Savage 64 review.

[angryamerican]

As all know I am a true blue dye hard Ruger 10/22 fan. How ever I understand they are not the only game in town. I just got a new savager 64 for a incredible price. One that was way to good to pass up. It was free, I won it in a drawing from my local sporting goods store. To be honest I never would have bought one. After all I have 2 10/22's and I was not looking for more guns but hay free is free. Someday probably sooner then later my daughter will be having children so the gran kids can use this gun.

First of all let me start out by saying I love this gun. I would also like to say that the paper work involved in getting a new gun from a store in this day and age is a pain. Ive had most of my guns for many years and any of the newer ones came from private individuals. I had no idea of the paper work involved and the stupid questions on it. this is our tax dollars at work. Honestly if I am a wanted fugitive running from the law am I really going to say yes when you ask me if I am a wanted fugitive.

Any way rant over on with the review. There are things I love about this gun and a couple things I don't. The gun shoots very nice and I like it a lot. it is very accurate and consistent for the slow shooter. you under no circumstances can spray and prey with this fire arm. It jams quite often if your into shooting fast. The biggest thing I see is the clip is crap with subsonic hollow points. First problem with the clip is it is a 10 round clip that is almost impossible to put 10 rounds in. doesn't matter weather its hollow points or not you have to force the last two rounds in.

We shot Federal copper plated Hollow Point .22 LR 31gr Ammunition from the savage as well as Federal Copper Plated High Velocity 22lr 40Gr. We had jamming problems with both at spray and prey speeds. with the hollow points they were getting stuck in the clip just below the edge. with the standard ammo it was just plain out jamming. the spent cartridges could not seem to get out of the way fast enough. Now I do know that this firearm should improve in time as it is used more and gets broke in more. New Firearms are always a little flaky.

As soon as I got home I threw a cheap red/green dot scope on it. laser bore sighted it at 5 yards with a 1/8 drop for compensation then we headed to the range. First three shots went way high. I mean over the top of the hill we were shooting at high. 12 clicks latter brought us onto the top left hand corner of the paper. It was a matter of a normal sight in from there. Before long we had this baby dead on.

One of the things I like about this gun is its consistency. Every shot went right ware we aimed it. and it being a well balanced low recoil 22lr the recovery time was outstanding. if it even wiggled a little you could put it right back on target with no delays. All thow I must say the trigger pull is pretty hard I am hoping that gets better with time because there are no after market parts for this firearm believe me I looked for almost three days. So in a nut shell below in random order is my likes and dislikes.

LIKES
1: synthetic stock is durable and has a awesome feel
2: consistent
3: fast recovery time
4: push in bolt lock.
5: easy to operate safety
6: Light
7: Well balanced

DISLIKES
1: Hard trigger pull
2: cant shoot fast
3: Clip is crap

So all in all I have to say this is a good gun and let me tell you it will take down a squirrel at 75 yards very easily I usually don't try shots that long with a 22Lr but I wanted to find the limits of this rifle. both times I shot that far with it, the round went right ware I wanted it to allowing me to bring home lunch and supper.

[Lothar of the Hill People]

I've had a Savage 64 for 13 years. I bought it at a local big box store for under $100. If you add a decent quality 3-9x scope, you should be able to take squirrel at well past 100 yards. I've begged Savage for 3-4 years to add the Basix trigger system to the 64 but they won't budge. They'd have a true 10/22 rival if they did. I've never had a jamming problem. It sounds like your gun needs to be cleaned. I'd try Aguila HV as well their SE ammo. They use Eley primer mix and shoot minute of popcan out to 100 yards. Here's a thought: Why hasn't Ruger created a semi-auto rifle that uses the same magazine as their 22/45 and Gov't Mark series pistols? I love my 22/45 and it desperate needs a carbine to go with it.

[angryamerican]

(11-30-2009 02:30 PM)Lothar of the Hill People Wrote: Guests cannot see links in the messages. Please register to forum by clicking here to see links.If you add a decent quality 3-9x scope, you should be able to take squirrel at well past 100 yards.

In the old days I would agree with you but with my eyes its not worth the risk even with the scope. Wounding a animal is one of the greatest sins in my book. Besides its much funner to stalk as close to them as I can get. That to me is a true test of skill.

As for the jamming problem after they happened I did some research and these are common on the newer models. They are very picky about there ammo. There was more tolerance built into the older models such as you have.

The clip problem is very well documented for the last few years but was suppose to of been taken care of.

I will admit to having very old ammo that had gotten pushed to the back of the shelves instead of rotated and that may have contributed to the problem. The issues I had were not a big deal for me because the only time I shoot fast is when I am testing the limits of a firearm.

Thanks for the tip on the ammo I will give that a try as soon as I can find somebody who isn't sold out.