Savage 10ML Consistency
Dear Randy,
Thanks again for all the great articles. I am the proud owner of two Savage 10ml models,one with a laminate stock and one with a composite stock. I fired two 3 shot groups with 44gr of 5744 and a 250 gr xtp out of each gun and left one big hole in the bullseye at 100yds.
These are two different guns with different barrels and breech plugs, thinking this was a fluke i set up some empty Powerade bottles at 200yds and hit 4 out of 5 with one gun and 5 out of 5 with the other gun. By no means am I an expert marksman or sharpshooter, but I have been extremely impressed with my Savage 10ml's since i pulled them out of the box. They are with out a doubt the best and safest muzzleloaders ever produced, what a joy to shoot and clean, they have put many smiles on my face from harvesting many white tail deer and even a ground hog or two (what a mess that leaves). I don't understand why any other muzzleloader hunter would want nothing else but a Savage, smokeless is the only way to go.
Thanks again,
Tony
Hello Tony,
I appreciate the kind words and am glad to hear you're enjoying your Savages. Most people don't realize it, but the Savage 10ML is the longest running production dedicated inline muzzleloader manufactured today. It all began in the year 2000, nearly 12 years ago.
What is called “smokeless powder,” actually a very large group of propellants, is an old idea, assuming the role of the preferred blackpowder substitute in the late 1800s. There is a neat little book, published in 1937, written by T.D.S. Purdey and Capt. J.A. Purdey titled “THE SHOT GUN.” Chapter V of this little book is “Powder,” and it efficiently summarizes the benefits of smokeless powder that were well-known to the beginner at that time.
“The manufacture of smokeless nitro powders and their gradual development reflect in the highest degree the diligence and constant experimenting of the manufacturers and their scientific experts. The result of their combined efforts has given the shooter a smokeless powder, more effective than the black, not so noisy in its report, far less in its recoil, and with practically no smoke at all.”
A bit later, the benefits are summarized.“The chief attributes of the modern smokeless powders are:-- (1) Absence of smoke (2) Regularity of ballistics (3) No high pressures (4) Quick ignition (5) Absence of undue fouling. There should be as small amount of fouling as possible, and what there is should not cause erosion and should be easily moveable from the barrel.”
Though written by the Purdeys 75 years ago, that's still exactly the case today. The rest of the magic of the Savage 10ML-II is what makes a rifle a rifle worth owning in the first place: a one piece stock, a recoil lug, a rigid action screw array, 100% proof-tested barrels, and a light, crisp trigger. No other major manufacturer offers a muzzleloader like this except for Savage, made right here in Westfield, Massachusetts. It has made muzzleloading a safer, more accurate, hassle-free, more economical, more enjoyable experience for tens of thousands of hunters and shooters for twelve consecutive years by now.
You can spend two, three, or even four thousand dollars for a custom muzzleloader that offers smokeless capability. Yet, none of them will make a deer any deader better than a Savage 10ML-II that you can have for under seven hundred dollars. None are as hassle-free and easy to use to use, and none of them are backed the customer service department of the United States' most accurate, most successful bolt action rifle company, Savage Arms, except for the 10ML-II.
© Copyright 2003-2011 by Randy Wakeman. All Rights Reserved.
