Another thing to consider is the negative anti-Savage marketing campaigns by several companies, including Knight, T/C and Hodgdon. Almost immediately after the 10ML came out, all three companies released "safety advisories" stating to the effect that NO muzzleloader whatsoever is safe with smokeless powder. Of course, they hadn't tested the 10ML themselves, nor did they have ANY evidence whatsoever that the 10ML was in any way dangerous. Nope, these announcements were mearly a ploy to ensure that a superior product didn't snatch their market share right out from under their noses. Think about it...both Knight and T/C are the two MAJOR ML manufacturers in the U.S., and neither one has anything that comes close to the performance of the Savage and they know it. And Hodgdon makes both Pyrodex and Triple Seven, the two most popular volumetric black powder substitutes. All three companies would take major economic hits if the 10ML took over as the most popular ML rifle in the U.S. So they did their best to slander the Savage and poison the minds of the ML community against it from the start, and by and large it's worked.

When I was looking to buy my 10ML-II, I went down to Scheel's to see if they had one, which they didn't. When I asked the sales manager if he would be carrying them for the fall, he immediately went off on a tyrade about how he wasn't going to carry them because he'd HEARD from "a couple people" (I could tell he was BS'ing me) that the Savages were dangerous. When I told him that they were proofed to 129,000psi he wouldn't believe me because one or two undisclosed and probably imaginary people told him that the gun would blow up. Of course, he'd never witnessed it himself, nor had he personally known of someone who had had one blow up, but he based his opinion on hearsay. But he told me that he didn't want to risk the personal liability by selling the Savage. This coming from a guy who sells an extensive line of handloading supplies, all of which if improperly used could cause ANY CF firearm to blow up. I've also PERSONALLY watched a Remington M700 BDL blow out its magazine, follower and floorplate with an overly hot handload. Yet he still willingly carries an extensive line of handloading tools and supplies, as well as numerous M700's of all shapes and sizes. Basically, this guy was giving me his personal opinion and using a made up anecdote to justify it. He was full of crap, just like the companies who used their standing within the ML community to poison people against Savage to protect their market share.

I'm simply trying to get the facts out about the Savage and make people see that the Savage is not only safer than any other ML out there regardless of propellant used. The following are the simple facts:

The 10ML is made of the safe smokeless gunbarrel steel as a CF rifle. This steel is MUCH harder than the soft steels used for making normal black powder ML's. Milder steel is easier and therefore cheaper to work with than the much harder steel necessary to contain the higher pressures of smokeless powder. The receiver is also made with the same materials as the CF Savage bolt action. In fact, the reciever is virtually identical with just a few minor changes to accomodate the muzzleloading ignition system.

EVERY 10ML is PROOF FIRED by Savage to a pressure of 129,000psi (that's ONE HUNDRED TWENTY-NINE THOUSAND PSI!). Like a centerfire rifle, the bore comes dirty from this proof firing. 129,000psi if TWICE the maximum average pressure of any Weatherby belted magnum rifle cartridge.

The bore and and button rifling are made to comply with the same SAMMI tolerances of their CF rifle barrels.

If recommended saboted projectiles are used, there is VIRTUALLY NO CHANCE that the 10ML will burst its barrel. Why? Because even the best sabots on the market will completely fail if exposed to roughly 50,000psi of chamber pressure. The sabot will melt and blow apart, allowing the remaining pressure to vent safely out the muzzle with the only negative effects being plastic fouling in the bore and a complete lack of accuracy downrange. 50,000psi is nowhere near the 129,000psi proof pressure of the barrel and action. The manual clearly states that saboted projectiles are the ONLY acceptable projectiles when using smokeless powder, period. It's spelled out clearly in multiple places. If someone fails to comply with this restriction and chooses to load a conical bullet with smokeless powder resulting in the destruction of the rifle, it is the shooter who was unsafe, not the rifle.

Mike