The Model 25 is chambered for .204 Ruger or .223, and its magazine holds four rounds.

The ejector is the commonly seen spring-loaded, plunger type, and while the boltface is deeply counterbored, the wall is interrupted by a Sako-style extractor. A cap at the rear of the bolt blocks propellant gas from the shooter’s face in the event of a blown primer. The bolt handle, with its smooth knob, is screwed to the bolt body. Bolt removal is accomplished by placing the safety in its “Off” position and holding back the trigger while retracting the bolt.

Like most centerfire rifles built by Savage, the Model 25 utilizes the extremely successful AccuTrigger. Capable of being adjusted down to 1/2 pound, the trigger on the rifle I shot came from the factory at 36 ounces with a pull-to-pull variation of 4 ounces. As far as my finger could tell, creep was nonexistent, but there was a bit of overtravel.

The safety consists of a two-position lever located just behind the bolt handle cutout at the right side of the receiver. It operates quite smoothly with positive stops at its two positions, and since it does not lock the bolt from rotation, a cartridge can be unloaded from the chamber while the safety is engaged.

I have long been convinced that one of the primary reasons Savage rifles enjoy a reputation for excellent accuracy is the fact that their barrels are made in-house and they are button-rifled with minimal bore and groove diameter dimensional variations from throat to muzzle. The barrels also usually have an extremely smooth bore finish.

Probably best described as medium-heavy in contour, the 24-inch barrel of the Model 25 Lightweight Varminter measures 0.950 inch at the receiver. From there, it straight-tapers to a muzzle diameter of 0.700 inch. The barrel is lightly fluted over about half of its length. A target-style crown at the muzzle protects the rifling from dings in the field.

What you have just read describes the two varminter versions of the Model 25--the Lightweight Varminter (LV) and the Lightweight Varminter Thumbhole (LVT). A third version, the Classic, has a 22-inch barrel of lighter contour, which along with its walnut stock brings it in at a weight of 7.25 pounds, or a pound less than the LVT with its laminated stock. Think of the Classic as just the ticket for traipsing over hill and dale in search of varmints, while the other two are more suited to sitting than walking.

In the mass-production of a rifle, adjusting headspace to the desired dimension is one of the more time-consuming operations required. Through the years, Savage has come up with clever ways of decreasing production time in this area while at the same time assuring that headspace is dead on.

The Model 340 rifle, which was brought out by Savage in 1947, introduced a unique method of accomplishing that, and the design detail was carried over into the Model 110 when it came along in 1958. After the barrel is threaded and finish-chambered, and with the bolt in its locked position, the barrel is manually screwed into the receiver until a headspace gauge in the chamber makes contact with the face of the bolt. Tightening a large locknut encircling the barrel against the face of the receiver secures the barrel in place.

On the new Model 25, headspace is adjusted in nearly the same manner, but its barrel is fixed into its final relationship with the receiver by two steel pins instead of the nut. The pins are installed transversely through the bottom of the receiver ring and the barrel shank.