I am thinking about buying a savage 64f . Anyone have one if so what do you think of it? I understand its a cheap plinker just expecting good reliability and reasonable accuracy. Would be a good mate to my mark 2 and I can compare it to my 10 22s
savage 64f
- Thread starter shms
- Start date
Spend a few bucks more !
I've had a 64 for about 6 years and 1) the mags are cra* - feed lips wear off -bought 6 , 1 dead, one dieing 2) firing pin wore out from NO last shot hold open - I now load a snap cap as Last shot. Otherwise it's great with bulk ammo and better with mid-range ($5/bx - up). I'd spend another $100 and get a Savage A22, said to be more accurate than 10/22. I went for the B-22 - trying to control the rapid fire urge ;-0
I've had a 64 for about 6 years and 1) the mags are cra* - feed lips wear off -bought 6 , 1 dead, one dieing 2) firing pin wore out from NO last shot hold open - I now load a snap cap as Last shot. Otherwise it's great with bulk ammo and better with mid-range ($5/bx - up). I'd spend another $100 and get a Savage A22, said to be more accurate than 10/22. I went for the B-22 - trying to control the rapid fire urge ;-0
Savage 64 mags info
Yes, The prob with mags is well known has been for years. The 64 is pretty old design - 1964, go figger - originally the Cooey 64. The mags are made of some sort of 'pot metal' alloy, sorta soft.
The constant rubbing of the cartridge rim on the mag-lips wears them down. You need to give'em a few whacks with a hammer to 're-align' them. Not a daily thing but every 'few hundred rounds'. I've filed the 'sharp edges' on the outer edges since they can cut your thumb when loading. AND the alignment when inserted in the mag well is often an issue. Some folks have probs with that - some don't - I did! I had to put a dab of JB on them, and to make the 'final adjustment' touch them up with a fine file. Only the two on the left needed touch-up. Pic below of the back 'ledge' of the mag :
After all that, for approx $175 you can't go wrong. Very accurate with 'good ammo' - under 1" at 50yds with a good scope. I took a spring out of a clik-pen, cut 1/3 of it and stretched it to fit the trigger return. Took about 2# off the pull. Then polished (with 600g or better) the sear release edge (don't change angle - just polish) and everything inside to reduce rubbing and lightly oiled contact points. Also polish the bolt and inside of the receiver. I have threads about this rifle on here and on Rinmfirecentral and SavageShooters .com as Fasteddie01. Just a bunch of 'fiddly things' to make it run smooth . . .
But as I said above, if you can spring for about $350 or so I'd go for the A22. And the B22 will be a touch more accurate than the A22 if you have the patience for bolt action. I have 3 x 22s and it's still my fav for plinking and good enough for targets with good ammo.
Good luck,
Buck
Mag Wear at backs -
[/url][/IMG]
Trigger Return -
[/url][/IMG]
Widened Mag Well -
[/url][/IMG]
Polished Sear Edge -
[/url][/IMG]
Yes, The prob with mags is well known has been for years. The 64 is pretty old design - 1964, go figger - originally the Cooey 64. The mags are made of some sort of 'pot metal' alloy, sorta soft.
The constant rubbing of the cartridge rim on the mag-lips wears them down. You need to give'em a few whacks with a hammer to 're-align' them. Not a daily thing but every 'few hundred rounds'. I've filed the 'sharp edges' on the outer edges since they can cut your thumb when loading. AND the alignment when inserted in the mag well is often an issue. Some folks have probs with that - some don't - I did! I had to put a dab of JB on them, and to make the 'final adjustment' touch them up with a fine file. Only the two on the left needed touch-up. Pic below of the back 'ledge' of the mag :After all that, for approx $175 you can't go wrong. Very accurate with 'good ammo' - under 1" at 50yds with a good scope. I took a spring out of a clik-pen, cut 1/3 of it and stretched it to fit the trigger return. Took about 2# off the pull. Then polished (with 600g or better) the sear release edge (don't change angle - just polish) and everything inside to reduce rubbing and lightly oiled contact points. Also polish the bolt and inside of the receiver. I have threads about this rifle on here and on Rinmfirecentral and SavageShooters .com as Fasteddie01.
Just a bunch of 'fiddly things' to make it run smooth . . . But as I said above, if you can spring for about $350 or so I'd go for the A22. And the B22 will be a touch more accurate than the A22 if you have the patience for bolt action. I have 3 x 22s and it's still my fav for plinking and good enough for targets with good ammo.
