My Savage Mk II Project

[NH Shooter]

The Journey There

I purchased this Savage Mk II FV .22 LR back in 2013. It came with a really crappy plastic stock, but the action is not bad and is capable of excellent accuracy.

The challenge with this action is the way it beds to the stock, which basically pulls the action down into the stock in a "wedging action" when tightening the screws on the bottom. With the plastic stock there were pillars molded into the stock so that the action has something to tighten against. But the plastic stock really sucked as it was flimsy and the comb was not nearly high enough for use with a scope.

I decided to get a Boyd's laminated stock, which overcame all of the deficiencies of the plastic unit, but does not have pillars for the action to tighten against: tighten the action screws too much and you simply cave-in the bottom of the stock where the wood is very thin. So I embarked on a major project to address that issue, which I wrote about in detail on RF.com. Here is the final result of that project, which resulted in a solid, chassis-like interface between action and stock;



Recently I made some more upgrades, including shortening the LOP to fit me, upgrading the scope and installing a Pig Skins Barricade Pad that I find very useful for getting a good grip when using the sling. This rifle is now solid, accurate and with a Apachee Trigger kit has a nice, clean 2-pound break. A truly enjoyable rifle to shoot, looking forward to the return of warm weather.

Here is the complete list of parts used for this project;

• Boyd's Rimfire Hunter stock
• DIP Trigger Guard
• DIP Bottom Metal
• Brownells' Universal Butt Plate - fitted after shortening stock
• Mountain Shooter Sling
• DIP 25 MOA base
• Leupold PRW2 low rings
• Clearidge Ultra RM 4.5-14x40
• Apachee Trigger Kit

[newyork]

That’s super nice

[peterb]

Nice!

Now you’ve got me thinking about trying something similar with my Marlin XT-22.

[awp_101]

Nice! That makes me want to drag out the late 90s plastic stocked MKII that’s been stuck in the safe since the boys were old enough to buy their own rifles.

If it’s worthy, I can see doing something similar or picking up an Oryx chassis.

[Bigghoss]

You're giving me second thoughts about selling my MKII TR.

[Duelist]

On mine, I have not replaced the crappy stock yet. I added a pound of lead to the hollow butt to balance the heavy profile of the barrel, and also drilled for and added a cheek riser. It works as is, and is a lot of fun to shoot bugholes, but I would like to upgrade the scope and eventually pillar bed the action in better stock with a more substantial fore end.

[NH Shooter]

On mine, I have not replaced the crappy stock yet. I added a pound of lead to the hollow butt to balance the heavy profile of the barrel, and also drilled for and added a cheek riser. It works as is, and is a lot of fun to shoot bugholes, but I would like to upgrade the scope and eventually pillar bed the action in better stock with a more substantial fore end.

Other than adding the weight, that is the path I took as well. The kydex cheek riser solved the too-low-comb issue, but I just couldn't get past the crappy plastic stock. I like the look of a wood stock with blued steel and the Boyd's laminated stocks are great for the money. Once the action bedding issue was addressed, mine is as solid as a chassis stock.

FWIW, the Clearidge scopes are a lot of scope for the money. Made by LOW in Japan, the mechanical quality is excellent and the optical quality more than adequate for a .22 rimfire rifle. What I especially appreciate are the adjustable objectives that focus very close, down to 15 - 20 feet depending on the model. My Ultra XP 4.5-14x40 focuses to about 20 feet on 14x. The 4.5 end has a tremendous eye box and IMO, about the perfect general use magnification for a .22.

When all was said and done, it would have made more sense for me to simply buy a better rifle out of the box. But I greatly enjoy these hobby gunsmith projects and the creation of unique, personalized firearms.