New Savage Model 40

[Hickok]

Today I just bought a new Savage model 40 in 22 Hornet. I did a search on this site and it seems you guys seem to like this rifle. I have some Hornady 40gr. VMax bullets coming to reload for the rifle. I was fortunate to find them, as I was unable to find any Sierra bullets in the 40 to 45 grain class, as they were out of stock at Midway.

Any comments or advice as to the Model 40 would be appreciated.

[LaOtto222]

I have a Model 40 and like it well enough. It is a beautiful rifle for the money. Be careful about loading bullets too long, especially the V Max bullets. I thought since it was a single shot, you did not have to worry about the length, but I was wrong. If you load the bullets much over recommended OAL, you will find that you will not be able to eject the cartridge. There is a built in ejector in the bottom of the receiver and it will not let you bring the bolt back far enough for the bullet to clear the ejection port. If you load too long and do not shoot the bullet, you will have a devil of a time getting it back out. Mine seems to shoot just fine with the bullet off the lands fairly far. I have gotten to the point of shooting mostly blunter type bullets, especially made for the Hornet. The Winchester 45 grain Hollow points shoot well enough, but you just can not seem to get them right now. With the V Max you are going to have to seat them so that only the point is sticking out, none of the bullet bearing surface showing. Of course if you load and shoot and not eject it before firing you are OK. That is OK if you are shooting at a range, but if you are hunting and do not get a shot and you want to eject the shell, you will have a hard time getting it out. If you can; try some sub 40 grain bullets with W296 or H110. Mine likes 12.4 grains of W296, a small pistol primer and a 34 grain Mid South bullet. I get 3000 fps and mid pressures - no extraction problems and little case stretching. The Hornet case is thin so you have to watch for head separations on every loading, because the cases will stretch no matter how mild you load them unless you load them way down. Good Luck and Good Shooting. 

[Hickok]

Yep, I found out about long seating the v-max bullet just like you said. The ejector is a piece of stamped metal that is held by a bolt through the bottom of the action. I filed off about .030" to allow the bolt to come back further before the cartridge is ejected. I can now seat the 40 gr. V-max bullet to 1.850 over all length. But I am still .060" off the rifling as the length I would need to touch the rifling with the bullet is 1.910" over all cartridge length.

Remington factory 45 gr. soft point Hornet ammo shot lousy, 5 shots averaging 2 inches. After necksizing the brass and loading 10.5 gr. of Winchester 296 behind the V-Max seated to 1.850" o.a.l., I average five shots into 1 inch @ 100 yards. Switching to pistol primers with the same load dropped groups 5/8ths of an inch @ 100 YDS.

I did find one more thing with this rifle. Extraction is weak. If I have a case that starts to get tight due to continual neck sizing, the extractor will slip over the case and not pull it out of the barrel. Savage needs to machine a groove in the side of the barrel so the extractor can fit into it, and really get a good "hook" on the case rim. As it is, the extractor rides on the sloped rear portion of the chamber end of the barrel, and doesnt really get a good bite on the rim of the cartridge until the case and bolt has moved reward a short distance.

I now check my necksized cases before loading them, to make sure they eject. Too tight fitting cases will be full length sized to ensure extraction.

Other than this small glitch, this Savage Model 40 is a great shooter. The Accu trigger is fantastic for a varmit rifle. I am going to enjoy this rifle!