To return or not to return?

p.Rundle

p.Rundle

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So I bought a Savage 93 (I think FXP is the exact model) with a Bushnell 3-9x scope from Crappy Tire a few weeks ago and finally got to shoot it...what a disappointment. Either the accuracy isn't as great as I had hoped, or the .22WMR doesn't buck the wind like I had hoped. I was shooting outside in like 30-40some km/h winds. The magazine on one insert just ejected all the rounds straight up and out of the gun...then it did it again. Bent the mag feed lips a bit, didn't happen again. It was really funny, but simultaneously annoying.

Either way I was counting on the .22 Mag to hold its own a little better. I know the winds were gusting really, really hard, but some 5 rounds straight didn't land on target, which was like 2 square feet (a 12 pack box, empty, found on the crown land as garbage, and disposed of by me post-shoot) at 50 yards. I'm not super excited about the accuracy. That's probably my fault for overestimating the .22 WMR in the wind, but at the same time...I'm disappointed.

Suggestions on what to do? EE it, return it, trade it? I think the big issue is that I overestimated the capabilities of the .22 WMR, not really the gun itself. Not too interested in the caliber. Although on my friend's .22LR only popper target it did make a badass impact mark!! :d I can keep it and it'd serve as a reminder to think more clearly...it's only $315 down the drain, but at the same time I want to save for a Savage 10TR so the money would be nice...
 
A 3-9 scope can be challenging to shoot good groups with at distance. What distance were you shooting at? What kind of groups did you get? What kind of results do you usually shoot?
 
I would say the scope is not sighted in very well get a 24'' target at 20 to 25 yards put a mark on the paper in the middle aim at it and shoot, see where bullet is going. I have seen where I have to try center bottom right, bottom left. top right and the top left in any order to see where the bullet is going. might only have to do one or maybe two of the above before you see a bullet hole. mind you if it is that bad you need to go get some one to remount the scope with proper bore sight. I have seen quite a few rifles that come with a scope as a package that far out. Does the rifle come with iron sights? If so try those.
 
grauhanen said:
A 3-9 scope can be challenging to shoot good groups with at distance. What distance were you shooting at? What kind of groups did you get? What kind of results do you usually shoot?
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50 meters, not great. The rounds were high because the sight comes bore-sighted for 100m. The right side screws aren't all the way in on the mount, so that's probably an issue. Check that, it definitely is an issue. I think the big thing for me is the .22 WMR not being as apt in the wind as I had believed it would be and me not liking shooting it THAT much more than .22LR. I thought I'd be shooting and just loving it but it seems like a .22LR with a bit more noise and no more noticeable kick (to me). It's not quite the "step-up" I had envisioned. My fault for sure, but for $315 I thought I'd be a jackass to pass it up.
 
p.Rundle said:
50 meters, not great. The rounds were high because the sight comes bore-sighted for 100m. The right side screws aren't all the way in on the mount, so that's probably an issue. Check that, it definitely is an issue. I think the big thing for me is the .22 WMR not being as apt in the wind as I had believed it would be and me not liking shooting it THAT much more than .22LR. I thought I'd be shooting and just loving it but it seems like a .22LR with a bit more noise and no more noticeable kick (to me). It's not quite the "step-up" I had envisioned. My fault for sure, but for $315 I thought I'd be a jackass to pass it up.
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Am I reading this right? You can't hit a 2sqft target consistantly, you see your mount screws are loose and you still think the issue was wind @ 50 meters?

Check that all your hardware is snug and go try it again from a bench. Almost every Savage rimfire I have handled has been above average in the accuracy department with a few being just average (B-mags excluded)
 
If you want guaranteed frustration, try sighting in a gun at 50 yards on a very windy day with loose scope mounts and a cheap setup. You won't know if it's the wind, the gun, the ammo, the scope, the mounts, the action tension, or just you.

I do my initial checks at like 10 or 15 yards, then 25 yards, then on from there. If it's not shooting tight groups at close range you are already done. Also, if your scope mounts weren't tight all the way, you were chasing your tail. Since you mention that the mounts were loose, that was the problem. By the way, ammo will make a big difference in how a WMR shoots. You should have at least 2 different kinds to test out the next time you go out. You don't need an indoor range trip to solve this one.

But really, the 22 WMR is intended as a hunting round, not a target round. If you want to go to the range and shoot targets at 50 yards, you really have the wrong gun, the .22 LR is better for that anyway. The WMR comes into its own when you start shooting ground hogs, coyotes etc. In a savage, in my limited experience, it is just as accurate as the .22 LR, but the ammo costs almost 3x as much. Since you're shooting a Savage, I'll assume that means something to you.
 
