I bought a Savage mark II GL .22LR (wood stock left hand) 2 weeks ago, new at Cabela's.
I didn't like it much but left hand .22s are tough to come by. I figured with a little work I might get it to look and feel better so the project began as soon as I got home, never even fired a shot.
Here is what it looked like before...
YEP SHE SURE IS AN UGLY CRITTER, the stock felt like a 2x4, trigger was to stiff, the safety was wobbly and difficult to disengage and the iron sights were ... well, unsightly.
So began my plan
1. chop the 21" barrel to 18", the goal, make the gun more consistent shot to shot by cutting the pencil thin end of the barrel off and adding a target crown. this would also remove the front sight dovetail.
2. fix the safety so it worked properly. I did this by reshaping the disengage side of the ramp and shimming the lever so it wasn't loose. Mission accomplished, it is now smooth as butter to operate, yet firmly in place.
3. reduce trigger pull. I took out the factory trigger which felt to me to be about 5lbs and lots of creep. I cut the factory spring (about 1.5 coils) and polished the engagement area slightly. Works very nice now, very light (about 1.5 lbs), still has just a hint of creep and could use an over-travel screw (future project) but overall for now, I am satisfied.
4. make it feel nice. I fluted the comb of the stock and thinned the area behind the wrist. This worked wonders, the gun has a completely different feel to it now, very pleasing to hold!!
5. make the action work better, I straightened the bolt handle, giving it a little more throw. I used a torch to heat it and the straightened the bend out of it. I then polished the factory paint like bluing off of it and re-blued it. Looks great, easier to get at, as it is further away from the stock when closed and works better as I have a bit more leverage over the bolt. A+
6. Make it shoot. I free floated the barrel and had it drilled and tapped for weaver 45 bases to give my scope mounts a firm grip. This worked very well and I can slide a thick paper all the way to the recoil lug under the barrel. The weaver bases make a much better mount than a .22 dove tail. Also, the thin receiver wouldn't allow me to mount a 40mm scope without going to buy extra high mounts. The weaver bases and low mounts now provide nice clearance for the scope without going to high. Also looks much nicer!
7. make it look decent. The combination or the fluted comb and the shorter barrel and clean sights, using the front sight filed down to make a blank for the rear dovetail, and adding a white spacer behind the butt plate, combined with stripping the stock and finishing in tung oil, made a big difference on how it looks.... but don't take my word for it.
Tell me what you all think!
Well how does she shoot? I put her together this evening and mounted the Bushnell Banner dusk N dawn 4-12x40MM AO scope. Bore sighted and went to the barn to try her out. For those of you who haven't seen my in door rifle range.. it looks like this
135 yards long, for indoor shooting fun anytime of year. Look and dream... sorry.
So, I fired a couple shots to get on target, and then tried some different ammo. American eagle 36gr. Federal 525 round bulk pack and CCI Green tag.. top left(in yellow), yes it likes that one... I do too!! One weird thing, the group in red is American Eagle,not bad, and I got it on center fairly good, but look at the point of impact change to the group at top left CCI green tag... no scope change. I verified that a couple times, the CCI groups high and right every time. ODD isn't it? This was all shot at 25 yards
Any and all comments or suggestions are welcome, thanks for reading.
I didn't like it much but left hand .22s are tough to come by. I figured with a little work I might get it to look and feel better so the project began as soon as I got home, never even fired a shot.
Here is what it looked like before...
YEP SHE SURE IS AN UGLY CRITTER, the stock felt like a 2x4, trigger was to stiff, the safety was wobbly and difficult to disengage and the iron sights were ... well, unsightly.
So began my plan
1. chop the 21" barrel to 18", the goal, make the gun more consistent shot to shot by cutting the pencil thin end of the barrel off and adding a target crown. this would also remove the front sight dovetail.
2. fix the safety so it worked properly. I did this by reshaping the disengage side of the ramp and shimming the lever so it wasn't loose. Mission accomplished, it is now smooth as butter to operate, yet firmly in place.
3. reduce trigger pull. I took out the factory trigger which felt to me to be about 5lbs and lots of creep. I cut the factory spring (about 1.5 coils) and polished the engagement area slightly. Works very nice now, very light (about 1.5 lbs), still has just a hint of creep and could use an over-travel screw (future project) but overall for now, I am satisfied.
4. make it feel nice. I fluted the comb of the stock and thinned the area behind the wrist. This worked wonders, the gun has a completely different feel to it now, very pleasing to hold!!
5. make the action work better, I straightened the bolt handle, giving it a little more throw. I used a torch to heat it and the straightened the bend out of it. I then polished the factory paint like bluing off of it and re-blued it. Looks great, easier to get at, as it is further away from the stock when closed and works better as I have a bit more leverage over the bolt. A+
6. Make it shoot. I free floated the barrel and had it drilled and tapped for weaver 45 bases to give my scope mounts a firm grip. This worked very well and I can slide a thick paper all the way to the recoil lug under the barrel. The weaver bases make a much better mount than a .22 dove tail. Also, the thin receiver wouldn't allow me to mount a 40mm scope without going to buy extra high mounts. The weaver bases and low mounts now provide nice clearance for the scope without going to high. Also looks much nicer!
7. make it look decent. The combination or the fluted comb and the shorter barrel and clean sights, using the front sight filed down to make a blank for the rear dovetail, and adding a white spacer behind the butt plate, combined with stripping the stock and finishing in tung oil, made a big difference on how it looks.... but don't take my word for it.
Tell me what you all think!
Well how does she shoot? I put her together this evening and mounted the Bushnell Banner dusk N dawn 4-12x40MM AO scope. Bore sighted and went to the barn to try her out. For those of you who haven't seen my in door rifle range.. it looks like this
135 yards long, for indoor shooting fun anytime of year. Look and dream... sorry.
So, I fired a couple shots to get on target, and then tried some different ammo. American eagle 36gr. Federal 525 round bulk pack and CCI Green tag.. top left(in yellow), yes it likes that one... I do too!! One weird thing, the group in red is American Eagle,not bad, and I got it on center fairly good, but look at the point of impact change to the group at top left CCI green tag... no scope change. I verified that a couple times, the CCI groups high and right every time. ODD isn't it? This was all shot at 25 yards
Any and all comments or suggestions are welcome, thanks for reading.
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Nice rifle!
- the rifle or that magnificent range!...
