Disappointed with Savage B.Mag .17WSM Rifle

[maintenanceguy 510]

I bought this rifle about 6 months ago.  I'm pleased with the WSM round and the accuracy of the rifle.  The adjustable accutrigger is nice.  I've got mine adjusted to the lightest setting and it's feather light.  The price was good for the quality received.  Savage has a reputation for affordable accuracy and this rifle delivers. 

But...

There are two things I really think Savage screwed up on. 

1) The magazine sucks!  Getting the magazine to snap into the rifle is a nightmare.  Every time you insert the magazine, you have to push it in half a dozen times to finally get it to "click".  Even when it seems to be snapped in firmly, it sometimes falls out of the rifle when you pull the trigger.  Magazines are difficult to load and just feel sloppy when loading rounds into the magazine and when trying to insert the magazine into the rifle.  Poor design.

2) The bolt handle needs to be lifted to be able to slide the bolt fully closed.  Gravity acting on the bolt handle causes the bolt handle to sag just enough to stop the bolt from sliding fully closed.  Because of gravity, you have to remember to lift the bolt handle each time you glide the bolt forward.  If you don't remember, the bolt goes almost all the way forward.  It feels like it's forward.  So, believing the bolt is fully forward, I snap the handle down to lock the bolt.  The rifle is designed so that the bolt handle digs into the synthetic stock when you do this and makes divots in the plastic.  It also scratches the bluing off of the bolt handle.

Overall, a nice shooting rifle and the price was good but these two things frustrated me several times at the range this morning.

Bolt Not Fully Forward - Digging Into Plastic Stock