I use a jerky gun, plastic set that I got from Rural King. It has always worked fine. I also use my own spices and just mix in cure. Let it sit over night in the fridge and then dehydrate in the oven. Always tasty.
I had a Citadel 1911 that was complete junk. Every other round was a jammed round or stovepipe. Nothing worked to fix it either. Lost $400 when I got rid of it.
Pros and cons like with any decision and it ultimately comes down to what you want to do and use it for. My suggestion would be to stick with the Savage and save for an AR-10 in the future. Definitely shoot it first though before making a decision, because it wont do you a bit of good if you...