Top Selling Guns | September 2023

This month’s GunBroker.com Top Selling Report, presented by GunGenius.com, numbers are out, and Savage is putting up impressive numbers in both the new and used bolt-action rifle categories. The Model 10/110 rifle ranks number three in the list of top-selling new bolt actions, and the company’s Axis rifle breaks into the top five best-selling bolt guns. Savage 10/110 rifles have also moved into the number five position in best-selling used rifles, and that means Savage occupies three of the top ten new and used bolt-action rifle sales positions this month at Gun Genius.

It shouldn’t surprise anyone that Savage’s rifles are best sellers. After all, these guns have proven to be accurate and reliable for over six decades. Here’s a look back at the history of Savage’s best-selling bolt guns.

Brewer’s Bolt-Action

Though he’ll never receive the same widespread acclaim as John Browning, Roy Weatherby, or Bill Ruger, Nicolas Brewer was nonetheless a talented and innovative firearms designer. In the mid-1950s he was tasked with building a new turnbolt rifle that had to be accurate, reliable, and affordable. In 1958 his completed rifle, the Model 110, hit the market four years ahead of Remington’s Model 700. The Savage was available in .30-06 and .270 Winchester chamberings originally, and it cost just under $110 bucks.

In the years that followed, Savage offered other versions of the rifle, including a C version (for “clip,” common terminology for a magazine at the time) and MC (Monte Carlo) models. They also offered all their guns in left-handed models, which proved brilliant. Southpaws don’t represent a large percentage of the population—about 10% according to most estimates—but Savage’s left-handed guns offered something that Winchester’s popular Model 70 did not.

The most innovative feature on the 110 rifle, however, was its use of a barrel nut. The barrel nut system was a simple and affordable means by which to offer perfect headspacing and, in turn, improve accuracy. The Savage 110 was among the most affordable centerfire rifles of the mid-twentieth century, but it often outshot guns that cost more, including the Model 70.

Those cost savings were primarily a result of smarter design that simplified machining processes. Brewer designed the Model 110 so that it could be made with far fewer machine cuts than actions like the Model 70, but he didn’t forsake safety. The Savage bolt features two locking lugs up front and two lugs behind them. When the bolt is closed, the front lugs lock into recesses while the rear lugs lock into the raceway. In the event of a catastrophic failure gas escapes through ports in the bolt, but the bolt itself remains locked in place.

Savage’s 110 and 10 (long and short actions, respectively) have been a huge success for the brand and continue to be among the best-selling bolt guns available today. And while they were once considered “value” guns serious shooters understood that smarter and more efficient design was what kept cost lower, not just less expensive materials. Over time, Savage’s 110/10 rifles have earned an outstanding reputation for accuracy, succeeding in long-range competition and becoming a favorite model of serious hunters who want to stretch their maximum effective range on game. With dozens of versions available today, the model 110/10 is one of the premium American bolt-actions, a rifle that’s suitable for any application.

Rise of the Axis

By the turn of the twenty-first century, Savage’s 110/10 rifles were no longer truly “budget” guns but rather feature-rich American-made rifles that competed alongside the flagship rifles from other brands. This created a space in Savage’s lineup, and that prompted Savage to create the Axis bolt-action.

The Axis was Savage’s entry into the budget rifle war that was raging at the time. But with an MSRP in 2010 of $329 the Axis was inexpensive even among entry-level rifles. However, the Axis was a solid (albeit austere) rifle. For someone simply looking for a bolt-action rifle that was sufficient for most hunting applications at a price they could afford the Axis offered a viable option.

The original Axis rifle was solid and functional, but the trigger was not as good an many competing guns. Savage had a ready-made solution to the problem in their AccuTrigger, and four years after the Axis launched it was followed by the Axis II which featured an AccuTrigger. This added a bit of cost, but for many the increase in performance was worthwhile.

Savage introduced the AccuTrigger in 2002, and in doing so they changed bolt-action hunting rifle design for the better. For years manufacturers had been trying to develop a safe, reliable bolt-action trigger, one that was light and crisp yet was not prone to accidental discharges. Savage succeeded by offering their externally-adjustable, bladed AccuTrigger.

Bladed triggers are commonplace, but it was Savage that deserves the lion’s share of the credit for bringing the design to factory rifles. The concept is simple: a blade within the face of the trigger blocks the sear in the forward position. It is only when the blade is pulled rearward into the face of the trigger that the sear can fall, a simple yet reliable solution that seamlessly incorporates a passive safety directly into the trigger. This also allowed Savage to make the AccuTrigger adjustable and allow factory triggers to be lowered to just 1.5 pounds.

Keeping with the “Accu” theme, Savage added the AccuStock in 2009 and AccuFit in 2018. AccuStock is a bedding system that promotes exceptional accuracy, and the AccuFit system allows shooters to customize the stock of their Savage rifle to the perfect dimensions. These features help improve performance and comfort, and are just two more ways that these pioneering American-made rifles are so popular with hunters and shooters.

Savage isn’t a brand that sits on the sidelines so you can rest assured that this brand will continue to offer innovative features on their premium rifles. The company recently introduced their ground-breaking Impulse straight-pull rifle, which is accurate and reliable and has disproven the myth that American hunters and shooters don’t like straight-pull guns. It’s exciting to see what the future holds for this brand and their Axis and 10/110 bolt-action rifles, but there’s no doubt that Savage will remain one of the top rifle manufacturers into the future.

Top Selling Guns Sold in September 2023

Source: gungenius.com/top-selling/

To learn more or shop for any of the guns listed, visit Gun Genius at www.gungenius.com/top-selling.

Editor's note: In the report, guns are rated from one to five within each category, with the number one gun being the most popular that month. The numbers are color-coded to show any changes in the ranks from the previous report.

Black = Steady
Green = Up
Red = Down

Source: gungenius.com/top-selling/

To learn more or shop for any of the guns listed, visit Gun Genius at www.gungenius.com/top-selling.

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