Savage Striker Model 501 .22 LR

I snagged one of these buggers while cruising home from work a few weeks ago. This gun has a synthetic stock, rear grip, and ten shot clip. It was topped with a Bushy 2-6x scope and in very good condition...and the price was certainly right. I swapped out the scope onto a Contender and in its place I installed a 5X Burris with target turrets. Like it's bigger centerfire cousin, the rimfire Striker has the left side bolt and right side ejection port. The fit and finish is decent on the top side. But flip it over and the magazine well is inletted for the .22 magnum clip so they can use the same stock for both guns. The trigger is wide and plastic but breaks clean at (I'm guessing with comparing to other guns that have been scaled) about four pounds.

Anyhoo...benched it for the first time about two weeks ago. With Rem bulk pack ammo it shoots VERY well at 25 yards. The average groups with ten rounds were well below 1"...did not really measure but after the fifth or sixth shot in each ten shot string there was a ragged hole about the size of a nickel in the target and the remaining rounds did not print new holes outside the group. I did this for about five groups then got bored.

At 100 yards I could use the bottom duplex and consistently hit 1.5" to 2" rocks. There was one rock about the size of a baseball that I could roll with each shot.

Overall...I would certainly recommend it to anyone wanting an inexpensive .22LR that is in the style of a specialty handgun. Instead of sinking several hundred into a Contender and optics and I would certainly give this a try. I got mine with the Bushnell scope for $209 after tax (6%) and transfer ($10).

Wow, that's a great price! Those are neat little specialty handguns. I have the 510F in .223 and love it. Its a tackdriver. reakin

Mine is the 22 WMR version with a Burris 3x9 EER. The 3" spinners at 100 yards are no challenge at all. The trigger had too much takeup and was creepy. A drop-in adjustable trigger from Rifle Basix took care of that. Installing sling swivels on the forarm and in the hump on the upper portion of the grip enabled the use of a Harris bipod as well as a sling.

Dan, but what if the rocks were only 1.750" x 2.250"? Would you still be able to hit them. For me, I try to find 'hat size' rocks that are about a football field length away, or I use live chucks that blow like 'ripe mellons' when I hit them! And besides, any thing that needs to be shot at 25yds can be killed by throwing a nice sized goonie, so save the ammo! BTW- what size was the base ball? Regulation little league, major league, nerf, whiffle? We need more accurate information!!!

good price.......n i wouldn't mind havin one of those either.

Gerry...I've seen you shoot...you would have better luck tossin' a big'ol goonie at a varmint even if it were more than 25 yards!

Dan, when a fella shoots a 350gr .416 caliber slug out of an Encore at 2350fps, it is like hitting something with a big goonie...or maybe 2 1/2 TONS of bricks. Let's stop the crying right now and I'll be the first to offer and apologize for putting 4 BULLs on the wall-long live the 375JDJ!!!! Hey, you let me know when you're ready to dump teh 22K-Hornet. I need another 25yd mouse gun... I'll make arrangement to pick it up during Deer season....

I know you spread around a lot of BULL... ...but putting it on the wall...man you need help!!

Hey Dan, I've had a couple different Savage .22 LR Strikers over the years. I tried using them at our local club in our Bench Rest Matches against the Rifle Shooters, and quickly learned they were not up to the task (the two different Super 14 Match Contender Barrels I had in .22 LR were more accurate).

With that said, I went to the next county to the west of me with a buddy a few times shooting Flickertail Gophers. I used the Striker with a 6.5x20x44mm AO Simmons 44 MAG Rifle Scope on it. My buddy was shooting a custom Ruger 10/2, and a Ruger K77/22VBZ I had tweaked for him.

That first trip out there we each shot about a brick and a half of .22 LR Hollow Points. Since Paul and I are fairly competitive, we tried to keep a close count on the number of hits vs misses, plus the longest shot of the day(s). When all the smoke cleared I had hit just as many Gophers with the Striker as my buddy did with his Rifles. I also had the credit of making the longest shot of the trip, 96 yards lasered.

I guess what I am trying to say is this, for Hunting and causual Target Shooting I think the Savage Striker is a hell of a gun and a super buy. For serious target work I think a Contender may have an edge in accuracy.

I know the triggers on a Contender can be made simply great, but then I was able to rework the triggers on both Strikers to get them super crisp at 2 pounds. In addition to polishing everything, I made a spacer shim to fit between the rear of the trigger housing and the receiver to limit the amount of engagement. I then made a new spring to get the desired pull weight.

GOod luck with the Striker.

Larry

Larry...I agree that the Striker rimfire is certainly not a benchrest gun! But for the money I would consider it a great started gun for someone looking at getting into handgunning.

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Larry...I agree that the Striker rimfire is certainly not a benchrest gun! But for the money I would consider it a great started gun for someone looking at getting into handgunning.

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Absolutely Dan, no arguement there. In fact the guy I was shooting Flickertail Gophers with couldn't believe some of the shots I made with that Striker. There is a fella that frequents Rimfire Central that has rebarreled a couple Savage Rimfires, one of which was a Striker. The barrel shank if I remember correctly is the same diameter as a 10/22 Ruger Barrel. I think he said the only modications he had to do was cut an extra slot for the opposing extractors and drill the hole to pin the barrel to the Strikers action.

I never did replace the trigger on my Striker with the Rifle Basix, but rather stoned and polished to get a sweet 2 pound pull. After that Gopher shot I put a 3x12x Burris on the one I had till I traded it for a Contender Barrel. I was pleased with the accuracy, but it was not as good as the Contender Match Barrels I have had.

Larry