B17, B22 and B22 Mag Customer Satisfaction Poll

[Iowa Fox]

B22 FV-SR Report

I have had mine for over a year now. For the money it is a good little rifle for my intended use. I haven't done anything to mine except clean and shoot it. Normally I like my triggers light. I haven't measured this one but it is ok on pull weight, smooth and crisp right where it came from the factory. I'm not planning on adjusting it. The rotary mag so far has not been a issue for me. I like the stock. it fits well and feels good. I like the length and shape of the bolt knob. The weight of the 16" barrel makes it easy to sit steady on a rest.

I gave it a 4 star rating and here is why. The bolt lift on this one is scratchy and a little harder than I would like or expect from a rim fire. My centerfire Precision target action is lighter and much smoother and I haven't done anything to it. I did disassemble the B22 bolt , cleaned and reassembled with TW25 grease . It helped but its still stiff and scratchy. This one did not have the sharp edge on the bolt notch that some guys talk about.

I mounted a US optics 3-12x in Burris signature rings on it. Its a good match and the small scope doesn't over power the small rifle.

The two drawbacks on this one

1- scratchy bolt lift

2- it will not feed Super Colibri from the mag

Would I buy it again? - Yes

[Fasteddie01]

IowaFox - A couple 'guesses' RE your scratchy-bolt. Have you looked inside the receiver for rough edges or scratches? That could be the cause, but the B22 cocks on lift so that may not be an issue. Also it may be the 'cocking pin slot' is too snug causing that stiffness. Maybe you could still smooth that area of the bolt or the inside of the bolt body anyway? The 'tight' headspace may just be the cause of your prob also, mine is pretty tight as well. I smoothed the slot of the receiver a bit to reduce drag.
Hope something here helps,
Ed
PS- I have a Cabelas Covenant-4 6-24x50 FFP-SF scope and with SK Plus (the best I've bought so far) I can keep around .3-.5" @50 if it's not windy.
And I heated the Trigger-spring red-hot with a lighter and let it cool slowly - that reduces the tension and lightened the pull to ca 2# or less. Along with polishing all the 'innards' I have a really smooth, light pull. That contributes to the accuracy as well.

[Iowa Fox]

Ed,
Thanks for the advice. I'm hoping that after Christmas I'll have some of those days I can really take my time and focus on this thing. I'm convinced its spring related inside the bolt. You can actually hear it and feel it in the bolt handle when you lift it to cock, If you lift the bolt handle with it cocked its smooth as silk and travels in the receiver very smooth.

[JulioB22]

I recently bought a B22 precision. Have to say I am pretty happy with it so far. The MDT stock is very high quality, the Savage action, bolt etc. is a little poorly finished but mechanically sound (for the most part). I did perform the "mod" to the bolt section corner that rides on the cocking pin as it was sharp and would cause premature wear on the pin.
I never leave anything "stock" for very long and as you can see, I have already added quite a few "upgrades" and done some "tinkering".
as far as accuracy goes, I have had mixed results using every kind of ammo I could lay my hands on. Also experimented with a barrel resonator and tuner. Best results have been with Eley Match (black box) and Lapua Midas + which is unfortunate as they are some of the most expensive ! Funnily enough, my smallest ever 5 shot group at 50 yards was with CCI standard velocity, but it failed to be consistent over time.
Pretty easy to shoot sub MOA at 50 yards with the two ammos mentioned after dialing in the barrel tuner and the occasional sub- .50 moa group. See pics at top of post, these are two 50yard 5 shot groups using Eley match amd Midas +.
Have not shot much yet out to 100 yards ,but did manage to shoot these two groups using Eley match and there was a slight breeze. I am pretty sure it can do even better.
all in all, I consider it to be a good value at the selling price and enjoy shooting it very much. I might add the trigger is AMAZING !!.....Mine breaks like glass at 1.2 lbs with ZERO creep. I am a trigger snob and all my weapons have super custom worked triggers. I believe it would be hard to better the trigger I have on this at ANY price level, this one, I will not be messing with !
Finally, many online reviews mention the bolt scraping the bullet in the mag as each round is loaded and ejected. This was indeed the case with mine also. The "gouge" was quite pronounced and I was pretty sure this would have a negative effect on consistency and accuracy. After careful study, I determined it was the the corner of the bottom rail on the bolt causing this as it slid over the round below. I carefully chamfered that corner going back along the edge about 1.25" (only one side as that rail is what pushes the rim of the next round into the chamber). It proved very successful and now there is barely any mark left on the lead bullet as the bolt travels over it.
I think, with a few improvements, this will be a fine rifle for my needs.

