When I took the M25 to the range a couple of weeks ago, I noted that my handloads would NOT chamber. I thought I hadn’t sized them quite enough, as I didn’t have the rifle to test them in, nor a case gauge to measure them against.
That was not, no pun intended, the case. As the first commenter noted, the chamber on the M25 is cut smaller than SAAMI spec. The base of the reloads measure 0.470,” which is correct for a SAAMI-spec chamber. The base of the Black Hills commercial stuff I bought measures 0.464.” That .006″ is enough to make the difference between a round that will chamber and one that won’t. Unfortunately, my standard RCBS dies won’t size tighter than 0.470″ so I’m stuck. I need a small-base die, or I won’t be reloading for the M25.
Damn, and I was hoping they’d both shoot the same ammo. I should’ve known better.
Anyone out there familiar with RCBS’s small-base X-die? That looks like something I might buy.