Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Rimfires Savage Mark II G - the cheap one

Does anybody have one and more importantly, have you ever wrung it out to see what kind of accuracy it's capable of?

Got an idea to spend money on something I don't need and it involves a left hand bolt action and a Boyds stock. Boyds offers a lot of different options but nothing matching any left hand .22's I already own.

Savage makes their left hand heavy barrel BTVSS which is 99.99% certain of being a tack driver, but that's a bit more money than I'm thinking of and especially so when I'd basically dump the fine Boyds stock it comes with just to go buy a different one.

Hence the search for knowledge and enlightenment here. Not expecting consistent .5 MOA from a skinny barrel and mid-grade ammo but ya never know.

This one:

Wish I could help man, but my experience with the regular MKII's is limited. They tend to shoot way above their price point. I almost bought an original Lakefield Arms MKII the other day. That would have probably been the best comparison. With that being said, you know as well as I do, how the Savage MKII's shoot. I've had skinny barreled Savage 64's shoot damn well. That barrel looks to be about the same contour. I'll bet if you get a good one, it will shoots lights out. But you know I'm a Savage rimfire lover. But I also like accurate rifles. Take that for what it's worth..

I have one with a plastic stock. It is a good shooter with ammo it likes. The trigger in mine is not shooter friendly. I put a rifle basix in it. The magazines are really cheap. If you work the bolt fast sometimes it pushes the safety back on. I have a 22 Mag which I think is called a 93 but it is basically the.same gun. It is a good shooter. But same cheap components. But they barely cost over 100 dollars when I bought them. What should you expect for that price? They are capable of shooting well with ammo they like. I think the wood stock version would be preferable. The plastic stocks are flimsy and flex.

We have two, (both lefty) one is older without the accutrigger but they both shoot great.

Just ordered one, a left hand MK II G Youth/Compact model with a 19" barrel. Also ordered the stock for it, a Boyds SS Evolution. DIP sells this stock and bundles their Deluxe bottom metal with it so I saved a few bucks there.

A little backstory on this -

I have a 10/22 with a 16" heavy barrel in an Evolution stock and really like it. The stock isn't very good for shooting off of bags but it's excellent for offhand or the kneeling position, it has an almost vertical pistol grip and places your trigger finger perfectly for a 90 deg. straight back pull. It's also definitely front heavy with that .920" barrel.

On a whim, I pulled that action and put my old 18 1/2" barrel standard carbine in it. That took over a pound off the total weight and moved the balance point back 2-3" so it felt a lot more lively, not front heavy at all.

Could have just ordered another stock for the standard carbine and not buy a whole new rifle but that carbine has been my Ol' Reliable buddy since 1968 and I just didn't feel like messing with it. Also, 10/22's make me shoot a lot of ammo. A bolt action makes me take my time.

Went round and round in my mind about a full size rifle with a 21" barrel or the 19" compact and finally settled on the shorter one. It has a short 13" LOP but I'll never use the factory stock, and since the goal of this project is to lighten the whole thing and move the balance point backwards, 2" less barrel would contribute to that. Theoretically it would also make for a stiffer and more accurate barrel but that's a fine hair to cut.


This is a pic off of the net but is pretty close to the end result except mine will be a Nutmeg laminate and obviously left hand bolt. If you throw up in your mouth a little bit, that's okay, I understand. The aesthetics are more something Salvador Dali would appreciate but the proof is in the shooting and it really does shoulder nicely.

Well, it is a little ugly, but what Savage isn't?? Ha ha.. If you like it Jim, and it's going to suit your needs, I say it's good to go. I hear you about shooting 10/22's. They heat a lot of ammo. I have been shooting my bolt actions more these days as well. Especially my single shot Savage MK1. You'd think that rifle would eat up less ammo, but it doesn't. I think because I have a set amount of targets I'm going to shoot in my head. If I'm at the range for 45 minutes and do all the shooting I need to do with my 10/22, that means I'm going to be at the range for 2 hours with the single shot. I still burn up the same amount of ammo..


I like Boyds stocks on my Savage 22lr's too..

A while back a guy at my club had a Savage with the same stock. He shot a lot(retired). And that gun with a bi pod was a formidable paper puncher. No field experience as far as I know, but at the range it was a shooter. As you mentioned the grip position was conducive to a straight trigger pull.
You’re going to enjoy the project if the barrel in your new Savage lives up to most others seen in my area. They shoot.

There's a few MKII's in the family, and 0.5 MOA, (1/2" at 100yds/1/4" at 50 yds). Not likely unless you are shooting 2 shot groups, (a lot of them).
5 shots/50yds, maybe, with some fishing through various ammo available, a decent scope, and practice. I have a very nice MK II BV that averages 1/2" for 5 shots at 50yds, shooting off a rest, 3X-9X scope, with minimal wind conditions, with some ammo.
My daughters MK II FVSR will do that pretty regular, my SIL has a MK II GV that shoots just as good as my BV. All three barrels are downstream from a thousand rounds, they are cleaned regularly, wear 3X-9X scopes, and they have the heavy barrels. I swapped the OEM trigger springs for lower tension springs, 2lbs +/- a bit. The skinny barrels are probably just as accurate as the heavy barrels, but weight tames a lot of movement at the shot. All of the family's MK II's were broken in with regular cleaning with JB Bore products to reduce the snags. Tight spots were polished a few times to smooth the tight spots with a very fine grit lapping compound. You will likely get the same effect by shooting a couple thousand rounds.
But the MK II's are generally accurate well above the cost. But they are not an Anchutz.

I have never seen any real proof that a heavy barrel 22rf is more accurate than a light barrel. The heavy barrel is often easier to shoot and more steady from a rest but not sure the barrel is more accurate. Has anyone seen a test?