Savage 93

The History of Savage Arms

Savage Arms was founded in 1894 by Arthur Savage in Utica, New York. Arthur Savage held two important patents at the time: a patent for a repeating rifle with a single-column magazine lever-action rifle, which he acquired in 1891, and a patent for a hammerless lever-action design. That paved the way for Savage’s quick rise to success.

The company’s first breakthrough came in 1895 when it introduced Model 1895 – the first hammerless lever-action rifle on the market. It was modeled after Model 1892, an earlier design that never saw production due to losing a bid for a US Army contract. Model 1895, however, won the contract for New York National Guard, but it was soon canceled due to getting caught in a contemporary political climate.

Savage continued investing efforts into the production of military-grade weapons. It was named one of the two finalists in the US Army trials for a .45 caliber semi-automatic pistol, and it lost only to the now-famous Colt M1911. Savage used the gained experience to produce high-quality pocket pistols, though, which resulted in the introduction of Model 1907, 1915, and 1917.

During World War I, Savage was merged with the Driggs-Seabury Ordnance company. The joint company focused all its efforts on the production of Lewis machine guns and heavy equipment for war purposes.

Between the two wars, Savage decided to expand its business inside the USA. In 1920 it bought Stevens Arms of Chicopee, followed by A.H. Fox Gun Co. of Philadelphia and Davis-Warner Arms and CrescentArms Co. of Norwich in 1930. Success followed and in 1939 Savage introduced the Model 24 combination gun which sold over a million copies.

When World War II commenced, though, Savage was once again ready to answer the call of duty. It focused all its resources on war efforts, producing a staggering number of weapons. It already signed a contract with Auto Ordinance Co. in 1938 to manufacture the famous .45 caliber Thompson submachine gun, and most of these submachine guns that were used in WWII were produced by none other than Savage. The company was also contracted by the US government in 1940 to produce .30 and .50 caliber Browning machine guns. On top of that, Savage manufactured one of the most mass-produced bolt-action rifles of WWII, the British No. 4 Lee–Enfield. A record of 1.2 million Lee-Enfield rifles was produced by Savage during the time of war.

Production dialed down after the war, though. In 1946, Savage closed its facilities in Utica and moved all its operations to the Stevens manufacturing premises. Even though the Model 110 was introduced in 1958, which remains one of the company’s most successful rifles to this date, Savage started to experience some issues. In 1960 all production was moved to the current location of Westfield, Massachusetts, and what followed was a series of different ownerships over the company. Savage gradually ran into serious financial problems and in 1988 the company declared bankruptcy.

The company had to cut back on its manufacturing costs to the point where it even stopped producing short-action configurations of its most successful model, the aforementioned Model 110. It wasn’t until 1995 when Savage returned to private ownership led by Ronald Coburn who sort of rejuvenated the whole company.

In 2002 Savage introduced and patented AccuTrigger – a safe and user-adjustable trigger that soon became a success. The following year, in 2003, the company was named Manufacturer of the Year by the Shooting Industry Academy of Excellence, further reaffirming Savage’s distinction. Four years later, on May 15, 2007, Savage 93R17 BTVS has been named the best rifle in the Best of the Best presentation by Shooting Times, Sporting Gun, and Shooting Gazette magazines.

In 2013 Savage once again changed ownership. It was acquired by Orbital ATK for 315 million dollars, and it was later handed over to Vista Outdoor which later sold it for $170 million in 2019 to a group of private investors led by Savage’s management.

The company also had its logo changed in the middle of the 2010s when it decided to retire its old logo that presumably featured Chief Lame Deer, a native-American tribesman leader. The latter supposedly approached Arthur Savage in 1919 to purchase rifles for his tribe. In exchange for a discount, Lame Deer agreed to a deal. According to the deal, Savage was allowed to use Lame Deer’s face for promotional purposes. Many doubt the authenticity of this story, however, and Savage itself removed it from its official website as well.

