Savage Mark II

The History of Savage Arms

Savage Arms was founded in 1894 by Arthur Savage in Utica, New York. Arthur Savage held two important patents at the time: a patent for a repeating rifle with a single-column magazine lever-action rifle, which he acquired in 1891, and a patent for a hammerless lever-action design. That paved the way for Savage’s quick rise to success.

The company’s first breakthrough came in 1895 when it introduced Model 1895 – the first hammerless lever-action rifle on the market. It was modeled after Model 1892, an earlier design that never saw production due to losing a bid for a US Army contract. Model 1895, however, won the contract for New York National Guard, but it was soon canceled due to getting caught in a contemporary political climate.

Savage continued investing efforts into the production of military-grade weapons. It was named one of the two finalists in the US Army trials for a .45 caliber semi-automatic pistol, and it lost only to the now-famous Colt M1911. Savage used the gained experience to produce high-quality pocket pistols, though, which resulted in the introduction of Model 1907, 1915, and 1917.

During World War I, Savage was merged with the Driggs-Seabury Ordnance company. The joint company focused all its efforts on the production of Lewis machine guns and heavy equipment for war purposes. 

Between the two wars, Savage decided to expand its business inside the USA. In 1920 it bought Stevens Arms of Chicopee, followed by A.H. Fox Gun Co. of Philadelphia and Davis-Warner Arms and CrescentArms Co. of Norwich in 1930. Success followed and in 1939 Savage introduced the Model 24 combination gun which sold over a million copies.

When World War II commenced, though, Savage was once again ready to answer the call of duty. It focused all its resources on war efforts, producing a staggering number of weapons. It already signed a contract with Auto Ordinance Co. in 1938 to manufacture the famous .45 caliber Thompson submachine gun, and most of these submachine guns that were used in WWII were produced by none other than Savage. The company was also contracted by the US government in 1940 to produce .30 and .50 caliber Browning machine guns. On top of that, Savage manufactured one of the most mass-produced bolt-action rifles of WWII, the British No. 4 Lee–Enfield. A record of 1.2 million Lee-Enfield rifles was produced by Savage during the time of war.

Production dialed down after the war, though. In 1946, Savage closed its facilities in Utica and moved all its operations to the Stevens manufacturing premises. Even though the Model 110 was introduced in 1958, which remains one of the company’s most successful rifles to this date, Savage started to experience some issues. In 1960 all production was moved to the current location of Westfield, Massachusetts, and what followed was a series of different ownerships over the company. Savage gradually ran into serious financial problems and in 1988 the company declared bankruptcy.

The company had to cut back on its manufacturing costs to the point where it even stopped producing short-action configurations of its most successful model, the aforementioned Model 110. It wasn’t until 1995 when Savage returned to private ownership led by Ronald Coburn who sort of rejuvenated the whole company.

In 2002 Savage introduced and patented AccuTrigger – a safe and user-adjustable trigger that soon became a success. The following year, in 2003, the company was named Manufacturer of the Year by the Shooting Industry Academy of Excellence, further reaffirming Savage’s distinction. Four years later, on May 15, 2007, Savage 93R17 BTVS has been named the best rifle in the Best of the Best presentation by Shooting Times, Sporting Gun, and Shooting Gazette magazines.

In 2013 Savage once again changed ownership. It was acquired by Orbital ATK for 315 million dollars, and it was later handed over to Vista Outdoor which later sold it for $170 million in 2019 to a group of private investors led by Savage’s management.

The company also had its logo changed in the middle of the 2010s when it decided to retire its old logo that presumably featured Chief Lame Deer, a native-American tribesman leader. The latter supposedly approached Arthur Savage in 1919 to purchase rifles for his tribe. In exchange for a discount, Lame Deer agreed to a deal. According to the deal, Savage was allowed to use Lame Deer’s face for promotional purposes. Many doubt the authenticity of this story, however, and Savage itself removed it from its official website as well.

Savage Mark II Rifle Review

Figure 1: Savage Mark II Minimalist in 22 LR (Source: https://nationalinterest.org/blog/reboot/savage-mark-ii-impressive-bare-bones-rifle-193737)

Savage Mark II is a series of rimfire bolt-action models that offers match-grade accuracy in a wide range of choices at a fairly reasonable price. The series saw a lot of upgrades and additions in the years since it first saw production, but Savage’s motto regarding it always remained the same: Everything you want in a .22 rimfire bolt-action rifle.

