Basic firearms technology has been around for a long time and the large manufacturers know how to make a quality rifle. However, not all guns are created equal, designs become obsolete, and consumer expectations change. With the plethora of options available today, some guns are not worth the hassle. After shooting many popular rifle designs, here are five guns I would not buy again.
Savage Axis
First on the list is the Savage Axis. To be fair, the Axis has a lot of redeeming attributes, not the least of which is the price. The Axis provides better accuracy than it should given the price point. Additionally, the Accutrigger is one of the better triggers in a budget rifle.
However, the Axis has two Achilles heels that make it a gun that I have no interest in owning. Firstly, the action is incredibly rough. The Savage 110 has a much smoother action despite a similar basic design. The stiff 90 degree bolt throw and a clunky action make the Axis annoying to shoot. This certainly detracts from the enjoyment of shooting the rifle.
Worse still, the cheap magazines are prone to not holding the next round high enough, leading to the action cycling without picking up a cartridge. I witnessed my brother lose a shot opportunity on a black bear due to this very issue. There are also reports of poor ejection in a number of examples. While action feel in and of itself is not a dealbreaker, there are too many excellent rifles on the market to hunt with one that can’t be trusted to be reliable.
Winchester Model 100
Next on this list is the Winchester Model 100. The Model 100 is an aesthetically pleasing autoloader that cycles reliably. That said, the accuracy is nothing short of abysmal. 4-5 MOA groups are not unusual, even with a variety of different ammunition. When testing the Model 100, I actually removed the scope and shot with iron sights, thinking that something must be wrong with the scope or the mounts. Group size never changed.
Another issue with the Model 100 is the disassembly. As a gas operated firearm, the Model 100 is less forgiving of neglect than a manually actuated rifle. Clearly, cleaning was not on the mind of the designers who created the rifle. Disassembly is arduous and the ease of assembly was evidently a compromise to maintain the sleek lines of the rifle. Additionally, there is a firing pin recall that may or may not have been done back in the day. Fortunately, Winchester still honours the recall, but it adds another maintenance step in an already maintenance heavy rifle. The combination of poor accuracy and tedious maintenance make the Model 100 one of the five guns that I wouldn’t buy again.
Savage Mark II
Much like the Savage Axis, the Savage Mark II shoots shockingly well for it’s price point. Also like the Axis, the Mark II offsets this by being plagued with reliability problems. I ran a Savage Mark II hard for a season of rimfire PRS. Over the course of a single season, I had multiple mags fail at the spot welds, rendering them useless and launching an entire magazine of ammunition out on to the range mid stage. Additionally, as configured from the factory, the rifle would often fail to extract spent casings from the chamber. Remedying this required doubling up the extractor springs in order to get enough tension on them to function reliably. There is simply no amount of accuracy that can make up for an unreliable gun.
Kodiak WK-180C
Another gun I would never buy again is the Kodiak WK-180C. My first impressions with the Kodiak were actually fairly positive, with it running reliably and shooting reasonably well. Out of the box, the only glaring problem was the trigger, which is heavy, gritty, and long. Seriously, it is one of the worst triggers I’ve ever felt, even compared to old milsurp rifles.
However, as I spent more time with the WK-180C the lack of build quality began to show. The screws on handguard rattled themselves loose under recoil, and then stripped far too easily when they were torqued to spec. The steel charging handle began wearing the inside of the aluminium receiver at an alarming rate. Finally, the last straw was when the bolt sheared off a lug with only 1000 rounds on the gun. The poor quality control removed any interest I had in owning an otherwise reliable rifle. The Kodiak WK-180C has definitely earned its place as one of the five guns I wouldn’t buy again.
Savage Model 64
Finally, rounding out the list is the Savage 64. The Model 64’s claim to fame is it’s rock bottom price. Unfortunately, this is a case of you get what you pay for. Reliability is poor even for a 22LR with standard velocity ammunition. This can be avoided by running high velocity ammo, but even still the charging handle is stiff and locking the bolt is awkward. The ergonomics are mediocre and the trigger is mediocre, even in the realm of semi-auto rimfires, which usually have poor triggers to begin with.
Finally, the disassembly is a pain, requiring a number of tools and some spare time. Bulk 22LR, the staple of a semi-auto 22’s diet, is pretty dirty stuff. As such, semi-auto 22’s require frequent cleaning. Terrible disassembly leads to less maintenance and more frustration with the gun in general when it refuses to cycle. In a world where the Ruger 10/22 exists, there simply isn’t a reason to buy the Savage 64.
Closing Thoughts
For each rifle on this list there are many people who own, use, and love their examples. Just because a rifle is on here doesn’t mean that it won’t work to hunt, plink, and enjoy. That said, the shortcomings of these rifles made them guns that I have no interest owning or taking into the field. For myself, these are five guns I wouldn’t buy again.