by Blake Hiatt
“May you live in interesting times.” – Chinese curse. “Only accurate rifles are interesting.” – Col. Townsend Whelan. Well, out of the box, the Savage Model 93 FV certainly looks interesting in that good, Whelenian way. It has the bull barrel, Savage’s AccuTrigger and a target crown. Top the rifle off with a BSA “Sweet 22″ scope, add a detachable box magazine for quick reloads and this rifle appears to be a winning combination. But looks can be deceiving, which is why we do these reviews . . .
Initial impressions: Excellent build quality, though the AccuTrigger does look a little funky. The magazine guide for that box mag seems a little iffy, but it does make it just about impossible to get the wrong angle when inserting a new magazine. The mag lock is very positive and empties pretty much drop into my hand when the release is pushed, even on a brand new, just-out-of-the-box rifle. And while the 93 doesn’t have Savage’s AccuStock, the synthetic seems plenty solid.
So after mounting the scope, cleaning and bore and quick-sighting the rifle, I headed to the local indoor range to see if I was on paper at 25 yards.
And it was pretty much a massive failure, though probably due to operator error. Your not so humble correspondent couldn’t get the rifle to feed from the magazine. I finally gave up and ran the rifle single shot just to try to get zero’d. Five rounds later, I confirmed I was on paper at 25 yards. But I still wasn’t consistent enough shooting off-hand to determine how much more adjustment the scope needed.
After I got home and examined the action under better light, I decided the problem was due to my not cycling the bolt with authority. Kind of surprising, since the bolts on my Marlin 22 and Howa .308 cycle much more smoothly. For the time being, I chalked the feed problems up to a new rifle, the action being a little stiff and the owner having a weak wrist (more on that magazine later).
Shooting the rifle indoors only whetted my appetite to get it outside and stretch its legs a little. So the next chance I got, it was off to the outdoor range with my wife in tow. I set up sandbags, filled the mags and slapped one home.
This time I ran the first five rounds through the rifle without a hitch, filled the magazine again, pushed it home and…disaster. Cartridges everywhere. To say I was puzzled is an understatement. So I reloaded the magazine, pushed it home again and this time only a couple of cartridges flew out. The whole mess was getting to be a lot less than cool.
I tried inserting the magazine with the bolt closed, and that worked for a while until I ran into feed problems. They seemed to go away when I inserted the magazine with the bolt open again. Given that I was risking a jack-in-the-box style cartridge geyser every time I inserted one, I kept my thumb over the top of the mag well. But that only brought back the feed problems.
My wife and I did manage to get in some shooting, though, and magazine issues aside, the 93 FV shoots very well. I was able to get the rifle sighted in after only a few rounds down range. That’s when I turned it over to my wife who thoroughly enjoyed shooting it. She really appreciated its size and weight, along with being able to shoot without risking a bruised shoulder.
After shooting 50 rounds or so, we called it a day as it was getting warm and I was tired of fighting magazine problems.
That’s when I started researching magazine problems with the 93 FV. Turns out Patrick Carrube ran into similar problems with a 93 chambered in .17 HMR. He fixed those by bending the mags’ feed lips a little. I tried the same thing and, voila! Problem fixed.
Side note: someone needs to tell Savage to make their magazines so they can be disassembled. My CZ 512 had a magazine issue that I was able to correct by taking it apart and removing the extra follower it came with. If CZ can design a plastic mag that comes apart, surely Savage can do the same with their metal magazine. [/rant]
So I solved the auto-ejecto problems providing I use the right ammo. Hornady 30 gr V-Max works great. Federal Premium 22 Win Mag with 30 grain Speer TNT tips, on the other hand, refused to feed. Period.
Magazine issues aside, how does the rifle shoot? My wife and I did all of our shooting at 100 yards and the rifle shoots much better than our capabilities. The rifle shoots like a dream, as my targets show. All targets were shot from a bench using sandbags @ 100 yards. The target grid is 1″ squares.
This probably won’t shock you, but the 93 FV’s groups tend to open up when the gun gets warm, even with that heavy bull barrel. I put 150 rounds through the rifle this time out. After the first 125 rounds or so, I put the Savage aside and let it cool for a bit and the groups seemed to tighten up a bit.
In short, the 93 FV is tons o’ fun. Being a bolt action .22, you can shoot it until you run out of daylight and not be any worse for wear — or much lighter in the wallet. And it pretty much shoots where you aim it, which is a good quality in any rifle. If you don’t mind dealing with those pesky mag issues, you’ll really have yourself something.
Specifications:
Caliber: .22WMR
Sights: None, pre-installed scope bases
Barrel Length: 21” w/ 1:16” twist (Heavy Contour)
Overall Length: 39.5”
Weight: 6 lbs
MSRP: $295
RATINGS (out of five stars):
Style * * *
The synthetic stock isn’t a work of art, but it doesn’t look bad, either. Like just about any gun, it would look better with nicer furniture, but that would sacrifice durability.
