Brand new Savage from Cabela's has rusted bore.

Just bought a brand new Savage 12 FV in 6.5 CM, from Cabela's in League City. My plan was to put a good stock on it and use it for long range. BUT... when I got it home and started cleaning off the packing oil, I noticed what had looked like copper fouling from test firing is actually rust in the bore and cleaning it did nothing. Cabela's says they won't exchange it and all that I can do is send it to Savage to get repaired. Cabela's just lost another customer for life.

I don't think any gun stores will let you do an exchange. I'm not saying they should do nothing. They should find a way to make it right.

Get some JB bore paste or 40x bore paste and work it over. I'd bet it won't hurt a thing.

No FFL is going to do a thing once it's transferred.

They won't take it back but they should ship it to them for warranty work. I'd call a manager and ask them to do that.

several years ago Cabelas would refund price of a rifle if you had enough clout. Was a sucky policy but it happens.

I don’t know if any FFL that will take a new gun back.

I don’t know if any Cabelas that wouldn’t send it in for you either. Their CS is usually pretty good.

If they did take it back, it would get put back in stock and someone else would unknowingly buy it.

I guess I’ll inspect n store before I take mine home. Thanks for the info.

They will send it in for you but not exchange, like others have said very few if any dealers will take one back post transfer.

Just call Savage,They will deal with it under warranty. Sometimes,you guy's kill me with all your whining about small stuff!

I can't count how many brand new Kimber 1911's that arrived at my friends gun shop that were rusted on the barrels and slides when we'd open the cases up. Just send it back!

Guess I'm old school. I would rather clean it up, foul it, and develop a load than deal with e-mails, phone calls, shipping, warranty forms, ect.

If its just light surface rust and not pitted whats the issue......

It's a brand new gun, shouldn't be like that.

But as others have said, I don't know of any dealers that take back a gun. Ask them to help ship it, nicely.

Are you sure it’s rust? It might be a preservative....against rust.

exactly

I have the same gun. Took it out yesterday. Here are shots 2,3, and 4. Not bad for $220 gun!

[img]https://ibb.co/dovtq6[/img]

Just shoot it before you send it back.

And exactly how is a rusted Savage rifle Cabela's fault?

So, you didn't have ample opportunity to inspect it before buying it?

So Cabela's lost a customer for life because they will do what about every other FFL will do, not take the gun back on return. But will send it back to the manufacture for you and generally eat the shipping. Sounds like someone got firearms and Cabela's branded waders confused

If it was rust, even minimal cleaning would remove the rust color. Pitting or a dark spot might remain if it was there for a long time, but the rust color would disappear with a wet patch or two.

That the "rust" color did not disappear sounds like copper fouling. Try letting it soak overnight with Wipe Out or Hoppe's Benchrest solvent (not the old #9). Make sure to put the muzzle down for it to drain into a cup with a paper towel or cloth in the bottom.

JB Bore compound or Flitz on a patch wrapped around a brush also can do wonders for cleaning up a stubborn barrel.

Then go shoot the thing. Odds are high it will have no effect.

p.s. Use a known reliable scope to remove that potential confounding variable.

Now that would just be silly why would he do that

I'm with the others, I don't see any way how I can make this Cabelas fault. Ever order something from Buds guns? They make it abundantly clear like 10000000 times that once you take legal possession of that gun any gripe you have is between you and the manufacturer.

I admit, I may have overreacted, but no one expects to get a new, sealed in the box gun, with a rusted bore. To be honest, as long as it gets fixed and I don't have to pay extra for my new gun to be in new condition, I'm okay with it.

Also, I did check the bore prior to purchasing the rifle, and it appeared that the coloration was copper fouling, from test firing. Only after I attempted to clean it, did it become apparent that it is indeed rust.

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.