Tested and Reviewed: Savage Revel Lever-Action .22

If you like lever-action rifles, we can be friends. If not, how long have you been a member of the communist party? Jokes notwithstanding, lever-action rifles are a practical choice for hunting and are also exceptionally fun. When it comes to rimfires, however, our current era is dominated by semi-autos, which may make lever guns seem at least antiquated if not irrelevant. Nonetheless, no other type of rifle has the heralded form factor and ergonomics, as well as the nostalgia, of the lever action—rimfires included. The new Savage Revel .22 LR checks all these boxes.

I was predisposed to being unimpressed with this rifle. I heard it had an aluminum receiver, thought it would feel cheap and didn’t expect much from this affordable lever action. That was before I handled the Revel and spent time on the range with it. I was pleasantly surprised during my evaluation, and my reservations were completely unfounded. Spoiler alert, this is a great little lever-action .22 LR that is well made and functions reliably.

The Revel is a tube-magazine fed, hammer-fired rifle with both a half-cock and cross-bolt safety. A hardwood buttstock and fore-end add an attractive, classic aesthetic and feel. The rifle takes down without tools, which is convenient. Despite the aluminum receiver, the Revel feels solid with a pleasant, reassuring heft. The sample rifle weighed 6.1 pounds.

Much of the rifle’s weight comes from the medium-contour, 18-inch barrel with a nicely recessed muzzle crown. Savage outfits the barrel with an elevation- and windage-adjustable notched rear-sight blade with a blade-style front sight. The rear-sight elevation is adjustable via a stepped elevation slider, and the windage is adjustable by drifting the whole rear-sight assembly left or right.

The rifle’s defining lever is a large-loop design that is flat on the inside and outside perimeters, providing enough surface area to comfortably work the action. It should easily accommodate all but the largest of hands with gloves. The buttstock and fore-end are made from nicely finished Turkish walnut. There is no checkering, though, and the wood is smooth and somewhat slick. The metal-to-wood fit at the receiver is satisfactory. On the test sample there are a couple areas where the wood is raised above the receiver tang and a bit sharp to the touch. However, the buttstock and fore-end have good ergonomic geometry. The buttplate is hard plastic with some texturing to prevent it from slipping off the shoulder.

The Revel’s wide, curved trigger has a bit of take-up and a soft break. That said, the pull weight averaged 2.04 pounds, so the trigger shouldn’t hamper accurate shooting.

Let’s talk about the cross-bolt safety. Purists hate it. I’m ambivalent. If you don’t like it, don’t use it. Use the traditional half-cock safety instead. The Revel’s cross-bolt safety blocks the trigger like most others on lever guns, but it also works in a few other ways. If the gun is not cocked, and the safety is engaged, you cannot fully rack the action to chamber a round or cock the hammer and trigger. If the hammer is down, safety engaged, you cannot cock the hammer with your thumb, either. If the hammer is back and the safety is engaged, the trigger is blocked and you cannot pull the trigger.

To take down the Revel, open the action and push two pins from left to right like on an AR (the pins are captured). Then separate the receiver, holding the buttstock in one hand and the fore-end in the other. Do not push or let the bolt go forward into battery when separated. You won’t be able to get it back together without further disassembly. Simply reverse the process to reassemble. The takedown feature is convenient for transport, storage and cleaning.

In short, I think the Revel hits above its weight class. It cycles positively and smoothly. The action feels solid and precise. While putting a few hundred rounds downrange, I had zero failures to feed. The only failures to eject were when I short-cycled the action because I was shooting from bags on a bench. When I ran the lever correctly, the spring-loaded ejector popped the case out of the receiver like it was an emergency. Loading the rifle was easy enough through the opening at the top of the tube.

I shot the Revel at 25 and 50 yards with the factory iron sights. Accuracy was good, but the rifle’s potential was limited by the open sights. They are not exactly precision-oriented, but that’s OK. The Revel isn’t made to be a rifle for NRL Hunter matches. Regardless, I have no doubt that a scope or red dot would cut group sizes considerably.

I have a few minor gripes. The aluminum receiver is powder-coated, and there appears to be some overspray inside the receiver. I would prefer the receiver be hard-coat anodized. In addition, there is a bit of play between the receiver halves. The sights on the sample shot high, and I had to remove the slider to zero at 50 yards. I realize I tested the Classic version, but still, it would be nice if the barrel were threaded (a feature available on the DLX version).

My first deer rifle was a Savage Model 99C lever action, so I’ve had a soft spot for Savage. I’ll admit that when Savage jumped back into the lever-gun game, I was disappointed the move didn’t include the 99. After spending some time with the Revel, though, I am excited about this rifle. It’s a well-executed little lever action that feels great, is accurate and above all is just a lot of fun to shoot.

SPECIFICATIONS: Savage Revel Lever-Action .22

• Type: lever-action rimfire rifle
• Caliber: .22 LR (tested)
• Barrel: 18"; carbon steel
• Trigger: single-stage; 2.04-lb. pull weight
• Safety: half-cock hammer and cross-bolt
• Magazine: tubular, top-loading; 12-round capacity
• Sights: notched-blade rear adjustable for windage and elevation, blade front; drilled and tapped for optics
• Stock: Turkish walnut with satin finish
• Metal Finish: blued barrel, powder-coated receiver
• Overall Length: 36 1/2"
• Weight: 6.1 lbs.
• MSRP: $439

ACCURACY RESULTS: Savage Revel Lever-Action .22

Aguila Standard Velocity

• Bullet Weight: 40 gr.
• Muzzle Velocity: 1,145 fps
• Average Group: .93"

CCI Quiet-22

• Bullet Weight: 40 gr.
• Muzzle Velocity: 731 fps
• Average Group: 1.03"

Federal HammerDown

• Bullet Weight: 40 gr.
• Muzzle Velocity: 1,082 fps
• Average Group: .92"

Muzzle velocity is the average of 10 consecutive shots as measured by a Garmin Xero C1 Pro chronograph. Accuracy is the average of five consecutive, three-shot groups fired from a sandbag rest at 50 yards.

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• This article was featured in the June/July issue of Game & Fish magazine. Click to subscribe.

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