Originally published at VolkStudio Blog. Please leave any comments there.
This has long been my favorite recreational rifle. With AAC Aviator suppressor on the long barrel, it’s very quiet. 4x Leupold scope allows pretty good aim from up close to about 100 yards. But it has one giant disadvantage for teaching new shooters — it’s long and heavy. With the suppressor attached, it doesn’t even fit any of my cases. Few kids can fire it even from supported positions.
Enter Savage MKII FV-SR, a shorter and lighter bolt action already threaded for a suppressor.
It comes with an Accu-trigger and integral scope rail, saving the effort that was necessary to get the Mossberg set up.
Gemtech Alpine suppressor comes apart for cleaning, which is good for high-volume shooting I am expecting. The flutes on the endcap are designed to be turned with a coin for a tool.
Given the role of this rifle — engaging very small targets precisely — I over-scoped it. 4-16x Primary Arms optic was picked for the close focus, down to ten yards. I am already using it on a .223 Superior Arms Varminter, so I know it would work fine with a .22LR. At 4x, it can be used off-hand, at 16x for longer ranges from a bipod. Rangefinding mil-dot reticle is calibrated at 16x.
Since I shoot paper and other inanimate things for now, subsonics work just fine for my purposes. The rifle ought to be quiet enough to dispense with wearable hearing protection entirely. This ammunition has been quite accurate in the Mossberg, giving better than 1MOA at 50 yards.
So all I need now is a handful of 10-round magazines (the rifle came with a 5-rounder) and I’ll be set for a nice day at the range. Once it is zeroed — hello again, Appleseed!
