Hello, I just joined up and signed up after an internet search. I made my first Savage purchase, a 220F 20 GA bolt upon rave reviews about it. Well after messing with it for a week I am rather disappointed at this point.

The good:
- rifle is trim and light
- trigger is good for a shotgun

The bad:
- Balance point is right at the magazine. I’d rather have a flush mounted mag and 2 shot capacity
- Scope mounting is tricky
- The plastic stock is horrible
- Accuracy has been a disappointment so far
- Unreliable ignition

I really like the idea of pretending to carry a rifle during Ohio shotgun season. Savage is reputed to offer excellent accuracy out of the box. I mounted a Leupold 4X12 in Weaver mounts/bases - used 2 extended bases for max flexibility in mounting ( the 4X12 is just what I had laying around and will be replaced by a straight 4X or 2X7). The front base screw had to be ground down because the wasn’t enough depth on the front action ring to where the barrel threads were. The 220F shot the Federal tipped Expanders into over 3.5 inches at 100 yds. The Hornady loads wouldn’t even stay on a piece of 11X8 paper; 1 wouldn’t fire after repeated attempts. This primer did measure about .008 deeper than others in the box, but that is a slim margin for error when a hunt is on the line.

I polished up the action and the rifle does feed/eject fine. I filled the stock with Great Stuff and painted it which helped gave it a better feel and eliminate the hollow sound it had. I am most concerned about the lack of accuracy. 3.5 inches at 100 yds is not acceptably with the recommended $3 a pop ammo. I will try bedding the front lug and plan to inlet an arrow with fiberglass to stiffen the fore end. I am not expecting a target rifle here but I think 2 MOA is reasonable considering this is based on the vaunted 110 action.

I want to like this gun but am not getting the warm fuzzies at all. Too many issues here. I am open to any advice or suggestions. Maybe I just got a lemon.