I've got the bull barrel, cheap stock version of the Savage MKII, the FV model I think. I'm a bit confused by the way it shoots and wondered if you fellas could shine some light on it for me.

It likes some rounds more than others, which is normal. Cheap Rem bulk shells, Thunderbolts, Wildcats, Fiocchi target rounds, etc. (BTW, it's the only .22 I've ever owned that hates Stingers) The rounds that do shoot well sometimes take awhile to start grouping. I sighted it in last year with Wildcats, which it shoots pretty well out to 50y (not competition groups, but squirrel killin' groups). But the first shot out of it is almost always an inch or two off in a random direction.

Yesterday I took 5 different shells out to try. I shot 5-shot groups of each at 50y with minimal success. After that, I shot a 10-shot group inside an inch dot with 37gr Winchester cheapo's. If I start out with them, the group is twice that size.

So what do I do? I know the Wildcats will shoot, but the first shot is always a flier. The gray box Winchesters will shoot a ragged hole at 50y, but only after the barrel warms up. I want to know what I need to do so that the first shot goes where I want it to. I DO NOT like missing squirrels!

rw