Has anyone tryed the Savage model 25 with the thumbhole stock in .223

HartShot

New member
Has anyone tryed the Savage model 25 with the thumbhole stock in .223

I like the way it looks and was wanting to buy one and was just wondering what there like
 
I called Savage and talked to them about that rifle and it is a model 93 on steriods. The barrel is pressed into the action, makeing it unchangeable. This is a major draw back in my opinion. I would want the barrel of a gun that looks that nice to be interchangeable, especailly on barrel burning calibers like varmint cartridges.
 
I got one about a month ago, the thumbhole model in .204. I topped it off with a Nikon 6-18x40 SF Buckmaster, I had on the shelf waiting on completion of a .20BR build, set in Warne rings. I've made 3 range trips so far. 1 trip just to break in the barrel, then 2 trips to check loads with BLC2 and another with Benchmark, with 32gr V-Maxs.

It was easy to see which loads it didn't like, as they were in the 2"-2.5" range. The loads it did seem to like, would put the first 3 shots into either a nice bughole or tiny clover leaf groups , at around 1/4" (in the mid to hi .2s) to just under 1/2" (in the .4s). I noticed that, as the barrel heated, the 4th & 5th shot would open the groups to 3/4" or right at 1". Got a couple of more range trips to do, some different bullet test with Sierra 32gr BK and Nosler 32gr BT. Also I think I will shot 3 shots let it cool about 15-20 minutes and shoot the remaining 2 shots, to se if that helps

I will say that I like the looks and the feel of this rifle. It is an awesome rifle to shoot, such a mild if any recoil, LOP is perfect for me, and the T-hole is almost a perfect fit as well. It rides the front rest and rear bag great and hardly moves. The barrel is fairly easy to clean at this point and should get easier after a hundred or so more rounds. This gun looks like it is going to like a clean bore.

The only negative thing I can say is, that with my lower end test loads, the bolt felt a little sticky or hard when opening it on the fired case, but didn't do it on the high end loads
 
The barrel is pressed into the reciever? I was under the impression that it was threaded but instead of being held in place by a barrel nut it was being held in place by a pin.
BP
 
I handled one at a gunshow a few weeks ago. I was kinda hot for one after reading a gun rag article about em. After handling it, I didn't like the feel for some reason. It wasn't anything specific I could put my finger on though, just didn't feel right to me. I have a Savage 10 in .223 and really like it. The 25 had a sleeved barrel too, not sure what that is about but I didn't care for that either. I would suggest getting your hands on one rather than ordering it cold. If anybody can exlain the reason for the barrel sleeve I'd love to more about it. I'm not saying it's a good or bad thing, just something I'm not familiar with.

peace.
unloaded
 
The tech lady from savage told me when I asked her what a sleeved barrel meant, that the barrel was pressed into the action just like their rimfire series. I guess they call it sleeved instead of threaded. I asked if they though that the gun could take the pressures generated by a .204 with a pressed in barrel. She had to put me on hold for a long time. Then she came back and said their tests rifles had no problems in XXXX number of shots. I said, thanks for your time.
 
The barrel is pressed in and held in place with 2 fairly large pins on the botom of the recevier. As far as swapping barrels, it could be done by a gunsmith, but no way for the DIY'fer, like a model 10 or 12 can be done. Sleeved barrels work and have worked for many decades. I am taking a SWAG and saying that IMO, Savage went with the pressed barrel, to save machining steps, which reduced cost and keep in more in line with the M-40 .22 Hornet and the 93R17 style rifles.

As far as pressure, I have shot up to 30.2gr of BLC2 and 28.0gr of Benchmark, with 32gr V-Maxs, and I am showing no pressure signs. On futher test, I will be increasing chagres by .2gr increments to see if I can find the max pressure points, and see if I can get even tighter groups. The only pressure sign I saw, well actually felt, was with my low end test loads, 26.0gr of Benchmark and 28.0gr of BLC2, and the bolt was just a little hard or sticky in opening, but as I went up in charge, the bolt opened just fine.

As far the feel goes, I like the feel of the rifle. I like the varmint rifle performance, in a sporter weight and lenght rifle. It is much easier to handle and faster handling, than than my 12FV's in .223 Rem. and 308 Win, being it's much shorter and ligher.

The only negative thing I can say at this time is, the barrel heats up so quick, after just 3 shots. With the loads this rifle likes, it would put 3 rounds into bugholes or tight clover leaf groups, in the mid-.2" to high .4" range. But the barrel heats up so quickly, that the 4th and 5th shots open the groups up to .75"-1" range, even though I was firing five shots over a 10-15 minute span.
 
"The only negative thing I can say at this time is, the barrel heats up so quick, after just 3 shots. With the loads this rifle likes, it would put 3 rounds into bugholes or tight clover leaf groups, in the mid-.2" to high .4" range. But the barrel heats up so quickly, that the 4th and 5th shots open the groups up to .75"-1" range, even though I was firing five shots over a 10-15 minute span."

It's not that the barrel is getting hot. It is just a statistical fact that 5 shot groups are usually about twice the size of 3 shot groups. You could wait 10 minutes between shots and the 5 shot groups would still be about twice the size of the 3 shot groups.

Jack
 
Thanks for all the help and info on the 25 guys BUT I was at my local gun dealer thismorning and went in a toal different direction.He told me he just got in a couple special buy rifles I said let me look at them they were Howa M-1500 Thumbhole Sporter 1 in .223 and 1 in 243 both nutmeg and blue I looked at them and handled them I liked them both and asked him the price he said $450.00 each I said I will take them both I have to go pick them up friday morning /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grinning-smiley-003.gif
 
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