new Savage .22 mag -- accuracy?---

J

jrhilde

New member
I just recently bought a new Savage in .22 mag---free floated barrel, accu-trigger, decent walnut stock etc, seemed like a lot of gun for the just over $200 price from Bud's---ordered the rings for this model, 93G, and mounted a decent 3-9x40 Bushnell on it. Been out to the range with it four times and can not get it to shoot even half way decently, no where near as accurate as any of my .22's --- rings are tight, scope is tight [ scope was fine on the .204 ]---
I'll get two touching at 50 yards at one edge of the bull, then another maybe half an inch high, another just off to one side of the center etc---all the shots would hit the groundhog, but I was hoping for better accuracy than this--am I asking too much from this caliber? Back in the late 70's, I had a .22 mag and it didn't shoot real well either--sold it and bought a .222---do any of you have a .22 mag that's a tack driver?-----------
 
no I don't have 22 mag tack driver... but I have made a 17 hmr to shoot darned well

you could try some different ammo and/ or have it recrowned
 
Had a Marlin 983 (stolen) that was amazingly accurate. Walnuts off of fence posts at 100 paces was easy. It liked CCI maxi-mags.

You have tried a few types of quality ammo correct?

Sent from my Wildfire S using Tapatalk 2
 
You just reminded me of another issue with this gun, or it could be the ammo----shooting Winchester Western ammo, one out of every dozen or so wouldn't fire--if I lifted the bolt and pulled back just enough to reset the striker, it'll finally fire--ammo or very light spring? The Remington ammo has worked perfectly, no misfires at all---I have also run into WW ammo that wouldn't chamber in my 700 06, one round out of each box of twenty. The Fusion, Federal and Remington all work fine---could there be quality control issues with Winchester's ammo--I've only tried the Winchester and Remington ammo, I'll try a couple other brands and see what happens------
 
I get consistant .5" five shot groups out of mine at 50 yds but not with every brand of ammo. It will not shoot anything under 40 grains well at all. Absolutely none of the hyper velocity ammo will shoot well. I get best results with CCI 40 grain hollow points or solids.
 
In spite of the gizmos like accutrigger, free floating barrel, etc., I am not sure the Savages and Marlins always fit their wood as good as they should. Years ago I had a Mossberg 640K .22 mag that would shoot 1.5" at 100, but only if I cranked the action screw down to King Kong tightness. Only then was it secure enough in its bedding to shoot fairly well. I now have a new Marlin which is doing not too bad, but it has an action screw issue in that the socket the screw fits into is dovetailed in the bottom of the barrel, and is somewhat loose. I am working on it. How many action screws does the Savage have? Probably just one. Make sure the action fits the wood with no rocking when the screw is snug, then make it tight. Perhaps also, even though the barrel is floated, it might like a little pressure about 1 inch from the foreend tip. You can try that with paper or cardboard shims. These are things you can play with. A last comment in this rather unfocused reply is that, like the .22lr rimfire, one certain brand of ammo may work a whole better than another.
 
+1 on trying different ammo... I have an old Mossberg Chuckster .22 Mag that loves the Hornady ballistic tip stuff, but is only mediocre on everything else. A buddy of mine at work has a new Savage, and it's all over the place with the Hornady... but it does quite well with CCI Maxi-Mags. FWIW, these are both MOA shooters with the right ammo (which is honestly a pleasant surprise considering the age on the Mossberg).
 
Well now, it's possible I don't have a problem gun, possibly just a feeding problem--as I mentioned earlier, all I've put thru it is the Winchesters and Remingtons. I work part time at an Ace hardware store, get my ammo at a discount, but it sounds like I need to get to the local gun stores and buy some variety. It's not shooting terrible, just doesn't shoot the cloverleafs in the center like the .22's at 50 yards---I have taken two groundhogs with it and it pretty much stops them in their tracks, but I want it shooting accurately enough to be able to count on a head shot---so, I'll check the action screws and try some other brands of .22 mag------John
 
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