Savage Arms: the definition of accuracy: from riches to rags to honors, this company is a study in commitment, vision and innovation! - Shooting Industry Academy of Excellence: 2003 manufacturer of the year

Shooting Industry, Sept, 2003 by Carolee Anita Boyles

"They said, 'No, you don't want to do that because it's dangerous,'" Coburn said. "I told them, 'Then find a way to do it so jar--off isn't an issue.'"

Gancarz and Warburton went to work--for almost a year. When they came back, they had a trigger that was not only creep free, it was adjustable from 6 pounds to a pound and a half.

"It had a feature built into it so that if it ever did jar off at the low setting, it would hang up on a secondary sear safety that wouldn't let the firing pin go." Coburn said. "I said, "Great!'"

lie then he gave the engineers another challenge: Allow the customer to change the trigger pull, safely.

"Think about it," he said. "When we sell our rifles, every one of us has a little blurb in the manual telling the customer not to adjust the trigger pull himself, but to take it to a reliable gunsmith. That's something the customer has to pay for. I think it's an insult. I didn't want to insult the consumer any more. I wanted to give him the mechanical means to adjust his own trigger, at will, at any range he wants, and safely."

Gancarz and Warburton succeeded, and the AccuTrigger was born. To prove its safety, Coburn, with an AccuTrigger-equipped rifle in hand, stood onto a pallet and had a forklift raise him up 20 feet off the ground. He dropped the rifle three times to a concrete floor to be sure it wouldn't go off accidentally. It didn't. Once he was satisfied, Coburn applied for a patent tot the AccuTrigger.

"Now we have patent protection and it's the state of the art: A factory trigger that's fully adjustable with absolutely no safety issues attached to it," he said.

That gained Savage an enormous amount of publicity in late 2002 and resulted in the Rifle of the Year Award from the Shooting Industry Academy of Excellence.

A Company Honored Looks To The Future

The Manufacturer of the Year award cut to the heart of the goals Coburn always had for Savage. The company was honored for originating the value-priced package concept, which allows the consumer to buy a rifle, scope and sling as a unit, while at the same time continuing to develop new products and renovations that provide true service to customers. The AccuTrigger was one of those innovations.

Upon accepting the Manufacturer of the Year award, Albert F. Kasper, Savage president, promised move innovation in the future.

"On behalf of all 350 hard-working Savage employees who have really made a lot of this happen. I can tell you that you will continue to see the innovation in Savage grow in the years to come. Ron Coburn has given us the environment in which all this has taken place. I thank you very much."

Brian T. Herrick, Savage vice president for Marketing and Sales, also emphasized innovation when he accepted the Rifle of the Year award.

"It took us years to reclaim our place in the industry. Our latest phase is we've become a very innovative company, as the AccuTrigger suggests. I think historically, when you look back, it will probably be one of the most important innovations the company has ever had."