https://i.imgur.com/vJFQOwlm.jpghttps://i.imgur.com/Pk9ue7bm.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/RaWKXI0.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/OBY5E1Ml.png?1https://i.imgur.com/lQ5jA7cl.png?1

[JulioB22]

Hi - I just got a B22 FV last week and have run about 150 rounds thru. After a thorough cleaning I started with 48 rounds of Herters 36g HP-HV bulk .22 for 'break-in', then switched to Federal Champion 40g RNL. The H was variable as expected, about 1-1/2 " groups, then I swabbed a couple patches then ran the Fed. I only ran 26 rounds 'cause the wind got up to around 15 mph, but my last group was 0.565" at 50 yards. Good enough for the first day!
While cleaning before going out, I 'fixed' the cocking pin slot issue, and also broke the edge of the bolt handle slot as it was sharp too. I found the mag a bit awkward (never had a 10/22) but got used to it. However, the lower left side of the bullet slot had a 'pointy corner' that needed to be smoothed. my thumb got several scratches from it.
I also found that if the mag is inserted while the bolt is Open, the mag goes in easier. Closed bolt is 'iffy' for the mag, but that may change after a few more hundred rounds?
Overall I would have given the rating about 4.5 due to the issues I mentioned, especially since they have been documented since the gun came out in 2017!

BTW - Who has experience with the butler creek 25-round mags? They are listed as only for the A22, but I've seen some comments that they are usable in the Bs too. Anyone here done that ?? And here in Canada I can't find any of the 10-round mags - is that 'cause they're popular or just limited stock ??


I bought the Butler Creek 25 round mag. (The A22 and B22 share the exact same mag) The one I received would push about 70% of the rounds straight into the bottom edge of the barrel chamber, so for me at least, It was a failure !..I returned it.

[Iowa Fox]

Last night I rode along with the grandson to Scheels. I couldn't believe it! They actually had 2 B22's I could put my paws on. On both rifles the bolt lift was smooth , maybe just a slight hint of that scratchy sound on mine but nothing like mine. I'm going to have to get inside that bolt again on mine.

[Fasteddie01]

I bought the Butler Creek 25 round mag. (The A22 and B22 share the exact same mag) The one I received would push about 70% of the rounds straight into the bottom edge of the barrel chamber, so for me at least, It was a failure !..I returned it.


Julio, Thanks for that comment. I bought an A22 a few weeks ago and after a bit of fiddlin' got it shooting well, with a trigger ca. 3# or a bit less. A LGS had the 25-mags on sale (he's closing phys store) so I bought one. It works well in the A22 but as you said it drives some rounds into the bottom of the chamber. For me only about half or so. I just tested it Friday and I plan to experiment with 'building up' the ramp a tiny bit to avoid that while keeping it correct in the A22. I have 4 of the 10-round mags between the two guns, but the 25 just lets me shoot more w/o reloading. I've 'un-wound' the springs of those mags, too, so they're easier to load - I can do it one-handed if I want/need to. And I found the 25-mag has a 'sharp edge' on the Left side of the 'guide-channel' that I need to smooth a bit - I had to do that to all my 10-mags already. There's always something . . . I'll keep all advised.

[Fisher1]

I've had a new B17 BNS-SR for about 4 months now and have spent that time testing various ammo for group sizes. At 100 yds in wind conditions up to 10-12mph, my average is @ 1.25" with almost any HP, SP, or FMJ. Better than that in light/no wind, but that's the average in ALL conditions at 100yds.

