Precision rimfire rifles offer shooters an opportunity for inexpensive practice. Moving away from a traditional wooden stock, a rifle like the Savage B22 Precision offers a series of ergonomic upgrades in a package that is well suited for modern optics. The Savage B22 Precision is a great example of a precision rimfire.
The Savage B22 Precision mates a B22 action in a proprietary MDT chassis. The B22 barreled action is chambered in 22lr, has a 18″ 1:16″ twist carbon steel barrel, is threaded 1/2-28 and comes with a 10-shot rotary magazine. The chassis is machined from a solid billet of aluminum. It has an adjustable length-of-pull and cheek rest and is equipped with an oversized MDT pistol grip.
A factory oversized bolt handle makes the B22 Precision feel much larger than it is. The trigger is shockingly good for a factory rimfire rifle. It broke with an average weight of 2 pounds 5 ounces! Impressive to say the least. The B22 Precision uses a two position safety that is located at the tang, to the rear of the bolt (think Mossberg 500/590), which is easy to access for both right and let handed shooters.
The one piece design of the B22 Precision’s chassis is machined from a solid billet of aluminum. It looks and feels solid. At the front of the chassis the B22 Precision is equipped with a QD stud to attach a sling or traditional style bipod as well as M-Lok slots for attachment of accessories. The MDT oversized pistol grip is exceptional. It has integral palm swells that fill the shooter’s hand well and provide a steady shooting hand interface with the chassis.
The B22 precision has a lot going on in its stock. The length-of-pull is adjustable from 12.75-13.75″ through the use of a series of removable shims. The cheek weld is adjustable for height without tools by using a set of polymer knobs. The rear of the stock has a provision for a palm hook as well as a tapered surface on its bottom to act as a bag rider.
Since this is a rimfire rifle, I decided to equip it with a rimfire scope. I reached out to TRACT Optics and they provided a 22 Fire 3-12×40 Rimfire scope with BDC reticle that I mounted in 1″ MDT aluminum rings.
The 10-shot rotary magazine is made of metal and polymer. It has more mass than a 10/22 magazine and the magazine release is attached to the magazine instead of the chassis. I found it was easy to load and it fed well.
Unfortunately for this review, the rifle was received and shot during the middle of the COVID-19 ammunition crunch and I was limited to shooting extremely inexpensive Aguila 22 lead round nose ammunition for testing. With bipod, rear bag and Aguila lead ammunition in hand, I headed to the 50 yard line and decided to see how well the rifle shot. Shooting was done prone from a bipod with a rear bag. Results are shown on the target and table below.
The size of the five-shot groups at 50 yards ranged from .411″ to 1.179″ with an average group size of .758″. Ammunition quality matters more with rimfire than centerfire rifles. It is important to remember this was shot with very poor quality ammunition.
Despite being handicapped by poor quality ammunition, this rifle shot well. My best 5-shot 50 yard group measured .411″.
I fired a couple 10-shot groups and they looked promising. Typically I’ll bring an assortment of match rimfire ammunition with me to the range to test a rimfire, unfortunately the limited supply line prevented this.
What are my thoughts on the Savage B22 Precision?
- Solid offering in the precision rimfire rifle market. This is a nice little rifle. Prior to shooting it, I don’t think I’ve ever fired a Savage rimfire rifle. That’s a shame. They make a nice and reliable product. This is a fun little gun that offers shooters an entry into the world of rimfire precision rifles.
- Great value. This is a lot of gun for the money. The trigger is exceptional, the chassis is balanced perfectly for the gun. For far less than custom building a Remington 700 rimfire clone, you can have an accurate, fun little rifle that could be used for plinking or positional shooting practice.
- Outstanding chassis. MDT hit it out of the park with the chassis design. It is far more solid than the plastic one found on the Ruger Precision Rimfire and it isn’t obnoxiously heavy. The adjustments are excellent and the pistol grip is perfect.
- More gun than a Ruger Precision Rimfire. I’m unsure where the street price for the Savage B22 Precision will be when compared to the Ruger Precision Rimfire, but I believe it will be slightly more. Between the two, I would hands down recommend the Savage. It is a lot more gun.
- Fantastic trigger- I still can’t believe I picked up a factory rimfire rifle with an excellent 2 pound 5 ounce trigger right out of the box.
- Accurate rifle- wish I had more ammunition! This rifle shot well but I found that the limited availability of ammunition for testing and evaluation prevented me from seeing how accurate this gun could be.
- I like it. This is a neat little rifle.
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