savage model 23,, in 25-20 ?

[DonH]

The trigger on my 23B is is not great but OK, not so heavy I can't live with it. The 23A had a somewhat rough trigger with some creep. I had a gunsmith friend look at it and it came back with just a hint of creep (which I don't mind) and a pull slightly under 2#. That is probably too light for most folks but since I spend lots of rifle time using set triggers it almost feels heavy. If i remember right he did some light stoning and maybe clipped a spring - he tends to be very conservative when it comes to triggers. It still has plenty of engagement so is safe.

On a Marlin Model 80E (1930s) with a similar trigger arrangement I had a very slim set screw put the trigger (bearing on the receiver bottom) so as to adjust much of the pre-travel out of it. The adjustment and a bit of polishing yielded a crisp 3.5-4# pull. That, by the way, is a nice rifle also.

[Bret4207]

The 23 series triggers are very simple affairs. Polishing, smoothing and good lube will do a lot to remedy any creep or roughness. I find a trigger shoe helps too and is a very inexpensive fix. I wonder if one of those lever things I see offered lately to lighten trigger pull would help. I don't recall the name but they're a universal type rig to lighten heavy triggers that fits on the trigger itself.

Of course a good 45 minutes spent with a stone and files will fix it permanently. I wish Savage would bring these back in the original calibers plus numbers like the 22 MRF, 32 Mag, 38 Spec. The design could be altered to provide a threaded barrel, but in light of our non corrosive priming, why bother? I know it'll never happen, but I can dream.

[Bent Ramrod]

Yes, Bret; I had high hopes that the new Model 45, which appears to be an integral barrel/receiver design, would expand from its .22 Hornet chambering to some of the other lower-intensity centerfires and become the modern successor to the 23 series. I already have a couple Hornets, and can't justify another one, but a 45 in the new .327 Magnum would be pretty interesting.

And would probably sell about 100 copies before the market was saturated, unfortunately.

[Antietamgw]

I have a pair in .32-20 that I really like. I've always wanted one in .25-20. When I bought the first thirty some years back I made up a scope base using Brownell's dovetail base stock, much like buckndee wrote about. Mine uses the existing rear holes and the rear sight dovetail. In the dovetail I used a dovetail blank and drilled/tapped it for 6X48. Even with the considerable recoil generated, they have held for a few thousand rounds with no ill effects. No extra holes in the rifle either. I don't like aluminum on my guns but learned to overlook it. When I make up some steel bases for a Martini project I'll make some extra to replace these. If you don't buy that .25-20, please pass on where you found it - it won't last long if reasonably priced!

[Bret4207]

Yes, Bret; I had high hopes that the new Model 45, which appears to be an integral barrel/receiver design, would expand from its .22 Hornet chambering to some of the other lower-intensity centerfires and become the modern successor to the 23 series. I already have a couple Hornets, and can't justify another one, but a 45 in the new .327 Magnum would be pretty interesting.

And would probably sell about 100 copies before the market was saturated, unfortunately.

Forgot all about them. Single shots aren't they? Too bad they don't expand the offering a bit.

[Bent Ramrod]

Bret,

I believe they are single loaders, yes. I've seen exactly one since they've come out; maybe I should have gotten it. Savage doesn't seem to be pushing them very hard. Maybe a new collector's item in the offing. Reviews on them seem to be uniformly good, and I think they have that new Accu-Trigger.

Antietamgw,

Nice job on that scope mount. There does seem to be enough thread on those little screw holes to keep things together, and it's a shame to bore a lot of extra holes when not necessary. What I made was a strip of metal holding a couple of reverse dovetail grooves so a .22-size scope mount would clamp on. No problem with loosening there, either. The Savage bolts would always miss any low-mounted scope; I guess the state of scopes and mounts back then was too unstandardized for a set of factory scope holes.

[jlchucker]

when we were kids, my dad won one of these 25-20s (used) in a raffle where he worked. At one time or other, we all 4 brothers hunted deer with it. My youngest brother Jim got 4 bucks with it, all with one shot each--but Jim was a flincher, and would flinch his shot right into the deer's neck. The day after Dad died, many years later, my brother Bob the Buzzard latched onto this gun and took it home with him, much to Jim's disappointment. When I used to handload 25-20, I had good luck with the Lyman 257420 and a Hornaday gascheck. My load was 5.6 gr Unique. When we hunted with that rifle, as kids, we used 86 Grain factory jacketed ammo. The Model 23 in 25-20 is a pleasant rifle to shoot, and the cartridge is an easy one to load for. Think of it as a midget, shrunken 30-30 that probably shouldn't really be used on deer, but brother Jim got lucky 4 times, and used only 4 shots.

[35remington]

"Even with the considerable recoil generated, they have held for a few thousand rounds with no ill effects." (Referring to the scope mount).

Nice job, and it looks like you are living with the eye relief being a little weird, but I must say that's the very first time I ever have heard of a .32-20 generating "considerable recoil."??? The dovetail is working only because the recoil isn't considerable.