I was at a local GunShop last week and spotted a Savage Mark II BTVS on his shelf. It is the one with a Heavy Stainless barrel, Laminated Thumbhole stock, Vented forearm, removable magazine, and the new Accu-Trigger.

Sure felt fine holding it and the Owner said he was having trouble keeping them in stock. He also mentioned some of the "regulars" got them and are very impressed.

A couple of them reluctantly told him the one they bought outshoots a couple of their really $$$HIGH$$$ RimFires.

A went to the Savage web site and saw that it was deemed the Rifle of the Year by a couple of Gun Rags. One statement had somehting said about being "the most Accurate 22RimFire" they had ever Tested, which included some of the well respected European Biggies.
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Weatherby won't include a Stainless(Anschutz Action) with a Synthetic Stock model in their line-up. Apparently Hunting in a Wet woods is unknown to them. So, I'm giving serious thought to the above Savage at about $400.

I know Bartsche got a Blue Heavy Barrel Savage last year and mentioned it is a real Tack Driver. So, how `bout it? Anyone tried one of these out yet?

On my suggestion, my best friend bought one, laminated standard stock, it's a hummer.

There's a used plain MKII with the heavy barrel at the local shop I frequent for only $169. Really not sure why I haven't bought it yet.

LWD

Hey LWD, That sounds like one similar to what Bartsche got. His rifle is quite accurate with no mods at all, he told me that he didn't even change the Accu-Trigger adjustment from the factory setting. Amazing!

I could shoot it as is and later replace the tupperware stock. I may have to make a stop tomorrow. Thanks for the vote of confidence.

LWD

Hey LWD, I hope yours shoots as well as Bartsch's does. But if for some wierd reason it does not, you can always use it for Trade Bait. Though, I do not recall anyone ever mentioning one of these Heavy Barrel Savages shooting bad.
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I went by the Gun Shop again and managed a good Swap for the Savage Mark II BTVS. I made money on what I swapped in and the Seller was happy with the deal - a good swap all around.

He was out of the extra magazines and is also now out of the BTVS rifles. He and another guy that works there mentioned AGAIN that they have a difficult time keeping them in stock.

Thought about trying it out after I got back(as I'm sure you all would too), but it was so windy that I passed on that idea(35-40mph gusts and then Frog Strangling rain).

It dawned on me that I might just need a "new" set of Rings for it. It comes with a regular Full Size set of Weaver Bases attached to the action. So, I can either demount an existing Scope from another rifle, or do the calculating to see which size will fit the best and then order a set. Depends on the weather, but I'll probably go the latter route.

Got the scope mounted, but I need to order a set of Burris Signature High "Z" Rings. I have a set of High Grand Slam rings on it and had to use a Plastic insert inside the bottom of the Ring to get the 44MM AO to clear the top of the barrel.

I wanted to try the trigger and found a spent 22LR Case. When I went to put it into the chamber, I noticed it was extremely tight. Obviously it was fired in a rifle with a Larger Chamber. Got it in and the Trigger is just as Bartsche mentioned on his rifle - no adjustment from the Factory Setting is needed at all. An absolutely excellent Trigger with Zero creep or drag. Plus it is very light.

Had to push the "over-size" spent case out of the Chamber with a cleaning rod, because it jammed when I closed the Bolt. On the positive side, having a nice "Tight Chamber" should be a plus for the Accuracy.

Still no chance to go shoot it. Maybe this next week if the weather cooperates.

Someone else had mentioned they were having trouble getting the Rings to tighten properly on the Weaver "Style" Bases provided with one of the new Savage rifles. They are not real Weaver Bases because there is no wide Groove up the middle of them. With real Weaver Bases, that allows me to leave the Bases on rifles that also have Iron Sights, remove the scope and still be able to see the Irons through the Groove.

I located the proper Weaver Bases for the Mark II at the Weaver web site and it is #24(48024) for both the Front and Rear. Midsouth has them for $3.45, so I'm going to order a pair when I get a couple of other things from them. I plan to have this rifle for a long time and see no need to re-address this every time I swap scopes.

I suppose I should contact Savage and alert them to this issue as well. Maybe I should call them first and see if they are swapping them out.

