Mk2 FV-SR

[terrible tim]

I picked up the Savage at the end of last week, mounted a scope and made a trip to the range with a few different types of ammo to see how it shoots. I did a couple of drops of blue loctite on the scope base, prior to mounting the scope. Put on a Nikon 2x7 P22 scope & medium rings. Not too pleased with the cheek weld at this point, but you have to start somewhere. Here's what we have so far.

I shot a few types of ammo through it to foul the bore & sighted in at 25 yards to start with. Here's the best group I did that morning. Certainly nothing to write home about yet, but I think it may be OK with a better stock, some bedding and a bit of fine tuning. From what I've read, the stock & cheek location can be a real booger to deal with on the Rubber-Made factory stock, so a Boyd's varminter may be next in line. I still need to find some different ammo to try, but it's slim pickings here in town and the internet isn't much better for now. The Aquila Super Extra seems to be the food of choice so far and gave the best group of the morning. Target is about 3 1/2" x 5" (tag printer from work for our production jobs). I shrunk it to fit, so it isn't a regulation size, dime for comparison.

Anyone have any thoughts on doing a simple bedding job on the factory stock, prior to dumping money into a new stock? From what I've read online, the factory stock can be a real PITA to work with and cause problems due to fit, slop, action screws, torquing and thin bottom metal. I still haven't taken it apart, but I figure as long as the action screws don't fall out, it's as good as it gets for now. The barrel is certainly off-center in the channel (sits too far to the right as seen from above) but isn't making contact with the stock & you can run a piece of paper in the full length without any resistance.

Any thoughts on this issue would be appreciated. Thanks, tim

 

[Jerz_Subbie]

Looks good so far. That stock is junk, you need to be a giraffe for it to work. Even with irons it blows.

 

[JoeZ]

If I may.
An inconsistent cheek position and the fact that parallax doesn't get much worse than at 25 yards for a non-adjustable scope makes for a hard to overcome combination. 1/32 of an inch difference in your eye's position is about one inch off at 25 yards! Being a rimfire scope your's will produce less of this effect.

Add any sort of cheek riser (even foam pipe insulation and tape or vet wrap) to get a consistent cheek position and also, many rimfire scopes come with an adjustable objective for this reason. Your scope is parallax free at 50 yards so your best results will be there (as far as cheek weld/ parallax is concerned)

I hope I've helped,
JoeZ

 

[Twisted .308]

Get rid of that rubbermaid stock ! mine shot much better after I got the Boyd's !! Try some Std. Velocity ammo , mine likes the Fiocchi Match Target and Augila Match

 

[terrible tim]

Thanks for the input. I've ordered a Boyds thumb-hole varminter, which should arrive in a few days. Also on order is the DIP bottom metal. Still need to send for screws, but I plan on a pillar bed, bolt polish and a bit more time in working things out until I have it finished.

Appreciate the insight into parallax error and a cheek weld which is not correct. There's just no way to get on this scope with the stock design. Hopefully the varminter will help with this issue and make things better. I'm thinking I did OK for a first time out & the initial setup, just need to do the mods to tighten things up a bit.

Will post more as I make changes & hopefully I can start shooting better. I really do enjoy the challenge of the setup & shooting once I'm "done" which I know is not always possible. If you're working and improving, it's never really finished.

Still looking for ammo as well, but first things first with the stock & setup. I'm thinking the Aquila SE is looking promising and I have a few more types to try in the locker. Thanks again for the input, nice group of folks here. tim

 

[terrible tim]

Went ahead with the bolt polish this evening. It helped a bit with the cocking, opening and general smoothing of things. One caution for those who decide to do it, make sure you have magnetic fingers or a completely white room to work in, when you push the "E" clip off the shaft. Yep, I was holding the spring down with a plate I made, when the clip jumped to freedom and shot across the room. I went ahead and did the polishing anyway, and then started looking for it when I had put off assembly as long as possible. It was about 5' from where I was sitting at the table as I worked, sitting on the carpet, but all's well that ends well.

I used some diamond polishing paste (2 micron) for the junction between the bolt halves. This is the stuff I use for stropping knife edges to polish the working edge on the blade. Just enough to lap the parts and make a smoother fit, then a final clean-up and it was ready for assembly. I used Royal Purple synthetic motor oil for the innards, as it doesn't gum up like other oils over time and stays pretty slick on machined surfaces. Pictures will follow, getting late now & work again tomorrow....

