Mauser 18 Savanna, review. Handy bolt gun.

I admit I enjoy reviewing bolt-action rifles. There is a bit of romance within the manual of arms. It is nearly primal, as you are crucial to the rifle’s operating system. For me, that adds to the experience of being one with the gun.

The new Mauser 18 Savanna proved to be quite the handy bolt gun with some target rifle characteristics. While this model is available in a myriad of calibers, I opted for the .223 model because I honestly enjoy that caliber. The synthetic stock is inlaid with a cushion area on the forearm and pistol grip area, providing better purchase and comfort than a plain synthetic stock.

In true Mauser faction, the M18 Savanna utilizes a three-lug bolt for strength and a short sixty-degree bolt throw. Two ejectors are incorporated within the bolt face and the extractor is integrated within a locking lug. This proved to be a very reliable, robust system.

This rifle is chambered in .223 Remington, and Mauser recommends not shooting 5.56×45 through this rifle. While some may frown on this, it is not as big of a deal as it could be. The M18 is primarily a hunting/varment rifle, and all the quality hunting ammunition will be in .223 Rem. The barrel and receiver are cold hammer forged and finished in burnished black.

The three-position push-forward safety is just behind the bolt lever. The first position locks the bolt and trigger, the second locks the trigger but allows you to work the bolt, and the third, indicated by a red dot, is fire. Note the knob at the bolt handle is a bit oversized. The trigger pull broke cleanly at three pounds with just a cat hair of take-up and expected overtravel.

Depress the small lever opposite the safety to remove the bolt, and the bolt easily slides out.

In the rear of the bolt is a cocking indicator, with the tab out and red showing indicates the rifle is cocked.

By depressing the Mauser logo on the port and starboard of the recoil pad, a small storage area is revealed in the rear of the stock. Note that the rifle ships with a rail but no factory sights. During the review, I used Leupold glass, a Harris bipod, and Liberty Suppressors Triumph silencer, as reviewed here.

With a good cross-section of quality commercial ammunition, the M18 proved to be an MOA rifle out to 500 yards. From 300 yards out, to keep the rifle around MOA, I expect you will need to rely on premium ammo such as the Hornady and DoubleTap or reload your own.

Conclusions 

With an MSRP of $901, the Mauser 18 Savanna is part of the company’s more budget-friendly rifle line, but what makes it a Mauser remains unchanged. It proved to be reliable without any issues through about 400 rounds of various .223 Remington ammunition. While that is not a tremendous amount of ammunition, if there were any issues, I feel sure they would have surfaced. The M18 Savanna would serve as a hunting rifle, light enough to tote all day but still built well enough to easily be a MOA rifle. With the .223 chambering, this test sample would also serve as a trainer rifle for someone getting into rifles. I could also see this as an excellent option as a backup rifle for those venturing forth with an AR-15. As long as you planned your loadout with .223 Remington ammunition, you could easily swap back and forth if such a need arose. I like having a number of different firearms of the same caliber when out and about. I am thankful Mauser included a threaded barrel on this line of rifles as it suppressed well, especially with subsonic ammunition from DoubleTap. I am satisfied with the Mauser 18 Savanna as an excellent option for a field rifle with no compromises in quality.

Specifications 

Acknowledgments 

Mauser 

DoubleTap Ammunition 

Hornady 

Gorilla Ammunition