Savage MkII G - First impressions

Well, I had a little work done on the MkII.

I had the barrel shortened and recrowned to 18.5".

Also replaced the rear sight with a folding Marble Arm's rear - to make sure the scope clears the sight. The last thing was having a new front sight put on. It's a small gold bead at the moment, but I may replace it with a fibre optic one.

I can post a photo later - right now I'm just killing time waiting for my train. And I'm feeling near as faded as my jeans... :)
 
With the first hundred rounds, it shot between .5" and 1". I don't recall exactly, but out of 10, 10 shot groups, 2 or 3 were .75" - .5".

I'm hoping that with a bit more shooting,it will settle down to down to average .75" or less.
 
Marlin989 said:
Hi,
Cabelas had a sale, and I said "What the hell, I'll go get one".

I've had it out once, shooting 100 rounds. I really like the rifle so far. The action was a tiny bit rough out of the box, as was the safety. But they smoothed out pretty nicely somewhere between 50 and 75 rounds. The trigger is crisp. You get sort of a two stage feel as you engage the safety blade of the trigger... as soon as you get to the trigger itself, it breaks clean and crisp.

The stock is pretty nice too. I'll guess it's birch, with a satin walnut finish. The checkering is basic, but good. It could be a bit deeper and with a larger pattern though. There is no palm swell at the wrist of the stock. Which is good by me. I had a Marlin XT22 in the past, and I disliked how it felt in my hand.

The sights... well, at least you get them. They're serviceable, but I find them a little too hard to see properly. I'm using a basic Simmons 4x 22mag scope and it's fine for shooting at 50 yards. I'd push it a little farther is necessary, but I wouldn't want to use it all the time at longer distances.

The magazine is actually decent. Edges are not smoothed, and it wobbles a bit when locked in place, but it fed reliably (no failures in 100 rounds) and was pretty easy to load.

I did have one FTF with S&B Canadian Match. I'm starting to dislike that ammo, as it turns my Marlin 989 into a jam-o-matic.

I may get a few things done on the rifle, like shortening the barrel, and getting fibre optic sights. It's otherwise a plain Jane right now, so I didn't think pictures were warranted. :)


Cheers,
Marlin989
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These Savage MKIIs are sleepers. My MKIIF shoots as well as my CZ452s at 100meters. Back in 2009, it shot 5 shot groups into one inch at 100 meters, 3 out of five tries, shooting Winchester Dynapoint bulk standard velocity. This inexpensive rifle has no right to shoot that well, but it does. I sold that years ago, got a MKIIG just because of its wood stock and haven't shot it at 100m yet.

I'm thinking of selling the MKIIG and just keep the MKIGY. Its lighter, shorter, handier. Just as accurate. Like like my CZ452s, I thinking of just keeping my Scouts.
 
easyrider604 said:
These Savage MKIIs are sleepers. My MKIIF shoots as well as my CZ452s at 100meters. Back in 2009, it shot 5 shot groups into one inch at 100 meters, 3 out of five tries, shooting Winchester Dynapoint bulk standard velocity. This inexpensive rifle has no right to shoot that well, but it does. I sold that years ago, got a MKIIG just because of its wood stock and haven't shot it at 100m yet.

I'm thinking of selling the MKIIG and just keep the MKIGY. Its lighter, shorter, handier. Just as accurate. Like like my CZ452s, I thinking of just keeping my Scouts.
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Man, I love these sleepers. I think the old Marlin .22 rimfires are the same in this regard.

Well, here's a photo of it, only needing to add swivels and a simple leather sling. It feels a bit handier with the shorter barrel (18.5"). There's a cheap Simmons 4x scope on it, and new iron sights. I haven't had it out to the range yet, but I'm planning to head out this weekend.

IMG_20230830_192652900.jpg

Cheers,
Neil
 

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Range report

It was a beautiful day here, not too much wind. So I took the rifle to the range to check it out... It's very reliable. 100 rounds, with no failure to fire, extract, or eject. I did have two failures to feed on the first round of a fresh magazine, due to it not being properly seated. There is a lot of play with the mag, so it's a little finicky to seat.

The bolt moves fairly smoothly. I don't detect any gritty friction and I didn't have any issues cycling.

These two groups (2 best out of 9) were shot at 50 yards, at a bench, with a bag for a front rest. Using CCI SV and a Simmons 4x scope. With 200 rounds through the rifle so far, I'm feeling encouraged. Predictably, one joker or jackass showed up in each group.

JackassIMG_20230903_153151248.jpgJokerIMG_20230903_160136413.jpg
 

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The extractor on the MKII is notorious for failing. Mine stopped working properly after about 3000 rounds. Now about 4 times out of 5, I need to pry the empty casing out after every shot, because the extractor stopped extracting the empties.
 
DVX said:
The extractor on the MKII is notorious for failing. Mine stopped working properly after about 3000 rounds. Now about 4 times out of 5, I need to pry the empty casing out after every shot, because the extractor stopped extracting the empties.
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DVX - This is a very common problem with MkIIs. If you bought the rifle new, Savage is very generous with sending out extractor kits for free, just takes a long time. You can also buy them, they're pretty cheap.

If you haven't tried it, take the extractor clip off, take the extractors off and clean them and the slots well. Give the extractor clip a bit of a squeeze so it holds the extractors in a bit tighter, then try it out. Like many have mentioned here, it's also common to add on a second extractor clip over the first.

The ammo also makes a difference. For me, CCI SV causes more issues than other ammo in this regard. I think it's from the waxy, sticky lube they use. Never had an issue with SK ammo.

I've owned 7 of these, and currently have an FV-SR, FVT, and BV. For the price they are great value.
 
DVX said:
The extractor on the MKII is notorious for failing. Mine stopped working properly after about 3000 rounds. Now about 4 times out of 5, I need to pry the empty casing out after every shot, because the extractor stopped extracting the empties.
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Have you cleaned the small holes on either side of the receiver? I've heard they can get blocked and it can prevent the extractors from being able to expand around the rim of the cartridge.
 
DVX said:
The extractor on the MKII is notorious for failing. Mine stopped working properly after about 3000 rounds. Now about 4 times out of 5, I need to pry the empty casing out after every shot, because the extractor stopped extracting the empties.
Click to expand...

In my case it was the buildup of carbon it usually happens around 400 or so rounds - a quick clean and it shoots well again - never had a problem with the extractors even though I have an extra set (just in case) somewhere.
 
DVX said:
The extractor on the MKII is notorious for failing. Mine stopped working properly after about 3000 rounds. Now about 4 times out of 5, I need to pry the empty casing out after every shot, because the extractor stopped extracting the empties.
Click to expand...

Every Mk2 I've owned, I had to double up the extractor clip. It's a $10 part and it will never fail to extract again. Not sure why they don't make a stronger one or double them from the factory, it makes zero difference in how the bolt functions.
 
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