Savage 93 Rifle Review

Savage 93 BTVSS in .22 WMR

Figure 1: Savage 93 BTVSS in .22 WMR (Source: https://www.liveauctionworld.com)

Savage 93 is a series of rimfire bolt-action rifles by Savage Arms. There’s really nothing “spectacular” or unheard of to say about it. It’s a relatively budget-friendly 22 WHMR or 17 HMR choice that will take care of the pests such as rats, rabbits, prairie dogs, etc. without a problem, and that’s pretty much everything you could ever ask for from a rifle like that. It does the job, and it does it well.

There are many models belonging to this series, and all of them share the same core structure.

An attentive eye will soon notice that Savage 93 models are still named in the “old” Savage way, meaning that different letters in the model’s name correspond to the rifle’s features. For instance, the letter “F” stands for synthetic stock, and “V” stands for “heavy barrel”. That would mean that the savage 93 FV, one of the many variants in this series, comes with a synthetic stock and a heavy barrel.

At the same time, models chambered for 17 HMR have the mark “R17” appended to their name, such as Savage 93R17 FV, for instance.

The barrel of Savage 93 is 419 mm (16.5”), 457 mm (18”), 553 mm (21”), or 559 mm (22”) long and is made of carbon steel, except for the variants marked with “SS” which stands for stainless steel.

Hosted inside the carbon steel action, there is a bolt with two extractors located at 3 and 9 o’clock. Admittedly, the bolt work could be a little bit smoother, but it’s more than enough to suit the nature of this rifle.

The box magazine is detachable and has a capacity for up to 5 rounds, except on the “Minimalist” variants, which come with a 10-round magazine.

The issue, however, is that the magazine is reported by many to be the weakest part of this rifle. One can find many testimonials about feeding problems, ejecting failures, and loading issues. If you are experiencing some sort of hardship with the magazine on your Savage 93, too, then yes, that seems to be quite normal, unfortunately.

Whether the stock of Savage 93 is plastic or wooden depends on the variant. Those that are marked with the letter “G” have a hardwood stock, while the rest come with a synthetic one.

One must also not forget about one of the most famous Savage features, which is the patented AccuTrigger that considerably redefined and improved the trigger adjusting possibilities. It allows the shooter to adjust the trigger pull-weight without the help of a gunsmith while still ensuring the complete safety of the rifle.

The safety can be found on the bolt side of the receiver, behind the bolt handle. It is of the two-position style, the same as on the perhaps more famous Savage Mark II model. When the safety is in the forward position, the rifle is in firing mode, which is indicated by a red dot that is otherwise hidden behind the safety lever when it is in the rearwards (towards the shooter) position.

Savage 93 Calibers

Savage 93 and 93R17 models can be chambered for:

22 WMR
17 HMR

Savage 93 Variants

There are many Savage 93 variants found on the market, especially so because of the naming system Savage adopted many years ago. Variants are marked by different letters that correspond to the rifle’s features, and there are numerous possible variations that can occur. Here is a “cheat sheet” that can help you understand what these markings mean:

Savage Letter marks

These are the Savage 93 variants:

Savage 93 Minimalist Green
Savage 93 FVSS XP
Savage 93 FXP
Savage 93 XP Brush Camo
Savage 93 F
Savage 93 FV
Savage 93 FV-SR
Savage 93 FSS
Savage 93 FVSS
Savage 93 G
Savage 93 G Left Hand
Savage 93 BTVS
Savage 93 BRJ
Savage 93 BSEV
Savage 93 Minimalist Brown
Savage 93 FV-SR Gator Camo
Savage 93R17 FXP
Savage 93R17 GVXP
Savage 93R17 XP Brush Camo
Savage 93R17 F
Savage 93R17 FV
Savage 93R17 FV-SR
Savage 93R17 FSS
Savage 93R17 FVSS
Savage 93R17 Camo
Savage 93R17 GV
Savage 93R17 GV Left Hand
Savage 93R17 BVSS
Savage 93R17 BTV
Savage 93R17 BTVSS
Savage 93R17 BTVSS Left Hand
Savage 93R17 BV
Savage 93R17 BRJ
Savage 93R17 BSEV
Savage 93R17 TR
Savage 93R17 TRR-SR
Savage 93R17 Minimalist Brown
Savage 93R17 Minimalist Green

The receivers of Savage 93 models are usually drilled and tapped for scope mounts, but in case your model came with a pre-installed two-piece Weaver base or a Picatinny rail, then we recommend you take a look at our offer of Weaver and Picatinny Rings.

