I decided to get a new semi-auto .22 intended for plinking and decided I wanted something I could use with either iron sights or a scope and within a budget of under $400. I checked what was available from Ruger, Marlin, Mossberg, CZ, Browning and Savage, and of course the EE here. Marlin and Mossberg didn't have anything that was appealing to me, Browning and CZ were out of the price range of what I wanted to pay, I already have a Ruger SR-22 and there wasn't anything on the EE that interested me. That left me with Savage. I went to Canadian Tire and they had a couple semi-auto models on the shelf, but only 1 with iron sights. The Model 64 FSS.
I handled the rifle and found that it was a pretty plain jane rifle, not the most esthetically pleasing but it did have a pretty good feel to it. I came home later on and did some review reading on it and found that it got mixed reviews.
Friday night I went back to CT and handled both the 64 TR and FSS again. The TR is a nice gun and I may very well buy it too at some point, but decided I defiantly wanted iron sights. So I bought the FSS. When I got home and stripped it down, I started wondering how well this gun would actually shoot. The trigger had 1/4 inch of play, the mag design and feeding path looked pretty tight and sharp and might be prone to jamming the rounds during cycles. I cleaned and oiled it thoroughly then mounted the scope, a Simmons .22 Mag 3-9x32, and put it into the cabinet.
Sunday I had time to go to the range and try it out and sight it in. I set up a target at the 50 yard range and decided to try the iron sights first. The winds were pretty high from the south and a light on and off rain/mist. Right away the rounds were hitting on paper, about 5 inches high of center. I adjusted the rear sight down and found that I could only get them to go low enough to hit about 3 inches high. There was not enough adjustment left to get the irons to center at 50 yards. Wasn't impressed by that. So I put the scope on and started zeroing it in in. I had to make adjustments to the scope to get it mounted straight and level and for proper eye relief as well.
Once I got the scope sighted, I was actually quite impressed at how well this rifle shot, it shot better than I had expected with pretty reasonable groups for a first time out and considering the conditions.
Ammo: CCI Blazer 40gr
I decided to try some rapid firing since I had read that the gun was prone to jamming when done. Two 10-shot mags and not a single issue, the gun cycled perfectly and grouped fairly well too.
Needless to say, I am quite impressed with this plain jane rifle. It has performed beyond my expectations.
I handled the rifle and found that it was a pretty plain jane rifle, not the most esthetically pleasing but it did have a pretty good feel to it. I came home later on and did some review reading on it and found that it got mixed reviews.
Friday night I went back to CT and handled both the 64 TR and FSS again. The TR is a nice gun and I may very well buy it too at some point, but decided I defiantly wanted iron sights. So I bought the FSS. When I got home and stripped it down, I started wondering how well this gun would actually shoot. The trigger had 1/4 inch of play, the mag design and feeding path looked pretty tight and sharp and might be prone to jamming the rounds during cycles. I cleaned and oiled it thoroughly then mounted the scope, a Simmons .22 Mag 3-9x32, and put it into the cabinet.
Sunday I had time to go to the range and try it out and sight it in. I set up a target at the 50 yard range and decided to try the iron sights first. The winds were pretty high from the south and a light on and off rain/mist. Right away the rounds were hitting on paper, about 5 inches high of center. I adjusted the rear sight down and found that I could only get them to go low enough to hit about 3 inches high. There was not enough adjustment left to get the irons to center at 50 yards. Wasn't impressed by that. So I put the scope on and started zeroing it in in. I had to make adjustments to the scope to get it mounted straight and level and for proper eye relief as well.
Once I got the scope sighted, I was actually quite impressed at how well this rifle shot, it shot better than I had expected with pretty reasonable groups for a first time out and considering the conditions.
Ammo: CCI Blazer 40gr
I decided to try some rapid firing since I had read that the gun was prone to jamming when done. Two 10-shot mags and not a single issue, the gun cycled perfectly and grouped fairly well too.
Needless to say, I am quite impressed with this plain jane rifle. It has performed beyond my expectations.