It does NOT do as well with any plastic ballistic tip ammo and I've found Winchester 20 grain ammo to have quality issues including damaged cases and difficult chambering ..... I stopped trying to even test them.

I'm hoping to improve the average group size. I'm using a Vortex 18X, found that the trigger was adjusted at the lowest setting from the factory. It likes a clean bore. Any tips or observations from other B17 BNS-SR owners are appreciated.

I did have to torque the 2 action screws and the picatinney screws as they were snug from the factory but not tight.

[Iowa Fox]

B22 FV-SR Report

I have had mine for over a year now. For the money it is a good little rifle for my intended use. I haven't done anything to mine except clean and shoot it. Normally I like my triggers light. I haven't measured this one but it is ok on pull weight, smooth and crisp right where it came from the factory. I'm not planning on adjusting it. The rotary mag so far has not been a issue for me. I like the stock. it fits well and feels good. I like the length and shape of the bolt knob. The weight of the 16" barrel makes it easy to sit steady on a rest.

I gave it a 4 star rating and here is why. The bolt lift on this one is scratchy and a little harder than I would like or expect from a rim fire. My centerfire Precision target action is lighter and much smoother and I haven't done anything to it. I did disassemble the B22 bolt , cleaned and reassembled with TW25 grease . It helped but its still stiff and scratchy. This one did not have the sharp edge on the bolt notch that some guys talk about.

I mounted a US optics 3-12x in Burris signature rings on it. Its a good match and the small scope doesn't over power the small rifle.

The two drawbacks on this one

1- scratchy bolt lift

2- it will not feed Super Colibri from the mag

Would I buy it again? - Yes

Follow up on this post

Bolt lift corrected - now smooth and quiet

Colibri issue corrected- now feeds them like a champ

And while I was at it I stuffed the composite stock with carpet padding which really helped with balance and noise coming from that thin hollow stock.

[fv22]

I'm new to this forum and a new first time Savage owner. Bought a B22 Precision a few weeks ago and have been to the range with it twice and hope to get there again in a few days. So far I have nothing bad to say about it. Shoots good considering the barrel is not even broken in yet and I have not done any serious ammo testing.

I hear lots of people complain about the mags being hard to load but do not see that at all. Is it as easy to load as the built in tubular magazine on my old Marlin or Winchester, no. Is it easier to load than the 25 round mag on my Mossberg 715T or any 30 round AR magazine, or most 12-15 round 9 mm magazines, YES. In fact the mags in most of my guns are as "difficult" (if you want to call it that) to load as the Savage magazine or worse. Very surprised to see so many complaints about them, can only wonder if they have loaded other magazines as few that I have used are "easier".

Overall I am happy with the build quality, especially the MDT chassis. Savage did a good thing going with MDT, the chassis is solid as a rock! The action feels nice and solid also with great lock up. I'm reasonably happy with accuracy and expect it to get better as I get more rounds through it and find ammo it really likes.

I have not experienced the failure to eject that seems to be a common problem with these yet, hope I never do but have found a few "fixes" online to try if I do.

[fv22]

After several more range visits I want to amend my previous post. I bought this gun to use for 50 yard benchrest competitions. Was shooting pretty good my first few visits and I figured would only get better as barrel broke in. Instead after my 4th or 5th range trip the accuracy started getting worse and it started having failures to extract. Lots of different brand ammos and 3 scopes later it was not any better. Gun is now on its way back to savage for warranty repairs for accuracy and extraction issues. Savage rep I spoke to said it might need a new barrel. Hated to send it away, especially since shipping was over $71.00 but didn't have much choice. Just hope it comes back performing as I expect it to. I will update again once I get it back and have tested it out.

