Is your Savage rifle ready for hunting season? Have you went through a thorough rifle maintenance process to check everything over? There is nothing worse than pulling out your favorite deer rifle the week or night (you know who you are) before the season and finding something wrong. Maybe it was not cleaned, or it was damaged last season and not fixed. Whatever the cause, we want to help you have a successful hunting season this fall and take care of any repairs before opening day. Our service department has put together a pre-season checklist for your rifle, helpful tips for troubleshooting, and information on how to send your Savage to us for repair.  If you haven’t already, now is a great time to do some essential rifle maintenance and get ready for hunting season!

Firearm Function

First, and most importantly, is your firearm functioning properly? A few key areas to check are your magazine type and fit, feeding, and ejection. Proper function in these areas can make or break a hunt, so give them a good look now while there’s still plenty of time to correct potential issues.

• Magazines: Check your magazine and make sure it is the right one for your rifle. Is it a Savage factory magazine, or an aftermarket pattern like AICS? Is the cartridge correct for your rifle? Does the magazine fit securely, or is it loose when seated in the rifle? Give these a quick check to ensure you have the right magazine for the right rifle.
• Feeding: Is your rifle feeding properly? Spend some time on the range not only practicing your shooting but also making sure that your rifle is feeding properly. If you don’t have time to get out to the range, you can also get some dummy ammo or snap caps to load into your magazine. Look for smooth cartridge pickups out of your magazine, and note any double feeds or rounds catching before feeding.
• Ejection: While you’re checking your rifle’s feeding, also inspect how it performs with ejection. Is ejection strong and consistent? Are spent casings ejecting from the chamber, or just falling out of the chamber? Are there any failures to eject? A strong ejection helps with reliable performance in the field, so make sure your rifle is in top performing shape.

You can find more tips on proper firearm function, assembly, and features over at the Firearms 101 section of our blog!

Torque and Tightness

One often overlooked area of rifle maintenance is torque and tightness of all the components of your rifle. While uncommon, occasionally screws on your firearm can work loose from being bumped, dropped, and transportation to and from the field. Here are a few key areas to check.

• Action screws: Are you suddenly having accuracy issues with your rifle? Check that the actions crews haven't become loose. Consult the table below for the proper torque specifications for the action screws on your rifle. Note that the rearmost trigger guard screw on Model 110s is NOT an action screw and should be hand tight only.  Do not overtighten! Read our blog on removing the stock from a Savage rifle for more info.
• Scope bases: Double checking your scope base is a good idea before every season. If your scope base is loose, you may have issues with shot-to-shot consistency. A loose base will move your scope due to the recoil of each shot, so check your screws and make sure they are torqued properly.
• Scope rings: Loose scope rings can impact your eye relief and zero, which will impact your accuracy and your ability to shoot through your optic. Check that the rings are torqued to spec per the manufacturer’s guidelines to ensure that your scope is rock solid and secure.

If you have other attachments that stay attached to your rifle, like collapsible bipods, check to make sure that they are also properly tightened and won’t move whenever you’re lining up for the shot.

Cleaning and Lubrication

Cleaning and lubrication is your baseline rifle maintenance. Having a clean rifle is important, not only to prevent corrosion and damage, but also to ensure proper function whenever you hit the field in the fall. Here are a few key areas to focus on.

• Barrel: Your rifle’s barrel is key to accuracy, so protecting it is important. A barrel that sits with too much powder and copper fouling for too long can rust or develop pitting, which will damage the rifling and impact your accuracy. If you didn’t clean your rifle after last hunting season, now is a great time to grab a brush and some bore cleaner and get to work.
• Bolt and action: The action is the heart of your rifle, and keeping it clean and lubricated ensures your rifle runs smoothly. A buildup of fouling and powder can make your action feel stiff and gummy, making it difficult to operate. Use your favorite rifle cleaner and a brush and scrub out the action and wipe it clean. You should also clean your rifle’s bolt, and keep it lubricated with a light coat of oil along the bolt body to help it operate smoothly.

Before putting your rifle up in the safe, lightly oiling the outside of it can help prevent corrosion, especially if your storage area does not have any dehumidifiers. Simply take a cloth or rag and put a small amount of oil on it and wipe down the rifle to help remove any oils, dust, or contaminants.

