Savage Arms has always prided itself on being a company that listens to customers. No single company can always be all things to all people all of the time, but I know that the folks at Savage work very hard towards that goal. One thing that permeates the entire Savage line is that their products are built with great care and honesty, by a company that has pride in what they do. For some time, the "best accuracy for the dollar" has been synonymous with Savage Arms. They long ago achieved a level of price / performance not easily found elsewhere.

Of course, I've been a great fan of their 10ML-II, but I've been pleasingly surprised by the tack-driving performance of their rimfires (stunned?), and greatly impressed by the aesthetics of their "American Classic" and "Classic" centerfires that are not only great shooters, but great lookers as well. The same is true with their new Milano Over / Unders, that give world-class fit, finish, and feel to the wingshooting market at a price point that rightfully has given a few of the old "B's" something to get a bit nervous about.

It is a busy time of the year, and it is hard for me to remain topical on all that's going on in preparation for next year. Out of town for just a few days a week ago, there were some 950 e-mails stacked up. So, even deep-sixing the spam still left 850 or so legit e-mails to address. Now you know why some of my direct answers are necessarily terse to muzzleloading and wingshooting questions. I apologize for that, but hope that you can understand a few of the monosyllabic answers.

The folks in Westfield have come up with many new offerings for 2007; at this point I've heard just bits and pieces. However, new for 2007 is a stainless steel / laminated THUMBHOLE stock Savage 10ML-II. This has been what many have wanted as a factory provided item, if my e-mail and other correspondence has been any barometer.

Now, it is a reality. Thumbhole fans rejoice. Savage is going to make a lot of muzzleloading enthusiasts very happy with this impressive new introduction. A full review of the new stainless laminated/thumbhole 10ML-II can be found on the Product Review Page.