Savage MKII BV. The best budget .22 around.

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Savage MKII BV. The best budget .22 around.

Post by Andrew.22 » 06 Sep 2015, 2:30 am

My dad bought me my first rifle when I was 10. It was a .17 air rifle. I couldn't tell you what brand it was, it didn't matter to me as a ten year old. We bought it back in 1988 when you could walk into a Queensland army disposal shop and just buy one off the rack with a drivers licence and walk out with it there and then.
I used it in my backyard shooting targets I'd line up on the brick BBQ. It was great fun and I guess from that moment I loved guns.

Fast forward to 2000. I was now living in Melbourne. My dad and I now had several rifles and shotguns of different sizes and quality. We also had over 400 acres of rabbit and fox infested property to shoot on only an hour from home. My Anschutz 1515/1516 .22mag was my choice of rifle most days. There's no telling how many rabbits I killed with that rifle. I also had a Sako P94S with a cheap Bushnell 3-9x50 on it. This was my first rifle specifically purchased for shooting paper targets. It was a beautiful rifle. Unfortunately in a moment of weakness I sold it in perfect unmarked condition with the scope for $900. I wish I still had it. Most gun owners have a story like that.

Fast forward again to 2013. I was now living back in QLD and had sold my share of the rifles prior to leaving Melbourne. The property still exists but I only shot on it when I visited mum and dad and only with my dads guns. After 8 years without a gun and a couple of really good visits to the property I caught the shooting bug again and was on the hunt for a new rifle.

I didn't have a property to shoot on in QLD but I did have a 50m range 20 mins from home so I decided a .22 was the way to go.
I was on a "tight" budget back then so with the benefit of the internet I began researching 'best bang for your buck .22 rifles'.

After about a month I decided to buy a Savage MKII BV. I wanted an accurate rifle and due to the budget restrictions I was willing to sacrifice the quality of fit and finish so long as accuracy was maintained. The Savage MKII BV fit the bill perfectly. People around the world were raving about the accuracy. The heavy barrel was essential, as I learnt the importance of a heavy target barrel through owning the Sako. The trigger was just as important and the adjustable acutrigger meant I could safely lighten the trigger myself further keeping the cost down. I wasn't fussed on the laminated stock or the plastic trigger guard but I wanted a straight shooter not a family heirloom.

I found a stockist and bought the rifle for $570 (2013). I fitted a 1.5-5x20 Nikko Stirling that I had. It used to be mounted on my Winchester model 94 30-30 Legacy, another rifle I wish I still had. You'd be sick if I told you how much I sold it for.
I bought a box of every different brand of .22 target ammo the shop had. My first experiment was to find the ammo the rifle liked best.

My first day at the range was a long one. I was so excited to be shooting again. The weather was perfect and there was no wind. I shot all day using boxes of ammo from $4.50 to $18.00. I was shooting off a Harris bipod up front and my rolled up gun bag at the rear. My groups weren't what you'd call amazing but the aim was to find out which ammo the gun liked best.

To my delight, after 10, 5 shot groups of all the different ammo (cleaning between brands) the Savage shot the smallest group and most consistently with the very affordable $4.50 CCI Standard Velocity Target ammo. This is since common knowledge amongst MKII owners and we love it.

The next step was to buy more CCI Target ammo, a better scope and a shooting rest.
The 1.5-5x20 had to go. I just couldn't see the centre of the target clearly enough. I was still on this bloody budget. I could only afford one scope so it had to be a compromise between a target scope and a hunting scope. More internet research ensued, and I decided on a Nikon Promaster 3-9x40 Rimfire. It was back when the dollar was close to 1 for 1 so I bought it from the USA on line for about $180 delivered. It had a 50m parallax which saved me buying a centerfire scope with an adjustable objective.
Deciding on a rest was easier than I thought. As soon as I saw how expensive they were I decided to make my own sandbags out of the legs of an old pair of jeans. (2015...still using them)

It was back to the range with my heavily budgeted target rifle and set up to see what this little Savage could do.
I was the only shooter on the 50m rimfire rifle range so I was wasn't embarassed about my jean leg sandbags. I set up the targets and sighted in the Nikon.
What came next was 2 hours of the most accurate shooting I have ever done. I can't explain why the cheapest heavy barrel rifle shoots so well with the cheapest target ammo but it just does.

Things have changed a lot for me financially since early 2013. I could now afford any rifle and scope combo I want. I wonder what mistakes I would have made if I didn't have to research the hell out of my choices and squeeze every bit of value out of every dollar to wind up with the Savage and Nikon?
It's put me in a situation where selling it would be silly. To have a prettier rifle and a higher magnification scope to achieve what? An extra millimetre in accuracy? Not for me. I've got a fantastic hunting/target combo that will serve me forever. Now that I can afford the best rifle I don't want it. The Savage was there for me when I couldn't really afford a rifle. It brought me happiness with its accuracy and has never let me down. Plus it loves the $4.50 CCI, can't beat that!

