Savage 25 in 22 Hornet: Extract and feed problems; warranty issue?

[MDF]

I have a Savage 25 in 22 Hornet that I picked up new a couple of months ago (on sale for under $500 and not the ridiculous $900+ wanted for them now). It has extraction and feed problems.

Using Hornady 22 Hornet 35 gr V-MAX --

https://www.midwayusa.com/product/495846/hornady-varmint-express-ammunition-22-hornet-35-grain-v-max-box-of-25

-- it feeds just fine but does not extract properly. Either the extractor does not grip the case at all and I need to get it out with a cleaning rod or the extractor lets go of the case and just drops it in the receiver.

Using Winchester Super-X 22 Hornet 46 Grain Jacketed Hollow Point --

https://www.midwayusa.com/product/2900480807/winchester-super-x-ammunition-22-hornet-46-grain-jacketed-hollow-point

-- the ammo will not feed at all. Feeding from the mag just mashes the round against the barrel below the chamber. Feeding manually works but is awkward as hell. After firing I have the same extraction issues as with the Hornady stuff.

Actual shooting is just fine. The rifle is very accurate.

Searching various sites shows a lot of people complaining about similar issues with the Savage 25.

Is this just a quirk of the rifle or is this something to be addressed through the warranty?

If you've had something like this fixed under warranty, what work was done? I am guessing that the extraction issues have something to do with the extractor claw or its spring. The feed issue with hollow points is likely a design problem. If the solution is to just not use hollow points I'd be OK with that.

If you've had these problems and fixed them or had them fixed, please let me know.

Thanks!

 

[Slamfire]

No issues with my Savage Model 25 Walking Varminter .22 Hornet with handloads. It functions flawlessly. But haven't tried factory ammo -

 

[MDF]

No issues with my Savage Model 25 Walking Varminter .22 Hornet with handloads. It functions flawlessly. But haven't tried factory ammo

Thanks for the note. What projectiles are you using? Are you shooting cast bullets?

I should have mentioned that mine is the Lightweight Varminter. I have a Model 25 Walking Varminter in .223 that is like yours -- pretty much flawless.

I should take a look at them side-by-side to see if there are any design differences in the receiver (other than changes needed for the two different calibres).

I won't be too upset if I find that the rifle just does not feed hollowpoints -- which is a comment I read in a US forum about the 25 in 22 Hornet. I intend to handload Hornady V-MAX bullets (after I empty the brass from the factory loads!) and, eventually, cast.

 

[Slamfire]

I'm loading Hornady 50gr SP projectiles & Lil Gun propellant -

 

[MajorMalcontent]

I bought a Model 25 in .17 Hornet in April. I have since put about 500 rounds through it, a combination of handloads and factory, VMAX and HP. There have been a some complaints on the web about reliable chambering and extraction in this calibre as well.

My experience has been that the VMAX's chamber very reliably from the factory, and when my handloads keep the COAL to spec (basically I duplicate how Hornady builds them). This is also dictacted by the magazine length of course. I find that the Hornady factory 25gr HP loads chamber a little less gracefully; that is, require a bit more force to clear the ramp on occasion.

I have never encountered a failure to extract; however, if you are too gentle in retracting the bolt (generally because we want to catch the case with our left hand), it frequently will not eject through the port and kind of tumbles down to the magazine. In this case, as you know, you need to rotate the rifle to the right after which the case just falls out of the port. Eventually you sort of figure out the right balance of finesse and speed to get the case to extract/eject into your hand.

I've concluded that these issues are just quirks of Savage's design, which is sort of dictated by how they engineer their guns. I really don't like the ejection "window" because it also makes it next to impossible to manually load a single cartridge. But those are some of the tradeoffs that come with Savage's historic design philosophy of creating guns that are relatively inexpensive to manufacture. I can live with them. And besides, they have certainly had a track record of stellar accuracy over many generations.

WRT the Win factory HP's not chambering well, my guess is that if you choose to handload with those bullets in the future, you probably just need to experiment with seating the bullet slightly deeper to allow it to clear the leading edge of the ramp. I expect that you'll find the VMAX's chamber very well.

Some people just write off the whole rifle as junk because of its quirks, but I can live with them and accept them as tradeoffs. I like my M25 a lot. Mine is also the Lightweight Varmint, BTW.

Cheers.