• Savage Model B22 Magnum G .22 WMR Review

    Moving on to the hardwood stock fitted to the new "G" models, I have to say Savage did an excellent job with these. The design is almost identical to that used for the synthetic version with just a couple slight differences. With the hardwood stock the grip area has a little more girth to it making it a much better fit in adult sized hands. The forward face of the grip also has a little less dish to it in the radius than the synthetic version. The butt stock is also a little bit thicker than what's found on the synthetic version, and the forearm is a bit wider as well. All in all it just feels more adult sized and adds a little weight to the rifle which makes it much easier to hold steady both when shooting off-hand.


    For testing purposes I mounted up a Minox ZA5 2-10x40mm optic using the supplied Weaver-style bases and a set of Burris Signature Zee 1" rings. To make clearance for the objective I did have to remove the rear sight which is why it's not shown in most of the photos.

    Much of the ammunition for my testing was provided by Federal Premium and consisted of CCI A22 Magnum GamePoint, CCI Maxi-Mag HP+V, and CCI Maxi-Mag TNT. I also shot some random 22 WMR ammo that I had in my personal stash which consisted of Hornady Critical Defense FTX, Remington R22M2 PSP, and Remington Premier AccuTip PR22M1.

    In terms of accuracy, the B22 Magnum G shot pretty well for a .22 WMR. The 22 WMR isn't known to be an inherently accurate cartridge in my experience with it, and the gusty spring weather here in Ohio wasn't exactly conducive to precision accuracy either. So that fact that the B22 Magnum G didn't consistently shoot one-hole groups for me came as no surprise. Most of my groups fell in the 1.5 to 2" range at 100 yards, but I did manage to shoot a few that were hovering right around the 1 MOA mark as you can see in the target photos below.

    Functionally the rifle performed very well, but I did have a feeding issue early on that turned out to be the result of the front action screw coming loose. When that happened the bolt would not pick up the next round from the magazine unless I pressed the magazine up further into the stock with my hand. Once the action screw was properly re-torqued the bolt picked up rounds just fine.


    10 -shot groups shot at 100 yards

    Extraction and ejection were flawless with the B22 Magnum G throughout testing. Ejection is very positive and throws the spent brass a good 5-6 feet when working the bolt swiftly.

    As expected the AccuTrigger offered up a very nice trigger pull with a clean break, but the rimfire version does have a bit more take-up and creep to it than the centerfire version. It's not horrible, but there is some room for improvement.



    Overall the B22 Magnum G from Savage Arms performed extremely well, and is probably the most accurate 22 WMR rifle that I have shot at this point. The new hardwood stock is the big selling point for me though as I much prefer wood over plastic and the design and proportions of this stock are spot-on for the average sized adult. The stock is very comfortable to shoot from the bench, off-hand, or from prone with a bipod. The forearm is a little narrow for a #2 bag, but that's fairly common for most varmint-style rimfire stocks. As far as I'm concerned there's no need to spend additional money to replace this stock unless you want something specifically designed for a particular use (i.e. competitive shooting).

    If I had to complain about one thing on this rifle it would probably be the rear sight. As noted earlier the actual sight blade is very narrow in comparison to most every rear iron sight I've seen on any other rifle in my lifetime. Is it functional? Yes. Would a wider sight make shooting a little easier? Possibly. That said, I have to commend Savage Arms for including iron sights on this rifle as it's getting harder and harder to find rifles equipped with them in this day and age. It's a shame really as being proficient with irons is slowly becoming a lost art even though it's a fundamental skill every hunter or shooter should master.

    Should you run out and buy one of these new B-Series rifles from Savage? If you're in the market for a new bolt-action rimfire I would definitely recommend taking a good hard look at them. They're superior to the previous generation of Savage rimfire rifles (Mark I/II/93) in many ways, yet for some reason they just don't seem to get much love - at least not here on our forums. Maybe it has to do with the fact that the Mark I/II/93's are typically priced a good bit less than the B-Series models, or maybe some are still skeptical of the newer rotary magazines after the issues that popped up with them when the A22 first launched in 2015. If it's the former, the updates to the design on the B-Series are well worth the extra money. If it's the latter, you can rest assured those issues have long since been resolved as has proven in my last few Savage rimfire rifle reviews.



    Comments 3 Comments
    1. Monkeymaster's Avatar
      Monkeymaster -
      Me want
      Me no find anywhere
      How did it shoot ?
      Thanks
    1. J.Baker's Avatar
      J.Baker -
      Quote Originally Posted by Monkeymaster View Post
      Me want
      Me no find anywhere
      How did it shoot ?
      Thanks
      Maybe try reading the article and looking at the included targets on page 2?
    1. Monkeymaster's Avatar
      Monkeymaster -
      Hey
      There's a 2nd page !
      Thanks
      Me not so fast once in awhile !