Savage 220F in stainless on the way...
I have previously only hunted deer with my muzzle loader and due to the reload process there were times when I would have got a 2nd animal easily if I had been using a rifle or pump action shotgun. However, rifles are forbidden for deer in the Southern part of Michigan, so we can only dream... I have really not known what to make of the shotguns and the recoil of the 12ga slug loads had put me off. So recently I discovered that the 20ga slugs have pretty good ballistics and that Savage has had the 220 on the market for a few years... Bit slow in the uptake I guess... Anyhow, so I discover that it may have been worth the wait, since for 2012 they added a stainless steel version to the lineup.. OK, that clinches the deal.
Given our winter conditions, condensation on weapons when you bring them inside or into a heated space is a real problem and with blued guns it takes a LOT of maintenance to avoid rust (sometimes as much as removing the action from the stock and drying it followed by light oil). While 416 is by no means rust free, it certainly is a LOT better than carbon steel, and there are things one can do to restore the finish on stainless that have no equivalent in the world of blued rifles (like citric acid).
So I placed an order for a 220F in stainless, a 2 piece Warne scope mount (silver powder coated) and a Weaver K 6x38 scope (Warne maxima medium rings) since I assume the barrel has a "bull" profile. The ammo is of course pretty expensive (~$12/5 shots) which is only slightly worse than shooting my muzzle loader... However, even shooting Blackhorn 209 (cleanest powder I have found) the second shot from the barrel has a -8" POI shift (drop) compared to the first, this makes hitting an animal rather unlikely on a second shot. If is precisely for this reason why I want the 220F. I don't do any trophy hunting, pretty much everything is focused on predators and in the late season getting meat for the freezer. These are almost exclusively does.
Will provide feedback once I have the rifle sighted in...
