Savage Renagauge 12ga Shotgun Review

Happy Labor Day to all my hard-working viewers out there! I'm excited to get back to a target-focused work week and share this new shotgun review with you!

This is a super slick-looking gun and I'm excited to see Savage make a play in the waterfowl realm with this brand new 12 gauge Renegauge. This semi-auto is priced in the range of some of the best waterfowl shotguns out there coming in at $1,649! But to no surprise, REEDS has it very competitively priced right now at $999. (Click here to shop the Renegauge at REEDS)

The video covers everything you need to know about the brand new Savage Renegauge but if you prefer to read, here are the details

Quick Specs

• 12 gauge (Gas operated)
• 3.5" chamber (also available in 3")
• 28" Barrell 
• 8.4lbs
• Length of Pull 14 1/4" Out of the Box. Adjustable with shims and spacers
• Drop at Comb 1 1/2" (Adjustable with shims as well as various cheek pieces)
• Drop at Heel 2"
• Runs the Beretta/Benelli choke system 

Ergonomics/Look & Feel

• This gun feels different than what I'm used to - not bad, just different.
• Forearm and pistol grip have great texture
• Monte-Carlo stock/cheekpiece feel great and really makes the gun pop
• The comb is awesome - comes with 3 adjustable pieces 
• Charging handle and bolt release are oversized - Always a win for me
• Trigger guard - again, I prefer larger trigger guards. Could still get a glove in comfortably 
• Cross-bolt safety is rear-mounted and easily accessible
• Fiberoptic front bead/mid bead (Once you're mounted, IGNORE THE BEAD!)
• Barrel is fluted for weight reduction - good call on Savage's part because this gun is already as heavy as I'd like any shotgun (heavily front weighted)

Trigger 

• 5lbs 7oz (Average)
• This is right where I like the trigger weight (Lower end of 5lbs) 
• Trigger has some sponge (pre-travel) to it - really wished the pull was as crisp as it should be with that light of a trigger

Quality of Build

• I always look at the quality of the build relative to the price. Everything comes together nicely. The first comment would be about the hand-catching lip between the grip and the receiver - not a huge deal
• Something else I found interesting is that Savage took a step away from the typical chrome-lined barrel and went with a melonite-lined barrel. This is because melonite has a thinner surface area, resulting in less bore friction, and higher accuracy  
• The Savage mounts up nicely and is certainly built well.

Ease of Breakdown

• This gun comes apart way differently than any other gas gun I've owned
• The trigger group pin comes out and goes in a lot easier than I expected
• I noticed this gun got dirty a lot quicker than my other gas guns
• Not the easiest shotgun to take apart 

Recoil

• Very sustainable - I'd call it moderately light
• As expected, the 3 1/2" loads can be a workout, but all around the recoil is quite manageable. 

Reliability

•  The claim to fame is that this Savage can handle the lightest loads all the way up to the hottest brass
• The first thing I noticed is that the trigger has a bit more reset time in between rounds
• It handled target loads from the hip and from over the head so the claim to fame is almost completely valid, except for over the head, the bolt didn't lock back completely - not a big deal
•  3 1/2 cycled well too. I will say, before I cleaned it, it didn't cycle nearly as well across the board. 

Speed Shooting

• I find this evaluation valuable because it tests how all the moving parts really come together. From getting on target, having an appropriate trigger pull, recovering from the recoil, and cycling good enough to get back on target. 
• The fastest time I could accomplish with the Savage Renegauge today was a 1.38 and honestly, I struggled to get there. It doesn't help that I am brand new to this shotgun
• I noticed some muzzle flip which is different for being so front heavy
• I haven't tested the point of impact on paper, but I may just need to take some time and practice with the Savage a bit more to really get dialed in.

Would you like to see a head-to-head comparison with another semiauto shotgun?

Whether our targets in the field or our targets in life, we will only hit what we are focused on so live the #targetfocusedlife

Stay Target Focused,

Steve