Good luck,
Buck
Mag Wear at backs -
Trigger Return -
Widened Mag Well -
Polished Sear Edge -
I forgot to say, All those mags have several hundred rounds thru them. They're only $30 so I got a bunch to keep shooting a while. I 'bubba-fixed' the mag release w/JB (seen in the mag well pic) and enlarged the charging handle with a 'loose' nut on a self-threading bolt screwed into the OEM handle.
All this was fun, if you like fussy things.
Mag well widened - note Mag Release 'nub'
[/url][/IMG]
Charging Handle - I filed hex ends smoother after this pic
[/url][/IMG]
All this was fun, if you like fussy things.
Mag well widened - note Mag Release 'nub'
Charging Handle - I filed hex ends smoother after this pic
I LOVE my 64F. I did install a Mcarbo spring which made a big difference. I as well polished & de-burred the bolt ect. I also radiused the mags. I have a post on here somewhere of all of it. I must say it’s a FANTASTIC RIFLE with people trashing it, before they give it some love to make it Great!
https://www.canadiangunnutz.com/for...Savage-64F-Range-Report-Review-Pics-amp-Video
https://www.canadiangunnutz.com/for...Savage-64F-Range-Report-Review-Pics-amp-Video
MusicianShooter
CGN frequent flyer
- Location
- SW Ontario
Yes, The prob with mags is well known has been for years. The 64 is pretty old design - 1964, go figger - originally the Cooey 64. The mags are made of some sort of 'pot metal' alloy, sorta soft.
After all that, for approx $175 you can't go wrong. Very accurate with 'good ammo' - under 1" at 50yds with a good scope. I took a spring out of a clik-pen, cut 1/3 of it and stretched it to fit the trigger return. Took about 2# off the pull. Then polished (with 600g or better) the sear release edge (don't change angle - just polish) and everything inside to reduce rubbing and lightly oiled contact points. Also polish the bolt and inside of the receiver. I have threads about this rifle on here and on Rinmfirecentral and SavageShooters .com as Fasteddie01.
But as I said above, if you can spring for about $350 or so I'd go for the A22. And the B22 will be a touch more accurate than the A22 if you have the patience for bolt action. I have 3 x 22s and it's still my fav for plinking and good enough for targets with good ammo.
Good luck,
Buck
Mag Wear at backs -
[/url][/IMG]
Trigger Return -
[/url][/IMG]
Widened Mag Well -
[/url][/IMG]
Polished Sear Edge -
[/url][/IMG]
Great post and pics.
Thanks Musician - I get sorta verbose when explaining things. My wife says I should have been some sort of teacher, but I think it's just 'oral diarrhea' Sometimes it makes sense . . .
As I said above there are threads I've posted - here and elsewhere, RFC - detailing all the work I've done to this 64. I just wish it could stay under 1/2" consistently. Then I could sell all my other 22s (like that would ever happen )
Sometimes it makes sense . . . As I said above there are threads I've posted - here and elsewhere, RFC - detailing all the work I've done to this 64. I just wish it could stay under 1/2" consistently.
Then I could sell all my other 22s (like that would ever happen )MusicianShooter
CGN frequent flyer
- Location
- SW Ontario
No, your thread was just detailed enough, not long-winded. Gives me some things to tinker on. Cheers
Hey there. I bought a 64F XPS (3-9 power scope mounted included) as my first .22LR
It was cheap - everything in the box including one mag, scope, trigger lock, polishing cloth, etc for about $250.
It was brand new, and I had no luck with it the first time I went to the range. It was initially quite accurate but fed quite poorly. It had frequent ejection problems. It also would fail to fire on about every 8th round or so. I tried it with fewer rounds in the mag, different types of ammo, but nothing worked.
Took it home, I stripped it, cleaned it, lightly lubed it, bought an additional mag and went back to the range.
The second time out it cycled about the same (FTE or FTF about every 8th or 9th round) and then the zero started to shift. Then it started to shift dramatically.
Then the barrel fell off.
Took it back to the dealer, showed them what had happened, the fairly low round count, and their gunsmith agreed to look it over. He gave it back a week later and yes, the barrel retaining screw was loose from the factory. Why? The mag is made of pot metal. The trigger doesn't have a good feel. The action is quite difficult to strip and clean.
