You can see copper fouling from a few test rounds with the naked eye just looking in the bore of a gun?

I'd be very surprised if it is really rust. If you really want to know, go find a gun smith or someone with a bore scope. Bore scope it a see for sure.

I got some of the live rust off and it is pitted underneath. You can see some of it an eighth inch below the muzzle. It is definitely rust.

As long as the rust isn't in the receiver at all, Savage ought to be able to stick a new barrel on there for you fairly easily.

Well, that sucks!! Just curious, have you shot it yet?

Please keep us posted how this ends up.

No, I didn't shoot it. I talked to one of the managers at Cabela's gun library and he said to wait until all of the Black Friday/Cyber Monday craziness was over and bring it in to show them the problem and they would see if they can get Savage to service it, otherwise I'd have to deal with Savage personally and handle all of the shipping costs etc. So, I brought it in last Thursday. The first guy I talked to acted like he was skeptical that I had even spoken to a manager before, let alone that one said to bring the gun back in. He told me that he couldn't help me and said to talk to one of the other guys at the counter.

The counter employee called someone in back, who it seemed works on getting factory work done on guns that Cabela's has in stock. The third employee, was the only one who took the time to actually look at what I was talking about and seemed concerned. Luckily, being a precision shooter, he was equally dismayed at rust and pitting in a brand new barrel. He said not to worry about it, filled out some paperwork instructing Savage not to attempt fixing the bore but just to replace the barrel, gave me a service slip, and said turn-around is usually 3-5 weeks. Then we talked about guns for a bit. I guess it all depends on who you talk to.

He didn't act like I would have to pay anything, but I guess we'll see. If nothing else, at least I'll save on shipping it.

Moral of the story

Glad they're getting things sorted out for you.

I honestly do not think you will be responsible for paying anything, regardless of you or cabelas sending it back. They will just email you a packing receipt that you tape on box, then deliver to UPS.
I think they have good customer service, as I had a rifle sent back 3-4 times (same rifle, long long story. In the end, I got a new rifle, but the back ad forth was over a period of 3 yrs. So, guess could say they tried really hard not to replace rifle. However, I never paid anything for shipping, just my time dropping off/picking up, not being able to use the rifle.

I have had to send a rifle back to savage.

I had to talk to their customer service for about 10-20 minutes to explain the problem. After that they emailed me a return label, I put it back in the box and dropped it off at the local UPS store. A few weeks later I received a whole new rifle. It didn’t cost me a dime.

I’m sure savage would have done the same here, or at least replace the barrel. I didn’t have to argue with them that there was a problem, just explain what it was so they could document it for when they received the rifle for evaluation.