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Looking for advice on heavy barrel Savage choice

1K views 16 replies 12 participants last post by  Bigten 
#1 ·
Hi all, I'm thinking about getting a MKII in 22LR. Accuracy is my top concern. My major use for this gun will be tree squirrels. So a light gun with no thumbhole would be best suited, but ACCURACY is what I'm after.

1) It is my understanding that all of the heavy barrel MKIIs are more accurate than the MKII sporter barrels. Correct?

2) I know Outdoor Life loves the BTVS, but I suspect that is the weight and style of the stock (great for paper punching). Anyone have any reason to believe the that the BV or FV can't keep up with the BTVS (when not on sandbags)?

4) Does anyone make quality synthetic replacement stocks for the MKII action?

Thanks!
 
#2 ·
I had a MKII sporter barrel with laminated stock and now have a MKII thumbhole SS heavy barrel. They both shoot the same at 50yds on sandbags. The extra weight of the heavy barrel and thumbhole stock just makes it easier to hold steady. For the woods I'd do the sporter barrel because it is sooo much easier to handle but a lightweight synthetic stock heavy barrel version might be ok.
 
#3 ·
My son has a Savage Mark II G wood stock and standard barrel . Good looking ,light and just as accurate as his Mark II FV heavy barrel till you put a lot of rounds through it and get it hot . Thats when the heavy barrel shines for target use .The standard barrels are great all round guns and a pleasure to carry with great balance with a scope . I target shoot my FV and hunt with my old Marlin 60 .
 
#7 ·
I target shoot my FV and hunt with my old Marlin 60 .
That's exactly what I do. My Marlin is almost as accurate as the FV until it heats up from shooting too many rounds. It's much better for hunting IMO because it's bette balanced. With the FV you have to use a scope which often throws off the balance of a gun. Not so with the FVT of course.

I don't care much for the thumbhole stocks. I like the way the comb much higher than the standard stocks but the LOP is way too short for me. YMMV though.

Heavy barrels are the way to go for target shooting because, as other have said, of the heat issues. But lots of rilfes have good hunting accuracy. My 60SS shoots really, really well and is plenty good enough for hunting. But I have a scope on it so I generally use my old 60 which also shoots very well and is much easier to handle in the woods because it is balanced almost perfectly.
 
#8 ·
We're talking accuracy for minute of squirrel here. I think if you are competition shooting barrel heating may matter. My MKII sporter shot the same 1/2" groups at the range when cold or after 200 rds back to back so I wouldn't worry about heat. The only difference I can tell between the two when shooting paper at 50 yds is the heavier barrel is easier to hold steady. For squirrel hunting I would personally get the MKII SS sporter if they still sell it and put a 4x scope on.
 
#9 ·
So no one believes that bull is more accurate?

Really? Maybe I should just go with the sporter?

But I really want 1 MOA or less if possible, and I'm not looking for MOSquirrel (got a couple of those already--used one today).

Sure, the gun is for hunting, but it can't possibly be too accurate as far as I am concerned. When I take guns to the range it gives me great joy to punch holes very close together. I'll put up with another pound and a half to get under 1 MOA if I could.

No one going to defend the heavier barrel for five shot accuracy?
 
#10 · (Edited)
I'm going to defend the heavy barrel for 5 shot accuracy... My BTVS shoots well, far better than anything I've ever seen or shot with a sporter barrel and since it weighs less than most of my hunting rifles, I do not mind carrying it around... My brother, who previously had never shot off a bench or shot a rifle much shot under a 3/4 inch group at 50 yard with my BTVS with bulk ammo.. And he's left handed, so with the right hand thumbhole, the gun is ackward for him to shoot..

I am not saying a sporter barrel gun cannot be accurate...
 
#11 ·
I have a Mark II FV .22 LR that's the bull barrell with the synthetic stock and a 93R17F 17HMR. This has the sporter barrel. Even though they are 2 different calibers, they both shoot incredible. I can do the same shots with or without the bull barrel. The barrel on the 17 gets warm due to the round itself. So, with the thin barrel you notice it more. That's not a problem for me because I don't shoot one clip after the other. The rounds are 30 cents each. I use the .22 to **** 100-200 rounds when I shoot. You should think about what you want to do with the rifle, hunt, only a few shots fired. Or, target shoot, where you may go through 50-100 rounds. If you were going to do the later, go with the bull barrel. It won't get as hot, but if you shoot repeated rounds, it will hold the heat longer.
 
#12 ·
It's not the weight that bothers me with my FV. It's the balance. I can aim much heavier guns steady but the FV is pretty front heavy. That's not a bad thing if you're going to be shooting targets but it can be a problem for some of us in the field. I have a neck injury and a lower back injury so getting off those shots I did when I was 25 aren't quite as easy now. But if you're a young guy chances are it isn't as big of a deal to you.
 
#13 ·
Maybe you should consider the BV. The laminate stock is very solid and well balanced, and it's the same action as the BVTS so you're not losing anything in the accuracy department. It's still a hefty gun, but a bit lighter than the BTVS. I use a BTVS for bench rest shooting and a BV for silhouette. They both work very well for those purposes.

If I were going to carry it around hunting I'd actually go for a sporter barrel. Maybe even a different make altogether (like, for instance, a Winchester Wildcat - very accurate and weighs only 4.5 lbs.) Depends how much weight you want to pack around.

Maybe you should get two guns. You can never have too many rimfire rifles.:)
 
#15 ·
Heavy barrels can be more accurate, but they aren't guarranteed to be. All other things being equal, the heavy barrel should give you a better chance at accuracy than a sporter barrel on the identical rifle (given both barrels are built to the same quality standards - which is reasonable to assume if you're talking about the same manufacturer/base_model).

...but ACCURACY is what I'm after...
Then you answered your own question ... get the heavy barrel. You will increase your chances of higher accuracy with the heavy barrel under some circumstances, but the heavy barrel won't guarrantee the actual results.
 
#16 ·
It's true that a heavy barrel won't always give you better accuracy. I have a really accurate sporter gun too. But the one thing a heavy barrel will certainly give you is better heat dissipation. You won't see your barrel start to get off target after 100 rounds. So you can practice all day practically. I've never seen my heavy barrel get hot enough to affect accuracy.

It's true that a heavy barrel means a steadier hold too. It's pure physics. A heavier object takes more pressure to move around. So those nervous twitches won't move a heavy barrel as much.

All around a heavy barrel is very likely to make for more accuracy. There are bad barrels being sold but Savage will probably fix any serious problems if you buy a new gun with a heavy barrel. They offered to test mine for me.
 
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