 

[TimK]

Mine was on a Boyd's Tacticool, but the cheek weld was non-existant with that, too. I had to make the height adjustable. I just bought a Rhineland AICS copy and like that a lot.

Mine likes Eley Target (yellow box). It shoots sub MOA at 100 yards with it. As of a couple days ago, Bruno Shooters supply had it.

 

[yoteman]

tim picture of rhineland please

 

[TimK]

Rhineland Arms:

Rhineland arms

 

[terrible tim]

I had contacted Rhineland arms after reading about their problems with delivery times & other stuff. They did respond promptly, but were not able to quote a "meaningful" time frame for delivery, so I'm hoping the Boyds has enough height for my needs. It looks to be tall enough with the rather small scope I'm using. Anything will be better than the plastic stock and its lousy fit. Here's a shot from the polish. Decided to use one with the bolt in place (bad light outside in the yard). Didn't do the entire assembly, front half, rear portion & insides are all done, but left the bolt handle and rear shroud with the factory finish.

As I was outside, I noticed it was gently raining feathers in the yard. Our old cat caught a pigeon and had eaten the head this afternoon, but he's 18 and must have gotten full because he couldn't eat it all. He was curled up in his basket on the front porch, asleep, when I got home from work. When I got back from an errand to the hardware store, I noticed the pigeon was missing, but the feathers were still arriving. Here's where the feathers were coming from. Nice to know things are still working as they should be and nature is alive & well. (If this is inappropriate content, let me know & I'll remove the link) tim

 

[terrible tim]

With the new stock & targets at 50 yards. 5 shot groups are beginning to work. So far the Aguila SE & CCI SV are the best I've used. Still don't have any "premium" ammo in the stash to try (Ely, Lapua), but I don't want to spoil it with the good stuff. Thinking I can do a bit better than I have here, but nice to see things coming together for a "cheap" build.

 

[flylo]

I love these Savages & the the stock fits
me OK. All that I've tried shoot a ragged hole 10 shot 50 yard group after sight in & torquing everything the same.

 

[russ10x]

Be patient. I had a Tacticool stock. It is NOT all that everyone says it is. Sure, it is a very inexpensive way to get "the look" and proper cheek weld, but there is really no practical way to pillar bed it without going through a bunch of hassle.
I bought and received the Rhineland Arms Leopard stock, and I have not regretted it one bit. No problem with customer service. The stock and gun is SO ergonomic, it practically shoots itself. You will still need the DIP bottom metal. I inletted my stock and still used the DIP mag well plate. You will not regret it. Stay away from the Tacticool.

 

[terrible tim]

Russ, the varminter stock is a better fit for me than the tacticool (aside from the horrible name). There's a good cheek weld with my scope/ring setup and the length of pull is OK for my frame, so it works well enough for me. I did pillar bed the stock using some hardware store 1/2" nylon bushings. Had to drill out the wood, cut bushings to fit for height, check to make sure there isn't any metal touching wood, then bed the bushings in epoxy. It seems to have worked and the action is stable, solid and floats in the wood with only the bottom of the action pillars touching the nylon. I know the nylon can compress, so I'm going easy on the action screws. So far about 15-16 inch-pounds seems to be about right. I've taken it up a little from there, but it's not helping with accuracy, so I've backed down the torque again. Still need to shoot it some more and keep trying different ammunition.

It seems to like the Aguila Super Extra 38 grain hollow point the best. Curious, because this is hotter than a target load at 1280 fps. It seems to do well enough for both a hunting and target load. I just need to find some more at a decent price, so I can stock up again when it's available.

 

[JoeMartin]

Russ, I was given to understand that many preferred the Tacticool stock from Boyds? Have read many a good reviews about them, here on the Hide. Is the Rhineland really that much more superior?

 

[BoilerUP]

...there's always a Manners T4...

 

[russ10x]

Joe
I believe so. It shoots just like an AICS stocked rifle. The ergonomics lend for better positioning. It is heavier, and has more material to work with if you wish to bed it in any fashion. My Tacticool is too light, and flimsy. Try dropping one on the edge of the butt stock!

 

[Twisted .308]

You didn't mention any trigger work , if it's still stock you can adjust the pull down to a lighter setting , I took a pair of dikes and trimmed spring on mine and made a big difference ...google it and there are several different ways to lighten up trigger

 

[slate84]

Mines a tack driver out to 100m and still ring gongs out to 300m. I like the tacticool but its a must to use the dpi bottom metal.

