got_the_itch
New member
New Savage 64 GXP
I recently picked up a Savage Arms Model 64 GPX .22lr. I really like this little gun being fairly new to rifles, and most definitely new to scopes. Saying this because it came with a nice little Bushnell scope but no irons. It's a nice looking wood stock, and a mag feed. The downside is, it only came with one mag. That was easily rectified by an order to Midway (4 more).
I started out using a standard velocity round nose load to break it in (200 rounds - 3 duds). The Remington Standard Velocity target loads found at Wally's. Outside of one mag in particular, these rounds functioned flawlessly in this little shooter. I'll chalk the mag issue up as being new and needing a little breaking in. However, after running through the 200 rnds. of Remmy's. I began into the Federal .22lr ValuePak (red). This stuff, the 64 didn't care for so much. I was pretty shocked to say the least, as I've heard this is pretty good .22lr ammo. I probably went through about 150-200 rounds of this with several feeding issues. Often just requiring a pull on the bolt handle and it would slam shut.
I find this to be a little upsetting to say the least considering the significant price difference between the 2. The only other thing I found my local Wally's to have in stock was the Win 555 packs. Now this stuff on the other hand I have heard folks bad mouth it via intrawebz.
As for accuracy, I personally didn't notice any difference in regards to either type tested above. But I do know the weapon is in need of a good cleaning.
Has anyone had any experience in the 2 mentioned? I've still got about 400 rounds of the Federal left. So if anyone has any suggestions about the feed issues, how to remedy it on a new rifle if there is a way, or general opinions, what have you.
Next....
The trigger! This is by far the worst part about this little shooter. This damn thing sucks, and sucks really, really bad. What to do to smooth this thing out? It feels like I'm trying to break a stick tied to the trigger guard and the stock. It's horrid!
I walked my targets out from 25, 50, 75, & 100 yards. the trigger didn't seem to effect me until I hit the 75 yd marker. Not so bad, but noticeable without a doubt. And then once I hit 100 yards, it was quite noticeable. Going from 2" groups to 6 and 9 inch at 100 yards. Eventually I was able to slow shoot from the bench to tighten them up a bit. But nothing like shooting with a smoother/lighter trigger. I found myself slapping the trigger rather than squeezing it to get it to break on rapid fires. Definitely a bad habit that a crappy trigger isn't going to help with.
So, my underlying question here is.... How the hell do I, or is there some kind of "fluff and buff". That I could do to smooth and lighten this thing? I feel like I could drive tacks at 100 yards easily with some trigger time. And a trigger job.
Any ideas are appreciated, thanks folks!
I recently picked up a Savage Arms Model 64 GPX .22lr. I really like this little gun being fairly new to rifles, and most definitely new to scopes. Saying this because it came with a nice little Bushnell scope but no irons. It's a nice looking wood stock, and a mag feed. The downside is, it only came with one mag. That was easily rectified by an order to Midway (4 more).
I started out using a standard velocity round nose load to break it in (200 rounds - 3 duds). The Remington Standard Velocity target loads found at Wally's. Outside of one mag in particular, these rounds functioned flawlessly in this little shooter. I'll chalk the mag issue up as being new and needing a little breaking in. However, after running through the 200 rnds. of Remmy's. I began into the Federal .22lr ValuePak (red). This stuff, the 64 didn't care for so much. I was pretty shocked to say the least, as I've heard this is pretty good .22lr ammo. I probably went through about 150-200 rounds of this with several feeding issues. Often just requiring a pull on the bolt handle and it would slam shut.
I find this to be a little upsetting to say the least considering the significant price difference between the 2. The only other thing I found my local Wally's to have in stock was the Win 555 packs. Now this stuff on the other hand I have heard folks bad mouth it via intrawebz.
As for accuracy, I personally didn't notice any difference in regards to either type tested above. But I do know the weapon is in need of a good cleaning.
Has anyone had any experience in the 2 mentioned? I've still got about 400 rounds of the Federal left. So if anyone has any suggestions about the feed issues, how to remedy it on a new rifle if there is a way, or general opinions, what have you.
Next....
The trigger! This is by far the worst part about this little shooter. This damn thing sucks, and sucks really, really bad. What to do to smooth this thing out? It feels like I'm trying to break a stick tied to the trigger guard and the stock. It's horrid!
I walked my targets out from 25, 50, 75, & 100 yards. the trigger didn't seem to effect me until I hit the 75 yd marker. Not so bad, but noticeable without a doubt. And then once I hit 100 yards, it was quite noticeable. Going from 2" groups to 6 and 9 inch at 100 yards. Eventually I was able to slow shoot from the bench to tighten them up a bit. But nothing like shooting with a smoother/lighter trigger. I found myself slapping the trigger rather than squeezing it to get it to break on rapid fires. Definitely a bad habit that a crappy trigger isn't going to help with.
So, my underlying question here is.... How the hell do I, or is there some kind of "fluff and buff". That I could do to smooth and lighten this thing? I feel like I could drive tacks at 100 yards easily with some trigger time. And a trigger job.
Any ideas are appreciated, thanks folks!