super newbie--scope & cleaning help?

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fatllama

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Hey all,
Just got my first rifle yesterday, a savage mark II in .22lr with accutrigger. Looking forward to shooting with it the next couple days (never shot a gun before), and I'm a little confused about a few of things.
First of all, it doesn't seem like the gun has a front sight, just some sort of rail in the back (see attachment). Is this to mount a scope? or do I sight along the rail?
Second, do I need to clean the gun before using it? I heard that centerfire rifles get copper fouling in the barrel cause of the high velocities, but that rimfire doesn't need as much cleaning. Can I just go out there and start shooting?
Thanks a bunch!
 

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Yes, you need a scope if your rifle didn't come equipped with open sights.
And it didn't.

All you need to do is wipe the packing oil off the bolt & other parts with a clean rag.
And run a clean patch down the bore.

.22 RF barrels don't suffer from jacket fouling, so cleaning the chamber & bolt face after shooting is about all you need to do to them.

rc
 
Is that a left handed rifle, or is it flipped in a computer program?

It is for a scope, don't try to sight down the rail, it will be ugly. I guess that you could get some AR-15 sights and put them on that little rail, but they wouldn't be very accurate because they aren't far enough apart.

Just get a scope and shoot it. It will need cleaning eventually, but you should be fine for a while.

Good choice on your first gun, is that book in Russian? Do you live over there?
 
Haha now that I look at it more closely, the picture is pretty confusing.
No, it's a right-handed rifle. Camera flipped it and I didn't bother flipping it back in a computer program.
So the book's cover is also in mirror image. It's Eye of Cat by Roger Zelazny. Pretty cool sci-fi author I discovered a month ago. I don't live in Russia...my hometown's a little more mundane.

So if I buy a scope, it comes with the necessary parts to attach it properly? I read on another message board that this one http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001JJCHWK/ref=ox_sc_act_title_2?ie=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER is good, any thoughts?

Thanks again everyone
 
Did you buy the rifle used?

The rail looks like an EGW Picatinny rail. Take that into account when buying rings.

I would clean it initially and then tend not to clean it as .22lr bolt guns run fairly clean.

The big thing with cleaning is don't damage the bore, crown or chamber when doing anything.
 
You need a friend with experience...a mentor. Ask around at the gun range or talk with acquaintances who may know people. It is critical that you get with an experienced person before venturing out.
 
Welcome to the wonderful world of shooting! That Savage .22 is a great place to start! A good scope is nice to have but even sub-$125 scopes will work if you shoot well. My Savage/Stevens 200 sports a Walmart $99 Bushnell 3-9x40 scope and it approaches MOA with middle-of-the-road ammo at 75 yards. Pick out a scope you can afford, Bushnell and Redfield are good inexpensive scopes, get the correct rings, and sight it in (which using Larry Potterfield's technique only takes 4 shots: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qsOjPFh-DMw . Adjust your rifle's accutrigger down to the lowest you are comfortable making it, and get a padded rest (Winchester branded 2-bag set up is what I use, $20 bucks at Wal Mart or Cabela's) the padded rest is huge part of accurate shooting because it keeps the rifle steady for you, I went from a poor shooter to a praise-worthy (according to the Range Officer anyways) with a little practice and a padded rest. Here is the groups my $314 Stevens 200 prints with an "adequate" scope (the quarter is for scale):
2aklj5s.jpg

I'm a long time pistol shooter and only recently got into centerfire rifles, so I have faced a lot of challenges and choices you will in the near future, please message me if you need advice or suggestions.

Here is a "shopping list" for you, what you'll need before your first range trip:
-Hearing and Eye protection (your .22 might be quiet but others at the range may be firing off big center fire rifles, so this is a must)
-Scope (Bushnell or Redfield, 3-9x40 is probably enough for you)
-Rings (they need to be the same diameter as your scope's tube and fit Picatinny or Weaver mounts)
-Padded rest (again, the two bag Winchester set is good, no problems and cheap, but any quality two piece rest will do nicely)
-Birchwood Casey Shoot-N-C targets (I love these, great for beginning shooters, they draw an outline around where your bullet hit so the point of impact is easier to see than with a standard paper target, which is what the range will provide)
-Hoppe's #9 .22 Caliber cleaning kit (should cover all your cleaning needs for at least 6 months)
-Winchester White Box or other decent .22 LR ammo, do not buy .22 Short, .22 Long, .222, .223, .224 or any other ammo but .22 Long Rifle (LR)

Now get out there and slay some paper!
 
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Thanks so much for the reply! I just ordered a 2 piece bag set and some targets. Going to the gun store tomorrow for a scope.
Will update when I get a chance to go shooting this weekend!
 
