Well, first of all I must say that I am EXTREMELY impressed with this rifle. I paid $241 after tax for it from a local gunshop in Rutland, VT. This is the stainless bull barrel model with the synthetic stock.
After buying the gun, I bought for it a brand new Simmons ATV 4.5x14x40AO scope for it. I got the scope from ebay.com for $80 shipped to my door, they can also be had from
www.natchezss.com for around the same price. I was concerned with getting too much scope as I will be hunting with this gun a good bit, but I also wanted more magnification than a 3x9 or 4x12 could offer. This model is only 14 oz and 13" long, so it is pretty compact for a scope of this magnification. It also have some great reviews on
www.rimfirecentral.com. I plan to buying another .223 this winter and I will probably buy another of these Simmons scopes for that gun as well because I like it so much. The optics are as clear as just about any sub $150 scope I have seen, and the windage/elevation adjustments are accurate and true (1/4 at 100 yards). Also, you will need either high rings on this gun, or see under rings. I have the Weaver see through rings on mine and it fits fine with enough room to probably accomodate a 50mm objective.
My only complaint about the setup is the Savage trigger, however I am fairly spoiled when it comes to triggers, my Remington 700 .270 has one of the cleanest triggers I have ever felt for a stock trigger assembly, and has been adjusted for a hair over 2 lbs of pull. This can be fixed though for the cost of some copper shimming material, there is a neat little guide at this link (Thanks to Viper at rimfirecentral.com).
http://www.rimfirecentral.com/forums...ad.php?t=46774
So I went to the range today, and off a benchrest, it shoots 1/4-1/2 3 shot groups consistently, and when I am doing my part, it shoots the same for 5 shot groups as well. Once I get the trigger shimmed and adjusted per the link above, I am sure my accuracy will only get better. I shot mostly the 17 grain hornady loads today, however I am going out tomorrow again with the 17 grain CCI hollow points to try out and see which my gun likes best. I am also going to order the new 20 grain XTP loads since squirrel season starts in the beginning of September here, I will use those for the tree rats I think. I must say, this is now officially my favorite plinking rifle, and I can't wait to shoot some critters with it. Definately a good buy in my opinion.
I put 2 thumb tacks into the plywood I pin my targets up on today, and set a quarter on top of the two tacks, and put a hole right through the quarter on the first shot at 100 yards away from prone position. I was pretty impressed with this, I didn't think it would quite have enough sh!t behind it to completely penetrate the quarter but it did with no problem at all, a buddy did the same when he was shooting it. Doesn't this seem like pretty decent penetration for the VMax bullet? I thought it would probably only fragment, but it went right through both times.
Review - Savage 93R17 FVSS + Simmons ATV
