The dual-purpose varmint/deer rifle was a popular item in the ’50s and ’60s, and is still a useful tool today. Varmint shooting as a sport got going in the 1930s, but as with many things the Depression and WWII put it on hold until the ’50s. By 1955 the tremendous post-war demand for sporting firearms was slowing down. For most hunters, one centerfire rifle was all they wanted or needed.

hoot their big-game rifles in the field. Deer populations were a fraction of what they are today. Elk, moose, and antelope were exotic game for most hunters.

For many hunters the idea of a specialized varmint rifle seemed bizarre, if not downright decadent. But they couldn’t help noticing varmint hunters were at least out in the field shooting.

Some writers promoted those two good .25s, the .250 Savage and .257 Roberts. From the manufacturers’ point of view there didn’t seem to be much sales potential in either. They had been around for 40- and 20-plus years respectively and demand wasn’t exactly setting the world on fire.

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