble in 1988 and filed for bankruptcy protection.[1] Production was then reduced to the basic Model 110 bolt-action rifle.
A turn-around began in 1995 with the company returning to private ownership, lead by Ronald Coburn, previously of Smith & Wesson. Today the company produces a wide variety of firearms and has a reputation for producing accurate, inexpensive rifles. Some of their recent success can be attributed to their development in 2002 of a factory-installed, safe, user-adjustable trigger, called the AccuTrigger.
Savage was awarded the Manufacturer of the Year by the Shooting Industry Academy of Excellence in 2003.[1]
Savage maintains its headquarters in Westfield, Massachusetts in the United States. The company also manufactures .22LR rimfire rifles in Canada and manufactures its wood stocks at a factory in Connecticut.
According to company officials, the Canadian division of Savage Arms exports 97 percent of its rifles, mostly to the US.[3]
Savage currently products the following types of arms:
- Rimfire rifles
- Bolt-action rifles
- Model 10
- Model 10FP
- Model 110
- Model 110FP
- Model 14
- Model 114
- Model 12
- Model 64
- Model 112
- Model 40 Varmint Hunter
- Weather Warrior Model 16
- Weather Warrior Model 116
- Model 11
- Model 111
- Combo Rifles - Model 24 O/U
- Pistols - Bolt-action Striker
- Shotguns
- Muzzloaders
- Stevens single-shot rifles
- ^ a b c d e "Savage Arms: the definition of accuracy: from riches to rags to honors," by Carolee Anita Boyles, Shooting Industry, September 2003
- ^ Harold Murtz. Gun Digest Treasury (DBI Books, 1994), p.197
- ^ Testimony of Barrie King, Vice-President and General Manager, to the House of Commons Standing Committee on Justice and Legal Affairs, November 24, 1997.