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Last edited by Andrew.22 on 06 Sep 2015, 9:57 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Savage MKII BV. The best budget .22 around.

Post by Xerox » 06 Sep 2015, 8:45 am

That's a hell of a first post

:thumbsup: :welcome:
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Re: Savage MKII BV. The best budget .22 around.

Post by aaronjo » 06 Sep 2015, 9:18 am

Jeans sand bags, been there and done that!

Nice story buddy.
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Re: Savage MKII BV. The best budget .22 around.

Post by bigfellascott » 06 Sep 2015, 12:01 pm

Nice one mate, gotta say I love the daughters Savage Mk2 BV - it shoots the same as your's, I put hers in a Boyds Thumbhole stock, the triggers been worked on hers and is super light and bloody beautiful to use (better than the Rifle Basix trigger on the other Savage Mk2 my other daughter has.

You can buy metal trigger guards and bottom plates for them (the plates are thicker than standard so need longer screws).
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Re: Savage MKII BV. The best budget .22 around.

Post by Rocker » 09 Sep 2015, 11:05 am

Does someone work for Savage I wonder? :lol:
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Re: Savage MKII BV. The best budget .22 around.

Post by Andrew.22 » 09 Sep 2015, 6:28 pm

Rocker wrote:Does someone work for Savage I wonder? :lol:


Nope.
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Re: Savage MKII BV. The best budget .22 around.

Post by bigfellascott » 09 Sep 2015, 6:54 pm

Andrew.22 wrote:
Rocker wrote:Does someone work for Savage I wonder? :lol:


Nope.


Nope - just a great rifle at a great price as far as I'm concerned. :thumbsup:
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Re: Savage MKII BV. The best budget .22 around.

Post by zobster » 10 Sep 2015, 7:25 am

Good idea on the jeans, I've been using the missus leggings and they seem to rip pretty easily. What sort of sand you using? I used beach sand that I sifted and washed myself.
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Re: Savage MKII BV. The best budget .22 around.

Post by bigfellascott » 10 Sep 2015, 8:14 am

zobster wrote:Good idea on the jeans, I've been using the missus leggings and they seem to rip pretty easily. What sort of sand you using? I used beach sand that I sifted and washed myself.


Sand from the local sand pit across the road (Park) I also make my sandbags out of jean legs and also out of calico (good to have a wife who knows how to sew) :D
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Re: Savage MKII BV. The best budget .22 around.

Post by Seconds » 10 Sep 2015, 1:39 pm

bigfellascott wrote:Nope - just a great rifle at a great price as far as I'm concerned. :thumbsup:


Price is good and there always accurate out of the box that I've seen.
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Re: Savage MKII BV. The best budget .22 around.

Post by Andrew.22 » 10 Sep 2015, 8:59 pm

zobster wrote:Good idea on the jeans, I've been using the missus leggings and they seem to rip pretty easily. What sort of sand you using? I used beach sand that I sifted and washed myself.


I used a fine sand that was clean and dry. I'm not saying I took it from a sand dune at the beach. That would be illegal.
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Re: Savage MKII BV. The best budget .22 around.

Post by becks » 11 Sep 2015, 10:57 am

But is it illegal to "borrow" it? :D
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Re: Savage MKII BV. The best budget .22 around.

Post by Andrew.22 » 11 Sep 2015, 4:51 pm

becks wrote:But is it illegal to "borrow" it? :D


Without getting technical lets just say I plan on keeping it.

Just writing up a post on my .303 - stay tuned.
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Re: Savage MKII BV. The best budget .22 around.

Post by Mr Happy » 11 Sep 2015, 7:12 pm

Great article Andrew,I'll be putting my order in next week for my Savage MK11 BV,and i'll be cutting off the bottoms of my brothers jeans tonight when he's asleep.I might even go down and have a look at the beach.PS great photo's nice camera work.
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Re: Savage MKII BV. The best budget .22 around.

Post by Spitpolisher » 12 Sep 2015, 2:46 pm

Its so good to read "real world" opinions rather than the BS that many manufacturers spew out. I had almost made my mind up and Andrew.22 just confirmed it. Thanks - yes definitely a good article.
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Re: Savage MKII BV. The best budget .22 around.

Post by Carter » 14 Sep 2015, 11:09 am

Andrew.22 wrote:Without getting technical lets just say I plan on keeping it.


I don't think you have to get too technical to explain that one :lol:
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Re: Savage MKII BV. The best budget .22 around.

Post by Andrew.22 » 14 Sep 2015, 3:15 pm

Carter wrote:
Andrew.22 wrote:Without getting technical lets just say I plan on keeping it.


