Ruger or Savage. That is the question...

jonyork

jonyork

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Hi Folks,

Looking to "perfect" my 22 hunting/competition setup.

I'm looking for a semi-auto 22 for small game hunting, and a bolt for competitive work.

I currently own a 10/22 synthetic, stainless, standard barrel setup, and a Savage Mark II F

as for precision rigs, I'm debating between the Ruger Precision Rimfire and the Savage B22 Precision.

for hunting, it's either upgrade the 10/22 stock with a Magpul X-22 stock, or get a A22 from savage.

Main questions

1 - Would the RPR or B22 Precision, shoot better then the Mark II F already does?
2 - If so, do we expect the B22 to be more accurate than the RPR?
3 - Am I crazy?
 
I shoot Production ORPS mostly. Can't comment on hunting. There is no better production class rifle than a Savage. Learn how to load the mags and they work flawlessly.

My experience with both have shown that the B22 can have problems extracting the cheaper ammo. This issue is 100% resolved by putting a second spring clip over top of the first to increase the pressure on the extractors. Or you can not shoot cheap ammo.

A22 can't handle hollow point ammo and it seems to be not just me that has the exact problem. CCI SV and CCI Blazer work flawlessly. Federal 36g CPHP, you get feeding issues about 7 rounds out of 100.

My Savage Mark II was more accurate than the B22 with the CCI SV, but the mags were crap and I'd have feeding issues all the time. I ditched it because reliability is far more important than shooting sub MoA. 1" at 50 yards is all you need for ORPS and CRPS
 
That’s very interesting.

I would have thought the b22 line to be superior to the mark 2 since it kinda replaces it doesn’t it?
 
jonyork said:
That’s very interesting.

I would have thought the b22 line to be superior to the mark 2 since it kinda replaces it doesn’t it?
Click to expand...

Newer isn't always better these days... newer usually means cheaper manufacturing costs and higher profits margins for the manufacturer.
 
Fair enough, I just imagined it was the same nuts and bolts but in a better stock, not less of a package if you know what I mean.

So where does that leave us between a RPR and a B22 precision. Which do we expect to perform better, or is it down to shooter error at this point?
 
I wouldn't touch an RPR with a 10 foot pole. Seen so many people have reliability issues with it but that's just me.

The B22 I have is slightly less accurate with CCI SV compares to my Mark II. I have not spent the time or money to find out what ammo my B22 likes. Its possible that I just need to use different ammo. It shoots sub 1" at 50 without question every time and with ORPS shooting gongs smaller groups at this point has very limited benefit.

Hard to say for sure... But since I would prefer a B22 in a synthetic stock over an RPR, the B22 Precision is absolutely gonna destroy an RPR imho
 
I don't think it is cheap ammo that causes extraction issues but the lube they use. My B22 had problems with CCI SV because of the wax lube. I take them out of the box put them on a rag and wipe the lube off and have not had any more problems. Everything else with the oily lube works fine.
 
Both are very capable platforms. I'm building a 10/22 right now for next year's CPRS/Action Rimfire series here in BC, currently have my Mark II as that. The only reason I'm replacing it is that I got a wicked start on the 10/22. But the MKII will be glassed for my back up rifle in case things happen. You can never be too careful.
 
Dahsira said:
I wouldn't touch an RPR with a 10 foot pole. Seen so many people have reliability issues with it but that's just me.

The B22 I have is slightly less accurate with CCI SV compares to my Mark II. I have not spent the time or money to find out what ammo my B22 likes. Its possible that I just need to use different ammo. It shoots sub 1" at 50 without question every time and with ORPS shooting gongs smaller groups at this point has very limited benefit.

Hard to say for sure... But since I would prefer a B22 in a synthetic stock over an RPR, the B22 Precision is absolutely gonna destroy an RPR imho
Click to expand...

I haven’t come across any reliability issues on that rifle, anything that comes to mind?
 
Ran a MkII in Open in 2018 and did well.