That is so cool that you bought a gun before you ever fired a gun. I think you are going to love it.

It is ideal to have someone experienced to walk you through some guidelines on shooting, scope selection, scope mounting, safety, etc.

BUT...if that's not available to you it's not the end of the world. Most important thing is to get information from multiple sources. There are a lot of myths and misinformation out there. By asking and talking to multiple sources and doing lots of research you'll eventually get an idea of what's the best route to take.

Keep reading on this and other forums, keep asking questions and don't rush into any scope or mounting products until you've fully researched them.

Check out www.rimfirecentral.com for a Savage Mark II specific forum for specific questions about that rifle.

Enjoy!
 
As you work through this, and starting with an inexpensive scope, you will eventually find it desireable to move up the optics food chain. No rush, but it will help once you have the basics down and you are having fun. For 22 work, there is a fair bit to learn, but it all translates and it's the best teacher there is :)

Moving up the food chain AND if you decide to stretch the legs on the little 22 round, you might try something like this: http://www.riflescopes.webyshops.co...-Rifle-Scope-BDC-150-Reticle-Matte-Black-6725 :)
 
A good 3-9x40 scope can be used on anything (well, a cheap one too I suppose), so you might as well get a good one if you can afford it. It can be moved to a different or better rifle in the future. The cheap scope will have no value.
 
I have a BSA 4x-16x on my marlin bolt .22. Seems to be pretty good for me, but a 3x-9x is probably fine, and I hardly zoom in farther than 9x anyway. You probably should get a better quality than BSA or Barska scope, if you want the scope to maintain zero. I am constantly making small adjustments on my BSA when I go out and shoot it. Redfield and Bushnell as have already been suggested are both pretty good.
 
I would look at a fixed 4x or 6x scope thats lighter with a slim profile. Then buy some cheap carbonated beverages in aluminum cans. Shake cans up, and put a bunch of them at varying ranges outdoors, and shoot the heck out of them! You'll know when you hit one and you'll have a blast!
edited to add that you need to zero that scope on a paper target first, though.
 
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Fatllama... if you have not gone to the gun shop yet...


Take your rifle with you, if you are buying a scope and rings from a local gun shop they will very often mount the whole rig on your rifle. Also ask them to bore sight the rig. That will get you on target with fewer shots when you go to the range.

While you are there get a gun case to store and keep the dust out of your gun.

Buy a gun cleaning kit, doesn't need to be fancy or expensive and a Hoppe's Bore Snake.
 
i agree with furncliff, if you buy at a gun shop they will usually install. HOWEVER, watch them while they work... I started putting my own scopes on once I saw some one in a gun shop mess one up. It is rare, but it happens. We all make mistakes, right?
 
Went shooting today, it was great! Didn't have much time so only shot for an hour and a half, but I managed to sight my rifle in decently I think, and afterwards I was putting them all in pretty close to each other. Was lying prone at about 20 yards though. Next up (hopefully this Thursday) is learning to shoot offhand! How often will I get a chance when hunting to lie prone, with a nice sandbag to rest my rifle on? haha
It was so much fun. One issue I noticed with the magazine was that sometimes a round wouldn't load properly and would remain stuck in the magazine. Is this common? It happened maybe with 2 or 3 of the rounds I shot today.
I ended up buying the scope I mentioned on amazon, just because it was so cheap. I'm going to college in the Fall and I won't have enough time to shoot for at least a year when I'm there. So for now, I'm fine with buying a crappy scope. If I knew that within a year or two I would be moving up and buying a better rifle, then I would definitely get a much better scope that I could keep re-using. But that's sadly not the case.
 
Hey fat llama, When I was your age and starting college, I had no guns. I really wanted to hunt squirrels, something I grew up doing, so went to a pawn shop and bought a Remington 67A, which is a single shot .22, for $10. That was in 1967. That gun is now worth between $200-$300 and occupies a special place in my gun cabinet. At age 65, I have a successful career, will soon retire, and lots of very nice guns. I bought 3 new guns in the last year and sold 2 others. I hope to buy 2 more in the next few months and never get tired of it. You have a lifetime to play with guns. Try to be patient and have fun, even with your "crappy" scope. Tom
 
Thank you for your story, Tom! I'm very happy with my 'crappy' scope, haha. I was just explaining to the others why I didn't think it right, at the moment, to invest in something better.
I love how I can just go out and shoot all day with my .22, and after the initial cost of buying everything, it's dirt cheap to buy and shoot hundreds and hundreds of rounds. Really having a lot of fun, and I don't pay any attention to the fact that I don't have anywhere near the best possible equipment. It's just good fun.
 
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