A real stinker of a plinker

[nagantguy]

I’ve a savage 93- (lake field Canadian made ) in .22 mag- picked it up last Labor Day weekend. From the get it would not fire - sometimes dent a primer but not fire . Sent it back to savage who did I a fairly quick manner fix it and return it to me . Now it fires- won’t says shoots - couldn’t hold any type of group - one or two rounds impacting where I want them to next 3 could be high low left. After a few rounds I had a new problem- spent rounds would not eject, again savage fixed it and sent it back in a short time . Switched scopes- same inconsistency switched scopes a second time brand new Bushnell- same problem- made sure rings were tight, bases tight . Took the old scope off put it on a .22 and no problems zeroing it or holding zero. Then Inoticed that the action screws were loose like really loose so I tightened them back up- now the bolt is stiff to lift and the firing pin is again not hitting hard enough to ignite round . Have tried 4 flavors of ammo- 2 from cci 1 from Winchester and one from Hornady.
Yep I could and probably will send it back to Savage again- but I had a thought that with this lemon I could maybe make some lemonade- anyone here ever re-barrel a .22 mag to .17HMR? As I understand the barrel is press fit and pinned not threaded in.
Got this to be a barn gun for coons and coyotes and opossums . But as it sits now the barn would be the only thing in danger .

 

[KnowNothing256]

Have you considered a career in writing? This is one of the most enjoyable reads for me on this site in recent memory

As one thought, you said that the bolt got stiff when you tightened the action screws, that sounds to me like one or possibly both of them might be too long and impinging on the bolt somewhere. You said it's stiff to lift, so that makes me think it's the front one that's too long, but I'll be honest that I'm just going off of how I know R700's are constructed, if it was a Howa (for example) the front screw never reaches the bolt. Anywho, I'd check how far those screws protrude into the receiver, to see if one of them might be binding the bolt and just needs to be filed down a bit.

 

[RTH1800]

Cool story!
Sorry about the rifle.

 

[Grey Kiwi]

Is it also possible that the action is actually bending when the screws are tightened?
Maybe the bedding area under the action is dodgy and needs to be checked/straightened (bedding job)?
I agree about the too long screws as well. Quite common on CZ's too (including mine).

 

[nagantguy]

Have you considered a career in writing? This is one of the most enjoyable reads for me on this site in recent memory

As one thought, you said that the bolt got stiff when you tightened the action screws, that sounds to me like one or possibly both of them might be too long and impinging on the bolt somewhere. You said it's stiff to lift, so that makes me think it's the front one that's too long, but I'll be honest that I'm just going off of how I know R700's are constructed, if it was a Howa (for example) the front screw never reaches the bolt. Anywho, I'd check how far those screws protrude into the receiver, to see if one of them might be binding the bolt and just needs to be filed down a bit.

Ya , my brother suggested some washers or shorter screws as he fixed a problem Browning rifle with the problem of action screws to long .
And to my writing - I don’t know if you were Poking fun at me or not but I don’t care - thank you for the compliment and the suggestions.
During the sight in process a rifle should not have to go back to manufacture 2 times with a third trip pending .
And I was happy cause I thought I’d gotten a decent deal and have always been a .22mag fan.

I I don’t have any morals and didn’t care I’d just sell it

 

[KnowNothing256]

Ya , my brother suggested some washers or shorter screws as he fixed a problem Browning rifle with the problem of action screws to long .
And to my writing - I don’t know if you were Poking fun at me or not but I don’t care - thank you for the compliment and the suggestions.
During the sight in process a rifle should not have to go back to manufacture 2 times with a third trip pending .
And I was happy cause I thought I’d gotten a decent deal and have always been a .22mag fan.

I I don’t have any morals and didn’t care I’d just sell it

Definitely not poking fun, you had me chuckling; sorry you've had such a headache with it, though, I'm very much with Townsend Whelen, in that "Only accurate rifles are interesting."

 

[Simonsza1]

To add to what Townsend thought. I feel only reliable functioning rifles/firearms are worth keeping.

 

[nagantguy]

Definitely not poking fun, you had me chuckling; sorry you've had such a headache with it, though, I'm very much with Townsend Whelen, in that "Only accurate rifles are interesting."

