For the past 5 months, I have been using the Savage Arms Renegauge as my only bird and clay shotgun. While I was very familiar with Savage Arms, I had no experience with any of their shotguns. I had only handled and owned a few of their accurate but affordable bolt action rifles before acquiring the Renegauge Field. The Renegauge series of shotguns is a pretty new addition to Savage’s lineup, being first announced at Shot Show 2020. As of now, the series is made up of seven models, Competition, Waterfowl, Field, Security, Turkey Obsession, Turkey Bottomland, and the Prairie. I am specifically reviewing the Reneguage Field Model here today, which I consider to be the best middle-ground option of the Reneguage series for hunters chasing multiple quarries. So while I didn’t get the chance to go after some waterfowl as planned let’s get into how it performed for crushing clays and bagging doves.
Savage Arms Coverage on AllOutdoor
Specifications – Savage Arms Renegauge Field
As I already covered the Savage Arms Renegauge Field is one of seven models, and each has a specific pursuit and purpose in mind. The Renegauge Field is as its name implies is a field model gun, made for sleek handling and easy shouldering. That way you you can walk and shoot easily and quickly in the field if you’re going after birds. This model, along with all the others, uses Savage’s D.R.I.V. (Dual Regulating Inline Valve) Gas System. This system is a self-regulation gas system that lets you easily switch between high-power and low-power loads without any reliability issues. This makes the Renegauges capable of handling hot 3″ Magnum shells and low recoil 2 ¾” shells without needing any adjustments. The stock is very adjustable, letting users change the length of pull, comb height, and drop & cast. The barrel comes with a 3″ chamber and is fluted with a melonite finish.
- Gauge – 12 Gauge
- Barrel – 28″ Fluted Carbon Steel barrel with melonite finish
- Magazine Capacity – 4+1 2-3/4in Shells
- Handedness – Right-Hand
- Length of Pull (LOP) – 14.25″ – 15.07″
- Overall Length – 49.5″
- Receiver – Matte Black Aluminum
- Sights – Red Fiber Optic Front
- Stock – Matte Grey Monte Carlo Style
- Weight – 7.9 Lbs
- MSRP – $1,649.00
Renegauge Field Key Features
- D.R.I.V. gas system
- Adjustable stock for length of pull, comb height, and drop & cast
- One-piece, chrome plated action bar assembly
- Chrome plated reciprocating components
- Stock rod buffer to reduce felt recoil
- Fluted barrel with melonite finish
- Carbon steel ventilated rib with red fiberoptic sight
- Competition-ready easy loading magazine port
- Oversized controls
- Includes Full, Improved Cylinder, Modified choke tubes (Beretta/Benelli Mobil)
- Includes hard-sided carrying case
- 3″ Chamber
Busting Clays – Savage Arms Renegauge Field
So, with the dove opener right around the corner, I needed to get used to the manual of arms of the Renegauge before taking it out to the Dove fields. While I’ve shot plenty of clays before, I only shot clays consistently with an O/U before. So, while I had done some practice with pointing and mounting the gun at home just to get used to the feel of it. I really wanted and needed to get a good round count on it to get a real feel for the shotgun. So I took it down to a local sporting clay range to get some rounds of wobble skeet in. I’ll be honest with y’all, with work and life getting in the way it had been more than a minute since I’d done this, and I was pretty rusty.
But then after a couple of shots with the Renegauge Field to feel it out, it felt like the shotgun was taking up all my slack. The controls were very easy and intuitive to use as well, the oversized charging handle, bolt release, and safety made things easy. Loading the shotgun was very easy as well, the loading port is beveled, and the trigger housing angles towards the port as well. It naturally guides your hands as you’re loading in shells. This thing was a dream to shoot, the recoil system and butt pad made this thing super comfortable to shoot round after round of clays. Even when I brought out the boxes of high-velocity shells, it still was super comfortable to shoot. I think I went through 6 boxes of shells on that first trip to the range with the Renegauge and wasn’t beat up at all. I know if I had done the same number with my old O/U that would have not been the case.
Out on the Dove Fields – Savage Arms Renegauge Field
Now that I was plenty comfortable shooting the Renegauge Field, it was time to take it out in the field to get some doves. I took it out several times during the dove season with mixed results hunting in different conditions each time. Each hunt started well before sunrise with a couple in overcast conditions. The red fiber optic front sight was great for dealing with the low light conditions when those first couple of birds of the day flew near our decoy spread. The best dove hunt I went on was the season opener, there were plenty of doves flying by. Though a dove is a lot swifter of a target compared to a clay, so a lot of shells were spent that day. But again, the Renegauge Field was very comfortable to shoot, so going through box after box of shells wasn’t a big deal.
The D.R.I.V. gas system also came in to save the day during the opener as well, my hunting buddy on the opener was having issues due to all his ammo. He was using his backup shotgun that day, but it would not cycle the ammo he brought. Fortunately, the Renegauge had no problems with the ammo, so I swapped my slightly hotter stuff with him and we were both able to keep shooting. The ergonomics of the Renegauge field are surprisingly good, being very easy to bring up to position while both sitting and standing. The forearm fills the hand well and with the texturing on it was easy to keep a good grip on even in pouring rain. That loading port also came in clutch when the birds came in thick, making reloading easy even under pressure. While the shotgun comes in just shy of 8lbs, it doesn’t act like that in hand. The balancing of that weight keeps the shotgun feeling light and easy to point.
Final Thoughts – Savage Arms Renegauge Field
Overall, after these past months with the Savage Renegauge Field, I am very impressed with this shotgun, as was my hunting buddy. These are genuinely very nice shotguns to shoot, I would wholeheartedly recommend these to anyone who is recoil-sensitive but doesn’t want to switch to 20ga. The gun handles like a dream and fit me like a glove right out of the case. Even if it doesn’t, they give you everything you need right in the case for you to swap it out however fits you best. I did not have a single issue occur during these past 5 months with the Renegauge Field. This thing ran like a champ, through the whole dove season and many trips to the clay fields.
I try not to be but am rough on my stuff more often than not, and while I tried to not be with this review gun. There were more than a couple of bumps and drops that happened during some of the hunts. Along with that I got the Renegauge Field wet pretty much every trip out on the dove fields and on one of the days I got it pretty much waterlogged after two hours of driving rain. The melonite finish just shrugged it all off like it was nothing. The most I ever needed to do maintenance-wise was just disassemble and dry it off that one day it got waterlogged. Even after that, I didn’t find a single spot of corrosion anywhere on the Renegauge. The biggest complaint for the Renegauge Field would be the MSRP of $1,649. That would be a big pill to swallow for most people when it comes to shotguns, but if you keep an eye out you can find them on sale regularly for a more palatable price.