I have a 6-24x 44mm AO scope on it right now. If the weather cooperates and everyone stays healthy, maybe I can go try it out this week.

Hey LWD, If you notice the "narrow" Base issue, let me know. And tell us how accurate your rifle is.

I just picked it up today and am embarrassed to say that I forgot to buy rings for it. Ooops. Didn't even think about it. So I'll make another stop.

LWD

Ordered one of these little buggers myself on Monday as I am a sucker for a accurate, inexpensive rimfire

Good tip on the bases as I will order a pair on my next Brownells order. But last year I bought a Savage 93 that came with Weaver style bases and Weaver rings worked perfectly.

I did not have the actual Rings I wanted either. But, over the years I've developed a little Trick that helps me in the long run.

I have a set of "High" Rings in both Weaver Style and Dual Dovetail that I use to find out just what height Rings I actually need.

I mount the scope in the Test Rings and use a Feeler Gauge between the Front Objective and the barrel to see what the gap is. Then I do a bit of math to see what size Ring I need to clear the barrel. And order what I intend to use.

I have a Ring Cheat Sheet listed on the bottom of the Rifle Inventory List with the various heights of the Rings I actually use which is currently the Burris Signature line. And some other Rings are listed since there is ample space for the data.

The only place I've managed to get good, reliable "height" info is from the manufacturers catalog. It is often tricky to find it on their web site and I don't always have the computer fired-up when I need the heights.

I got the new Weaver #24 Bases. The Savage "Weaver Style" Base widths measure 0.798" and 0.799". The real Weaver Bases measure 0.835" wide. No wonder the Rings were having difficulty getting a grip on the Bases.

The Weaver Base is also "Higher" than the Base which came with the rifle. Enough so that I could have used Medium Rings instead of the High Rings which I ordered. Fortunately I have a set of the Medium height Rings on hand.

Hope to get some shooting in late today or tomorrow.
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Hey LWD, Let me know if your Bases are too narrow.

Mine came in and it looks like I will need to get the dremel out to free float the barrel as it is touching on one side. Other than that fit and finish is pretty good. Am looking forward to giving it a workout within a month or two.

Hey Snowwolfe, Best of luck with your new rifle.

I went this past Sunday to shoot mine. Got everything all set-up to shoot and heard something large coming over the bluff behind me. Figured it had to be a HUGE Trophy Buck - wrong - a guy carrying a bucket. He was going to catch some minnows.

So he came on down and told me he was going to be down on the creek 90deg to the right of where I'd be shooting. Thought about it, but packed up and came on in. I've no desire to accidentally stick one into anybody, if he moved around in front of me.

So I still haven't shot mine.

Not sure when the weather will be nice enough to go back.

I had an interesting discussion with the Quality Assurance/Parts Order Entry lady at Savage today. My local Gun Shop is out of the 5 round magazines, so I thought I'd check on their price direct from Savage. The magazines are $16 each and $4 Shipping on 1 or 2 of them. The Savage Parts phone number is 800-370-0708 and expect to wait awhile.

Then I asked to speak to the Quality Manager, but the lady on the phone told me that she handled all those type questions or complaints. OK, I told her about another guy getting a Mark II FV that had to Shim his Bases to make the Rings fit(Bartsche). And then I told her I had the same problem on my Mark II BTVS and gave her the dimensions which I have posted above.

In a typical YANKEE fashion(they are in Massachusetts) she explained the Weaver Rings they had on hand fit the Rings. I explained they must be using the old style Weaver Rings, because Burris Signatures and Weaver Grand Slams would not "tighten" onto the grossly Undersize(width) of the Bases they are sending out. Told her the dimensions of an actual Weaver Base again, but it seemed to go right on over her YANKEE head.

I asked her if ANYONE else had ever reported this problem to them? She said she had heard about it before. But, apparently they didn't do a thing to correct the issue and eliminate it entirely.

In her defense, she offered to send me some "new" Bases. Told her I didn't need more Undersize Bases, because I'd already replaced them with correctly dimensioned Weaver Bases.

I didn't order any Magazines and will wait for the local Gun Shop to re-stock. Not real sure what to think about the discussion I had with the lady.

