A couple of years ago, I bought a new Savage model 64F .22 long rifle using the money that I got from selling a much older Savage semi automatic 22 rifle.
The new one has a much skinnier barrel, what I assume is a hollow plastic stock, and is much lighter than the heavy barrel old wooden stockedrifle that I sold off.
My old gun was simply too heavy for women and younger teen children to handle.
Also, being an older model,it did not have any provisions for mounting a scope whereas this new Savage 64F has an 11 mm dovetail groove on the top of the receiver .
This new rifle is also fed with a 10-round "clip magazine" (as the owners' manual calls it) or box magazine, rather than a tubular magazine. The magazine, putting the rounds back closer to the receiver, improves the balance of the weapon, and keeps it being from too muzzle heavy when loaded.
This new rifle has a short length of pull; only 13.5 inches.
That is a good length of pull for women and teenagers and guys that have short arms like me. (T-rex arms). I was very surprised to see how many 22 rifles on the shelves at the local gun store had very long lengths of pull in the 14 or even 15 inch range.
https://www.savagearms.com/firearms/rimfire/model-64/64-f
But I must say this rifle has two inherent drawbacks that make it poorly-suited to teach young people or beginners how to shoot rifles.
1- The way you release the magazine is difficult. It's a retarded and crappy design.
It is almost impossible for me to do one-handed, even with adult level hand strength. It requires two hands to drop the magazine. It is a slow and awkward system unlike any other I have ever seen on another firearm.
2-- The bolt cycles roughly and is rather heavy when you're trying to c*O*c*k* the weapon. Today 13-year-old boy could not handle it half the time he attempted to charge the rifle after inserting a loaded magazine. it was also absolutely impossible for him to lock the bolt open. That also requires a tremendous amount of hands and finger strength, which most women and kids simply won't have.
That's it for inherent problems with this rifle by its very design. Now let me talk briefly about to particular issues that I've had with this gun which others that came off the assembly line weeks before or after it may not have.
3-- The first of these guns that I got was an absolute jam-O-matic. It had every type of malfunction you could think of : failure to feed, failure to extract, failure to eject (stovepipes), etc. That's after a 150 round break in period, and generous lubrication.
That first model Savage 64 that I bought was also chewing up the magazines and leaving metal shavings on my hands and on the shooting bench --the bolt was actually eating the magazines!
Savage replaced that rifle under warranty, and the new gun is 99.9% reliable with several different brands of ammo. (The other rifle wouldn't work well with any brand or type ammo).
4-- this second model 64F has a different problem however ---the rear sight is so loose in the dovetail slot that it keeps falling off. Literally falling off the gun and hitting the floor or ground. I know that with a center punch and a hammer I could put it in place in peen it to lock it in, or at least make it a tighter fit, but I hate having to do my own gun smithing to fix a gun that I just got replaced a year ago from the factory .
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See the next post regarding accuracy and trigger pull, which I'm sure some people will want to know about.
