Savage Model 64

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 64/Stevens 62 Rifle Review

Disclaimer: Savage 64 usually features a rounded 11 mm or 3/8” dovetail on the receiver, but some of the variants come with a pre-installed 2-piece Weaver base or Picatinny rail. If that’s the case with your rifle, we kindly invite you to view our offer of Weaver and Picatinny Rings.

If your Savage 64 is drilled and tapped for scope mounts, we recommend you mount this EGW Picatinny rail on it to greatly expand your scope mounting possibilities.

Figure 1: Savage 64 in .22 LR ( Source: https://www.huntinggearguy.com/rimfire/savage-64-review/)

Savage 64 belongs to the extensive Savage rimfire family which is at this point almost overpacked with quality rimfire choices.

Model 64 has a long history, but its combination of Savage’s legendary accuracy with a straight-blowback semi-automatic action stood the test of time without a problem.

It is affordable, reliable, and above all: useful in many situations and mundane tasks where carrying a bigger and/or heavier rifle just doesn’t make much sense.

The barrel of Savage 64 is either 419 mm (16.5”) or 533 mm (21”) long and is made of carbon steel, except for the variants marked with “SS” which have a stainless steel barrel.

The Savage 64 Takedown model also has the option of removing the barrel, which allows for easier transportation. The takedown process is rather intuitive. You simply unscrew the barrel from the action and re-attach it whenever you need to use it.

Savage 64 rifles come with a standard trigger, even the Savage 64 Precision model, which is somewhat interesting considering that almost all other models already adopted the patented AccuTrigger, but Savage probably avoided adding it to the 64 in order to further reduce the price of this really affordable model.

An attentive eye will notice that Savage 64 models 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” stands for synthetic stock, and “V” stands for “heavy barrel”. That would mean that the savage 64 FV, one of the many variants in this series, comes with a synthetic stock and a heavy barrel.

Most variants come with a very light synthetic stock that is suitable even for the youth, except for the variants marked with the letter “G” which stands for a hardwood stock.

The box magazine is detachable and has a capacity for up to 10 rounds, but it is unfortunately sort of cumbersome to operate. In order to insert it, the rifle owner must hold it at a certain angle to simultaneously press the magazine release catch (located in front of the well) and push the magazine into the well.

Savage 64’s two-position safety lever is found on the right side of the receiver. When it is pushed forward (away from the shooter), the rifle is in firing mode. This is indicated by a red dot that is otherwise hidden when the lever is in the safe position.

The receiver of Savage 64 usually features a rounded dovetail (either 3/8” or 11 mm) for scope mounting, but some variants come drilled and tapped instead. If that is the case with your Model 64, then we recommend you mount this EGW Picatinny rail on it. It was made specifically for Savage 64 and it can also be used on the Takedown variant if you turn the rail around so the front overhead faces the rear of the gun.

There are also some variants that come with a 2-piece Weaver base or a Picatinny rail pre-installed. In this case, we invite you to view our selection of Weaver and Picatinny Rings.

Savage 64 Calibers

Savage 64 can be chambered for:

• .22 LR

Savage 64 Variants

There are many Savage 64 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, and there are numerous possible variations that can occur. Here is a “cheat sheet” that can help you understand what these markings mean:

These are the Savage 64 variants:

• Savage 64 F

• Savage 64 Takedown

• Savage 64 FXP

• Savage 64 FXP Left Hand

• Savage 64 FVXP

• Savage 64 F Left Hand

• Savage 64 Camo

• Savage 64 FSS

• Savage 64 G

• Savage 64 TR-SR

• Savage 64 FV-SR

• Savage 64 Takedown Left Hand

• Savage 64 Precision

• Savage 64 Precision FDE

Savage 64 most commonly features a rounded dovetail on the receiver the dovetail is either of the European 11 mm style or of the USA 3/8” style. This will depend on where and when the rifle was bought.

Figure 2: The receiver of Savage 64 F with a visible mounting surface (11 mm rounded dovetail; Source: https://www.huntinggearguy.com/rimfire/savage-64-review/)

D: 11 mm or 3/8” – one or the other (they are not the same!)

How is Savage 64 Different than Savage 62

Savage 62 and Savage 64 are basically the same rifles, with the only difference being that Model 62 was first marked as “Stevens 62”.

Scope Mounts Interchangeable with Savage 64

Rifles That Have One-Piece Scope Mounts Interchangeable with Savage 64

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

If your Savage Model 64 features a rounded 11 mm or 3/8” dovetail, then any rifle with the same mounting system will have one-piece scope mounts interchangeable with it.

Rifles That Have Two-Piece Scope Mounts Interchangeable with Savage 64

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.

Again, if your Savage Model 64 has a rounded 11 mm or 3/8” dovetail, then any rifle with the same mounting system will have two-piece scope mounts interchangeable with it.

Best Scope Mounts for Savage 64

Below you will find recommendations for the best scope mounts for a rounded dovetail.

However, if your Savage 64 came with a pre-installed Picatinny rail or a 2-piece Weaver base, which is also a common feature, then we, again, urge you to view our offer of Weaver and Picatinny Rings.

Weaver and Picatinny Rings

If your Savage 64 is drilled and tapped for scope mounts and doesn’t feature either an 11 mm dovetail or a pre-installed scope base, then we strongly recommend you mount this EGW Picatinny rail which was developed for Savage 64.

EGW Picatinny Rail for Savage 64

Fixed Scope Mounts for Savage 64

When it comes to fixed scope mounts for Savage 64’s rounded dovetail, you would be hard-pressed to find a better solution than these BKL 0.6" Long Dovetail Rings nowadays.

They should fit on both 11 mm and 3/8” dovetails, are made of aluminum, offer an abundance of quality for their price, and come with a 2-year warranty.

BKL 0.6" Long Dovetail Rings, 30 mm

Detachable Repeatable Scope Mounts for Savage 64

This Henneberger one-piece mount earned our top recommendation for a detachable repeatable scope mount for Savage 64. 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 BKL Dovetail to Weaver/Picatinny Adaptor Mount which will solve the issue. It fits on both 11 mm and 3/8” dovetails.

Check out Henneberger HMS Swift Mount

Click here for BKL Dovetail to Weaver/Picatinny Adaptor

Picatinny Rails for Savage 64

If you aren’t satisfied with the 11 mm dovetail on your Savage 64, then you can install this BKL Dovetail to Weaver/Picatinny Adaptor Mount on it instead.

It should fit on the 3/8” dovetail just as easily as on the 11 mm dovetail, thanks to the BKL’s patented Auto-Centering^TM system.

View BKL Dovetail to Weaver/Picatinny Adaptor

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