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Handled a savage 25 laminate stock semi heavy barrel rifle yesterday and was very pleasantly surprised by how well I liked it. I’ve been looking for a CZ without the heavy barrel but haven’t been able to locate one. Anyone have any reports on the savage? I have read very good reports on the CZ and am leaning towards getting one of those but the savage kind of surprised me. Thanks, Ben.

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Much prefer the CZ, and yeah, its a bit of a chore finding one, but google is your friend. Just had a buddy find one that way this morning.


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make mine a Ruger.....

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Ben-
I have a 17 Hornet in the CZ 527 Varmint model and prefer it over the lighter American version. The Varmint version of the 527 models isn't really that heavy given the diminutive size of the little Mauser actions. IME, the longer and heavier 'varmint' barrel has some advantages over the skinny and lighter American profile barrel, as follows:

1. The Varmint barrel seems to ride the cross-sticks much steadier for field shooting PDs and gophers probably due to more weight forward,
2. The heavier Varmint barrel reduces the recoil and muzzle jump so you get a better view of the action, and
3. The Varmint barrel is about 2 inches longer which usually yields slightly higher velocities.

Good luck with your search!


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I have a Savage 25 in .17 Hornet and it shoots tiny little groups at 100 yds. even with Hornady factory ammo. It's my second favorite groundhog rifle next to my .17 Fireball. I don't think the model 25 will disappoint you unless you enter it in a beauty contest.

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Benbo: Go with the Ruger 77/17 Hornet in the Varmint/Target configuration.
Mine is VERY accurate, the stock is wonderful, my trigger is great and the rotary magazine is unbeatable!
Best of luck with whichever you choose!
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Originally Posted by huntsman22
make mine a Ruger.....



Dis is the cream of the crop...definitely.


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CZ is what I like.


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Benbo,

I have owned the Savage and currently own the Ruger and the CZ. I shoot them mostly at prairie dogs off rotating shooting tables.
The Savage I owned first was very accurate with factory ammo but I sold it to a good friend who still shoots it. I sold it because I didn't like the magazine that you really cannot single load very well. My friend is a reloader and he has had some difficulty with reloads that are less than published maximum loads blowing primers. I then bought the CZ with a set trigger and got a single shot follower magazine from James Calhoon which works much better for me than the magazine. I did not like the relatively high scope mounts but just this past summer found a rail and a much lower set of rings which work much better for me. In the meantime, I acquired both used a 17 WSM and a used 17 Hornet in a matching set of Ruger Varmint contour rifles after I sold the Savage to my friend and after buying the CZ but before finding the lower scope mounts. I like the Rugers' very much after putting in a replacement sear and spring in both rifles. However I still did not like the rotary magazine when shooting in active dog towns. For my fumble fingers, it took too long to reload compared to single loading. With one of the Ruger rifles, I got an extra magazine which I then had modified to work as a single shot follower that works for both the WSM and the Hornet.

All three of the rifles wear similar Leupold 1" 4.5-14 AO scopes with VH reticles.

All three rifles were similarly accurate with factory ammo. If I was only going to have one, I would get the CZ as I have it now modified with the lower scope mounts and the single shot follower magazine. However since I have both the WSM and Hornet in the Varmint contour Rugers', I really prefer them as a set after the mods I have done. When I use the rotary mags in the Ruger's they seem to work fine but I can reload faster using them as a single shot with the modified magazine off a table. When using the Ruger's in an active dog town, I typically spread out a box of ammo for whatever rifle I am shooting, load the rotary magazine for that rifle with ammo, and then shoot the remainder of the box as single shots, finishing that box by using the loaded rotary magazine for that specific rifle.

Hope this gives you some things to think about as you make your choice.

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Originally Posted by ingwe
Originally Posted by huntsman22
make mine a Ruger.....



Dis is the cream of the crop...definitely.


Mine was most definitely “not” cream of the crop.


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I'd go for the CZ or Ruger and skip the Savage. I tried 2 Savage 25s in 17 hornet (one wood stock and one plastic). Both had similar issues with random fliers/poor groups, feeding issues (kept jamming loading from the magazine), and no ability to single feed by hand (or nearly impossible anyway.) I have a Savage 40 bolt in 22 Hornet and that thing is a tackdriver, so I had high hopes for the 25 in 17H but unfortunately the ones i got were terrible. Went to a CZ 17H Varmint and loved it so much and it shot so well that I ended up buying 3 more 527s in other calibers. All have been trouble free and extremely accurate. No personal experience with the Ruger 17H but hear mostly good on it.

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An option would be to buy a T/C Encore or Contender, if being limited to a single shot doesn't make you squampshus. Then whenever you want a different caliber all you have to do is buy a new barrel.


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I've owned the Savage 25 Lightweight Varminter for almost 5 years now. This is the model the OP was talking about. I really, really like it a lot. Like someone else said, it won't win any beauty contests, but this is largely because of Savage's utilitarian approach to design and manufacturing. However, holy cow, is this rig accurate! I have shot numerous .25" groups at 100 yards with Hornady factory loads, and close to that with my home-rolled stuff. I live in Southern Ontario, so we don't have prairie dog towns, and the ground hog population here has been pretty much decimated, so I haven't killed anything with it yet, but I have put close to 1000 rounds through it at my club, probably 50/50 handloads and factory.

I have learned a fair bit about the cartridge, and one of the most important things that handloaders need to understand is that the loads published by Hornady, especially with Lil' Gun, are way, way too hot. I blew primers, stretched primer pockets and had flyers and velocities of 3850 with the 20gr VMAX until I figured out that the 10 grains of Lil' Gun that Hornady showed as max was actually .5gr over max. 9.5 grains yields velocities that pretty much duplicate Hornady's extremely accurate factory load, and the accuracy of my 20gr loads almost duplicate theirs. My Savage also shoots the Hornady 25gr VMAX and HP bullets and the Rem 25gr plated HP just as well.

The other important thing to remember is that those tiny little bullets are really susceptible to cross winds, even slight ones. The "flyers" that someone above mentioned that his friend experienced may very well have been attributable to this. My Savage 25 is extremely consistent and I plan on keeping it. It sports a Bushnell Legend Ultra HD in 4.5-14 X 44 for glass, BTW.

Don't dismiss the Savage; it's a fine, fine rifle.

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Life is too short to suffer a Savage.....

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It seems prices on the 17 Hornet are getting out of hand. I followed a gunbroker auction for a Ruger 77/17 that ended at over $2,800 last week. This was the target model with the laminated stock but that seems over the top to me.


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Evening gang. I just bought a sav 25 in 17 hornet. I'm left handed & couldn't find a remington sps L H in 17 fireball. I gave up & bought the sav 25 right hand 17 🐝 with the idea of changing the bolt face & re chambering it in 17 fireball. But dang it's such a cute little round, & quiet. May play around with it for a while first. I have 400 new 17fb brass & the dies so eventually?. Anyway, I couldn't believe the accuracy, 1st group .606. 3shots. (It's frikn cold up here rt now) 2nd group .516 3rd group .345 then the wind came & only got a 1.10 dang!!! Should be fun for crows come spring, it is coming right?? Bill out. 👣🐾👣🐾🇨🇦 P S it is an ugly thing though, wish they'd Chang the back of that bolt, & the angled clip??? Ugh.

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i have a CZ 527 american that'll put 5 in 3/4" at 100 yds both 20 grain vmax and 25 grain hornady hp on the routine. so, make mine a Czech beauty!!!
Big Ed


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Originally Posted by huntsman22
Life is too short to suffer a Savage.....


Truth 😂😂😂


Ping pong balls for the win.
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Ain’t easy havin pals.

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