Savage Mark II F....or FV?

[Ohio Varmint Shooter]

LGS has both a Savage Mark II F and an FV on sale for $140 (after rebate) and my sister has a $20 coupon....that brings the price to $120. How can I go wrong??? (Accutrigger, but no scope)

My 12 year old grandson REALLY liked his 1st season of squirrel hunting this past few months. He used my 40 year old shotgun and 22lr. So I think, at this price, it's time he got his own 22lr.

The question is, the pencil barreled F or the bull/varmint barreled FV?

I have a pencil/sporter barreled Mark II (left handed model....grandson is not LH) and a left handed 93R17 with varmint barrel. These are the same guns except one is 22, other 17hmr w/varmint barrel. So I'm going to have him handle them both, feel the balance difference and see what he thinks. The balance of the varmint barrel is (relative) rather awkward because it's so barrel heavy. It wants to slip off the shoulder considerably more than the sporter barrel. And it's considerably heavier....and it 'feels' heavier because of the imbalance.

I kind of 'think' I want him to get the sporter/pencil barrel, even though the varmint barrel 'technically' should shoot a little better.

Any strong feelings one way or the other?

 

[Mozella]

I have the FV, but I use it strictly on a bench. I would think that if you plan to shoot from a rest or hunt varmints from a bipod, then the fat barrel would be best. However, if you're going to carry the weapon in the woods, especially as a 12 year old, then the sporter barrel would win out.

The gun/trigger combination offers huge bang-for-the buck, but the cheesy stock is really cheap feeling. The good news is that you can drop the action into a Boyd's stock with no skill required. A stock would make a great Christmas present for the young man.