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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