[fv22]

It's amazing how my tone has changed from the first post I put in this thread to the second and now the third. As mentioned above I had to ship my B22 Precision back to savage for warranty work. I called there prior to shipping it to see if they send a shipping label, they would not, I had to pay over $71 to ship it back to them. They told me before I shipped it that they would have it for 3 weeks, ok, that's not too bad I can deal with that. At about the 3.5 week mark I had not heard anything, so I called them. Not looked at yet, uh oh, my first indication that things were not going to be as smooth as they made it sound on the phone. Waited a week and called again. Now told a gunsmith is looking at it so be ready soon. Waited almost another week, still no communication from savage so I called again. Now told gun was "not repairable" so a new one would be shipped to me. What could possibly make a gun not repairable? They could not (or would not) tell me. Ok, they're happy to tell me I'm getting a brand new gun. The first one was a brand new gun also and it didn't work good at all. This one would be tested at their range to make sure it is good before sending it to me. Alright that sounds good, when will the new one be shipped? They can't tell me, they have none at the Massachusetts plant, they need to get one from the Canada plant. When will they get it from Canada then? They can't tell me, Canada has none either, I have to wait for them to start a production run. When will that be? Don't know, maybe this month, if not maybe the following month...

Here I'll leave out a lot of the details about all my other calls. I will say that I found the email address for the CEO of savage and sent him a message describing the situation and asking for help. The morning after I sent the email I had a call from the woman in charge of the warranty repair department. I had spoken to her previously and got nowhere. She is very pleasant and told me the CEO had her read my email and told her to call me. This is starting to sound good, until I realized she still could not tell me anything.

To shorten this post up I'll just say that I finally received the new rifle 2 days ago, 11 weeks after I sent it out... I mounted my scope and went to the range yesterday. The gun did shoot pretty well but the bolt still scratches the next round in the magazine, and I did have 4 or 5 failures to extract. The original rifle also shot good on first range trip (although this one did seem a little better) but had no failures to extract, this one did, so how do I know this one will be any better until several more range trips?

Just want to say this is the first and last savage I will ever own. Yes, I understand a mass produced item can have problems, that's to be expected at times. What is not expected is the horrible customer service behind the product.

I bought this rifle specifically for 50 yard benchrest competition. Due to the faulty product and lousy service I missed 3 competitions, spent over $71 unnecessarily, had lots of aggravation and now have a gun I worry about how long it will shoot good for. I should have listened to the advice I got from others in the benchrest competition and bought a CZ. I wanted to buy American though and had heard of great accuracy from savage so went with that. BIG MISTAKE.

[vince-m]

Why if savage has known about all of the failures to extract and eject have they not addressed them. I have been sent 2 no charge extractors
and if my 2 savage rifles did not shot so well I would sell them. please savage just try to do something to help those of us who paid for your rifles.

[Turkeytider]

Why if savage has known about all of the failures to extract and eject have they not addressed them. I have been sent 2 no charge extractors
and if my 2 savage rifles did not shot so well I would sell them. please savage just try to do something to help those of us who paid for your rifles.

Some companies, regardless of product produced, do a better job of listening to and monitoring their customer service departments for complaints and patterns of those complaints. Great service AFTER the sale is paramount when it comes to word of mouth reputation and return customers. Caeser Guerrini/ Fabarm is well known, for example, in the firearm industry for service excellence. Unfortunately, it appears to me that Savage is not one of these companies that listens to their customers when it comes to addressing persistent problems with their products. Evidence of this are the persistent complaints concerning their magazines and feeding and extraction issues.

[fv22]

It's amazing how my tone has changed from the first post I put in this thread to the second and now the third. As mentioned above I had to ship my B22 Precision back to savage for warranty work. I called there prior to shipping it to see if they send a shipping label, they would not, I had to pay over $71 to ship it back to them. They told me before I shipped it that they would have it for 3 weeks, ok, that's not too bad I can deal with that. At about the 3.5 week mark I had not heard anything, so I called them. Not looked at yet, uh oh, my first indication that things were not going to be as smooth as they made it sound on the phone. Waited a week and called again. Now told a gunsmith is looking at it so be ready soon. Waited almost another week, still no communication from savage so I called again. Now told gun was "not repairable" so a new one would be shipped to me. What could possibly make a gun not repairable? They could not (or would not) tell me. Ok, they're happy to tell me I'm getting a brand new gun. The first one was a brand new gun also and it didn't work good at all. This one would be tested at their range to make sure it is good before sending it to me. Alright that sounds good, when will the new one be shipped? They can't tell me, they have none at the Massachusetts plant, they need to get one from the Canada plant. When will they get it from Canada then? They can't tell me, Canada has none either, I have to wait for them to start a production run. When will that be? Don't know, maybe this month, if not maybe the following month...