An attentive eye will soon notice that models in this series are still named in the “old” Savage way, meaning that different letters in the model’s name correspond to the rifle’s features. For instance, the letter “F” in Savage Mark II F stands for synthetic stock. “V” stands for heavy barrel, “T” for peep sights, and so on. That would mean that Mark II FVT, one of the many variants in this series, comes with a synthetic stock, a heavy barrel, and peep sights.

Savage Mark II usually comes drilled and tapped for scope mounts, but some of the models already have a Picatinny rail or Weaver bases already pre-installed. We’ve also noticed that some of the variants feature a dovetail instead of mounting holes.

There is some potential confusion that we need to address, however, and it has to do with the change in the receiver.

In the late 2000s, Savage decided to introduce the so-called “E-receiver” which was meant to unify the receiver dimensions on many models, including Mark II and Model 93. The main difference, and thus also the most important one, is in the ejection port length.

The old Mark II models used to have a 34.9 mm (1.375-inch) ejection port, while the never “E-receiver” has a 41.3 mm (1.625-inch) ejection port.

Figure 2: Savage Mark II FV-SR in .22 LR (Source: https://gunmagwarehouse.com/blog/savage-mark-ii-fv-sr-a-yute-sized-sniper-rifle/)  

Savage Mark II’s barrel length measures from 419 mm to 559 mm (16.5-inch–22-inch). Most variants come with iron sights both at the front and at the back of the barrel, with the rear iron sight usually being removable. The barrel is button rifled and made of carbon steel, except for a few selected variants that come with a stainless steel one. A few variants also come with peep sights.

A wide selection of stock variants is available in the Mark II series. Most models come with a modernly designed synthetic stock, especially those made after 2009 when Savage’s AccuStock^TM was introduced, but there are also laminated, classic hardwood, tactical hardwood, and thumbhole laminated stocks available.

This variety extends to the buttstock as well. There are many different styles available, including the famous Mont-Carlo and Bavarian styles. Most of them, especially the newer models, come with a rubber butt pad.

The action is of the bolt-action style, and it can be either made of carbon steel or stainless steel. The latter is most likely a bit pricier. The receiver on top of the action is usually drilled and tapped for scope mounts, but as mentioned above, some have a dovetail milled-in instead. Should you wish so, you can also buy the rifle with scope mounts pre-installed.

Somewhere around 2010 Savage decided to introduce the so-called “E-receiver” which had a slightly longer ejection port compared to the older models. It also features a gas escape hole on the side, just forward of the bolt, which is also something the older models didn’t have. Other important dimensions such as A and C lengths (see the image below) remained the same, but these changes are something to keep in mind when you’re on the lookout for one-piece scope mounts.

Most E-receiver Savage Mark II models come with the tried and tested AccuTrigger^TM which allows the shooter to adjust the trigger pull-weight without the help of a gunsmith while still ensuring the complete safety of the rifle.

Figure 3: The design of Savage's patented AccuTrigger (source: https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BwSpbbhIIAE0hUO.jpg:large)

Savage Mark II usually features a simple, curved five-shot magazine that is incredibly simple to load. It is easily detached by pressing a spring catch at the back of the magazine well. Although the rifle comes with a single five-round magazine as standard, you can easily buy additional magazines with five or 10 rounds.

The safety lever is found at the top of the rifle, behind the bolt handle. The rifle is in safe mode when the lever is in the rearward position, and in firing mode when the lever is pushed forward. The firing mode is indicated by a small red dot that appears when the lever is in the forward position.