Had a similar discussion with another YANKEE at Thompson/Center many years ago. I asked for an Engineer and they sent me to the Production Foreman. I asked him "Why?" my 21" 44Mag Contender Carbine barrel had a Left Hand Twist in it. Got a very interesting song and dance bunch of bologna from that fool. Went the next day and traded off all the Thompson/Center stuff I had.

So, I was expecting a YANKEE attitude from Savage, and that is pretty much what I got. Still haven't had a chance to fire it yet and now the weather is so bad that it may be Spring before it happens. But, I do expect it to shoot well, since Bartsche's rifle did.

hi
i bought a savage 93fv stainless with varmint heavy barrel in 22 mag for my son many years ago. it seems it was made in canada if i recall well. it was a real tack driver and he still own it and enjoy it a lot

Well Hot Core I think you would be well justified in selling all your YANKEE made firearms. Let us know what you are left with!
Peter.

Hey Peter, I have no desire to sell off my YANKEE made firearms. The ones I have are doing fine. When they don't, they go rather quickly.

However, the normal, routine YANKEE "attitude" always seems both Rude and Stupid to me.

Looks like I owe Peter a "Thank You!"

I'd decided to leave it alone until I read his post and that was just enough to get me back on the track. Called and left a message for the Savage Customer Service Manager - a Mr. Joe De Grande. Must not be a YANKEE, cause he was gracious and a pleasure to discuss the Base Dimension problem with.

I'll be sending the "narrow" Bases to his attention tomorrow. And he mentioned he would call the Factory and ask the Quality Manager to Audit the On-Hand Stock for the issue.

By the way, "yes" was correct that these rifles are built in Canada.

Mr. De Grande has been with Savage Arms for 14yrs and he encouraged any of us that have a problem with a Savage Firearm to let him know. There may be an "800" number for him as well, but I reached him at (413) 568-7001 Ext. 4139.

Hot Core, I should apologize for my "smart" comment! It was really a response to your generalization. I am glad you gave it a second chance and received a favorable outcome. In my experience people are people whether they work for the government or for private enterprise. You get all types. Having said that, the only exception would be New Yorkers who seem to be universally obnoxious! I think it is just the environment in which they have to survive!!!!
Peter.

Got a call from Mr. De Grande about the Bases. He agreed that they were undersize and that the "Parts on Hand" in Canada will be Audited. I'll guess there will be enough found in the Audit to force it into a 100% Sort situation.
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Finally got to shoot the new BTVS today. Got up to 59deg here, so I decide to go run a few through it. Noticed a breeze(aka HEAVY Wind) as I loaded the truck, but of course chose to ignore it.

Got out to where I shoot and "waded" out to put a Target at 10yds. Needed to get the scope on the paper. Used some reallllllly old Fed Power Flight ammo. They were scattering around pretty good, but at least let me get somewhat close with the scope.

Waded back out and moved the Target Stand to 25yds. Got all serious and then began to notice the wind. Good gosh, it was shoving the relatively heavy BTVS around on the Sand Bags. It was blowing so much that it would "dry" the moisture off of my eyeball which forced me to blink and then I had to start focusing again. Then more dry eye and more movement. Boooooo!!!

Tried to outlast the gusts, but it was pretty much futile. Did try four other types of ammo, and the wind just wouldn't let up. Kind of impressed with a couple of groups when the wind would slack off just abit, but nothing to Brag about.

Weatherman said it was a steady 16mph wind with gusts up to 25mph. I can blast Deer in that kind of wind, but of course the Target area is much larger than what I was trying to focus on.

Good to get a few Bullets through it. Plan to look closely at this new Trigger Assembly, clean the rifle and Lightly Lube it. Then wait, WAIT, WAIT for another warm day, minus these wind conditions.

Should have paid more attention to the wind before I went out there, but it was nice to just be shooting for awhile.

Used Weaver rings when mounting a scope on mine. They fit perfectly on the bases that came with the rifle.
Been to fricking cold to get out and shoot it, anxious to see what she will do.

I have the BV version.I've only had it a few months but it's a great shooter right out of the box.

