I got my M25 yesterday in 17 Hornet. The rifle was made in September of this year. I was very happy with the rifles fit and finish. The medium contour (call it medium/heavy) barrel is nicely free floated and the stock is much better than the plastic stocks on the Axis. I own an Axis and this stock seems to be more solid and much better made, I was happily surprised. The rifle handles very well, the stock is thin in the forend and with low rings I get a solid cheek weld without the need for a kydex riser back at the comb. The action is smooth and seems to be getting better with a limited number of rounds down range. The magazine is another nice surprise. It is solid and well made, it is super smooth to load and feed. It snaps in with a very positive click. I am not sure what the complaints about it were but it should be noted mine is stamped "Revision 2". The magazine is nice. Overall the rifles aesthetics exceeded my expectations for the M25 walking varminter.
Shooting. The rifle just plain shoots. The trigger was set just under 3lb from the factory. I took 7 different loads out with me today and they all shot under 7/8 inch.....most 1/2 or under. The two best of the day was 9.3 grains of W296 under a 15.5 grain Hornady NTX lead free. This load shot 1/3 inch and had a 3,508fps avg. The other was Hornady factory 20grn Vmax that shot 1/3 inch also and had a 3,574fps avg. The next best was 12.2 grains of H322 under a 25grn Vmax and shot .4 inches. The 12.2 charge had a 3,020fps avg. All 3 of these loads will be getting 5 shot groups next time. The rifle was quiet and had as much recoil as my 22 magnum (maybe). It was super fun and easy to shoot. I have a Leupold VX-1 3-9x40mm on it. All the groups were shot off a table with front and rear bag. I only had about 85 yards to work with but I don't see things changing much with 15 more yards.
THE BAD. The rifle does have the weak ejection problem that I knew I was rolling the dice on. It barely dribbles the brass out and sometimes it stays on top of the mag. It really was not a big deal, I just rotated the rifle 45 degrees or so and the brass came out fine. I am being very careful to not lose any brass anyway so this did not bother me much at all. I found this issue yesterday after I got it home and tested it with brass. The extractor seems weak to me, I can pull it away from the bolt face very easily with my finger. The ejector plunger seems stiff and solid how it should be. I was on the phone with Savage this morning 6am CA time. They picked up quick and had an extractor, spring and detent on the way to me. Fingers crossed.
The rifle carries well, it is light and their is no magazine digging in your back. The varmint profile barrel certainly adds some weight but it is a good weight. It makes the rifle easy to shoot and helps with seeing your impacts through the scope. Another thing, the barrel does not heat up much at all. I did not exactly burn through the rounds but it did not get remotely close to hot. It really is fantastic walking varminter.
Shooting. The rifle just plain shoots. The trigger was set just under 3lb from the factory. I took 7 different loads out with me today and they all shot under 7/8 inch.....most 1/2 or under. The two best of the day was 9.3 grains of W296 under a 15.5 grain Hornady NTX lead free. This load shot 1/3 inch and had a 3,508fps avg. The other was Hornady factory 20grn Vmax that shot 1/3 inch also and had a 3,574fps avg. The next best was 12.2 grains of H322 under a 25grn Vmax and shot .4 inches. The 12.2 charge had a 3,020fps avg. All 3 of these loads will be getting 5 shot groups next time. The rifle was quiet and had as much recoil as my 22 magnum (maybe). It was super fun and easy to shoot. I have a Leupold VX-1 3-9x40mm on it. All the groups were shot off a table with front and rear bag. I only had about 85 yards to work with but I don't see things changing much with 15 more yards.
THE BAD. The rifle does have the weak ejection problem that I knew I was rolling the dice on. It barely dribbles the brass out and sometimes it stays on top of the mag. It really was not a big deal, I just rotated the rifle 45 degrees or so and the brass came out fine. I am being very careful to not lose any brass anyway so this did not bother me much at all. I found this issue yesterday after I got it home and tested it with brass. The extractor seems weak to me, I can pull it away from the bolt face very easily with my finger. The ejector plunger seems stiff and solid how it should be. I was on the phone with Savage this morning 6am CA time. They picked up quick and had an extractor, spring and detent on the way to me. Fingers crossed.
The rifle carries well, it is light and their is no magazine digging in your back. The varmint profile barrel certainly adds some weight but it is a good weight. It makes the rifle easy to shoot and helps with seeing your impacts through the scope. Another thing, the barrel does not heat up much at all. I did not exactly burn through the rounds but it did not get remotely close to hot. It really is fantastic walking varminter.
