Savage 212 Slug

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 212 Slug Review

Disclaimer: Modern Savage 212 Slug models come with a pre-installed Picatinny rail. If your 212 Slug came with a 2-piece Weaver base instead, which was a common occurrence with older models, then we recommend you take a look at our selection of Weaver Rings.

On the other hand, if your shotgun came without pre-attached scope bases, then we strongly recommend you mount this EGW Picatinny rail for Savage 212 Slug

Figure 1: Savage 212 Slug in 12 GA (Source: https://www.rokslide.com/forums/threads/slug-hunters-savage-212-more-accurate-than-some-of-my-rifles.234576/)

Savage designed its Slug line around a bolt-action platform that is built like a rifle. Savage’s aim was to redefine slug accuracy; after years of experience, we can safely say they were largely successful.

Savage 212 Slug was initially only available as a special order but is now available as standard. One should not confuse Model 212 and 220 Slug with the older single-shot 219/220 shotgun that pre-dates anything currently available on the market by Savage.

The barrel of Savage 212 Slug is made of carbon steel and is 558.8 mm long (22”). Some variants, however, come with a stainless-steel barrel. It is button-rifled and very cost-effective, bringing down the production cost while still preserving top quality. It is designed for 2^3/4” & 3” shells.

Savage 212 Slug’s action is also made of carbon steel and features a 2-lug bolt with an oversized bolt handle that perfectly fits the nature of the shotgun. To remove the bolt handle, one must simultaneously press the trigger and the bolt-release catch which is found on the right side of the action, behind the bolt handle.

Usually, the receiver comes equipped with a Picatinny rail, which greatly improves the scope mounting possibilities. If your Savage 212 Slug came without a pre-installed scope mount, then we recommend you equip this Picatinny rail.

Some older 212 Slug variants were shipped with a 2-piece Weaver base instead. If you are looking for scope mounts that fit on a Weaver base, we recommend you take a look at our offer of Weaver Rings.

The three-position safety can be found on top of the tang. When pressed forward (away from the shooter), the weapon is in firing mode which is also indicated by a red dot that is otherwise hidden by the safety knob when the rifle is in safe mode.

Savage 212 Slug’s magazine is detachable and has a capacity for 3 rounds (+ one in the chamber). The magazine is very simply detached by pressing a catch located in front of the mag well.

It comes as no surprise that 212 Slug also features Savage’s patented AccuTrigger^TM which allows the user to easily adjust the trigger’s weight of the pull while still ensuring the complete safety of the rifle. 212 Slug thus offers a crisp, user-adjustable light pull of the best possible accuracy.

The tough and rugged stock is synthetic. Most newer models employ the AccuFit system, an impressive and innovative stock system that allows shooters to easily adjust the buttstock style, length of pull, and comb height from the comfort of their own home. Every Savage 212 made after 2018 comes with the necessary tools and several modular parts to make the best use of this innovation.

Savage 212 Slug Calibers

Savage 212 Slug is chambered for 12 GA caliber.

Savage 212 Slug Variants

• Savage 212 Slug variants are:

• Savage 212 Slug Camo

• Savage 212 Slug Youth

• Savage 212 Turkey

Savage 212 Slug comes with a pre-installed Picatinny rail nowadays. If you have one of the older models, however, there’s a chance yours came with a Weaver base or even without bases, simply drilled and tapped.

Figure 2: The receiver of Savage 212 Slug with a visible mounting surface/pre-installed Picatinny rail (Source: Gun Digest)

Scope Mounts Interchangeable with Savage 212 Slug

Rifles That Have One-Piece Scope Mounts Interchangeable with Savage 212 Slug

The necessary condition for rifles to have one-piece scope mounts interchangeable is that the mounting surfaces of these rifles match in every dimension.

Since modern Savage 212 Slug models come with a pre-installed Picatinny rail, all rifles that come with a Picatinny rail will have one-piece scope mounts interchangeable with Savage Impulse.

The same goes for Weaver bases. Rifles that have Weaver bases already installed on the receiver will also have scope mounts interchangeable.

Rifles That Have Two-Piece Scope Mounts Interchangeable with Savage 212 Slug

There’s a similar situation with two-piece scope mounts. Any rifle that has a Picatinny rail mounted on its mounting surface will have two-piece scope mounts interchangeable with the Savage 212 Slug, too.

Best Scope Mounts for Savage 212 Slug

The recommendations down below are for Savage 212 Slug models that come with a pre-installed Picatinny rail, which is the most common feature on Savage Slug models nowadays.

If your 212 Slug came with a 2-piece Weaver base instead, which was a common occurrence with older models, then we recommend you take a look at our selection of Weaver Rings.

On the other hand, if your shotgun came without pre-attached scope bases, then we strongly recommend you mount this EGW Picatinny rail for Savage 212 Slug:

Order EGW Picatinny Rail for Savage 212

Fixed Scope Mounts for Savage 212 Slug

We believe that these 30 mm Contessa Picatinny rings would be a wonderful choice for your 212 Slug since Contessa is known to offer a wide range of good mounting options. These rings are of high quality and they are also reasonably priced. They have a 30-year warranty and are made of steel.

Click here for Contessa Picatinny Rings 30 mm

Detachable Repeatable Scope Mounts for Savage 212 Slug

This Henneberger one-piece mount earned our top recommendation for a detachable repeatable scope mount for Savage 212 Slug. It is reliable and extremely versatile and is thus always a great choice. It is manufactured in Germany, is made of aluminum, and has a 30-year warranty attached to it.

Check out Henneberger HMS Swift Mount

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