Thank you- and yes I agree with the great CO Whelen as a young Marine I spent time in the Panama Canal Zone the building of which was his project . And then found out that our family tent we packed around the back country for years as a boy was a Whelen shelter.
Yes this rifle which was slated for very basic farm duty has been a complete POS . And I’ve burned up about half of the .22 mag stash I’d acquired that caused me to purchase the damn thing in the first place .
Shit I might even raffle it off for charity - $1 a ticket 10 for $8 and a sympathy card for who ever “wins”

 

[acudaowner]

sounds like a great gun I have to admit after the rhyming in the title I was a tiny bit saddened not to see a Dr. Seuss esk review ( picked up the gun the other week and to my surprise eek it would not make a squeak . the firing pin did strike there mark but alas there was no spark ) hope you find what ails your gun not shooting it can't be fun . lol best of luck

 

[Supersubes]

I had a savage 93 once. After dealing with a few issues, I was going to run it over with my truck and break it in half. A friend talked me out of that. Instead It got band sawed into little pieces and dropped in the garbage. Good riddance. Life’s too short!

 

[264win]

Those rifles are definitely hit or miss. As mentioned above some experiments with screw length may help. Sometimes pressure bedding the forend helps as well.
If you enjoy tinkering, enjoy the project. If you want a reliable rifle get something else.

 

[Dead Eye Dick]

Maybe a touch unrelated, but our son, ordered a left hand .22 from Savage. After several months getting it built (a custom shop style order) he received it and had multiple problems with it. Despite multiple efforts to get it right with Savage, the results were that it could not be made into a usable firearm. As much good luck as he has had with Savage (their proliferation of left handed firearms had made him a fan) he has given up on them and is now using custom actions on all of his new builds.

 

[BigKev72]

Hell, I would just wear Savage out until they fix the damn thing properly.
They have a habit of shipping out a lot of problematic rimfires rifles. They should be used to fixing them.

 

[JG26_Irish]

I have four Savages and they are all good rifles. Only one is the 93R model but it is one of the most accurate. A couple of questions:

Which stock do you have? The black plastic base model stocks are very flimsy and prone to flex at the forearm allowing it to contact the bbl and affect accuracy. The bedding blocks in the plastic stock are sometimes loose and can fall out which could affect the fit and function. The laminated wooden Boyd's type stocks are much better. If I recall, the two action screws are not the same length. Could they be out of place? Even with the wood stocks, sometimes the action inletting is not that precise and it could allow the bbl to lay in the forearm crooked and touch the sides. The Savages is a decent low budget rifle and should be able to group 2" at 200y for you with 22mag. Do not try to re-barrel without first understanding the issues with the rifle. If it is messed up, a new bbl would be a waste of time.

Make sure there is no copper fouling in the bbl. That can be a cause of poor accuracy sometimes.

 

[KnowNothing256]

I have four Savages and they are all good rifles. Only one is the 93R model but it is one of the most accurate. A couple of questions:

Which stock do you have? The black plastic base model stocks are very flimsy and prone to flex at the forearm allowing it to contact the bbl and affect accuracy. The bedding blocks in the plastic stock are sometimes loose and can fall out which could affect the fit and function. The laminated wooden Boyd's type stocks are much better. If I recall, the two action screws are not the same length. Could they be out of place? Even with the wood stocks, sometimes the action inletting is not that precise and it could allow the bbl to lay in the forearm crooked and touch the sides. The Savages is a decent low budget rifle and should be able to group 2" at 200y for you with 22mag. Do not try to re-barrel without first understanding the issues with the rifle. If it is messed up, a new bbl would be a waste of time.

Make sure there is no copper fouling in the bbl. That can be a cause of poor accuracy sometimes.

2” at 200yds is awfully ambitious for rimfire, I wouldn’t expect that out of any platform basically. Maybe I’m behind the times, but sub-MOA at 200yds is a lot to ask of factory rimfire ammo, magnum notwithstanding. That’s match-grade accuracy, and most makers aren’t really pursuing that tier with 22 WMR.

 

[nagantguy]

I have four Savages and they are all good rifles. Only one is the 93R model but it is one of the most accurate. A couple of questions:

Which stock do you have? The black plastic base model stocks are very flimsy and prone to flex at the forearm allowing it to contact the bbl and affect accuracy. The bedding blocks in the plastic stock are sometimes loose and can fall out which could affect the fit and function. The laminated wooden Boyd's type stocks are much better. If I recall, the two action screws are not the same length. Could they be out of place? Even with the wood stocks, sometimes the action inletting is not that precise and it could allow the bbl to lay in the forearm crooked and touch the sides. The Savages is a decent low budget rifle and should be able to group 2" at 200y for you with 22mag. Do not try to re-barrel without first understanding the issues with the rifle. If it is messed up, a new bbl would be a waste of time.

Make sure there is no copper fouling in the bbl. That can be a cause of poor accuracy sometimes.

I agree- my other savage rimfire a all shoot well- especially the .17 hmr .
I’ll take her all apart this weekend and see if I can track down the culprit.