Bmag weight an accuracy issue ???

[Oregonboy]

A friend and I each bought a Browning 22 pump. Struggled with accuracy until we realized the action was opening as soon as the rifles fired which caused the rifles to move on the bag, hence accuracy issue. My 41 mag will throw 2" high if I don't hold it right. My question is, as light as the Bmag is and with a 22" barrel and with the velocity of the 17 WSM, (recoil), does anybody think this could be contributing to the Bmag accuracy issues. Please understand, this is meant as point of discussion, not about anybodys shooting skills. Thanks

[Birdieshooter]

I would say no.

I hear (or read) a lot of people talking about how badly Savage messed up with the “thin” or even (my personal favorite) “whippy” barrel. While I have several issues with the design of this rifle the barrel profile is not one of them. I would think the bMag was designed as a walking varminter as much because that is really the foremost practical application as because lightweight may be cheaper to produce. I wouldn’t think that “lack” of rigidity in the barrel should ever be an issue unless someone was expecting results differently than the gun was designed for. As for the rest of the guns weight the only real advantage I can think of to make it heavier would be to make it easier to hold still on target, and that’s really only when sitting on a rest. If I am sitting, standing or laying in some weird position while out hunting that last thing I want is MORE weight, especially out on the end of the gun, to have to contend with.
I have a .204 Ruger with a thin barrel that is wicked fast and will shoot a chuck in the nose at 250 yards. I don’t want it any heavier when I am out on a walkabout. When I am working with it on the bench on a hot day I can get it to start stringing if I shoot it like crazy, and I mean a couple boxes of ammo there reloading as fast as possible.
I wouldn’t for a second say that the bMag should ever be chastised for not being an MOA gun, it wasn’t built for that. I have read that Savage’s performance bar is 1.5” which, while I don’t know if that’s true, I would think should be very acceptable for a rifle of this stature. What is not acceptable is a stock that is so flimsy in the sidewalls that you have to be careful where and how you hold it. MAYBE excusable, but I still think ridiculous, is the front action post/mag clip configuration that is basically a sloppy mess that just makes the flimsy problem stick out even worse. Compound these with some, apparently, pretty poor QC and what I believe are some unrealistic expectations and this new gun just turned into a less than stellar rollout. Top that all off with what I hope is just first run QC issues at Winchester and it starts really getting messy. None of this is addressing the shooting skills you wanted to avoid but just think how they are going to affect the mix.

[gsperaz]

I would have to agree with Birdie. I also have a 100yd qualification sheet from Savage and 1.5'' at 100yd is the performance spec.
Just wish all the Bmags shot that well...............

[Roblor1985]

I have had zero issues with my Bmag accuracy so far. I got it at the end of October or the first few days of November (can't remember). Took it out to the range and got it sighted in within 15 shots and just shot the rest of the box to check out the accuracy. Here are my results:

http://i921.photobucket.com/albums/ad54/Robbie_Maxeiner/target_zps77ba4035.jpg

The targest was close to 100 yards (range did not have exactly 100 yards. I was a few yards short). I was shooting from a picnic table just using my plastic ammo can to help stabilize my rifle.

The shots a few inches above the center X are all my .17 wsm. I walked it down until it was right above the X. You can see how close and tight those shots were. The holes right below the X are from my wife's .22 mag that is a Marlin. Various size holes as we shot 9mm, .45 acp, and shotguns at the target.

I shot and will only shoot the 25gr V-Max. I do predator hunting in IL and on some public land you are restricted to a rimfire (or shotgun). My Bmag seems to have zero accuracy issues. I love the fact that the rifle is light as my last rifle was a Savage .22 mag that had a bull barrel and boy was that rifle hefty!