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At a gun show this week-end, I finagled a Savage model 25. - I got the model "T" which weighs 8.5 pounds with no scope, has a 24" heavy barrel and is chambered for .223 Remington. It's the "T" model because it has a laminated thumb-hole stock.

Looking in Savage's online catalog, I was always uncertain about the model 25, but when I got to see one I found that I liked it better than I thought I would.

I also got two 50 round boxes of Black Hills 75 grain match HP cartridges that were marked "Seconds" as the bullets had dark patches on them. The brass looked OK though.

Here are pictures of a target from my first outing with the gun. It was getting close to dark so by the time I got it sighted in, I only had time to shoot one group at 100 yards before I had to head for the house.

A dime covers this five shot group at 100 yards. - Just what I was hoping for.









The action on the model 25 looks like a bigger version of the action on my Savage in .17HMR rimfire, but it's really quite different. There is a three lug bolt head for example, and it is also much smoother. The bolt glides like its on bearings.

I wanted something cheap to shoot that would be accurate and not have much recoil. My first preference was a .222 Remington, but in the end I got a .223 instead.

Now I have to get reloading dies lined up before I run out of these factory loads. - I hope it likes 55 grain bullets as much as it likes these 75 grain hollow-points, as I have 200 55 grain Hornady V-Max bullets on hand, left over from when I had a CZ in .222 Remington a few years ago.

No longer dubious about the Savage model 25, I would recommend this rifle for a range gun, or as a relatively light varminter.

The scope is a BSA "CatEye" 4-16x40 side-focus. - Seems OK, but looks funny.

It seems to me like you happened onto a winner. Good looking rifle too.

Thank you!

Today I tackled the trigger, which would not adjust down as far as I like. I had to do some minor surgery to lighten it, but it was raining outside today and it gave me something to do.

Now I have the trigger down to 1.5 pounds, which is about where I like a target gun. One thing I like about the accutrigger is that you can have it very light, and it's still not going to discharge without a deliberate trigger pull. The worst it might do if you go too far is refuse to cock, or maybe de-cock if you cycle the bolt roughly. It handles rough bolt cycles and stays cocked, so it should be good to go.

I was going to put in an over-travel stop, but the trigger/sear design does not encourage that, so after some head-scratching I decided not to after all. - It can be done, but the work would have taken a lot longer and I wouldn't try it without replacement parts on hand, in case of a boo-boo. It would have involved some grinding on the body of the sear to provide clearance.

The trigger would only go down to 3.5 pounds before, great for a hunting rifle but not optimum for target shooting.

Charles,
You did not specifically say whether this is a new or "used" rifle from the gun show. It looks REALLY good if this is a used firearm. I do not own a bolt gun - yet - and this Savage model seems to be a good option. Especially since your criteria ("I wanted something cheap to shoot that would be accurate and not have much recoil.") parallel my own.
I think I would be happy even with the 3.5 pound trigger.
Coach

It was used, with just a few cosmetic boo-boos on it. - A scratched place on the bolt knob and a few minor dings in the stock. It needed a good barrel cleaning, too.

Here's the page for this rifle at Savage:

http://www.savagearms.com/firearms/model/25LVT

Savage says that they are 800 bucks, but Bud's gun shop has them new for 603.00, which is a lot more like it.

http://www.budsgunshop.com/catalog/prod ... -T+223+DBM

There are other, less expensive models of the Savage 25. I have been told by a collector though that the ones with the high polish on the metal often have more attention paid in other areas too, and will generally function better.

I looked at an online auction site that I frequent, but didn't find a used one with a better price than what Bud's charges for a brand new one.

I've been looking at reduced loads for the .223 cartridge. One that is listed at the Hodgdon site calls for 3.1 grains of "Titegroup" powder with a 55 grain FMJ bullet for just over 1000 fps, about like a .22 magnum.

Over-all, "Trail Boss" powder is probably my best bet for reduced loads, as there is no danger of a double-loaded round.

What I'm thinking of is to buy cheap bullets in bulk and shoot the "mouse" loads for fun at 50 yards. Rimfires are hard to find, and expensive when you find them, so this will give me a chance to shoot a lot without having to look for ammo, or pay much for it either.

.223 reloading dies I ordered late last week should show up tomorrow or maybe the next day. I'm looking forward to seeing what I can get to shoot fairly well with the subsonic loads.

You can also put a .22 caliber airgun pellet backward into a primed .223 case with no powder, but I've already got a pellet gun for that.

One fellow talked about drilling out a .223 case to accept shotgun primers. He said he could put the pellet in front-ways through the drilled-out primer pocket, seating it in the neck and then priming the case for performance similar to a .22 short rimfire.

If I get bored this winter, I might have to try that out.

Charles, Thanks for the follow up and details. I agree that $600 is a competitive price for a new rifle in this class. I am not a hand-loader, so I would default to manufactured cartridges. But .223 are not overly expensive. I can usually find them at around $0.40 cents a round locally.
It is clear that you got a very good rifle at a nice price. Congratulations.

I am not yet comfortable with my ability to judge a used firearm at a gun show. Perhaps one day I will see a deal.. and have the confidence to take one home.
Coach

Now, nobody will be able to live with me. I shot my best group of my lifetime today, beating a three-shot 3/8" group I fired in the late 1980's with a 30 pound bull gun chambered in 30-30.

Today I put five rounds into .320", center to center. I'm just going to call it 3/8" as that's easier to say.

Click image to see it larger



My son also shot his best group ever, just under one inch. We were shooting the Savage model 25 in .223 with 75 grain match hollow-points.

It is good to see that there are still hills to climb as I get older. - Maybe I'll flinch one in someday that will be a little bit better.

My son and I agreed today that the Savage needs a better scope. The BSA CatsEye 4-16x40 is not making either one of us happy. The bad habit it has is to suddenly lose the image and go black with a small movement of the head. Other scopes we have used gave us more leeway on that, and we agreed that we could also use more magnification. I think I'll try a Swift riflescope rather than the usual Leupold or Nikon that I tend to favor, I once had a 4x Swift pistol scope that I was impressed with. It was an attractive piece of equipment and it did a good job.

So anyway, I'm tickled pink at besting my old record today.

Nice shooting! I've always dug Savage's rifles for their accuracy.... I haven't found one that shoots poorly (ok BOAM had one that wasn't super accurate but it was still darn good for the $)

Enjiy your new shooter!

Nice shooting. Looks like you found a combo to keep.

Okay CharlesB, you've had this little Savage for quite a while now, so the question is, do you still like it and why. I've been looking at these myself for a while now.

Well, actually I'm trying to sell the Savage right now to finance another project.

It's a good rifle, but my resources are limited and I'm wanting to finish a long-term project that I've been procrastinating about, for a couple of years, now.

Also, my 1885 Winchester shooting reduced loads does what the Savage does. ( Cheap to shoot but accurate. )