Renegauge’s DRIV Gas System - How it Works

When we began building a shotgun, we knew it was a crowded market. Many companies make functional semi-automatic shotguns. It wasn’t enough to simply make another one—this one had to be a Savage. The result is Renegauge—Savage’s first semi-automatic shotgun. One look at Renegauge will show it’s different, but what makes it really unique can’t be seen from the outside. At the end of the magazine tube and below the barrel is our patented Dual Regulating Inline Valve (DRIV) gas system. 

As the name suggests, the DRIV gas system regulates the gas that drives the action. As the round fires, expanding gases are vented from inside the barrel by two valves that work together to regulate the pressure needed to eject the spent shell.

The first action of the DRIV gas system will feel familiar. The valves open and use the energy created by the expanding gasses to drive the bolt rearward. This is a time-tested design for semi-autos, and one that—in many guns—creates as many problems as it solves. Low-recoil shells may lack the energy to cycle the bolt. Magnum loads may dump too much gas into a system, which is hard on the shooter and the gun.

What makes Renegauge so versatile is its dual valve design. This patented design allows both valves to relieve gas pressure simultaneously in order to cycle the action. The pressure needed to work the action enters in, but any excess pressure dumps through the front of the gas system. The result is an action that regulates energy with every shot. The DRIV gas system valves only pull enough energy to cycle the action, regardless of the load. Magnum loads and low-brass shells both cycle reliably.

When we say Renegauge is balanced, we mean more than how it feels in the hand. The timing of the DRIV gas system’s two valves allows for even more accurate spring calibration inside the action. As a result, Renegauge is both exceptionally consistent and lightning fast. Shells eject with exacting precision, with empty shells from various loads following the same path. And the reduced impact wear from magnum shells prolongs the life of the whole firearm. The DRIV gas system even features a staggered multi-port arrangement designed to prevent wad shaving.

Renegauge is truly self-regulating. There are no adjustments to make to account for increases or decreases in velocity. 3” magnums will run as consistently and reliably as 2 ¾” target loads and low recoil shells. While the DRIV gas system is at the heart of what makes Renegauge work, there’s more—much more—that makes Renegauge worthy of the Savage name.