Other Tips

Torquing, tightening, and cleaning are all important to rifle maintenance, but there are a few more tips to keep in mind as you go through your off-season checklist.

• Is your eye relief set properly? If you have black rings when you look through your scope, at any magnification, then your eye relief is not set right. You will need to re-mount your scope and adjust it so that you have a clear view from edge to edge at every magnification level.
• Whether you re-mount your scope, add a new scope, or don’t make any scope adjustments, you still need to verify your zero. Hit the range and make sure your zero hasn’t changed since last season.
• Is your trigger working properly? A trigger that is too light can have light primer strikes. Make sure your AccuTrigger is adjusted within factory standards, which is 2.5 – 6 pounds or 1.5 – 4 pounds, depending on the rifle chosen.
• Does your rifle fit properly? If you have a new Model 110 rifle, you can adjust your fit easily and quickly with the AccuFit V2 system to ensure that your length of pull and comb height are set to a comfortable level for you to shoot.

If you have any questions before or during your rifle maintenance, you should consult your owner’s manual or give our customer service team a call to assist you with your needs.

How To Contact Savage Arms Customer Service 

If you have any questions, need assistance, or need to order parts for your firearm, our customer service team is happy to help!

You can reach the service department by phone or email Monday – Friday, 8am-5pm ET. 

• Phone: 800-370-0708, choose option 1.
• Email: Send us a message 

If you are calling for parts, technical questions, or the status of a repair on your firearm, make sure you have your serial number ready.  All parts orders require the serial number to ensure compatibility. 

How To Send Your Savage Rifle in for Repair

If your firearm needs expert help, our veteran gunsmiths are more than willing to take a look. 

First things first, please check your warranty. If you have owned your Savage firearm for a year or less, you may still be covered by your warranty. If there is a question whether the firearm should be returned for repair or parts should be purchased, please call 1-800-370-0708 (Monday – Friday, 8am-5pm ET). For more information about warranties or to register your new product, please visit the Warranty page.

New for all firearms purchased in 2026 and later is the Limited Lifetime Extended Service Agreement. This service starts after the one-year warranty ends, and is in effect for the original registered owner. The agreement covers defects in materials or workmanship, not wear and tear, cosmetic issues, or faults created by abuse, misuse, failure to maintain, or modifications. To be eligible for the extended service agreement you must warranty register your firearm.

All firearms are to be sent to Savage Arms at the owner's expense. Warranty repairs will be returned to the owner at Savage Arms' expense. Firearms will be repaired, typically 3 weeks after receipt of payment, in the order they were received. Make sure to consider the repair’s lead time with your hunting season. 

U.S. Customers

For warranty claims, proof of purchase must accompany the firearm. Pack the firearm in its original box if possible. If a similar suitable box is used, care should be taken to protect the barrel/muzzle from breaking through. Always pack with the assumption that the firearm will undergo rough handling during transit to Savage Arms. Enclose a brief note including:

• Your name, address, and phone number 
• Serial number of the firearm
• Description of the problem you are having
• Bullet weight, bullet type, and manufacturer of the ammunition you are using
• Any other information that you feel may be helpful

SEND TO:
Savage Arms Attn: Service Department
100 Springdale Road
Westfield, MA 01085

Canadian Customers

Firearms owned by individuals in Canada cannot be returned directly to our service department in Westfield, MA, due to import/export laws, and must be sent to Savage Arms Canada. There are NO other authorized locations in Canada. Do not send your gun to anyone other than Savage Arms Canada. Please include a letter with the following information to return a firearm for service:

• Your name, address, phone number, and email address
• A copy of the owner’s Possession & Acquisition License
• A detailed description of the problem
• The type of ammunition used

SEND TO:
SAVAGE ARMS (CANADA)
248 Water Street PO Box 1240
Lakefield, Ontario K0L 2H0
P: 800-370-0708

International

Please contact your country’s Savage distributor for assistance with parts and repairs.

Find Your Distributor 

As you work through your off-season rifle maintenance, we're always here to help! Good luck this season, and please let us know if there is anything we can do to make this year a success! Thank you from all of us at Savage!