Ergonomics * * *
I’m 6’3″ 175lbs (providing I’m carrying some ammo) and the 93′s stock is short for me. It fits my wife just fine, though. As you’d expect, this is a great rifle for the recoil shy.
Reliability * * *
I’ve run upwards to 200 rounds through the rifle. It’s a bolt gun, so you wouldn’t expect problems, and there were no misfires. But the magazine problems were enough to drive me batty.
Customizable * *
Other than shimming a stock with a cheek comb, what’s to customize? The action, barrel and trigger are excellent right out of the box.
Overall Rating * * * *
This value-priced rifle is a gun you can hand down to your kids or grandkids. The rifle is fun to shoot and built to last — once you get those mag issues solved.
OMG…OMG…OMG…at first I thought it was a typo but then you went ahead and used his name as some sort of adverb or something….Come on, when worshiping the GODS OF THE GUN WORLD please get their names right. Please…Do it for the children…It’s Col. Townsend Whelen.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Townsend_Whelen
Text amended. Thanks.
Try again. It is WhelEn, not WhelAn.
Don’t blame Dan, blame the guy who wrote the review. You should have seen the way I originally butchered the name. That I was off by just an “a” is a huge improvement over what I originally submitted.
Too bad about the mag issues, I’ve always like savage rifles. If they made one of these in a single shot it would make a great barn gun.
My first firearm was a Savage .22LR bolt action. No accutrigger, same stock, but it is a tack driver with a 4x scope. Never has a feed issue or a mag issue either. In fact, I don’t think I’ve ever had an issue other than getting sratched on the wrist when using 10 round mags.
i bought a .17 version of this rifle when it was first released. The mags were the same as .22 Mag and I was dismayed at how loose and crappy they fit in the well. Never had a problem with feeds or operation, just didn’t feel very solid. At least they were readily available and not expensive.
I have a wood stock and the stain was way too thin. I’m going to refinish and poly it.
The trigger was absolute garbage, I replaced it with a 10 ounce spring trigger for 65 dollars that solved that problem. I chose this gun for the bull barrel and the relative low price compared to the Marlin, it’s nice to see a better trigger and synthetic stock as an option albeit at greater cost. Considering my new trigger and refinishing work to be done I think it’s a fair deal today.
I am somewhat perplexed as to how this rifle merits an overall 4-star rating with the feeding issues described, the need to modify the factory magazine to get it to function, and the subsequent inability to feed a major brand of ammo.
If a second sample had been tested and had flawlessly fed factory ammo from several major brands, then I could understand a 4-star rating. Not for this rifle, though.
He probably got a lemon(an exeption in a negative way)
Fair, but in this case I have my doubts. Note that this is a sufficiently common problem that the author readily found discussion of it online, including the work-around. The fact that the work-around didn’t permit reliable feeding of Federal rounds says that it’s not a solution, just makes it suck less.
I don’t think any firearm with feed issues like the ones described should get a 4-star overall rating until it’s proven to be isolated to a particular unit.
Especially when the highest individual score was 3 stars…
I have a 93R17 BTVS and have not had any problems with it yet. Shoots dime sized groups at 100 yards. Only complaint is the BSA Sweet 17 scope that came with it from the dealer. The glass is absolute garbage. I need to put something better on it.
Those blued magazines are trouble; try the stainless steel versions of the same magazines, and keep them fully loaded – the magazine springs need to be broken in and there is no way around this – just the way it is.
I have a Mark II 22LR. not one issue except the accuse trigger is supposed to go down to 1.5 lb but I can only get it to go to 2.3 lb.
As I was reading the description of the problem, my first thought was “mag lips” – the lips on the old Canadian Army Thermold plastic mags used to break or bend all the time, and the result was a fountain of rounds. The usual cause was melting from excessive full auto, becoming brittle from the cold (in Canada, eh?), and/or the bottom of the mag hitting the ground to hard when playing “up-he-sees-me-down” across the Canadian prairie.
http://magfaq.tripod.com/mags2.htm
http://www.survivalistboards.com/showthread.php?p=4621956
I have this rifle’s twin sister in 17HMR, and I can sum my experiences up by saying that it has exceeded my expectations in every measurable way. Mag fit is slightly wonky, yeah, but I haven’t encountered any of the feed or retention problems outlined here. The rifle is ONE HOLE accurate at 50 yards, and not much worse at 100. The 93s are WELL worth the money.
If I had a knock, it is that the stock’s comb is a bit low for a rifle that will definitely be wearing an optic. A few layers of mousepad later, problem solved.
For anyone who is interested, I was never able to get the Federal stuff to group worth a darn.
Since I put this review together, I have a target with a 5 shot string with virtually every shot in the same hole at 100 yards, using the Hornady ammo.
So, to recap, the Federal ammunition not only doesn’t feed, it doesn’t shoot worth a darn. Whereas the Hornady stuff is more than got the job done.
I’m still trying to figure out why the .22 WMR is still produced. I can see its appeal in a convertible revolver, but as a dedicated firearm? Really?
I love .22LR, but when I want to step up a bit, I bring a .223. Hell, the cost of .223 surplus is not that much more than the rimfire “magnum”.
