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 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 Mag's,
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.
100 Yard
Evaluation Results
|
in Descending Order |
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 |
|
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.
Dewey Triggers available from:
Ken
Light Mfg. - The After Market Sight
Specialist
|