Savage Model 12 Varminter Low Profile

[Bronco Boy]

I’m in the market for a new Varmint rifle. I am considering a Savage Model 12 Varminter Low Profile (from S.I.R. or Ellwood Epps). Anyone handled one? What is the build quality like? For a bit more $ ($300 or so) am I better off with a Remington?

Thanks in advance for your opinions.

 

[Lef T]

I just recently got a VLP.
I really like shooting this rifle.
It's a .223 and loves Sierra 69gr. HPBT Matchkings.
It's heavy ,but I shoot it off a bench
and love the weight and heft of this rifle.
It is accurate.
A better name?
Christ,I shoot a pistol with the word Trojan on the slide.
It's accurate too.

 

[Johnn Peterson]

I've made mention of it in other posts, I have a Savage 112BVSS that looks very similar to the one in Lef T's post. Mine is chambered for .25-06 and on it I've mounted a Leupold VX-III, 6.5-20x40mm long range scope with a Varmint Hunter's reticle. With one of my first batches of reloads using the Sierra 117gr SBT I got a three shot group of 0.486" @ 185 yds. I haven't shot all that much through it, yet, and have a number of other loads to try. While that's the best group so far, I have a few others that are compareable. Long & the short of it, the Savage, while fairly inexpensive, they shoot like a 'hot dam'. Good bang for the buck.

 

[manbearpig]

this is by no means a negative post about the Savage model 12 lowpro varminter.... it would be one of the first guns i looked at for a benchrest rifle. however i would not recommend it for a varmint rifle.

its brutally heavy, so unless you are exclusively shooting it off a bench look towards a lighter gun. laminate stocks arent exactly on the light side either.
with a varmint scope, good mounts, and a bipod on it youre not going to be very comfortable carrying it around, and i have yet to find a varminting place in ontario where you can just sit in one spot and shoot all day (only happens with ground squirrels and pdogs in the states)... nor are there enough groundhogs nowadays to worry about 'rapid fire' overheating of your barrel, so at most a medium contour rifle is a better compromise for a walkaround varmint gun. after carrying around 15 lbs of rifle this year for the dwindling population of ontario groundhogs, next year im taking a 7lb rifle. im in shape with above-average endurance but by the end of the day i was eyeing my friend's remmy 700 mountain rifle and wishing id brought a lighter gun. i had a purple bruise on my shoulder where my 15lb gun's harris bipod was bumping my shoulder from time to time.
keep in mind that in addition to that 15lb gun youll have to carry enough ammo and a bottle/canteen of water.

i also cant stand fluting on a barrel, so thats another negative for me - but thats just personal preference i guess. there is no positive effect of fluting on a barrel other than a minimal lightening of the barrel, but there could be a drastic effect on accuracy if its not done perfectly. guns are accurate despite fluting, not because of it.

so, knowing what i know now, if i were to build a varmint rifle - not a benchrest rifle - i would start with something like the Savage Model 10 predator Hunter at 7 1/4lbs with a medium contour barrel and work from there. if you insist on a heavy barrel look at a Tikka T3 Varmint stainless, its a hair under 8 lbs and offers a lot of rifle for the money.

 

[Johnn Peterson]

Manbearpig, can't argue with your take on the weight aspect. Just checked, and my Savage, sans bipod, tips the scale at 12 lbs. Packing that weight wasn't really something I considered when I purchased it and after what you've said I should've.
As far as the fluting is concerned, I can live with it. Is the main purpose of it for weight reduction or increased cooling ability? Combination of both perhaps? I guess unless you get into a field with an abundant gopher population, cooling the barrel is a minor concern.

 

[manbearpig]

theories on the 'superior cooling ability' of fluting have pretty much been debunked (machined or attached fins/heat sinks like on old MG barrels would help, but the added surface area of most fluting is laughable at best), and the weight savings are minimal - with a high risk of actually negatively affecting accuracy if the fluting is done in a sloppy manner. this shouldnt be a problem with a reputable manufacturer though.

really the only solid reason to get a fluted barrel is because you think it looks good. if you like the aesthetics, go for it - but the only substantial real world advantage to barrel fluting is in the pockets of gunsmiths and barrel manufacturers
its right up there with bolt jeweling - some people like the looks, and hence dont hesitate to spend the money on it, but it really doesnt confer a substantial functional advantage - mainly an aesthetic one.

 

[Bronco Boy]

Thanks for the great feed back back guys........I am going to really consider the Tikka as well even though I love the look of the lament stock and find the stocks on Tikka's a little plasticity looking. I live in BC and hunting yotes involves some walking. I grew up in Ont; interesting to hear that the groundhogs have nearly been exterminated, I would guess land "development" more than hunting is to blame.

 

[manbearpig]

overhunting, a boom in the coyote population several years back took care of a lot of them as well, which in turn were taken out by an outbreak of the mange. there was a time when your groundhog kills were limited only by how much ammo you brought with you - now youre lucky to use up a single box of ammo. there is a LOT of walking involved. i covered over 35 miles of farmland the last time i went out - on foot, carrying a 15lb gun, a canteen, 60 rds of .223 and some sandwiches. there is no way i will take a heavy barreled gun again. altogether i got 26 hogs that day.

the best area in Ontario for groundhogs is around Durham. unfortunately there are a lot of city idiots moving into the area and getting permission to hunt on land is often difficult -- they move there from Toronto and build their dream house on some cheap farmland, and think that groundhogs are cute fluffy little animals - they even feed the f**kers.
a lot of the farmers that do live around there and realise that they are pests buzz around their own property and the property of all the other farmers they know on ATVs and shoot most of the groundhogs on the first nice day way early in the season - which usually falls on a weekday and comes out of nowhere so you have no hopes of getting out there.
there still are some hogs but you need to drive around the old dirt farm roads and really get into the remote fields. around the towns youll see them right along at the side of the highway, or out on the grass in front of the restaurant you are eating at, but you cant shoot them

i take back my Tikka suggestion. the Tikka i owned, i purchased used so i never really experienced buying rings for them. i just priced optilock bases and rings for a Tikka and it came out to over $160. knowing that, i would look into a better rifle like a Ruger, in addition to the Savage. very Mauser influenced design with controlled round feed, huge claw extractor. nice laminate stocks, great fit and finish, and they include a set of good quality rings that fit into bases right on the rifle, so you actually save quite a bit of money (and a touch of weight) that way.

look into the Ruger M77 Hawkeyes, or even the Ruger #1 single shot rifles. try to find a medium weight barrel, but youd be fine even with a sporter weight unless you intend to be taking more than a couple of shots per minute, which is unlikely in most of Canada.

 

[MattW]

I also have a Savage 12 BVSS which is very similar to what you're looking at. Mine's a 22-250 and it shoots and functions great. At 100 yards all shots generally touch one another and when I taught my wife to shoot she used it with a bipod to put about 25-30 rounds into a 1 inch hole. It is very heavy though if you're going to be walking.