 

[Brokenzipper]

I didnt like how soft the wood is on the boyds. Good feel though. just too darn soft. The rhineland is maple and a little heavier, but solid. Im interested to see how the other tread will do, a mcree stock would be cool for a mkii

 

[TimK]

Russ, I was given to understand that many preferred the Tacticool stock from Boyds? Have read many a good reviews about them, here on the Hide. Is the Rhineland really that much more superior?

I have both, and the Rhineland is far superior. I had to make my own adjustable cheekpiece on the Tacticool, and LOP is fixed. The Rhineland comes adjustable both ways out of the box and is much heavier and sturdier feeling.

I own both, and I shoot the Rhineland.

 

[JoeMartin]

Thanks Tim. Appreciate the info.

 

[terrible tim]

Follow-up to this one. Re-did the bedding pillars with 1/4" brass pipe nipples (drilled out the nylon). Bedded the bottom metal to lock it in place. Added the DIP trigger-guard over-travel screw. Played with the action screws this morning. Front @ 16# / back @ 8# seems to be about best for now. Best group today was 3/8" 5 shots at 50 yards (bottom-right). Target shows effects of tightening, started at 6# (top-left) & went up to 12#. Groups opened up too much, so I went back to 8# and figured it's good for now. Couple of pictures to show the progress. Ordered a can, but it looks like it may be a year until I have it the way things are going now......

 

[terrible tim]

Decided I needed a little less eye relief on the scope at 7X, so I trimmed the rail down two bumps up front from the factory length, and then re-set everything last night. I used the blue lock-tite for the rail screws, to make sure it doesn't come loose. The rains have finally stopped this afternoon, so I'll take it out again tomorrow morning to see how things go. Having a lot of fun with this rifle and enjoying playing with stuff. So much to learn, so little time...

 

[terrible tim]

Just can't seem to leave well enough alone on this rifle. Did an action bed yesterday to see how it affects accuracy. There are now the two pillars, bedding at the front spool and behind the trigger. It rests along the entire action from just behind the barrel to the back of the action behind the trigger group and was cast as one entire assembly. I set the action screws at 15# front & 8# rear for the bedding. Also found a deal on a Pentax 6-24 50MM scope. Back to the range this morning to see how it shoots. Will have to re-do the action screws again to see how a change in bedding works out. Three shot groups to see how a full bed changes harmonics, if at all....

 

[terrible tim]

OK, here's with the Apachee trigger, fully bedded, 6-24 x 50mm scope. Compare this to the picture above of the range test for action tuning from last month. Tightened up the group size from an average of 0.85" to about 0.55" for three shots at 50 yards. Getting better.

 

[1slow01z71]

Very ncie how is the cheek weld with that stock?

 

[terrible tim]

It's certainly not as good as with the smaller scope. I can still set up properly (adequate), but it is a bit "sloppy" when compared to the other smaller scope & lower eye level. I'm thinking about some shorter rings, but still need to measure the distance & check sizes on shorter rings. These are the Weaver medium rings (0.3125" above base), but I think I should be able to use their short rings (0.250") and still have plenty of room for covers, without touching the barrel.

 

[lutrap]

Very nice, glad I came across this. You have basically built the exact same rifle I have been planning (Stock, scope and all). Turned out better than I pictured it!

 

[terrible tim]

Just a follow-up on some more shooting. This is last weekend's trip was with a 100 yard target setup. With the CCI-SV I'm getting about an inch, give or take some. I get a nice 4 shot group of about 3/4", then there will be one flyer which opens the group to 1 1/4" or more. Thinking it's the ammo at this point as everything else seems to be working when I do my job......

 

[BoilerUP]

Just a follow-up on some more shooting. This is last weekend's trip was with a 100 yard target setup. With the CCI-SV I'm getting about an inch, give or take some. I get a nice 4 shot group of about 3/4", then there will be one flyer which opens the group to 1 1/4" or more. Thinking it's the ammo at this point as everything else seems to be working when I do my job......

I largely experience the same with CCI SV in my FV-SR; its still 'good enough' for my purposes though I often wonder what it would do with RWS, Eley, Wolf MT, etc.

 

[terrible tim]

Here's a target showing bullet drop at 100 yards for the CCI-SV. The point of aim is the top row of targets, center dot. Point of impact is at the bottom, the three shot group with yellow highlighter marked as 3/4". Top rows are 100 yards, bottom are 50 yards, different ammunition types included on this target. There's a 7" drop from 50 yard zero to 100 yards, with no compensation for elevation. Fun stuff with a 22.