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As expected my time at the range proved to be all but a waste of my time and ammunition with the Model 42. The firearm performed perfectly as it was designed to, but the abominable sights made it impossible to shoot with any kind of accuracy at any distance. I first set up at 50 yards with the 6x Prairie Dog target shown below, but the size of the front sight (in relationship to the slot in the rear sight) made it very difficult to shoot consistently. Then I packed up and moved over to the pistol range to try it at 25 yards with a larger target size, but the front sight still obliterated the view of the target. Finally I hung my head in shame and hung a target on the 12-yard target stand - the closest available at the range. Even at this distance the front sight completely covered the 3" bulls-eye I was aiming at.
One other field note to make is on the manual extractor/ejector. For the 22 casings it just pulls them out about a quarter inch and you have to pick them out. However, since there's no spring supporting the extractor to keep it and the casing extended out, I kept having them push back in as I was trying to pluck the case from the chamber. While I would still like to see a mechanical extractor/ejector like the Model 24's had, I can live with the manual if they'd just put a spring behind it to keep it from pressing back in with so little effort.
For the .410 shells it worked very well. Most shells would eject clear of the chamber when you pulled the extractor rearward, though occasionally one would hang up on the end of the shell where it folded over.
As for accuracy, I'm not even going to try and report on it because of the sight issues. As noted above, in 50 rounds of ammunition I was only able to get one group where all five shots actually landed on the target, and that was at 12 yards while employing a vise-like rest. That group still wasn't all that impressive and measured in at just shy of 1.5-inches. I guess this would explain why the tester at Savage didn't include a picture of his test target or record a group size with the gun's documentation (note: testers name, date, ammunition brand and type were all listed - just no group size and no photo of group).
Conclusion:
At the end of the day, as much as I don't care for the Model 42 when compared to it's Model 24 predecessor, I have to admit that aside from the horrendous sights I really can't fault it. It's the 1942 Willy's Jeep of the modern day gun era in that it's stupid simple and reliable. It does everything it needs to do, but does so without any extra flash or pizzazz. Its rather basic and utilitarian construction has allowed the price to come down to what is much more reasonable for a gun of this type in today's market as well, something that simply couldn't be done with the previous Model 24. My only real concern with the gun would be the durability of the plastic extractor/ejector, but only time and use will be able to determine if that concern is warranted.
Will the Model 42 be as successful for Savage as it's predecessor? In the long run I believe it will, but only if Savage fixes their blunder with the sights. It's a gun that will appeal to those who focus on durability and function more than they do features and style, and it's the perfect small, lightweight gun to step a younger child up to after they've outgrown their Rascal 22LR. The Model 42 is the ideal farm or ranch gun to be tossed in the truck, on the quad or UTV, or even carried on the tractor with you. It's a gun you're not going to ever worry about getting banged up, gouged or scratched. As long as you look at it in that light and don't expect it to be anything more you'll probably like it - a lot - but if you ask or expect it to be anything more than that you will likely be disappointed.
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