Looking for opinions of the Savage BTVS

Snakehunter

Snakehunter

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Kenora, Ontario
Hey. I am looking at getting a .22 for benchrest shooting at my club. Seriously considering the Savage BTVS in stainless with heavy barrel and laminate stock.
I am waiting to hear from a couple of vendors on availability and price. Am I looking at a great rifle?
Thanks for any input,
Glen
 
In my opinion I would look for a cz 452/5 varmint. With the 455 there is upgraded barrel options from lilja as well if you so please. In my opinion the cz's are better built and in my experience more accurate
 
http://www.6mmbr.com/rimfiretactical.html
Great info here.
Everyone will say CZ. It really depends how much coin you have. Being honest the savage getting a tack driver is 50/50. The CZ with the extra cost improves those odds. Im hoping people will be honest and also tell you ammo makes the other half of the equation.
You can spend 1k+ on a tack driver but if you feed it bulk ammo, IMO your wasting your money. Exotic gun = exotic ammo. Bulk gun = bulk ammo.
The savage is an awesome gun but heavy unless youre benchresting shooting. The trigger is simple to mod. FYI the trigger guard and mag plate need upgrading if you really want to improve your group. Bedding also helps. However this is all coin that could be spent on buying a more expensive gun.
I have a 22lr btvs and 10-50x sightron and lucked out and have a super tack driver.
Hope you find what youre looking for!
 
I have both Savage and CZ's (and a host of others)... you can't go wrong with either... CZ's cost a little more upfront, but what's a couple hundred bucks in the grand scheme of things... In spite of the Savage trashing that goes on, their rimfires are generally very accurate... I have owned a couple dozen over the years. LA's concept above is hogwash (bulk gun = bulk ammo and exotic gun = exotic ammo), 40+ years and over 100 firearms in the rimfire game has proven to me that you never know what will shoot best in a particular gun until you try it. I have a stockpile of 30+ loads from different manufacturers that I run through new guns to see what they like best, and it is entirely unpredictable... example; how about an Anschutz that loves Win SS, hows that for a weird combo... or a Savage MKII BTVS that shines with Wolfe MT... but in general, most do pretty well with CCI SV or SK Standard+ (my 452 Lux and Varmint eg)... I also have a couple that shoot Blazers better than anything else... so you just never know. I don't believe that you will regret your purchase... you wouldn't regret a CZ either.
 
Hoyt youre partly right. However you and I both know that the exotic ammo groups better. Why do you think most gun reviews test with CCI or Wolf. Plain and simple, they group better. Read what Volquartsen tests with!
Do you think they shoot bulk ammo at the olympics? Come on, expensive gun and expensive ammo will out shoot a cheap gun with the same shooter.
Now a CZ and savage arent exotic so yes, test a bunch of ammo. You never know what your gun will like.
My bet though is almost all of hoyts guns shoot CCI better than bulk blazer.
 
little_airwolf said:
Hoyt youre partly right. However you and I both know that the exotic ammo groups better. Why do you think most gun reviews test with CCI or Wolf. Plain and simple, they group better. Read what Volquartsen tests with!
Do you think they shoot bulk ammo at the olympics? Come on, expensive gun and expensive ammo will out shoot a cheap gun with the same shooter.
Now a CZ and savage arent exotic so yes, test a bunch of ammo. You never know what your gun will like.
My bet though is almost all of hoyts guns shoot CCI better than bulk blazer.
Click to expand...


It's not "exotic" ammo... it's precision ammo. And it "should" group better due to the additional QC... which is also why it costs more... BUT, you were referring to an affinity between less expensive guns and less expensive ammo... AND an affinity between more expensive guns and more expensive ammo... on a case by case basis that is rubbish. Most of my guns shoot CCI SV's pretty well (CCI by the way is not generally considered a premium brand, except by those who usually buy their ammo by the bucket). If I could only pick one ammo it would be SK Standard+, followed by Wolf MT... BUT If I was relegated to only one specific rimfire rifle... I would shoot whatever was most accurate in that particular gun... even if it was Blazers... my point is you won't know until you try it.

