24 replies to this topic

[Jason]

I justed picked up my new Savage 12FVSS in .223 from 10 day gun jail. I could barely sleep last night thinking about it. After work I'm going to mount the scope and sling then tomorrow morning a little sighting in and then time for some squirrel splattering.I purchased the gun new through my local FFL without having looked at it first except for reading reviews and looking at pictures. The feel and balance of the gun were way better than what I expected for such a reasonably priced gun. I picked up some boxes of the Winchester 45 grain white box ammo and will give it a try tomorrow. Eventually I plan on reloading the brass but wanted to get shooting right away. I'll let you all know how it goes.Jason

[Cranky Farmer]

Awesome news! What glass are you topping it with?

[ShooterJohn]

Yeah, now comes the exspensive part. Oh and then you wanted to reload too. Good luck with the new gun.

[Shoot-it]

Don't be like me buy a 900 dollar gun and put a 25 dollar scope from wallmart on it!!!!!!!!!!

[ShooterJohn]

Don't be like me buy a 900 dollar gun and put a 25 dollar scope from wallmart on it!!!!!!!!!!

Come on spend at least $50.

[Frank]

Congratulations, Jason, on your fine new rifle & excellent choice of caliber... It will last you a life time and bring many years of pleasure...All The BestFrank

[Cranky Farmer]

You're going to love that Accutrigger!

[peeker seeker]

hey whares the pic.Your going to love that gun I love my 25-06 and I just picked my 223 up to day cant wait to get out and shoot it.

[Stiff Neck]

Awesome! Let us know how it goes, and we need pics!

[Shoot-it]

Come on spend at least $50.

50 bucks come on now thats a lot of money i can buy 2 scopes for that.......... .....

[bzzrd feedr]

Yea and use them for chopsticks.

[Bozsik]

Yea and use them for chopsticks.

Actually, they are a survival tool. You break them open and use the glass as a signal fire starting tool during daylight hours. db

[Thumper Dunker]

you can keep matches dry in it for the nite time fire should be room to have a line and hook in there to

[Jason]

All righty then. Here's the low down on the new Savage.Barrel: Gets and A++. Nice and long. Nicely machined. Action: A++. Really nice and smooth. I particularly like the oversized bolt. Accutrigger: Wow! I wish all my rifles had this. This is probably the best new feature to be built into a gun in 50 years. I thought that I wouldn't like it very much and might eventually put another trigger on but now you couldn't give me another trigger. Super smooth and easy to adjust. I put it on the lightest setting and was very pleased with the results. Stock: Gets a C. The fit and finish wasn't real nice. A lot of sharp edges from the molding process. I ended up taking a razor blade to it and smoothing the edges out. But since I picked this baby up for only $499 new I guess a little trimming isn't too bad.Assembly: D+ I was having a ton of problems with feeding shells from the magazine to the chamber. It kept getting stuck so I took it apart. It looks like when the stock was attached part of the magazine spring got pinched in the wrong spot bending the end of the spring. I did a little rebending and it now is about 99% better. Just a careless assembly job. While it was not a difficult fix this like the poor stock finish just caused me to spend more time on things that should have been taken care of at the point of production. Performance: An A++++++++ What a fun weapon to shoot. I did a quick and dirty bore sight at my house to get the right and left close. The next day I headed up to the family ranch and set up on the bench rest. I shot of few shots at 25 yards and got it dialed in much closer. Then I went out to 100 yards and was shooting about .75" high. Then I put it out to 150 yards and made a nice quarter size group about 1/4 inch left of center. One click to the right and I was good to go. I was using the Winchester white box 45 grain hollow points from Walmart. Eventually I plan to reload and can probably tighten the groups even further with a little experimentation. Balance and Weight: This is a very heavy gun with a nice heavy 26" barrel. Freestanding shots are very difficult although the occassional snap shot on larger moving game would probably be fine. For getting long squirrels you have to use a rest. I have a Harris Bi-Pod but prefer using Varmint Al's Bi-Fur-Pod that I made. If it were not for the current weight of the gun I would be tempted to put the Harris Bi Pod on it and may still do so. The rifle is well balanced and shoots very well. The recoil of the 223 is light on this rifle.Scope: I did spend more than $50 on the scope. I chose a Bushnell Trophy Series 3x9 with a Mil Dot recticle. Most of my shooting is in the hills so 3x9 works perfect. Anything more would probably go unused where I hunt. I kept it on 6 power for the close up shots and then on the squirrels at 80 yards plus I cranked it up to nine. I chose the mil dot because it was something new and I was curious about using it for range finding. I didn't really get a chance to use the mil dots but will do so in the future. I really liked this scope. It was accurate, easy to use, and very clear. I may get another one to replace the 6 power fixed Simmons on my Rem 17.The first squirrel I shot was about at 50 yards. Not much of a challenge. I later tried it on a Jack about 80 yards away. It blew the jacks insides into the nearby bush. I shot another squirrel at about 85-90 yards away. It did a real nice job tearing it apart. Shot a cottontail and blew it in three different pieces which my young nephews thought was really cool. I had my nephews and brother in law with me most of the time so I switched over to the 17 HMR for most of the day so they didn't have to cover their ears so often.Here's a couple quick pics of me holding the rifle after a couple of field tests.Overall, aside from the problem with the magazine spring and the finish of the stock I would have to give this rifle a recommended buy for someone looking to purchase a 223 for varmints. It is priced very nicely and it performs as well as any rifle I have ever shot. I can't wait to get back up there and shoot some more.Jason