Cost/benefit = .22WMR = no go. If I had one I might keep it, but I would NEVER seek one out.
If I had that kind of money to waste, I’d buy a 5mm or a Velo Dog.
In many states, there are centerfire rifle restrictions on some or all hunting. In those, it is often your best bet for predators, but still isn’t too destructive for a lot of small game. Its actually a damned handy cartridge if you want one gun to handle most hunting from coyote down.
I had a 93F and while it got 1″ groups at 200 yds, it was plagued with light primer strikes even after a trip back to Savage. I traded it in on a TC Venture.
You give three ’3-star’ ratings, and one ’2 star’ rating, then give the overall rating a 4-star? How did you come up with that, genius? Sounds like a border-line 3-star gun to me.
the 93 is 10,000x better in 17hmr.
RI is one of those states with rifle hunting restrictions (though now I am a Texan by choice and only visit the Peoples’ Republic of RI to visit family). I grew up hunting deer with shotgun slugs and small game with a .22 WMR (that my grandfather bought my dad in the 50′s). I love the cartridge (though it isn’t nearly as cheap as .22 LR)and I took a lot of Coyote in California with it. I’m disapointed that the Savage isn’t worth my money, as I’m in the market for a bolt action .22 WMR for the oldest offspring.
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Just recently purchased a new Savage model 93 – 22 magnum. Love the gun but would not have bought it had I done a little research first. The clip is a very bad design and does not work properly. The first cartridge will not release from clip and be chambered. The clip is very awkward to install and uninstall. Now in reading reviews I find many , many same complaints. Just talked to Savage, most disappointing, I guess they are trained to get rid of customers. I simply asked if they were working on a new design that worked. She actually had the balls to tell me that Savage is not aware of any problem with the clip, and were not making any changes. Not aware my butt. Beware, don’t buy a Savage!!!
Just bought a 93F in Calgary with two 5-round mags, both with the feed issues, but appeared to have fixed it as follows:
- shaping the lips slightly… this indeed seems to be the most likely suspect, as others have indicated, but read on for other tips.
- taking a fine file to the top inside edges of the mags… the edges felt a bit sharp, and I thought they might be grabbing the shells a bit.
- “3-in-1″ brand oil: push the spring down with a pen or screwdriver and let a few drops dribble down the inside of the mag on all 4 sides, then work it in by pushing up and down on the spring. So perhaps the spring is stiff as others have indicated too.
I uploaded a photo here so you can see a close up of how I shaped the lips.
Note I was using Remington 40gr hollow points to test the mag modifications.
I’d be interested to know if my lips modification as shown in the photo was the same one others have used?
Hi
I bought the Savage Model 93 because I’ve been trying to buy a 22 rifle for three months. After about ready to give up and return to target plinking with my Remington 700 which is an expensive gun to shoot ($1 + a shot). I brought the rifle home an looked up reviews right away. What I found made my hart skip a beat (maybe three stars). I took the Rifle and it’s $80,oo scope (Simmons 3-9X32) to our local shooting area with butterfly’s in my gut. I shot 50 CCI 22 WMR, 40 grain through it using both the blue and the SS 5 round clips. I had absolutely no issues with the gun. It preformed flawlessly. Additionally it kicked a beer can around at both 50, and 100 yards with almost every shot (operator error I’m sure).
I did notice most of the reviews were somewhat dated. Maybe Savage read them, and made some modifications to save face. I though would recommend this rifle to anyone who can find one nowadays with all the shortages in mind. I’m 67 years old, and remember walking into a pawn shop at 12, and walking out with my first 22 Mossburg rifle no questions asked.
Sasquatch
I got the savage 22 wmr in this model and I don’t have one complaint about the gun! It shoots great, feels great , light , and I love it!!! I give it 5 stars
I recently bought a 93 in 22 magnum. Added a bipod, sling and nikon p223 scope. It is great fun to shoot, whole family enjoys the size, weight, low recoil and results at range. With the gun/ammo hysteria, the 93 and a couple of our 22lr are by far most fun and practical for range time. .223, .308 and .338 tend to stay home. We have 22 mag and 22lr handguns which help keep skill and enthusiasm up while coming to grips with supply and our economic reality. We give savage 5 stars on this.
Hi Shotgun
I agree! after plinking 250rmnds. through my new 93mag. I’ve found it to be the perfect rifle for the $. I to can’t afford to waste my Remington 700s expensive ammo these days. I to just picked up a Ruger single six 22 convertible to save my more expensive handgun ammo, the way times are. It’s sure difficult to believe the American ammo manufactures can’t keep up with demand for ammo. sometimes makes me think they have a secret deal with that Obama guy!
I’ve since bought 3ea 10rnd. magazines from Savages web site for $25. ea. with no performance objections. I to plan on adding a bipod.
Hi
I’d just like to mention a gun collector who offers his guns at very fair prices compared to auction prices I’ve seen. I suggest you give him a look! I found him @
Legacy Firearms, not Legacy Sports. Good hunting!