Ran a 10/22 in Open which ran awesome and did very well. This is my goto platform for CRPS/Rimfire PRS matches

Will likely rebarrel my MkII this season and have both ready to go.... and the MKII will do better at pure ELR tasks.

Jerry
 
We have two people at our club that have shot with an RPR. One got sidelined at a Mapleseed because of his rifle. Not sure if that was a failure to extract problem or not. Another has had ongoing problems with his RPR at ORPS this last weekend it was failure to extract. They aren't my guns so I have no idea about the why. I just know what I see. I'm also not a Ruger fan in general so it's easy for me to focus on Ruger flaws and minimize Savage flaws.
 
Completely appreciate that!

I’m a savage fan myself, and originally got the 10/22 for the large capacity plinking. I know hunting squirrels and rabbits with my buddy, the semi autos got more game due to faster follow ups, especially on squirrels.

That’s why I’m thinking of turning my 10/22 as a hunting rig instead of selling it.

Ideally, I’d love both my rifles to share magazines, but that might not be so important in the long run.
 
Having run both thr RPR and a Savage MKii, I'd say that the only caveat of the MKii is the absolute garbage they call a mag. I'm sure there's ways to fix them, however I havent looked into it.

The RPR on the other hand... well, its hit or miss. Seems to all depend on the QC that day as to whether you'll receive a good one or not. I got lucky and have had no problems with mine. Although I havent put them head to head, I have a feeling that my Savage would run circles around the Ruger provided I got the mags to be reliable. I intend on doing this test pretty soon so as to ensure I have the best rifle for the job come next CRPS season.
 
I look forward to seeing the results of that!

RobHL said:
Having run both thr RPR and a Savage MKii, I'd say that the only caveat of the MKii is the absolute garbage they call a mag. I'm sure there's ways to fix them, however I havent looked into it.

The RPR on the other hand... well, its hit or miss. Seems to all depend on the QC that day as to whether you'll receive a good one or not. I got lucky and have had no problems with mine. Although I havent put them head to head, I have a feeling that my Savage would run circles around the Ruger provided I got the mags to be reliable. I intend on doing this test pretty soon so as to ensure I have the best rifle for the job come next CRPS season.
Click to expand...
 
The MkII mags can certainly be problematic but the design is excellent. If you have access to a TIG, a couple of small spot welds will keep the box together permanently.

A bit of gentle tweaks on the feed lips cures most feeding issues.

Some sharp edges can be softened and smooth with a couple of minutes with some emery cloth.

Then it runs very well and I much prefer this design vs other bolts.

I have yet to meet a current manf rimfire that can't benefit from some TLC out of the box.

Jerry
 
Interesting. I've got two mags for my mkii and never had an issue with em - and that's over 5 years, thousands of rounds, and it gets hunted, carried, and packed all over the place - I am not easy on this rifle.

What specifically is the issue people are having?
 
The most common problem is the stamped 'rivets' not being done properly and the halves separate. Savage might warranty this????

Other is bent feed lips causing the bullet nose to be too low. Simple fix

Jerry
 
Jerry hit the nail on the head. Every Savage mag I have owned has had a separation issue. I'm not particularly abusive to my gear but it definitely got frustrating to load a full mag, insert it and have the rounds fountain out the top of the rifle haha.

I probably could have taken the time to repair them but didnt. No-one's problem but my own. I intended on buying replacements but then my wife bought me the RPR and more poor Savage has been safe bound since then...
 
I have a B22 and it's a great rifle for the price. However, it would not eject anything at first. Didn't matter if I fed it cheap or expensive ammo. I swapped the extractor and the spring clip with replacements I got from Savage (for free) and now it functions quite well. Accuracy is good and I like the new mags a lot, plus the option for 25 round mags is nice. The trigger is quite good for the price of the rifle too. I keep thinking about getting an A22 for hunting because only needing one set of 22 mags for both rifles would be nice, but I haven't done it yet.

I vote for a B22 and A22 combo, just don't be surprised if you have to tweak something to get them to run 100%.
 
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