Savage Arms Model 25: A Budget-Priced Varmint Rifle

Savage Arms has a reputation for building accurate bolt-action rifles that don’t break a budget, a tradition that lives on in its 25 series of rifles. Its 25 Walking Varminter Camo model, for example, will set you back only $679 and you get your choice of .17 Hornet, .22 Hornet or .223 Rem. chamberings at the same price.

Regardless of the model you decide on, it comes with the company’s famed AccuTrigger and button-rifled, medium-contour, 22" carbon steel barrel. Detachable box magazines in each version have a capacity of four cartridges. The synthetic stock wears Realtree Max-1 camo. Weight, regardless of chambering, comes in at 6.9 lbs. and overall length is 41.75".

A 25 Walking Varminter, sans camo, comes with a black polymer stock, same 22" barrel and the MSRP is only $629. You have five chamberings from which to choose, including .17 Hornet, .204 Ruger, .22 Hornet, .222 Rem. and .223 Rem. Capacity in the box magazines remains at four, and each gun comes with that user-adjustable trigger system pioneered by Savage. Weight and length are the same as the above version, and length of pull—13.5"—is also identical.

If you prefer the visual warmth of wood furniture, the company also offers a 25 Lightweight Varminter-T. Chamberings offered are identical, but barrel length and weight grow to 24" and 8.25 lbs. MSRP across the laminated, thumbhole-stocked line is $839.

A Lightweight Varminter flavor has a laminate wood stock with a more traditional profile. It will set you back $784. Cartridge choice, barrel length and weights are identical to the “T” versions.

For more than 100 years Savage has created the kind of firearms enthusiasts demand, at fair prices. Today the company continues the tradition, with a wide variety of options and chamberings—something to fit virtually everyone’s desire. That’s one of the reasons the Savage 25 line came in seventh in GunBroker.com’s annual ranking of bolt-action rifles in 2019.