Hey Snowwolfe, Glad to hear your Bases are working OK for you. Reallllly cold and miserable here too.

What scope did you mount? Have you shot it at all?
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Hey Bernie, What size groups are you getting and at what distance? What scope did you mount?
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I removed the stock and looked this new rifle over real close. First off, the Barrel is "Pinned" to the Receiver which is the same as the Design used on the Savage M25 Varminter. Looks like a good solid connection. Obviously done to help hold the cost down on the machining and they did it well.

Got an eye-piece out and looked at the Sear/Trigger junction. Spotted some kind of Foreign Matter in the area. Might have been a bit of grease with trash in it, but not real sure what it was. Blew it out with some Carb Cleaner and it was then spotless. If anyone decides to copy this procedure, it is a good idea to use Carb Cleaner rather than Brake Cleaner. One of the Chemists on this Board mentioned a long time ago that Carb Cleaner leaves a very light lubricant where you spray it when it dries, Brake Cleaner does not.

Backed the Trigger all the way down. Thought I might need to swap Springs, but now it feels really light and crisp as the Sear releases on a Spent Case when Dry Firing.

When I'd swapped in different 22LRs on this one, I'd taken some spent cases with me to the Gun Shop so they could Dry Fire them without doing any real or imagined harm. The cases I took were seriously tight in a semi-auto pistol because they had not been fired in it.

Tried some of those same spent cases in the BTVS and they would not go into the chamber. So, it has a very snug chamber, which should help with accuracy compared to the cartridge being looser in the chamber.

The more I mess with it, the more I like it.

I can stay within 1/2-3/4" at 50 yds with several brands of ammo.Federal Gold Medal shoots best closely followed by Rem Sub Sonics and Wolf.Others run around 3/4-1" at 50.At 100 yds I have to work to stay within 1 1/2-2" but my scope (Weaver Classic Shotgun) while excellent is only 4x.I'm sure with more magnification I could do better at longer ranges but I set it up for hunting small game.I mounted it in Burris Signature Zee rings with the inserts.

Hey Bernie, Your eyes must be better than mine are. Your being able to do that well with a 4x scope is outstanding.

The Fed Gold Medal is amazing in my rifles as well. Haven't had a chance to try it in this new one yet, but I'm expecting very small groups with it when I do.

I ended up using Burris Zee rings with a .020 offset on my Savave to line it up. Mine is a HMR .

quote:

Originally posted by Hot Core:
Hey Snowwolfe, Glad to hear your Bases are working OK for you. Reallllly cold and miserable here too.

What scope did you mount? Have you shot it at all?
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Hey Bernie, What size groups are you getting and at what distance? What scope did you mount?
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I removed the stock and looked this new rifle over real close. First off, the Barrel is "Pinned" to the Receiver which is the same as the Design used on the Savage M25 Varminter. Looks like a good solid connection. Obviously done to help hold the cost down on the machining and they did it well.

Got an eye-piece out and looked at the Sear/Trigger junction. Spotted some kind of Foreign Matter in the area. Might have been a bit of grease with trash in it, but not real sure what it was. Blew it out with some Carb Cleaner and it was then spotless. If anyone decides to copy this procedure, it is a good idea to use Carb Cleaner rather than Brake Cleaner. One of the Chemists on this Board mentioned a long time ago that Carb Cleaner leaves a very light lubricant where you spray it when it dries, Brake Cleaner does not.

Backed the Trigger all the way down. Thought I might need to swap Springs, but now it feels really light and crisp as the Sear releases on a Spent Case when Dry Firing.

When I'd swapped in different 22LRs on this one, I'd taken some spent cases with me to the Gun Shop so they could Dry Fire them without doing any real or imagined harm. The cases I took were seriously tight in a semi-auto pistol because they had not been fired in it.

Tried some of those same spent cases in the BTVS and they would not go into the chamber. So, it has a very snug chamber, which should help with accuracy compared to the cartridge being looser in the chamber.

The more I mess with it, the more I like it.

Havent been to the range with it yet. When it did warm up was to busy doing stuff around thehouse. Think I put a 4x12 Bushnell on it but not sure and I am to lazy to dig around the safes looking for it, lol.