Savage Model 23-B

In the 129 years Savage Arms has been in business, the company has produced more than its share of iconic firearms — the Model 99 lever-action rifle, the Model 110 bolt-action rifle and the Model 24 shotgun/rifle O/U combination are three of the more obvious selections.

But many lesser-known models have come and gone and a lot of them warrant more than a cursory historical footnote. Here’s a case in point.

A Sporting Proposition

Beginning in the early 1920s, Savage began producing a “Sporter” series of economically priced bolt-action repeaters chambered to such cartridges as the .22 Long Rifle (M23-A), .22 Hornet (M23-D), .32-20 (M23-C) and .25-20 (M23-B).

Basically, these were small game and varmint offerings although the .25-20 and .32-20 did see use on deer. The .25-20, incidentally, gained a good reputation on turkeys in areas where rifles are permitted. Small game hunters and trappers appreciated the enhanced knockdown power of the heavy bullet loadings without the level of destruction seen with higher velocity rounds.
I was fortunate to lay hands on an M23-B Savage Sporter thanks to a collector/shooting buddy Doug Fee and — from an equally critical standpoint — a few vintage boxes of .25-20 ammo. In our case this turned out to be 86-grain Western SP.

Introduced specifically for Winchester’s 1892 lever-action, the .25-20 also found its way into a few bolt actions — the Savage, of course, and a small number of Winchester’s classic Model 43.

The .25-20 WCF is a rimmed, bottleneck cartridge; the product of a necked down .32-20. Earlier factory offerings included a 60-grain varmint load at 2,250 fps, according to Barnes’ Cartridges of the World, which also lists our heavier load at 1,460 fps.
Naturally, we had to check this figure. Over our Shooting Chrony, we averaged 1,428 fps from the rifle’s 25″ barrel. The Extreme Spread was 70 fps. The noise signature was about on par with a .22 Hornet, although some bystanders opined it to be a bit less sharp.

Although the Model 23-B was officially discontinued in 1942, it was cataloged for the last time in 1945 at a sticker price of $42.50. If this sounds like an insanely reasonable deal, keep in mind in today’s dollars this translates to just under $720. However, we’ve recently seen one in VG condition listed on Gunbroker.com at a beginning bid of $600.

But if you’re allergic to auctions, it’s certainly not beyond the realm of possibility to find one in a Mom-and-Pop used rack for something reasonably close to this price.

Where things get scary, however, is the ammo side of the equation. The operative term for the .25-20 is “moribund.” As such, expect to pay dearly for any full 50-round box you’re lucky enough to find. We recently saw a box of Remington Hi-Speed 86-grain SP at a “Buy It Now” price of $175 at Gunbroker.com.

Winchester and Remington cataloged it, but Remington’s last catalog price was $140.99 per box and listed it as “currently unavailable.”

So if you’re lucky enough to be gifted with a couple boxes of .25-20 ammo (like we were), it’d pretty much justify buying the rifle. At any rate, the case for reloading pretty much makes itself.

Fortunately, .25-caliber bullets can be had in 60-, 75- and 86-grain weights, and there are enough .25-20 fans out there to ensure plenty of loading recipes and advice.

A Day At The Range

Now to the rifle itself. Our M23-B Sporter features a 25″ barrel, 6.5-lb. weight, a rather unprepossessing oil-finished walnut stock, steel buttplate, open step-adjustable sights and a 5-round detachable box magazine.

Our particular Sporter, incidentally, featured a Schnabel forend. Many of them did not.

After waiting for a dry day in an unseasonably wet June, we finally hauled the Savage to the range and set up shop.

At 50 yards, five-shot groups from a sandbag rest generally ran around between 2″ and 3″ — our Best of Show being 1.75″ — which is considerably better than us older shooters have a right to expect with those open sights. Fittingly enough, it was shot by the rifle’s owner, Doug Fee.

We even busted a few clay birds on the 60-yard berm, the operative term here being “few.” Nobody was in the mood to promiscuously squander the precious .25-20 ammo. And, you can bet no brass was left to lie.

The trigger, incidentally, was excellent — a crisp 3 lbs. Recoil, as might be expected, was less than negligible.

Our original magazine functioned flawlessly, a common trouble spot with vintage rifles. One thing to remember is there’s no mag release button, switch, lever or what-have-you. Simply rock the mag forward and pull down. That’s it.

We were very impressed with the Savage M23-B. Although pretty much in the utility class, it represented a lot of value for the money.
Despite its scarcity and cost, the .25-20 cartridge is responsible for much of the rifle’s appeal. I must confess to having a soft spot for the .25-20, having owned a Winchester 1892 in the same caliber when I was a teenager. Unfortunately, the bore was so shot-out it was impossible for me to get an idea of what the cartridge was really capable of, so I sold it to a guy who promptly rechambered it to .357 Magnum.

But to be honest, the Model 23-B/.25-20’s particular niche could most likely be filled with any number of pistol-caliber carbines today. However, it’s unlikely any of them would have the aesthetic appeal of Savage’s long-gone classic.

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