• Savage Mark II-BRJ .22LR Review

    I was very excited when I was given the chance to do a product review on the Savage Mark II BRJ. I have always had a soft spot for rimfires and this one is a real head turner.

    The Savage Mark II BRJ is a standard Mark II bolt-action receiver that has Weaver style scope
    bases attached from the factory. It also includes a nice Accu-Trigger, blued cast metal trigger guard and bottom metal, a standard blued 5-round magazine, and a blued spiral fluted heavy barrel. The stock is a mult-colored brown and rust laminated wood featuring a pistol grip, dual sling swivel studs on the fore end, raised cheek piece and vented forend.

    A few days after receiving the rifle from Savage, I was able to take it the range for a quick sight-in since I had to shoot a rimfire silhouette match with it the next day. The rifle's action is the typical Savage Mark II. Cycling the bolt feels gritty and unrefined. The extraction was quite good but the ejection could have been stronger. The pull of the Accu-Trigger was nice as it was so I didn't bother trying to adjust it. The magazine needed a slight tweak with the needle nose pliers but worked flawlessly afterwards. Once I had it sighted in there was no problem hitting orange clay discs set at 100 yards.

    For the matches, I used a Leupold Vari-X II 6-18X40 AO for optics and Federal 40gr Auto-Match ammo. The rifle shot quite well with the ammo and experienced no failures to feed or extract. The small port makes loading as a single shot a little tricky but can be managed. The stock has a very positive feel in the grip area and balances nicely. I wish I could say that I won those matches but better shooters than me prevailed. The rifle is good enough that I knew the misses were my fault. Regardless, it was the coolest looking rifle in the racks on those days and I guess that has to count for something.

    I need to get more magazines for it as it comes with only one. You would think Savage could afford to give you at least a couple or three. Even though I need more magazines, I don't like the way the standard 5-round magazine protrudes from the stock. The 10 round magazines are even worse with their banana shape. It would be so much nicer if they had a flush fitting rotary magazine like the Ruger 10/22 or the old Savage Model 99.

    When testing several different brands and types of ammunition in the BRJ I set the rifle on a cement rifle bench and used a Caldwell Rock front rest and Protektor leather rabbit ear rear bag. All groups are a 10 shot average fired at 50 yards. *Note: Savage provided a sample target fired at the factory with Federal Gold Medal that printed .705" group using 3 shots.
    Target ammunition
    1) Eley Biathlon Sport (40gr solid) .679"
    2)Federal Auto Match (40gr solid) .780"
    3) Winchester T-10 (40gr solid) .895"

    Standard ammunition
    1) CCI Mini-Mag (36gr hollow point) .905"
    2) Winchester Wildcat (40gr solid) 1.15"
    3) American Eagle (38gr hollow point) 1.29"

    Cleaning the rifle was easy. I swabbed the bore with some Montana Cowboy Blend bore cleaner and a nylon brush. The bore was mirror bright in just a few seconds. There was some fine metal flakes in the bolt from the machining process but they cleaned up with 3-in-1 oil and compressed air. Some surplus USGI brown rifle grease made the bolt cycle a bit smoother.

    I like that Savage used a cast metal trigger guard but the finish on it should have better. It rusts very easily from handling and humid & wet weather. The rest of the bluing is nice and smooth. The finish on the stock is superb. I put some wax on it and it shined up very nicely. The rubber recoil pad cleans up easily with some Armor All.
    Specifications:
    Origin: Canada
    Total length: 40 inches
    Barrel length: 21 inches
    Chambering: .22 Long Rifle
    Twist rate: 1 in 16
    Barrel details: recessed muzzle, spiral fluted, no sights
    Weight: 7.25 lbs

    Many thanks to the Savage Arms Company, http://www.savagearms.com for providing the rifle.


    Additional Photos:


    Buttstock features a nice roll-over cheek piece for better eye-to-scope alignment. Metal trigger guard and magazine surround are standard.
    The Mark II-BRJ comes with a standard five-round detachable magazine. Forend features two swivel studs, one for a sling and one for a bipod.
    Barrel features a recessed target crown and spiral fluting. The Mark II-BRJ with its well shaped stock and colorful laminate pattern make it one of the nicest looking Mark II's in Savage's line-up.




    Comments 1 Comment
    1. Richard Giguere's Avatar
      Richard Giguere -
      I also have a MK II TVXP, I am very satisfied with the thumb hole grip etc. It fits very nicely and shoots very well indeed. I took off the scope that came with it and installed a Nikon.22 and I am very pleased with that as well. I would most certainly recommend it .