Start all over. Did you even clean the gun before you started? Certainly with loose scope mounts, it'll be all over the place. Tighten everything up, and try again from a bench as mentioned. Calm, sheltered, or indoor range. Once you get it sighted in you can start trying a few different brands and weights of ammo to find what the gun likes the best. If you still don't like it, you can always put it on EE for more than you paid ;)
 
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Canadian_Zuk said:
Am I reading this right? You can't hit a 2sqft target consistantly, you see your mount screws are loose and you still think the issue was wind @ 50 meters?

Check that all your hardware is snug and go try it again from a bench. Almost every Savage rimfire I have handled has been above average in the accuracy department with a few being just average (B-mags excluded)
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No, the screws are tight. It's really weird. They're really solid, but not all the way in on the right side. They're solid though. I didn't actually think that was physically possible. Maybe they put in the wrong screws lol.
 
p.Rundle said:
No, the screws are tight. It's really weird. They're really solid, but not all the way in on the right side. They're solid though. I didn't actually think that was physically possible. Maybe they put in the wrong screws lol.
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We seem to have a language gap here. If the scope mounts are loose, then you can wiggle the scope on the gun with your hand. If you can't get it to move at all, it's likely the scope itself.

In any case, any new gun shooting 2 foot groups at 50 yards will have a massive issue somewhere, and 99% of the time, it's the scope or scope mounts.
 
LarryG said:
I do my initial checks at like 10 or 15 yards, then 25 yards, then on from there. If it's not shooting tight groups at close range you are already done. Also, if your scope mounts weren't tight all the way, you were chasing your tail. Since you mention that the mounts were loose, that was the problem. By the way, ammo will make a big difference in how a WMR shoots. You should have at least 2 different kinds to test out the next time you go out. You don't need an indoor range trip to solve this one.
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I have 2 types of ammo, CCI 30 gr maxi-mag HP-V and Sellier and Bellot 40 gr JHP. The ammo cost is less important to me than the difference I was expecting from the .22 LR. That's the real pisser haha. I dunno, guess I got hyped up in the posts praising the .22 WMR. I also currently have nothing to hunt, other than jackrabbits. Don't really need a magnum for that.
 
LarryG said:
We seem to have a language gap here. If the scope mounts are loose, then you can wiggle the scope on the gun with your hand. If you can't get it to move at all, it's likely the scope itself.

In any case, any new gun shooting 2 foot groups at 50 yards will have a massive issue somewhere, and 99% of the time, it's the scope or scope mounts.
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I do not doubt that the issue is in the mounts, but the screws are in as far as they can go on either side. On the right side the top/bottom mounts are not held together, there is room between them, but they do not wiggle, and the screws can't be screwed in tighter. Its like the screws are too small to actually thread both mounts together but it's still pretty darn solid.
 
p.Rundle said:
I do not doubt that the issue is in the mounts, but the screws are in as far as they can go on either side. On the right side the top/bottom mounts are not held together, there is room between them, but they do not wiggle, and the screws can't be screwed in tighter. Its like the screws are too small to actually thread both mounts together but it's still pretty darn solid.
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You mean the rings have a gap, but the screws are tight? That is normal, but the gap should be equal one side to the other.
 
2tall2 said:
You mean the rings have a gap, but the screws are tight? That is normal, but the gap should be equal one side to the other.
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They are not. They are identical on both of the right ones though. It's bizarre but the more I think about it the more I realize there's probably loctite on the screws and I should take that off if I'm going to try and tighten the screws.
 
p.Rundle said:
They are not. They are identical on both of the right ones though. It's bizarre but the more I think about it the more I realize there's probably loctite on the screws and I should take that off if I'm going to try and tighten the screws.
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As I mentioned, gap should be equal on both sides of each ring, when they are torqued to the proper spec.

2016-06-26%20001a_zpsrjdqxm4y.jpg
 
I could hit the box I was shooting at every time when the wind slowed down periodically. I'm associating the wind with the poor accuracy but I am going to try and clamp down the rings again as that could be another source of issue. Then it'll be EE for the gun I bet. I don't see the point to the magnum.
 
2tall2 said:
As I mentioned, gap should be equal on both sides of each ring, when they are torqued to the proper spec.

2016-06-26%20001a_zpsrjdqxm4y.jpg
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Ok, so imagine my scope is the one in the picture. The side pictured and the other side of the same ring (IE, the left side) are totally different. But the screws on the same side, like the 2 screws in pic, are seated to the same depth. The other ring is the same deal. There is a gap on the right side of the front ring, and the left side of the front ring is tight. But the gaps we're talking about are literally 3x bigger than the ones pictured. I think they torqued down the left sides of both rings really, really tight and then couldn't get the left in as far, so they left it. If I had pictures I'd post them, but my gun isn't immediately accessible so I can't. Tomorrow I may if it's a rain day for my work.
 
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