Savage A22 .22LR - Design Flaws

[PaleRider]

Folks,
I can't currently recommend this rifle to anyone because of a couple of design flaws that have required parts replacements--one of them twice. While the rifle is a very accurate shooter, it has some problems with the design of the dust cover and the buffer spring assembly. Neither of them is a safety risk, but they seem to much less robust than they should be for this rifle.

First is the buffer spring assembly (pics attached). The assembly is all metal with the exception of the gray plastic cap at the end where it engages the dust cover. This cap has a plastic nipple (no longer exists in my photo) that is extremely fragile. The way you remove the dust cover is to insert a punch through the hole at the back of the dust cover. The punch will engage the nipple, compress the spring and allows the dust cover to be lifted off of the rifle. Unfortunately, this nipple cannot take much pressure from the punch before it collapses into the buffer. I have filled the one in the picture with epoxy to allow it to be used again. If I had not, I would not be able to engage the cap with a punch to move it out of the way of the dust cover. The punch would just sink into the cylindrical housing.

Second is the dust cover itself. The buffer tube assembly beats on the dust cover violently enough to eventually crack the notched area where the dust cover secures itself to the rifle. You can see the crack in the pic. This is the second dust cover that has experienced this failure. I have repaired one of them with epoxy, but I have yet to try it at the range. Needless to say, I'm not confident that repair will hold up so I've ordered another from Savage under warranty.

A third, but much more manageable design flaw is the magazine design. The plastic clip holding the magazine in the rifle is actually on the magazine! This clip is also made of a very thin plastic, and the magazine does not easily sit in the mag well. When the magazine is inserted, you need to insert it "with authority." You also need to insure the plastic clip has engaged the stock to which it secures by pushing forward on it with a finger. Half the time it does not engaged, so pressing forward on the clip needs to be done every single time. Whatever you do, do not try to push the clip out on the magazine while it's not in the rifle or you will break the clip off. The magazine is useless if you do that.

I hope this helps someone else by convincing them to not make this purchase until the design flaws are fixed, but I cannot recommend this rifle based upon what I've experienced since purchasing it last October. If I hear from Savage, I will update this thread.

[DrRichP]

Good stuff Tim and thanks for sharing.

[PaleRider]

Sure! Just trying to avoid malfunctions on the line like we had with my rifle this weekend .

Good stuff Tim and thanks for sharing.

[Nashville Stage]

Very nice write-up & diagnosis. Too bad it had to be learned first-hand. Do you have any pics of the magazine & latch?

[PaleRider]

Here are some pictures of one of the mags. I heard of one individual that tried to extend the clip ever so slightly to insure a good seating in the stock, and he broke the clip right off.

[PaleRider]

Well, I did receive a response from Savage Arms yesterday. They are going to send me another dust cover and forward my comments to their QC department. We'll see where it goes from here.
Tim

[Dreamsinger]

Hmmm...  I have an A22Magnum that I've put about 3000 rounds through with no problems. I really like it so far but I'll keep an eye out for this issue. The project for now is to figure out fixing Savage's oversight of no putting iron sights on it.

[Dreamsinger]

Hmmm...  I have an A22Magnum that I've put about 3000 rounds through with no problems. I really like it so far but I'll keep an eye out for this issue. The project for now is to figure out fixing Savage's oversight of not putting iron sights on it.

[StevenK]

I just bought one.........