[ShooterJohn]

It looks good. I would definitely agree with you on all of your statements. Savage is my favorite gun for all of the things you get. Great shooting gun with a fabulous trigger. That Winchester White Box ammo is about the best being most accurate and cheapest you'll find. They are really fun guns and a great caliber.

[Stiff Neck]

Sounds like you got a keeper! Welcome to the Savage 223 club. Neither of my 223s will shoot the WWB 45gr HP stuff very well, but my Savage shoots the 55gr FMJ very well under an inch.

[Jason]

Sounds like you got a keeper! Welcome to the Savage 223 club. Neither of my 223s will shoot the WWB 45gr HP stuff very well, but my Savage shoots the 55gr FMJ very well under an inch.

I can't wait to get some balistic tips loaded up. I still have about 170 factory rounds to shoot through first though! The 223 and the 17 HMR make a nice hunting combo.Jason

[Jason]

Well I went out again this weekend and decided to see what this baby could really do. Set up a chair in the shade overlooking a field and used the trusty Varmint Al Bi-Fur-Pod as a rest. The results with this gun continue to please me. Most shots were between 80-150 yards. Some squirrels were hard to see due to the grass so I would sometimes have to track them through the scope for a minute until I could get a clear shot. The accurracy of this rifle continues to amaze me especially with those super cheap white box winchester rounds from walmart. Here are some pictures of the results.I started the morning sniping out and shot this nice group by a large oak tree. I got a couple of others but couldn't find enough to take a picture of them. The little squirrels really fragment badly. Nearly all shots went airborne.This one never knew what hit him.Who knows...what evil...lurks in the hearts of squirrels.....The shadow knows, ho hah hah hah!This little guy really gave a nice show. I watched his head go off like a rocket through the scope and fly about ten yards. I never did find the rest of him.There were others but these were some of my favorites. The rifle is really sweet. I would shoot some at around 100 yards and then see some playing right in front of my about 15-20 yards and have to crank down the scope power to blow those ones away. The accutrigger continues to be a wonderful surprise. I wish all my guns had this feature. Shot about 40 rounds at the end of the day and most of those found a squirrel. Also shot about 30 from the HMR with good results.Jason

[ShooterJohn]

Who knows...what evil...lurks in the hearts of squirrels.....The shadow knows, ho hah hah hah!

I like the Shadow he knows everything.

[Cranky Farmer]

Looks like you got it dialed in right! Great pictures, I love the carnage.

[Jason]

I think the carnage is half of what makes squirrel so much fun to shoot with a 223. A lot of the shots reminded me of that Prarrie Dog Be Gone DVD. Great stuff.Jason

[ShooterJohn]

It's the 1 in 9 twist of the Savage that makes for the violent explosions with squirrels and such. You have to go up to a .22-250 or .204 to equal the bang for the buck.

[Jason]

ShooterJohn, can you elaborate on how the rifling twist ratio causes extra damage. I've never really understood what this ratio means. Thanks.Jason

[ShooterJohn]

Tighter twist equals more spin on the bullet. With fragmentation type bullets they are thrown apart more on impact.

[Jason]

Ah, that makes sense! Thanks for the info!Jason