Here I'll leave out a lot of the details about all my other calls. I will say that I found the email address for the CEO of savage and sent him a message describing the situation and asking for help. The morning after I sent the email I had a call from the woman in charge of the warranty repair department. I had spoken to her previously and got nowhere. She is very pleasant and told me the CEO had her read my email and told her to call me. This is starting to sound good, until I realized she still could not tell me anything.

To shorten this post up I'll just say that I finally received the new rifle 2 days ago, 11 weeks after I sent it out... I mounted my scope and went to the range yesterday. The gun did shoot pretty well but the bolt still scratches the next round in the magazine, and I did have 4 or 5 failures to extract. The original rifle also shot good on first range trip (although this one did seem a little better) but had no failures to extract, this one did, so how do I know this one will be any better until several more range trips?

Just want to say this is the first and last savage I will ever own. Yes, I understand a mass produced item can have problems, that's to be expected at times. What is not expected is the horrible customer service behind the product.

I bought this rifle specifically for 50 yard benchrest competition. Due to the faulty product and lousy service I missed 3 competitions, spent over $71 unnecessarily, had lots of aggravation and now have a gun I worry about how long it will shoot good for. I should have listened to the advice I got from others in the benchrest competition and bought a CZ. I wanted to buy American though and had heard of great accuracy from savage so went with that. BIG MISTAKE.

After all the bad mouthing I did about Savage I wanted to follow up here with comments about the replacement rifle they sent me. It seemed good at first and I was cautiously optimistic, but I purposely waited until I had a good amount of range trips and rounds through it before I said anything more since the first one seemed good when I first got it.

I've been to the range with it about 7 or 8 times including 2 benchrest competitions. Have put well over 1,000 rounds through it. They sent me a very good one this time! It shoots better than I can and ejects the spent round every time. The bolt is smooth, and the trigger is great. It's really a pleasure to shoot.

Savage had proved to me they can build a good and accurate gun. If only the ordeal hadn't taken just about 3 months I would have no complaints with them at all.

[J.Baker]

That's the one big issue with production for all the Savage rimfire's being up in Canada. Any problems or issues requiring a return to Savage end up taking longer than a comparable centerfire because if they need to replace something (or the whole rifle) they have to have it sent down from the Canadian plant which means a lot of import/export hassle.

[Iowa Fox]

Good to hear it turned out for you fv

[Handi204]

Bought a B-22 Magnum FV-SR last Saturday first impression good not great, the first rounds I tried to chamber no go reloaded the magazine and most would chamber but very hard, no extraction issues. Mounted a Burris Droptine 3x9 rimfire scope headed to the range, accuracy excellent at 25 yds, still loading rounds stiff but getting a little better. Trigger good, feels good, points good.

[sledvet77]

have a B22 Precision going on 2 yrs now..had an initial problem with the barrel nut that holds the grip..threads were stripped and had to get parts from MDT, which was a little difficult as they don't provide a cutaway or parts list, but an email got some responce and had to send pictures..got parts in about a week. Have problems with FTE's from time to time, still trying to figure out if its the ammo or the mags as I shoot the 100 yd competition...made my own rear bag rider, changed to a Mason buttpad and a lower cheek rest....shoots pretty good considering my freshman status...also removed that sharp spot on the bolt so the bolt runs smooth so I don't have to take my eye off the target between shots

Squirls b Crazy

[61Knuckle]

A 'viewer' here, I shoot a fair bit of rimfire and check out various forums and posts to try to stay somewhat current. I've looked at the B series rifles and would consider one if I were in that market. Already owning a scoped and tuned MK II FV that does quite well, and mostly shooting Specialty Pistols besides, I'm not buying another rifle right now, but a good thread non the less.