Savage BTVSS
- Thread starter kelbro
- Start date
DShortt
Gold $$ Contributor
Personally, I like Savage rifles for what they are. Meaning, *most* will shoot 1 MOA particularly if the owner is a handloader and does a bit of load development. They'll get the job done for hunting applications without trouble in all but unusual situations.Can person be competitive with a Savage BTVSS?
Is it going to need, barrel, trigger, action work, tuner. etc...
Found a good deal on one but I already have one money pit, not looking for another
The thing that always has and always will bother me about them is the bolt lift. Yes, there are things that can be done to make it somewhat better, but it's never going to be what I consider to be good. So replacing pretty much everything but the action and still being *stuck* with that bolt lift is something I'd strongly consider if it were me.
charlie b
Gold $$ Contributor
I have the MkII FV is a similar action and it does as well as it can with the cheap stock. I did shoot a couple boxes of Eley Tenex and they were 1/2" at 50yd. And part of that was just me. I mostly shoot CCI SV at 200yd gongs just for fun (3" on calm days, 4 or 5 once the wind picks up).
And, yes, bolt lift is a bit stiff, the action was horribly gritty. Did a lot of 'stone' work and smoothed it up but it is still not equal to a higher end gun. I would not expect it to be. The MkII FV was less than $300 at the local shop. FWIW, the trigger is OK, not great. Their triggers do respond well to a bit of tweaking, like spring replacement and shims. But, if competing you should probably consider a new trigger, or at least have a gunsmith work on it.
I would not expect much better quality/finish on their more expensive products. Savage seems to price them based on the 'extras', ie, better stock, heavier barrel, etc. Their barrels are all pretty much the same quality across the product lines, just different material and profiles. Higher price models do not get better quality barrels. I'd suspect you would still need a few hours of work on the action to smooth it up. Same with trigger.
Bottom line is, if you like to work on them they can be what you want. If not then factor in some gunsmith time. New barrel? Depends on what yours does and how competitive you need to be. If everyone else is shooting custom barrels on their CZ's then you have your answer.
And, yes, bolt lift is a bit stiff, the action was horribly gritty. Did a lot of 'stone' work and smoothed it up but it is still not equal to a higher end gun. I would not expect it to be. The MkII FV was less than $300 at the local shop. FWIW, the trigger is OK, not great. Their triggers do respond well to a bit of tweaking, like spring replacement and shims. But, if competing you should probably consider a new trigger, or at least have a gunsmith work on it.
I would not expect much better quality/finish on their more expensive products. Savage seems to price them based on the 'extras', ie, better stock, heavier barrel, etc. Their barrels are all pretty much the same quality across the product lines, just different material and profiles. Higher price models do not get better quality barrels. I'd suspect you would still need a few hours of work on the action to smooth it up. Same with trigger.
Bottom line is, if you like to work on them they can be what you want. If not then factor in some gunsmith time. New barrel? Depends on what yours does and how competitive you need to be. If everyone else is shooting custom barrels on their CZ's then you have your answer.
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Some shoot right out of the box with a good lot of cheap ammo. Low 240's on the green monster. Many require barrel massage, tuner set to Purdy, action torque investigation, trigger work to reach that level. Blazer, SK "plus" often gets high 180's on auto br target. Cheap gun, minimal hotrodding, cheap ammo, decent accuracy is a fun starting point.
I just put a MK II F in a Boyds stock with a Jard for the wife. Waiting for a pic rail to mount a 10-40 Athlon. I don't know if she'll stick with this rimfire benchrest stuff very long so I didn't want to over invest. Fixed what needed fixin' and that's it! One thing I will say, it's crude. Like Russian crude. Not what you'd expect from Canada. We'll see next week how it shoots........
charlie b
Gold $$ Contributor
That's why I got a Mk II. Just didn't know if I would like it enough to shoot it much.
I am starting to enjoy it. Shoot it in between strings with my CF gun (lets the barrel cool down).
I will say again how happy I am with the accuracy of the CCI Std Vel ammo. 1 or 2 fliers out of 10 and the rest om a group like the expensive stuff. Just fine for fun plinking.
I am starting to enjoy it. Shoot it in between strings with my CF gun (lets the barrel cool down).
I will say again how happy I am with the accuracy of the CCI Std Vel ammo. 1 or 2 fliers out of 10 and the rest om a group like the expensive stuff. Just fine for fun plinking.
DShortt
Gold $$ Contributor
Curious, what is the average group size at 50 yards?
I've been shooting Federal 510 40 grain solids, 1240fps. Not terrible but not not 'knocking my socks off', either.
I do hope the Savage likes CCI Std, I've got a lot. I find atthat at 50 almost everything works, at least in my MTR, 100 separates it!
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