Savage Mark II Calibers

Savage Mark II models can be chambered for:

• 22 LR

• 17 HM2

Savage Mark II Variants

There are many Savage Mark II variants found on the market, especially so because of the naming system Savage adopted many years ago. Variants are marked by different letters that correspond to the rifle’s features. Here is a “cheat sheet” that can help you understand what these markings mean:

This is the list of Savage Mark II variants that are currently listed on Savage’s website:

• Savage Mark II F

• Savage Mark II FV

• Savage Mark II FV-SR

• Savage Mark II F Stainless

• Savage Mark II FVT

• Savage Mark II Camo

• Savage Mark II G

• Savage Mark II G Left Hand

• Savage Mark II GY

• Savage Mark II GY Left Hand

• Savage Mark II BV

• Savage Mark II BTV

• Savage Mark II BTVSS

• Savage Mark II BTVSS Left Hand

• Savage Mark II BRJ

• Savage Mark II BSEV

• Savage Mark II TR

• Savage Mark II TRR-SR

• Savage Mark II FVXP

• Savage Mark II Minimalist Green

• Savage Mark II Minimalist Brown

• Savage Mark II FV-SR Gator Camo

• Savage Mark II FXP

The receivers of Savage Mark II models are usually drilled and tapped for scope mounts.

Figure 4: The receiver of Savage Mark II G with a visible mounting surface (drilled and tapped with the E-receiver; Source: https://www.reddit.com/r/canadaguns/comments/zkyzt/x_post_from_rguns_savage_mark_2_g_write_up_and/)

A: 12.83 mm
B: 84.96 mm
C: 12.83 mm
BHU: 0 mm
Fi: #6-48
R1: 12
R2: 12

Scope Mounts Interchangeable with Savage Mark II

Rifles That Have One-Piece Scope Mounts Interchangeable with Savage Mark II

The necessary condition for rifles to have one-piece scope mounts interchangeable is that the mounting surfaces of these rifles match in every dimension.

The E-receiver changed the ejection port length, and scope mount manufacturers started producing Picatinny rails with a longer ejection port. As far as we know, that was the only change that happened, so Mark II (E-receiver) and Mark II (Pre E-receiver) should have interchangeable scope mounts.

Rifles that have one-piece scope mounts interchangeable with the Savage Mark II  are the following:

• Savage Cub

• Savage 93

• Savage Mark I

If you have any information about that not being the case, we kindly ask you to contact us at info@optics-trade.eu and we will gladly update our database.  

Rifles That Have Two-Piece Scope Mounts Interchangeable with Savage Mark II

For two-piece scope mounts to be interchangeable, the mounting surfaces of the rifles must match in every dimension except the action length which can vary. This is because the distance between the two pieces of the mount is not fixed. Rifles that have two-piece mounts interchangeable with Savage Mark II are the following:

• Savage Cub

• Savage 93

• Savage Mark I

Best Scope Mounts for Savage Mark II (E-receiver and Pre E-receiver)

Fixed Scope Mounts for Savage Mark II (E-receiver and Pre-E-receiver)

DNZ Products have been making scope mounts for Savage rifles for a long time, and this is why we recommend this DNZ Game Reaper for Savage Mark II:

Click here for DNZ Game Reaper 30mm Mount

Detachable Repeatable Scope Mounts for Savage Mark II (E-receiver and Pre E-receiver)

This Henneberger one-piece mount earned our top recommendation for a detachable repeatable scope mount for the Savage mark II (E-receiver). It is reliable and extremely versatile and is thus a great choice for your rifle. It is manufactured in Germany, is made of aluminum, and has a 30-year warranty attached to it.

It will, however, need to be coupled with a Picatinny rail. We recommend this EGW’s Picatinny rail if you have an E-receiver Savage Mark II.

Check out Henneberger HMS Swift Mount

Order EGW Silver Picatinny Rail

If you have an older Savage Mark II without the E-receiver, then we recommend this Picatinny rail:

View EGW Savage Mark II (1-3/8" Ejection Port) Picatinny Rail

Picatinny Rails for Savage Mark II (E-receiver)

When you’re looking for a Picatinny rail for your Savage Mark II with the E-receiver, you need to pay special attention to the ejection port.

This EGW Picatinny rail is perfect for the Savage Mark II with the E-receiver.

Order EGW Silver Picatinny Rail

Picatinny Rails for Savage Mark II (Pre E-receiver)

This is a Picatinny rail that we’d recommend for Savage Mark II without the E-receiver:

View EGW Savage Mark II (1-3/8" Ejection Port) Picatinny Rail

Help Us Build Our Riflescope Mounts Database

If you happen to own this or any other rifle, we would appreciate it if you could help us expand our database by sending us some photos of the rifle receiver (the bare mounting surface of the rifle without the mounts installed). For your help, our company offers a fair return in terms of practical rewards.

Please send us an email for more information. You can contact us here: info@optics-trade.eu