I traded a 3 point rototiller for Savage 110 in .223, and I have been happy with this gun, I like the adjustable stock length and trigger and it cycles without issue. After a poor season using a muzzleloader in Michigan farm country (shotgun only zone) I decided it was time to get a .350 Legend which is one of the straight wall cartridges now legal in Michigan shotgun zone.
I went with the Savage Apex Storm because of the adjustability and claims of accuracy. The first thing I noticed when I got it was that the bolt backward travel seemed farther than necessary and the bolt was very sloppy when pulled back that far. I compared it to the .223 which is pretty much the exact same overall length as the .350 Legend, and the bolt came back over a half inch less than the .350 Legend.
I did some online research and learned a lot about about long action and short action and bolt baffles. The 110 in .223 and .350 Legend has a short action receiver, and the .223 has a short action baffle on the bolt, but the .350 has a long action baffle on the bolt. This is why it travels so far on the backstroke.
I called Savage and they told me it was as designed and never did give me any reason why, but offered to replace the baffle on the bolt with a short action. I took them up on this and shipped them the bolt. When I got it back I had finally found some ammo for the gun and while sighting it in I had several feed issues.
1. It would slide over and not chamber the second cartridge in the magazine.
2. It would sometimes catch on the backstroke, I think the bolt is catching on the straight wall cartridge.
3. Sometimes it will jam on the forward stroke, pushing the cartridge out of the magazine but pushing it down into the magazine and not into the chamber. Sometimes it disengages two cartridges when it does this.
I called Savage again and they are going to ship me a new magazine once they come available again, which is end of April they hope. If that doesn't fix the issue I will have to ship them the entire rifle.
I guess I am just looking for some feedback on the bolt issue, and if anyone thinks the switch from long action to short action would have anything to do with the feeding issues.
From internet searches it seems magazine issues are a common problem with these guns, but the posts I have seen pertaining to the .350 legend caliber a new magazine did not fix the issue.
I went with the Savage Apex Storm because of the adjustability and claims of accuracy. The first thing I noticed when I got it was that the bolt backward travel seemed farther than necessary and the bolt was very sloppy when pulled back that far. I compared it to the .223 which is pretty much the exact same overall length as the .350 Legend, and the bolt came back over a half inch less than the .350 Legend.
I did some online research and learned a lot about about long action and short action and bolt baffles. The 110 in .223 and .350 Legend has a short action receiver, and the .223 has a short action baffle on the bolt, but the .350 has a long action baffle on the bolt. This is why it travels so far on the backstroke.
I called Savage and they told me it was as designed and never did give me any reason why, but offered to replace the baffle on the bolt with a short action. I took them up on this and shipped them the bolt. When I got it back I had finally found some ammo for the gun and while sighting it in I had several feed issues.
1. It would slide over and not chamber the second cartridge in the magazine.
2. It would sometimes catch on the backstroke, I think the bolt is catching on the straight wall cartridge.
3. Sometimes it will jam on the forward stroke, pushing the cartridge out of the magazine but pushing it down into the magazine and not into the chamber. Sometimes it disengages two cartridges when it does this.
I called Savage again and they are going to ship me a new magazine once they come available again, which is end of April they hope. If that doesn't fix the issue I will have to ship them the entire rifle.
I guess I am just looking for some feedback on the bolt issue, and if anyone thinks the switch from long action to short action would have anything to do with the feeding issues.
From internet searches it seems magazine issues are a common problem with these guns, but the posts I have seen pertaining to the .350 legend caliber a new magazine did not fix the issue.