Savage Edge

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The History of Savage Arms

Savage Arms was founded in 1894 by Arthur Savage in Utica, New York. Arthur Savage held two important patents at the time: a patent for a repeating rifle with a single-column magazine lever-action rifle, which he acquired in 1891, and a patent for a hammerless lever-action design. That paved the way for Savage’s quick rise to success.

The company’s first breakthrough came in 1895 when it introduced Model 1895 – the first hammerless lever-action rifle on the market. It was modeled after Model 1892, an earlier design that never saw production due to losing a bid for a US Army contract. Model 1895, however, won the contract for New York National Guard, but it was soon canceled due to getting caught in a contemporary political climate.

Savage continued investing efforts into the production of military-grade weapons. It was named one of the two finalists in the US Army trials for a .45 caliber semi-automatic pistol, and it lost only to the now-famous Colt M1911. Savage used the gained experience to produce high-quality pocket pistols, though, which resulted in the introduction of Model 1907, 1915, and 1917.

During World War I, Savage was merged with the Driggs-Seabury Ordnance company. The joint company focused all its efforts on the production of Lewis machine guns and heavy equipment for war purposes.

Between the two wars, Savage decided to expand its business inside the USA. In 1920 it bought Stevens Arms of Chicopee, followed by A.H. Fox Gun Co. of Philadelphia and Davis-Warner Arms and CrescentArms Co. of Norwich in 1930. Success followed and in 1939 Savage introduced the Model 24 combination gun which sold over a million copies.

When World War II commenced, though, Savage was once again ready to answer the call of duty. It focused all its resources on war efforts, producing a staggering number of weapons. It already signed a contract with Auto Ordinance Co. in 1938 to manufacture the famous .45 caliber Thompson submachine gun, and most of these submachine guns that were used in WWII were produced by none other than Savage. The company was also contracted by the US government in 1940 to produce .30 and .50 caliber Browning machine guns. On top of that, Savage manufactured one of the most mass-produced bolt-action rifles of WWII, the British No. 4 Lee–Enfield. A record of 1.2 million Lee-Enfield rifles was produced by Savage during the time of war.

Production dialed down after the war, though. In 1946, Savage closed its facilities in Utica and moved all its operations to the Stevens manufacturing premises. Even though the Model 110 was introduced in 1958, which remains one of the company’s most successful rifles to this date, Savage started to experience some issues. In 1960 all production was moved to the current location of Westfield, Massachusetts, and what followed was a series of different ownerships over the company. Savage gradually ran into serious financial problems and in 1988 the company declared bankruptcy.

The company had to cut back on its manufacturing costs to the point where it even stopped producing short-action configurations of its most successful model, the aforementioned Model 110. It wasn’t until 1995 when Savage returned to private ownership led by Ronald Coburn who sort of rejuvenated the whole company.

In 2002 Savage introduced and patented AccuTrigger – a safe and user-adjustable trigger that soon became a success. The following year, in 2003, the company was named Manufacturer of the Year by the Shooting Industry Academy of Excellence, further reaffirming Savage’s distinction. Four years later, on May 15, 2007, Savage 93R17 BTVS has been named the best rifle in the Best of the Best presentation by Shooting Times, Sporting Gun, and Shooting Gazette magazines.

In 2013 Savage once again changed ownership. It was acquired by Orbital ATK for 315 million dollars, and it was later handed over to Vista Outdoor which later sold it for $170 million in 2019 to a group of private investors led by Savage’s management.

The company also had its logo changed in the middle of the 2010s when it decided to retire its old logo that presumably featured Chief Lame Deer, a native-American tribesman leader. The latter supposedly approached Arthur Savage in 1919 to purchase rifles for his tribe. In exchange for a discount, Lame Deer agreed to a deal. According to the deal, Savage was allowed to use Lame Deer’s face for promotional purposes. Many doubt the authenticity of this story, however, and Savage itself removed it from its official website as well.

Savage Edge Rifle Review

Savage Edge is a bolt-action rifle that was first introduced in 2010, and it is now known as “Savage Axis”. The name change followed in 2011, only a year after its release. Presumably, it had to be renamed due to some legal issues.

Following the market crash in 2008, Savage tried to cater to the new wave of hunters, ones that were on the lookout for cheap yet quality replacements for the more expensive contemporaries which all of a sudden weren’t affordable anymore. Savage’s main objective when designing the Edge model was thus to produce a modernized but cheaper alternative to the established Savage Model 110. What followed was an accurate, dependable, and cheap rifle fit for beginners and more advanced hunters alike.

Savage Edge Camo back in 2010 when it was first released

Figure 1: Savage Edge Camo back in 2010 when it was first released. (source: https://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2010/03/31/savage-edge-new-budget-rifle/)

Savage Edge is built around a cost-effective action of the push-feed style and hosts a 2-lug bolt with an impressively smooth bolt operation. It features a 1-sided ejection port and is drilled and tapped for scope mounts, and all models have the same overall action length. The mounting surface on the Edge is rounded both at the front and at the back, and the spacing between the front two mounting holes (distance A, see the image below) and rear two mounting holes (distance C, see the image below) is the same as on the Savage Model 110, but the same cannot be said for the distance in-between (distance B, see the image below). Therefore, Savage Edge has two-piece scope mounts interchangeable with long-action and short-action configurations of the famous (round-back) Savage Model 110.

