CUSTOM
22 SAVAGE STRIKER
BY
TODD SPOTTI
When I first saw the 22 Savage Striker at the 2000 Shot Show in Las Vegas, I really got excited. Its similarities to the Anschutz 22 bolt action pistol were unmistakable. It definitely looked like there was another potential player in the silhouette game. Ten inch free floated button rifled barrel, 1 : 16 right hand twist, bolt action, double claw extractors, composite stock. Looking good. Also, like the old Exemplar, the Savage was equipped with a left hand bolt that ejects the spent cases to the right. The advantage of the left hand bolt is you can eject a spent case and chamber a new round with your left hand while continuing to hold the gun with your right hand. To the competitor, that means that you don’t have to change or disturb your grip on the gun every time after you’ve fired a shot. A consistent grip is an important element to accurate pistol shooting. Unfortunately, Anschutz has changed the configuration of its current pistols, and now is using only right hand bolts giving up the advantage provided by the older Exemplar model.
Now for the differences. While the 22 Striker shares much of the handsome profile of the Anschutz, it’s spoiled somewhat by its protruding ten shot magazine that looks something like a miniature AK-47 banana clip. I also immediately saw that the gun was not furnished with iron sights but rather came equipped with a couple of short Weaver scope bases. It obviously is set up for scope shooting only. I also noted that the muzzle was equipped with a standard crown rather than a target type step crown. Similarly, the barrel’s chamber is also a standard configuration and not a match type like the Anschutz.
Undoubtedly, one of the most important differences between the two guns is the price. When the Savage rep told me the gun would retail for $210, I was totally flabbergasted. (Note: I recently saw the Savage advertised for $148.43 at W.L. Baumler 440-288-1271.) I couldn’t believe my ears. A good stock alone will sell for more than that. I thought that if the Savage would shoot halfway decently at all, they should be able to sell an awful lot of them. I then quickly made arrangements to get a loaner gun to check things out.
Some time later, the Striker
showed up as promised. It looked
exactly like the display gun I saw in Las Vegas.
I immediately slapped on a set of Weaver’s superlative Grand Slam scope
rings and the only spare scope I had available at the time, a Leupold 3 X 9
extended focal range type, and rocketed out to the range with a variety of
ammunition. Once there, I quickly discovered the biggest mechanical
difference between the two guns - the trigger.
The Anschutz has THE best out of the box trigger in the industry - a
beautiful, pristine 9 ounces. While
the Striker’s trigger was completely crisp and clean breaking, it was also
HEAVY. I mean really, really heavy.
I sincerely regret not checking the weight with a trigger pull gauge at the
time, but I would estimate that it was in easily in the range of around six
pounds, or perhaps even more. In
fact, while trying to hold the crosshairs on a paper target from a sand bagged
rest, my hand actually started to tremble with the effort.
The wide plastic trigger shoe also left a deep groove in my finger from
the effort needed to pull it. It
was immediately apparent that it would be impossible to accurately assess the
gun’s inherent mechanical accuracy with the current trigger.
The following day was our
monthly match at the Inland Rod & Gun Club in Redlands, California.
While there, I showed the gun to Mike Dewey who is both a master trigger
smith and designer as well as an accomplished gun smith.
Fortunately for me, Mike volunteered to take the gun and would look into
what could be done to lighten the trigger pull to something more reasonable for
silhouette shooting. After some time, Mike informed me that after a
thorough study and experimentation, he felt that it really wasn’t practical to
modify the existing trigger. Basically
this wasn’t a typical situation where you could simply smooth the sear, or
change it’s engagement angle, and perhaps clip a coil off a spring.
No, it was much more complex than that.
For one, there was no sear to work on.
It was obvious that this trigger was specifically designed to make the
gun as lawyer proof as possible, and I certainly can’t fault Savage or any
other gun maker for that - not in today’s world. In Mike’s opinion,
the best option would be to replace the trigger completely with a custom type
that he would design and build from scratch.
While there were things that could be done to reduce the pull of the
gun’s unconventional factory trigger, Mike felt that safety would likely be
compromised in doing so. I agreed and Mike did exactly what he said he
would do and built from scratch, a fully adjustable, three lever, competition
grade trigger that can be safely taken down to a scant, but safe, 2 ounces.
This trigger is very similar in design to the custom trigger that Mike
builds and sells for the XP-100. I have to admit that I’m uncomfortable
with a 2 ounce trigger, so I ended up with the pull adjusted to 4 ounces, which
I can control much more effectively. You
can also adjust the trigger to a much heavier pull if you prefer.
As you can see in the photo in my Ranging
Shot column, the Dewey trigger is stainless steel and has been skeletonized
by having several holes drilled through the sides.
After I picked up the gun from Mike, I put my RCBS trigger pull gauge on
it, and as predicted, the trigger consistently registered 4 ounces without
missing a beat. Perfect.