It is an old design. Even the mag release lever has stubbornly been kept as it was back in '62. It isn't a good design, but there's zero incentive for some reason to fix something that simple. Good luck getting the mag out without hurting the old pad of the finger.
Third trip to the range after the smith took a look over it and made some adjustments. Trigger felt heavier, accuracy no better, barrel on nicely, but now the FTF, FTE and FTL were happening about every 5 rounds, regardless of ammo or mag. Took it back once again to the dealer with everything included in the original box and they were nice enough to give me store credit for it.
Bought a Remington 597, and burned through the store credit in ammo purchases. That Remmy has been amazing, in spite of its reputation for spotty quality. Way better and more modern than the old Savage design. Accurate, light, reliable and kind of cool - looking. Then bought another Remington 597 but this time the HB version and threw some Amazon parts at it - cheek rest, el cheapo Chinese 6-24 scope, bipod, MCarbo trigger spring. What a great little plinker. Too much fun and super reliable.
Gave Savage a customer-response survey questionnaire filled out with tons of detail, feedback and data. Added some additional comments and never heard anything back from them ever. Nothing.
To me, it seems like a rifle that hasn't been improved in decades, has a fairly bad reputation and they simply refuse to address any of the issues. Very strange.
I wanted to buy Canadian, as it's produced by Lakefield up near Peterborough, but would never ever purchase another Savage product again.
YMMV
It was cheap - everything in the box including one mag, scope, trigger lock, polishing cloth, etc for about $250.
It was brand new, and I had no luck with it the first time I went to the range. It was initially quite accurate but fed quite poorly. It had frequent ejection problems. It also would fail to fire on about every 8th round or so. I tried it with fewer rounds in the mag, different types of ammo, but nothing worked.
Took it home, I stripped it, cleaned it, lightly lubed it, bought an additional mag and went back to the range.
The second time out it cycled about the same (FTE or FTF about every 8th or 9th round) and then the zero started to shift. Then it started to shift dramatically.
Then the barrel fell off.
Took it back to the dealer, showed them what had happened, the fairly low round count, and their gunsmith agreed to look it over. He gave it back a week later and yes, the barrel retaining screw was loose from the factory. Why? The mag is made of pot metal. The trigger doesn't have a good feel. The action is quite difficult to strip and clean.
It is an old design. Even the mag release lever has stubbornly been kept as it was back in '62. It isn't a good design, but there's zero incentive for some reason to fix something that simple. Good luck getting the mag out without hurting the old pad of the finger.
Third trip to the range after the smith took a look over it and made some adjustments. Trigger felt heavier, accuracy no better, barrel on nicely, but now the FTF, FTE and FTL were happening about every 5 rounds, regardless of ammo or mag. Took it back once again to the dealer with everything included in the original box and they were nice enough to give me store credit for it.
Bought a Remington 597, and burned through the store credit in ammo purchases. That Remmy has been amazing, in spite of its reputation for spotty quality. Way better and more modern than the old Savage design. Accurate, light, reliable and kind of cool - looking. Then bought another Remington 597 but this time the HB version and threw some Amazon parts at it - cheek rest, el cheapo Chinese 6-24 scope, bipod, MCarbo trigger spring. What a great little plinker. Too much fun and super reliable.
Gave Savage a customer-response survey questionnaire filled out with tons of detail, feedback and data. Added some additional comments and never heard anything back from them ever. Nothing.
To me, it seems like a rifle that hasn't been improved in decades, has a fairly bad reputation and they simply refuse to address any of the issues. Very strange.
I wanted to buy Canadian, as it's produced by Lakefield up near Peterborough, but would never ever purchase another Savage product again.
YMMV
Sorry u had so much trouble. Funny how a gunsmith couldn’t address & fix the issues. They are a very simple design (yes old at that) but work flawless when properly... oh guess I’ll call it tuned... I can even shoot Rem YellowJackets outta mine without a hiccup!!! I like yourself own a Rem 597 with MCarbo Spring & VQ hammer. That rifle is a beauty as well. How ever I work on my own rifles & make sure they are shooters! IF I can’t make them that way, I am like u & sell them off! I’ll have to get some GoPro videos of my 64F shooting 3 mag dumps with YellowJackets this summer!!
