new Savage MkII, TR

B

bamaranger

New member
Bought a Savage .22 TR today, and mounted the scope this evening.

First problem was that the obj. bell w/ a Butler Creek lens cover, would contact the barrel when using Burris XTR low mounts. I would not have thought that a 40mm bell would have trouble with low rings, but on this rifle it did. Removing the lens cover allowed JUST enough clearance between barrel and bell to mount the scope, but its really close. Hope I did not tweak the scope on the initial attempt when tightening rings, and the cover was in the way"!!"!?! Incredibly, I may have to go to medium rings. I ruined the lens cover attempting to mod it to fit. When will I learn?

The Accu-trigger went down to 2.25 lbs and feels pretty good. Hope to zero it tomorrow and shoot groups with Rem bulk ammo. Will report back.
 
Been Thar !!

A few months back, I ran into this exact problem with a 50MM objective. Now, I really liked the cheek-weld, eye relief and hold. Did not want to give that up by going to higher rings, so I cut a slot on the bottom of the objective cap and it works great. You won't notice it till you pull the caps off. I'm not familiar with your caps so don't know if this fix, would work for you.. ... :confused:

Your measure to make and;

Be Safe !!!
 
first impressions

I have not solved the obj. bell clearance problem......yet. As I mentioned before, I ruined a Butler Creek flip up cap trying to modify it by thinning/notching same. I may go to a picatinny rail to gain what I need instead of new rings. There was JUST enough clearance without the lens cover on the objective bell to shoot, and so I had at it.

Next discovery was that the Bushnell 3200 10x40 I'd selected would not focus until past 50 yds or so. Up close, the parallex was to great and things were a blur. I knew a scope w/ parallex adjustment would be a plus, and I was taking a chance with the Bushnell w/o a focus feature.( I swore off Bushnells years ago, but I kept hearing good stuff about the 10x). I can probably live with it, as the rifles major purpose is to shoot groups prone from a bipod at about 100 yds (F-T/R practice) but I was surprised how blurry things were inside 50 yds. Out at 100, the focus was fine.

Next was a magazine issue. The 5 round detachable box was a bore. In no time it was empty and I had to come off the rifle and reload the thing. I hear that the Mark II series has a factory 10 rd mag available, and I will be in the market for one. ALSO......round # 5 was often a fail to feed, coming out of the mag nose high and jamming against the top of the chamber mouth. The mag issues were a surprise. I've shot 10/22 and 77/22 for so long that I'd come to accept perfect cycling, especially from a manually run action. It may fix easy, or it may not, but I was not expecting a feed problem.

Ah yes......how does it shoot? Note, conditions were awful, gusty hard winds......and I had only one ammo type, Rem High vel bulk. Well, once I'd stumbled through a couple of short range shots, blurry, to get on target , and moved further out and got dialed in at 50. My 50 yd group of 5 shots looked slightly less than 1" in size. I did not bother to shoot more or measure due to the howling wind.

I then began to bang away at the 4" metal disk at 125, prone from a bipod. Once come up was established, hits were easy and consistent, even in the wind. But......the Rem bulk ammo was yielding some "blooper" rounds often enough to be a headache. Finally, near dark, the wind laid enough to risk a 5 rd group at 100. The lone 5 shot 100 yd group yielded a low flyer,due to a "blooper". Three rounds were under .75". Round five was a bit high, but acceptable. Discount the low blooper, and the 4 good shots went into 1.5". I might can live with that. One group proves nothing, but there is certainly room for promise. Good ammo and conditions may give some super results. We'll see.
 
on order

An EGW Picc. rail is on order (level rail, no 20 MOA incline) and a new lense cover. Hope that solves the clearance problem. If the rail works, it will allow a cant/ level
device as well, a plus.

Have a 10 rd mag located and my name on it (on hold) but an MVA blocked the highway tonight and I could not get to town before Dick'sSporting goods closed.
 
new mag

picked up factory 10 rd mag today and it seems to run good.
Looks a bit odd hanging out the bottom of the stock to me.
But 10 rds w/o a hitch will be a good deal.
Also picked up 100 rds Rem .22 "target" and 100 rds rem subsonic.
Waiting on base and lense cover.
 
Can you post a pic of the base after you get it on the rifle?

I've had a TR since they first came out, and have mine setup as a trainer for my .308 precision rifle/tactical bolt rifle/whatever you want to call it. They are nice, and the 10 rounders are the way to go for sure.

SavageMarkIITRltside.jpg


SavageMarkIITRrtside2.jpg
 
rail for Savage mk II TR

Rail came in today and mounted, along with the low Burris XTR rings. I gained about 1/4 inch of height for bell clearance, and the Bushell 10x and Butler Creek cover now have a bit of room to spare. I cannot promise a photo, but my teenager says he can do it but he is out of town. Good chance some one else can post a pic showing EGW rail on a MkII TR.

The rail is by Evolution Gun Works, and I obtained it through Optics Planet online. Best price and free shipping. It is a std appearing, one piece rail, aluminum, matte black, with the typical Pic/Weaver slots spaced along the length. It runs the length of the receiver, beginning near the bolt slot, and running forward to just past the junction of barrel and receiver. It appears entirely appropriate on the rifle.

One extra rail slot will receive a B-square bubble in the future.
The rail is available with 20 MOA slope, or level. I bought the level model.

NOTE NOTE The MkII rifles have two receiver sizes. Old style and new style. My TR (possible all TR's???) is new style and I actually had to order a base made for Savage 93. Go to the EGW web site and read about correct bases for old and new Mk II's. DO NOT arbitrarily order a MKII base till you "get" it.

I bought the rifle for F-T/R practice/trainer as well. Sure can't shoot .308 as much as I need to (COST). I can shoot the TR .22 here at the house at 100 cheaply and easily.
 
100 yds

Shot groups today at 100 yds with common ammo and CCI mini mags were the clear winner. The best 5 rd groups had clusters of 4 at 1/2MOA, THE best had 4 touching. In both instances a 5th round opend the groups up to 1MOA.

The rifle is likely a consistent 1 MOA shooter at 100. Nailing spent 12 ga hulls at 100 regularly was a hoot.

Rem bulk pack "golden bullets were a pleasant surprise, going 1.5 MOA with their best efforts, but with distinct vertical stringing. Bloopers.

Rem target and subsonic went 1.5 as well, with more rounded, even groups, but still some low bloopers. Not enough improvement to justify the additional cost.

Fed bulk pack fared worse in this rifle, at 2.5 MOA+.
I will someday buy some of the top shelf .22 target fodder to see how the TR does with the premo feed.

The rifle runs fine with the 10 rd mag I picked up later after the factory 5 rounder proved troublesome. I called the factory and a lame sounding young lady told me to "return it to see if it met spec." Not really what I wanted to hear. What was hoped for was "Sorry, we'll send you a replacement. "

But the rifle is up and running and I have a 100 yd FTR practice rifle that I can shoot for 5-10cents a shot.
 
Mine also likes the CCI minimags. I tried some Eley and it was maybe 1/4" better at 100 yards. I also had some Federal match that shot a little worse than the CCI.
 
mini mags

The ammo (minimag) I have was hi-vel stuff. I note in the catalogs that CCI also makes std velocity fodder (makes sen se nse of course, I've just never seen any) . The slower std stuff is worth a look given the way the hi-vel performed.

The boy is out of town still. I will press him for photos upon his return
 
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