I don't think you have to get too technical to explain that one :lol:


Thanks for your valuable input Carter but I'm sure Becks knew what technicality I was referring to.
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Re: Savage MKII BV. The best budget .22 around.

Post by Carter » 16 Sep 2015, 9:06 am

Just joking around buddy, it's all good :)
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Re: Savage MKII BV. The best budget .22 around.

Post by Joels_rody » 26 Jul 2016, 8:55 pm

My mk11 will be ready to pick up this week in trying to narrow down my load choices did u try all the cci 22lr round? Any info on what else may shoot good part from just the cci target loads
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Re: Savage MKII BV. The best budget .22 around.

Post by Joels_rody » 26 Jul 2016, 9:06 pm

My mk11 will be ready to pick up this week in trying to narrow down my load choices did u try all the cci 22lr round? Any info on what else may shoot good part from just the cci target loads
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Re: Savage MKII BV. The best budget .22 around.

Post by bigfellascott » 27 Jul 2016, 6:49 pm

Cci standards, win pp subs, win pp 40gn all shoot good enough for hunting in both mine.
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Re: Savage MKII BV. The best budget .22 around.

Post by NukeBOMB88 » 27 Jul 2016, 9:53 pm

This is a bloody great example of how you don't need to spend big money for great accuracy. I went a step further to the cheap side with the .22 that dad bought me when I was about 12 . It cost $350 with a scope and it was a Puma hunter copy of a Cz something. I've been using that .22 for years and it's shot just about every feral under the sun no worries and punched some bloody good groups in paper too. I love seeing a good story like this. Keep up the good work Andrew
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Re: Savage MKII BV. The best budget .22 around.

Post by bigfellascott » 27 Jul 2016, 10:10 pm

NukeBOMB88 wrote:This is a bloody great example of how you don't need to spend big money for great accuracy. I went a step further to the cheap side with the .22 that dad bought me when I was about 12 . It cost $350 with a scope and it was a Puma hunter copy of a Cz something. I've been using that .22 for years and it's shot just about every feral under the sun no worries and punched some bloody good groups in paper too. I love seeing a good story like this. Keep up the good work Andrew


Bloody oath mate, you really don't need to spend up if you don't want, I've got 2 Savage Varmints (they are my daughters rifles) and they have been great little shooters - I bought them 2nd hand so didn't cost a fortune and came with bits and pieces - the girls love using them and boy do they shoot. :thumbsup:

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Re: Savage MKII BV. The best budget .22 around.

Post by Andrew.22 » 28 Jul 2016, 11:01 am

Joels_rody wrote:My mk11 will be ready to pick up this week in trying to narrow down my load choices did u try all the cci 22lr round? Any info on what else may shoot good part from just the cci target loads


I just went through my test targets from 2013 and found that my rifle also shot very well with SK Rifle Match with 5 shot groups at 9mm.
It's double the price but no more accurate than the CCI Standard Velocity Target.
Remington Target Rifle by Eley shot well at 9mm as did Blazer at 10mm - They're just not as consistent.

What my rifle didn't like was Winchester T22 and Winchester Subsonic. They shot best 5 shot groups of 14mm and 15mm respectively.

What my rifle absolutely hated was Remington Subsonic with a best 5 shot group of 21mm.

The CCI was definitely the best value for accuracy out of my rife. It is extremely consistent. Flyers are non existent. Even the SK had a couple of flyers which brought some SK groups out to 31mm - unacceptable.

Unless I was shooting competition I wouldn't bother with anything other than CCI Standard Velocity Target.
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Re: Savage MKII BV. The best budget .22 around.

Post by Andrew.22 » 05 Sep 2018, 2:42 am

This rifle is now for sale.
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Re: Savage MKII BV. The best budget .22 around.

Post by Crankycant » 09 Sep 2018, 9:25 am

Why mate
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holds forth that it is entirely possible to pick up a turd by the clean end."
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Re: Savage MKII BV. The best budget .22 around.

Post by Andrew.22 » 09 Sep 2018, 4:04 pm

After 22 year the shooting property has been sold.
All rifles now for sale.
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Re: Savage MKII BV. The best budget .22 around.

Post by Bruiser64 » 09 Sep 2018, 4:08 pm

That is a shame. Any prospects for finding other properties?
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Re: Savage MKII BV. The best budget .22 around.

Post by Andrew.22 » 09 Sep 2018, 5:30 pm

Not so far.
It was something my father and I enjoyed together and now he's not well enough.
End of an era.
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Re: Savage MKII BV. The best budget .22 around.

Post by bigfellascott » 09 Sep 2018, 6:29 pm

Andrew.22 wrote:Not so far.
It was something my father and I enjoyed together and now he's not well enough.
End of an era.


Keep em mate, one day you might have kids of your own and can start a new family tradition with them :thumbsup:

You own em and you'll get SFA for em so might as well hang on to em until they become useful again. :drinks:
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