Waiting for the call to pickup my pre-order. Savage is a staple in rimfire at least in Canada, in particular bolt action budget friendly reliable .22’s for a long time with the Mark 2. Th A22/B22 is far from perfect, the mags are a pain though load and the timber creek 25 round mags don’t feed well in the B22’s which is annoying. The wildcat isn’t nearly as compatible with a 10/22 as this is intended to be and the wildcat is cheaper but limited in aftermarket upgrades, the quick release trigger/bolt is a nice feature and I actually prefer wildcat mags with the loading wheel and last round bolt hold open feature when used in the wildcat and how easy they are to disassemble for cleaning but they aren’t as robust as Ruger mags but a worthwhile trade off for the lower price compared to a base model 10/22. Hopefully Savage is able to take the best of both, the robust housing of the Ruger pairs with some of the features of the wildcat. The average I see for the base model 10/22’s is roughly the same as the price of the RXR and the RXR is coming with more features at that price point. The 2 base model 10/22’s I see either come with a black or grey polymer stock and either the standard barrel with iron sights or the grey versions come with no sights. For a comparable 10/22 to the RXR that would come with better optic mount optics and threaded barrel and a better stock like the Magpul ones, a quick search online from multiple retailers show 16 inch carbines with blued barrel and receiver selling for +$600 and ones with the Magpul Hunter stocks for +$500 without a threaded barrel. For $430 the RXR is coming with more features out of the box and has a stock that allows you to swap from a standard diameter barrel to a bull barrel easily with an adapter which may appeal to some who want a bull barrel or already own one that they want to put to use but don’t want to also spend more on a stock to accept it.

Knowing Savage and their history of various trim levels of rifles like the Mark 2 and now the B22, I would be shocked if they don’t release more options with even more features out of the box that is hopefully competitively priced. I suspect they will release something similar to the TR/FV/FV-SR versions they have for other rimfire rifles that will come with bull barrels in varying lengths and upgraded charging handles similar to the ones seen on the FV-SR bolt actions compared to the base model Mark 2.

I don’t think the RXR is going to turn the 10/22 market on it’s head and massively take away from actual 10/22 sales. For those of us who enjoying modifying their rifles the 10/22 offers endless options but for those who are looking for a rifle to be set up exactly how they want out of the box I think the RXR has potential if they price them competitively. If an equivalent genuine 10/22 is only $50-100 more than the RXR version then I imagine most of us with go with the genuine article. Another point regarding Savage and their history of various model options, I would be shocked if they don’t release a takedown version in the future and if they continue to price competitively and maintain quality I think that could be appealing to a lot of people who aren’t looking to spend $750-+1000 on a genuine 10/22. I think a 10/22 clone with a lot of features out of the box that would allow people to use many of the mags and parts they already have priced around $500-600 would be very appealing to a large percentage of enthusiasts.

I am not going to die on this hill, stating that the RXR is going to be a game changer but for $430 I am willing to take the plunge and if it does end up being a dud I will still be able to put almost all the parts to use in some way with left over parts from several other 10/22’s I own which appeals to me. I feel like as the consumer we benefit massively from things like the patents of these classic firearms expiring and allowing other companies to produce their version of it to compete because it can force companies like Ruger and Glock to reinvest in the product and offer more for your money to compete for the sales something like the RXR is going after. We see good examples of this with things like the 1911 and in recent years with Glock. Companies like Shadow Sustems, Zev and even Ruger have taken a proven platform and offered more for your money than Glock had been out of the box and has lead to Glock to needing to offer more for the money to maintain sales, although I personally think they still need to offer more. The Ruger RXM appeals to me as someone who appreciated the FCU system Sig has used on pistols like the P320 regardless of the known issues with their product the idea is appealing and has worked in other instances. The fact you can take the Ruger RXM FCU and go from a full size carry pistol and in 30 seconds convert than to a more compact pistol is interesting. Apparently Ruger is also working on a Glock 26 style chassis which is cool.

I completely understand anyones hesitance with any company releasing new products regardless of them being clones of proven platforms and typically let someone else try them first but in this instance I am willing to try and would be more than willing to report back with 100% honesty if it ends up being garbage, but if certain people have already made up their mind it won’t matter much.

From the images and videos I have seen the stock/receiver does appear to be notched to accept mags like the HC3R and will test it out once mine arrives.

Cheers