And by the way... I said that TWO guns of the 100+ rimfires I have owned shot Blazers very well... so yes, the better the ammo, the more you should expect from it in general... but not always when it comes to one specific gun.
 
I had horrible luck with mine. Exchanged twice (so - three rifles) all with defective triggers that would trip to the locked position for no real reason. Not as accurate as a many other cheaper 22s, in my experience, too. Holes often drilled askew atop the receiver too.

The bolt stop notch on the bottom of the bolt will start to be marked and peel back in short order. Happens on every one I've laid hands on (ever mark 2 - quite a lot). Very low quality firearm.
 
On the whole I'd say that the barrels on the Savages are pretty good. What it may need to make it into a decent bench rest barrel is a more accurate crown courtesy of a trip to a gunsmith or done by a good home hobby machinist that understands the setup factors.
 
I've had dozens... have had no problems to speak of with any of them... nor have anyone I know that shoot them. You hear about more problems, because Savage sells more bolt action rifles than most other manufacturers combined...

Their success rate sure as heck isn't "50/50" as some internet experts claim... if it were, there would be a massive recall and the company would be losing money... which clearly isn't the case... they are good rifles for guns at this price point... just as CZ's are good rifles at their price point.
 
ive got one in 17hmr. I absolutely love it! Mine is blued, and has the factory forest green thumbhole stock. I am just waiting for my scope to land in Canada, and i will be out to sight it in. i expect nothing less then a tack driver.
 
i have a savage with the twist fluted ss hb and thumbhole laminate. not sure the model but fed well it shoots on par with my cz varmint. the savage is stock the cz has been bedded and trigger done.
 
Might want to look at the 50 yd. challenge and see what they are shooting. Lots of guys say "all in one hole all day" but these guys show what works. Good luck. Just remember many guys shoot better on line than at the range.
 
OMG, funny stuff, just about fell out of my chair reading that!
I know the savages aren't 50/50 for good vs bad. I'm just saying that IMO it's 50/50 on getting a btvs that is a tackdriver out of the box.
I love my gun I wouldn't sell it. Alteast I'm being realistic that there are duds out there and not all btvs are fantastic. I've read a lot more bad things about savages than CZs.
However IMO I'd expect more out of a guns that costs more. Just like the Coopers and Volquartsens. You get what you pay for.
I really think the btvs is overlooked. It comes with a boyds stock FWIK. Just the stock is worth a few bucks. So please OP take that into account.
Again, I hope you find what youre looking for!
 
little_airwolf said:
I know the savages aren't 50/50 for good vs bad. I'm just saying that IMO it's 50/50 on getting a btvs that is a tackdriver out of the box.
I love my gun I wouldn't sell it. Alteast I'm being realistic that there are duds out there...
Click to expand...

You talk of being realistic... do you think that saying they are "50/50" is being realistic? Any gun can have issues... guns costing many thousands of dollars can have issues... and it would be common sense to expect that guns at a lower price point "may" have a higher percentage of issues... but at the price point of the BTVS Savage does a pretty good job... certainly a heck of a lot better than 50/50...
 
I have the same gun in .22WMR and I was lucky in having the CZ and the Savage side my side at the store. The CZ does look better built and both were the same price but I bought the Savage 'cause my son said so. The real trick so far is finding ammo that it likes and that took me a while...about 7-8 different boxes, maybe more. In the end my Savage likes the cheap 40 grain CCI Choot-ems at Canadian tire and it will shoot a 5 shot group 3/4" at 100 yards fairly regular. I have put 2 and 3 shots in the same hole at that range so maybe I can get better but 3/4" is still pretty good. All other ammo shoots 1" or more and never in the same hole.
 
Shootems are cheap? I thought cheap was 5¢ a round or less. CCI run 7¢+
Doesnt seem like a big difference but when you buy 10K rounds. Money in your pocket is better than in theirs!
 
Have one in 17hmr and it is a tack driver, not a single complaint here. I've seen many of my friends buy one after shooting mine. For a entry level gun at a entry level price you can't go wrong, but you can't go wrong with a cz either.

ET
 
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