The receiver of Savage 93 F with a visible mounting surface

Figure 2: The receiver of Savage 93 F with a visible mounting surface (drilled and tapped; Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3f0akmdwEZk)

dimensions of savage 93 receiver

A: 12.83 mm
B: 84.96 mm
C: 12.83 mm
BHU: 0 mm
Fi: #6-48
R1: 12
R2: 12

Scope Mounts Interchangeable with Savage 93

Rifles That Have One-Piece Scope Mounts Interchangeable with Savage 93

The necessary condition for rifles to have one-piece scope mounts interchangeable is that the mounting surfaces of these rifles match in every dimension. Rifles that have one-piece scope mounts interchangeable with the Savage 93 are the following:

Savage Cub
Savage Mark I
Savage Mark II

Rifles That Have Two-Piece Scope Mounts Interchangeable with Savage 93

For two-piece scope mounts to be interchangeable, the mounting surfaces of the rifles must match in every dimension except the action length which can vary. This is because the distance between the two pieces of the mount is not fixed.

Rifles that have two-piece mounts interchangeable with Savage 93 are the following:

Savage Cub
Savage Mark I
Savage Mark II

Best Scope Mounts for Savage 93

As already mentioned above, Savage 93 is drilled and tapped for scope mounts, but some of the variants have those pre-installed, be it either a Weaver base or a Picatinny rail.

If that’s the case with your rifle, then we advise you to take a look at our offer of Weaver and Picatinny Rings.

Fixed Scope Mounts for Savage 93

DNZ Products have been making scope mounts for Savage rifles for a long time. 93 series is no exception in that regard, and we think this DNZ Game Reaper would be a great choice of fixed scope mount for your Savage 93.

Detachable Repeatable Scope Mounts for Savage 93

This Henneberger one-piece mount earned our top recommendation for a detachable repeatable scope mount for the Savage 93. It is reliable and extremely versatile and is thus a great choice for your rifle. It is manufactured in Germany, is made of aluminum, and has a 30-year warranty attached to it.

It will, however, need to be coupled with a Picatinny rail. We recommend EGW’s Picatinny rail for Savage 93.

Picatinny Rails for Savage 93

If you are looking for a Picatinny rail for a Savage 93 rifle, you will be hard-pressed to find a better one than this EGW’s Picatinny rail built exclusively for Savage 93.

Help Us Build Our Riflescope Mounts Database

If you happen to own this or any other rifle, we would appreciate it if you could help us expand our database by sending us some photos of the rifle receiver (the bare mounting surface of the rifle without the mounts installed). For your help, our company offers a fair return in terms of practical rewards.

Please send us an email for more information. You can contact us here: [email protected]

Filters

Sort

In stock

EGW Savage 93 (1-5/8" Ejection Port) Picatinny Rail

As low as €66.00

View Product

Savage 93

The History of Savage Arms

Savage 93 Rifle Review

Savage 93 Calibers

Savage 93 Variants

Scope Mounts Interchangeable with Savage 93

Rifles That Have One-Piece Scope Mounts Interchangeable with Savage 93

Rifles That Have Two-Piece Scope Mounts Interchangeable with Savage 93

Rifles that have two-piece mounts interchangeable with Savage 93 are the following:

Best Scope Mounts for Savage 93

Fixed Scope Mounts for Savage 93

Detachable Repeatable Scope Mounts for Savage 93

Picatinny Rails for Savage 93

Help Us Build Our Riflescope Mounts Database

Leave us a message

Your wishlist