thegrizz,

If you own a 10ML-II like you say you do, and are so comvinced that it is unsafe by the opinion of one guy who's credibility is highly questionable, then certainly you should never shoot your rifle again. In fact, since it's unsafe, and therefore basically worthless, I'd be happy to pay for the shipping so that you can send your rifle to me so you can have the piece of mind of not having such a terribly unsafe weapon in your safe.

Unfortunately this whole vendetta between Bridges and Savage has been rekindled. The Bridges incident happened almost 5 years ago. Like Falcon said, he had a falling out with both Savage and the Balls over money, and Savage had also warned him repeatedly not to experiment with powders other than those tested by Savage in their ballistics lab (which he did), not to grossly exceed the recommended charge weights (which he did), and to never use duplex and triplex loads (which can be EXTREMELY unpredictable and dangerous, but he did anyway). Bridges got fired by Savage for insubordination, and his contract with Henry Ball ended because of breach of contract and attempted blackmail by Bridges. Bill Ball even posted an email from Bridges where Bridges threatened him and Henry with just such an incident.

Also, it's not noted by Bridges that the rifle went back to Savage who thoroughly examined it and found the cause to be a bore obstruction, likely from a double charge. If you examine the photos the Bridges posted of his gun, it's readily apparent that the greatest expansion of the barrel was several inches ahead of the breechplug. If you've ever seen a barrel bulged or split because of an obstruction, it's always right behind where the obstruction was. Bridges blames the breechplug design, but the failure clearly happened well forward of the breechplug, and even in his pictures the breechplug is still in place and intact. It should also be noted that Toby Bridges has absolutely NO education or background in engineering, physics, internal ballistics, metallurgy or any other technical field that would qualify him to scientifically evaluate the cause of the failure, assuming he's telling the truth about it being a Savage recommended charge that blew the gun. Toby Bridges is nothing more than a gun writer. He may have plenty of experience shooting guns, and is qualified to write articles about them, but he's no engineer or scientist. Guess who works for Savage? Engineers and scientists. My opinion is that Toby Bridges is a liar and a blackmailer who's hell-bent on destroying the reputation of Savage and the 10ML-II because they would let him and his ego dictate their business, and because he was experimenting with dangerous loads without the benefit of a ballistics lab and pressure test equipment, and they didn't want to be associated with him if he did manage to blow up a gun with his foolishness.

Bridges claims that 4 10ML's have been blown up, but I've seen no evidence of the other three. And even if they do exist, what makes anyone think that they were not caused by bore obstructions, improper loading or excessive/experimental charges? Also, have you ever considered that there are 10's of thousands of 10ML-II's out there right now that have never had any problems? All guns can be blown up. Sometimes it's a result of poor materials and quality control (i.e. the rash of blown up Sako Finnlights a few years ago because the foundry sent them improperly heat treated barrel blanks, and they didn't catch it), sometimes it's user error (i.e. double charges/loads, air gaps, ramrods in barrels, failure to check for an clear a bore obstruction, etc...). Lastly, don't you think that if the breechplug really were the problem that Savage wouldn't redesign it? Obviously, if Bridges were correct, failure to do so would open Savage up to liability. Yet, Savage has stuck with the design because it's been thoroughly tested and is perfectly safe. In fact, Savage engineers tried to recreate Bridges blow up and could not get another 10ML-II to blow like his did. They bulged a few barrels, but none let go. I'm willing to trust Savage, because not only do they have the qualified personnel and equipment to thoroughly test the guns their designs, they also have lawyers and a very vested interest in reducing or eliminating liability. If Savage had any doubt at all about the safety of the 10ML-II's breechplug design, they'd recall them or at the least, redesign it for new rifles. Since this hasn't happened, I'm confident that there is no design flaw. The only mistake Savage made in this whole mess is hiring Toby Bridges in the first place.

But hey, like I said, if you're so convinced your gun is unsafe, go ahead and box it up and send it to me. I'll happily pay the shipping to take it off your hands for you.

Mike