As opposed to the Savage Model 110 which has a 3-position safety catch, Savage Edge has a 2-position one. It features a small dimple that allows for ease of engagement. When the safety is pushed forward (away from the shooter), the rifle is in firing mode. This is indicated by a red dot that is otherwise covered when the safety is on and the trigger is locked.

The barrel of Savage Edge is 559mm (22-inch) long and is usually made of carbon steel. We also think it’s important to add that (at least to our knowledge) every Edge comes with a small shank barrel that can be interchanged with Savage Model 110 and/or Axis variants that also have small shank barrels.

The stock of Savage Edge is synthetic and it ends in a pleasantly designed recoil pad that is quite satisfying considering the price of the rifle.

Because Savage wanted to cut on the rifle’s cost as much as possible, Savage Edge comes without the established AccuTrigger^TM. This changed with the introduction of Savage Axis II (2nd Gen. of Savage Edge/Axis) which includes the AccuTrigger – this is also the only difference between the two models (Axis/Edge and Axis II).

The design of Savage's patented AccuTrigger

Figure 2: The design of Savage's patented AccuTrigger (source: https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BwSpbbhIIAE0hUO.jpg:large)

Savage Edge features a 4-round magazine with a metal body and plastic bottom. Savage originally utilized a detachable magazine with a release lever molded as a loop and affixed to the plastic bottom plate, but it changed this design in late 2018 to include a newly redesigned spring-loaded release mechanism. Both designs are compatible with rifles from the Edge/Axis and 110 series that use the so-called "Axis " magazine.

As mentioned above, all Edge models have the same overall action length, but those chambered for short-action cartridges use a short-action length magazine, while those chambered for long-action cartridges use a long-action length magazine.

Savage Edge Calibers

Savage Edge can be chambered for:

.223 Rem.
.22-250 Rem.
6 mm ARC
.243 Win.
.25-06 Rem.
6.5 Creedmoor
.270 Win.
7mm–08 Rem.
280 Ackley IMP
300 AAC Blackout
.308 Win.
.30–06 Spring.
350 Legend

Savage Edge Variants

There are several Savage Edge variants on the market today. Because this model was soon re-named “Axis”, we also included Axis variants on this list.

These are the Savage Edge variants:

Savage Edge
Savage Edge Camo
Savage Edge XP
Savage Axis Camo
Savage Axis Compact
Savage Axis Left Hand
Savage Axis Compact Left Hand
Savage Axis XP
Savage Axis XP Compact
Savage Axis XP Camo
Savage Axis XP Compact Camo
Savage Axis XP Compact Muddy Girl
Savage Axis XP Stainless

There are four holes for mounting purposes on Edge’s receiver, two at the front, and two at the rear mounting surface.

The receiver of Savage Axis/Edge in .22-250 with a visible mounting surface

Figure 3: The receiver of Savage Axis/Edge in .22-250 with a visible mounting surface (source: https://www.savageshooters.com/content.php?29-Savage-Axis-22-250-Rifle-Review)

dimensions of Savage receiver

A: 21.87 mm
B: 109.75 mm
C: 21.87 mm
BHU: 0 mm
Fi: #6-48
R1: 17
R2: 17

Scope Mounts Interchangeable with Savage Edge

Rifles That Have One-Piece Scope Mounts Interchangeable with Savage Edge

The necessary condition for rifles to have one-piece scope mounts interchangeable is that the mounting surfaces of these rifles match in every dimension. Rifles that have one-piece mounts interchangeable with Savage Edge are the following:

Rifles That Have Two-Piece Scope Mounts Interchangeable with Savage Edge

For two-piece scope mounts to be interchangeable, the mounting surfaces of the rifles must match in every dimension except the action length which can vary. This is because the distance between the two pieces of the mount is not fixed. Rifles that have two-piece mounts interchangeable with Savage Edge are the following:

Best Scope Mounts for Savage Edge

Fixed Scope Mounts for Savage Edge

If you are looking for a quality fixed scope mount for your Savage Edge, then look no further than this 30 mm DNZ Game Reaper. It is made of aluminum and comes with a 10-year warranty.

Detachable Repeatable Scope Mounts for Savage Edge

INNOmount offers impressive solutions when it comes to detachable repeatable scope mounts for various uses. One of them is this 2-piece 30 mm scope mount of famed German quality. It is a great choice for your Savage Edge, and it comes with a 10-year warranty as well. However, it needs to be coupled with a Picatinny Rail.

Picatinny Rails for Savage Edge

EGW is always a great choice when it comes to quality scope mounts, and it is no different with Picatinny rails. We highly recommend this EGW Picatinny Rail for your Savage Edge. It comes with a 2-year warranty and is made of aluminum.

Help Us Build Our Riflescope Mounts Database

If you happen to own this or any other rifle, we would appreciate it if you could help us expand our database by sending us some photos of the rifle receiver (the bare mounting surface of the rifle without the mounts installed). For your help, our company offers a fair return in terms of practical rewards.

Please send us an email for more information. You can contact us here: info@optics-trade.eu