To check out its safety, I then cocked the action and gave the bottom of
the stock’s grip a couple of good hard whacks with a rubber mallet. The trigger held perfectly and did not release.
Again - perfect.
Shooting groups off the bench
was definitely facilitated by the design of the Striker composite stock.
It’s fairly flat on the underside of the forend, which helped it snug
into the sandbags. Even the
protruding 10 round magazine turned out to be a significant help as I could hook
it into the sandbags with a little forward push on the stock.
This also helped in stabilizing the gun.
I also found that the finger grooves in the grip fit my hand perfectly
and helped me finesse the crosshairs on the target. However, one of the
biggest aids was the wide, flat bottom on the grip.
The bottom of most grips is rounded which usually results in side to side
rocking when trying to shoot groups. On
the other hand, the flat Savage grip did a great job of keeping the gun steady
in the bags. Whoever designed this
stock definitely had bench shooting in mind and came up with a very successful
design.
As you can see, I used a
fairly wide variety of ammo in the evaluation ranging from CCI Mini Mag to the
expensive stuff from Eley, Federal, and Lapua.
The first thing that I have to say is simply that when combined with the
Dewey trigger, the little Savage shoots as well or even better than many
expensive competition rifles. To
say that I was surprised would be an understatement. I have to admit that I wasn’t expecting a lot from the gun,
primarily because of the fact that it didn’t have a match chamber or a match
crown. However it showed it me that
it was as capable as just about any other 22 out there. Overall, the ammo
used in the evaluation worked the way you might expect them to work i.e. the
inexpensive stuff didn’t do as well as the premium ammo.
There were a few surprises however.
CCI Pistol Match, one of the best kept secrets around, and RWS Target,
both put in excellent performances at reasonable prices.
However, Federal Ultra Match and Lapua Mida were the real stars of the
evaluation by providing stellar and almost identical efforts for the first place
spot. Interestingly, almost all the ammo used in the evaluation seemed to
cut very similarly shaped patterns, with the only difference being their
respective sizes. It would seem
like the Savage would put the first three or four shots into nice little cluster
and then the next shots would be some small distance away.
This occurred with every brand of ammunition except one - Lapua Midas (M)
which was the king of the competition by the narrowest of margins.
All five shots cut one beautiful little tight group of just over a half
inch. One fact was particularly pleasing, and that was this gun’s
ability to shoot a wide variety of ammunition very well.
With the notable exception of the Mini Mags, all of the other ammo used
in the evaluation would work just fine for silhouette competition.
This means the competitor has lots of choices, and as I’ve always said,
having choices is a good thing.
If anything, this little
evaluation very forcefully illustrated the extreme importance of a good trigger
to good accuracy. You can have the
best barrel, the best stock, and the best chamber, etc. but if you have a heavy
trigger, you just won’t be able to take advantage of all those good qualities.
Let me give you a real world example. My
good friend Bob Brisette recently sent me a magazine article that reviewed
another 22 Striker equipped with the standard factory trigger.
That particular gun was grouping around 2 inches at 50 yards.
If we eliminate the Mini Mag results, which were obviously atypical, the
AVERAGE group size of the Dewey trigger equipped Savage was a tiny 1.19” at 100
yards - a very large difference indeed. Good
triggers are essential to accurate shooting whether at tin cans or steel
silhouettes.
This gun has just absolutely
tremendous potential. However, in
order to achieve that potential for shooting the extremely popular 22 Unlimited
Class, be prepared to spend some money. When
you figure the cost of the gun, a Dewey trigger ($150), drilling and tapping,
and a set of good iron sights, the cost is equal to or more than a current
Anschutz - but so what. If
you want to buy this gun, do so not because it’s inexpensive, but because it
shoots like the devil with a wide variety of ammo, and the fact the Dewey
trigger is a superb instrument that is 100% fully adjustable and can be taken
down to a kitten’s whisker in pull if you prefer. If you want to use the
gun in IHMSA’s Unlimited Standing category, you’re in luck.
Ken Light’s three inch high rise scope mount fits the existing Weaver
bases very nicely. In that case,
there is no need to invest in drilling and tapping or in buying iron sights.
Similarly, if you want to use the gun for the Unlimited Any Sight
Category, again there is no need for the expense to accommodate iron sights.
Last thoughts.
If I were president of Savage, I would offer a target grade trigger for
the 22 Striker, just as they do for their center fire rifles.
I’d also drill and tap it for iron sights.
If I wanted to get really crazy, I’d also offer a match chamber and a
match crown as options, and if I were able to do all these things, I’d make
some real money. Good luck and good
shooting.
100 Yard
AMMO
GROUP |
Lapua Midas (M)
.576 |
Fed Ultra Match
.584 |
CCI Pistol Match
.944 (tie) |
RWS Target
.944 (tie) |
Eley 10X
1.03 |
Lapua Pistol Match
1.09 |
PMC Rifle Match
1.33 |
Winchester Match
1.66 |
Fed Match 1.82 |
CCI Mini Mag 2.72 |
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