I think one of the things that turns me off about this effort is that Savage is not offering any options for a potential buyer to get what they want. They are basically saying "We know what you want, and it is a 20, with 28" barrels. I'm sure their marketing department tried to come up with the configuration that would be the best compromise ......... but who wants to spend $4500 for a compromise? Not me.
S X S enthusiasts are pretty opinionated. Even the RBL was offered as a "build it yourself" gun. I think for this gun to be successful this has to happen, and the price has to be more reasonable.
SRH
Also offered with 26" barrels, Stan. Also offered in 12ga with either 26" or 28" barrels. Ithaca did a pretty decent job selling a lot of SKB sxs with not many more options than that. They never offered double triggers, never offered barrels longer than 28" in 20ga. They did have a couple different styles of forend, and they did offer guns with either extractors or ejectors. But you only got a splinter if you took extractors. And they eventually got around to offering a straight grip as well as a PG--but only with a BT forend.
I'm pretty sure Savage is aware that they're not going to sell tens of thousands of A Grades. If there's a big surprise and they sell a lot more than they anticipate, maybe they'll offer limited options like Ithaca did with its SKB sxs. Tony Galazan, in contrast, is a force of nature in the gun business. He gets people to pay for production line guns months before they're delivered. That gives him the $ in the bank to offer onesies and twosies for people who want something a little different. Most companies don't have that luxury. Even a giant like Beretta doesn't offer many options on its sxs.
