The weirdest rifle I have ever owned.

[Mythbuster]

I got a Savage MK 2 with the 16.5 barrel. Got a decent scope on it. I bought it to have a cheap rifle I could haul around on my 4 wheeler to plink with. I got other expensive rifles that I do not want to get beat up. I wanted to find a cheaper HV ammo that would shoot decent in it so I could save my good match ammo for my serious rifles. It turns out it shoots Fiocchi HV ammo very well. Amazingly well. The weird thing is it shoots this ammo better at 50-100 yards than actual good match ammo. Also if I start with a clean barrel it will shoot two MOA left and one MOA low the first 5 rounds. The second string of 5 rounds will start walking back right and up. The third string of 5 rounds will shoot exactly zero. The zero will never change after that unless I shoot another brand of ammo. With the residue of the other ammo in the bore the first 5 rounds of the Fiocchi will be low and left again just like from a clean bore. After about 400 or so rounds of the Fiocchi ammo without cleaning the cold shot will always be low and left. The other four will be perfect. If I wait over three or four minutes between groups it will do this. If I keep the bore warm it will continue to shoot point of aim.

 

[Mythbuster]

This ammo at about 45 yards

 

[AZ Dan]

A shifting POI when shooting from a clean barrel, cold barrel, or between varying types of ammo, is not "weird" in the slightest....it's completely normal. It is also not "weird" for a rifle to like one particular brand of cheap ammo vs an expensive ammo...happens all the time.

 

[Mythbuster]

I am aware of that but I have never seen a rimfire do it to the extent this one does

 

[RTH1800]

Ok I’ll fill in until @justin amateur arrives.
The group you post is nice. Good for you finding an inexpensive combination that works well.

The reality is that at 100 yards no combination of rifle and poorly made ammunition can shoot a vertical group better than it’s ES indicates over a long string. It’s impossible.

 

[vinniedelpino]

I got a Savage MK 2 with the 16.5 barrel. Got a decent scope on it. I bought it to have a cheap rifle I could haul around on my 4 wheeler to plink with. I got other expensive rifles that I do not want to get beat up. I wanted to find a cheaper HV ammo that would shoot decent in it so I could save my good match ammo for my serious rifles. It turns out it shoots Fiocchi HV ammo very well. Amazingly well. The weird thing is it shoots this ammo better at 50-100 yards than actual good match ammo. Also if I start with a clean barrel it will shoot two MOA left and one MOA low the first 5 rounds. The second string of 5 rounds will start walking back right and up. The third string of 5 rounds will shoot exactly zero. The zero will never change after that unless I shoot another brand of ammo. With the residue of the other ammo in the bore the first 5 rounds of the Fiocchi will be low and left again just like from a clean bore. After about 400 or so rounds of the Fiocchi ammo without cleaning the cold shot will always be low and left. The other four will be perfect. If I wait over three or four minutes between groups it will do this. If I keep the bore warm it will continue to shoot point of aim.

I have a mark II that shoots cci minimags like that. Everyone thinks I’m full of shit until they shoot it. I’ve shot all sorts of match ammo and it shoots like crap.

Glad to see I’m not the only one.

 

[Just Macca]

The old boy has a Savage Mk II he bought from a clearing sale for $5 decades ago. It looks like a stick and has a hacksaw blade for a mag catch.

shoots ridiculous groups... Far better then it looks like it should. Savage rifles are like mopeds...

 

[ZG47A]

Thirty odd years ago I belonged to a club where one guy with a Marlin Midget Magnum regularly outshot everyone else in .22 Rimfire positional competitions, even the experienced shooters with Anschuetz Match 54, Remington 541T, etc.
Results count.

 

[BullGear]

You sure it's not a bad scope or loose mounts?

 

[khdudley13]

had a freind that set several records in the old br-50 matches i think its was called .. he said all his guns was different.. had some if he cleaned he might as well shoot 10- 25 shots up in the air... before it would settle in .. then might could shoot 200 rounds before it would start to open up.. then clean repeat.. others started off clean shooting little groups .. that might not change for hundreds of rounds.. but he put MANY rounds threw them an kept up with everything... when he got a lot # of ammo that shot he'd call all over the us in serech of every box ...

 

[justin amateur]

Myth, being an annoying old coot, I'm gonna go with an irritating comment.

There is no find the brand y'er rifle likes.
Nope, I've tried them all. It's not about brand. It's about cartridge quality.
If you get well made cartridges with a minimum of manufacturing defects and uniform muzzle velocities
then you get predictable trajectories and good results on target.
If the cartridge shows damage incurred on the production line and mv spread
no rifle can fix the problem and external ballistics will produce strays and fliers.
Yes, you can get a box or two of of cheap ammo that does well,
the factory can't get it wrong all the time, eh?
That's just the assembly line lottery and you lucked out.


By the way, check that box of Fiocchi Hi-V.
Odds are it's either relabeled Aguila or CCI production.


Good morning RT.
You just knew I had to comment after you linked my name in y'er post.
It's like you know me....

 

[Mythbuster]

It says made in the USA on the box. So could it be CCI mini mag?

 

[TimK]

I have two. One was my very first .22 trainer when that was first becoming a "thing" and another I bought for my kids. Both shoot astoundingly well considering I paid $220 for them. The one I have set up for my kids shoots CCI standard velocity into 1/2" at 50, better than my Vudoo or my Lilja barreled 40X.

Neither of mine show such dramatic clean bore behavior, but it may be that I don't notice because I rarely clean them. Lazy bastard!