.25-06 hunting load

[steveNChunter]

I'm a beginner at reloading and need some suggestions on a whitetail hunting load for my .25-06. I have some once-fired brass that I want to do some experimenting with.

I would like to use a bullet around 100 grains, maybe a little lighter if its something that will hold together.

I have heard IMR 4350 is "the powder to use" for .25-06 but I know 4831 and RL-22 is used a lot as well and I'm entirely open to suggestions.

I want to get a good amount of speed out of it, but I want it to still be accurate and safe.

The rifle is a Howa 1500 22" barrel 1:10 twist.

[TheBear]

52.4gr of imr4350 and a 100gr bullet always worked fine for me...

[steveNChunter]

What bullet were you using? I want to get good expansion but I dont want something that will explode on a deer's shoulder at close range. I've considered Barnes 100 gr TSX, Nosler 100 gr partition, I've even thought of trying a 90 gr bullet like the Hornady GMX.

I will of course be testing and working up the loads and seeing what works the best as I go, (I do have a couple reloading manuals) I'm just trying to figure out what powder, bullets and primers to buy to avoid wasting money. I'm currently thinking IMR 4350 if I shoot 100 gr bullets, possibly RL-19 if I go with 90's. Winchester LR primers. And I am nowhere close to deciding on a bullet. I'd like to use a 90 gr for velocity if I can get one that will be tough enough to hold together

[zplinker]

If you are looking for speed, your 22" barrel is a problem. With 100 gr. bullets, at about 3150 fps, you can dump in more powder, but the speed will be constant: you're out of barrel. Add 2" of barrel, and you can get 3350 fps; going to a 26" barrel, 3500 fps is common. The 25-06 thrives on slower burning powders, and there is no substitute for barrel length to get it all burned. Give it enough barrel, and it will do about all that can be done in .25 cal.

[hooligan1]

Well Zplinker how would you suggest he gets another two inches added to his barrel?
Anyhow either the Partition or the Barnes will give good performance, even an Accubond. Right now I'm using 49 grains of imr 4350 and an 85 grain Ballistic Tip from Nosler, published velocity is close to 3200 fps and I only have a 22 inch barrel, so it's more realistic to say around 3100 or a little less.
And this thing is a real shooter so far.
I intend on building a load that features a heavier bullet, for deer, antelope, etc. and if this B-Tip load is a precurser then I'm looking forward to it.
Also I had decent accuracy with the same amount of imr 4831.

[flashhole]

I call BS and a lot of a$$ chatter. If you haven't chronographed your 22" barrel with your specific loads you really can't comment on velocity. My book says doesn't cut it. Bore and component characteristics are everything when developing a load.

zplinker got it right. The OP wants high velocity but he has a mismatch in his barrel length and twist. A 1:10 twist will handle a heavier bullet but the 25-06 is an overbore cartridge by design well suited to slow powders and heavy bullets with a 1:10 twist barrel.

[steveNChunter]

I realize that the 22" barrel hinders my velocity a bit but I have what I have and its hard to find a 26" barreled .25-06 in a budget price range bolt action. If I ever shoot this barrel out, a 26" .25-06 AI or possibly a .257 wby mag will go in its place. But anyway...

I always thought that a 1:10 twist was better suited to the ~100 gr range, and that the 117-120's were borderline on being too heavy for 1:10. Am I wrong?

Also my "ideal" bullet is one that is the right amount of expansion to fully expand through a deer shoulder, but hold together enough to exit the other side. Even on closer shots. Can that be achieved with any of the tougher 90 gr bullets out there or do I need to definitely step up to 100 gr? I know a 100 gr partition or TSX can do that but a little extra speed from the 90 gr would be nice.

[hooligan1]

What kind of 25-06 do you have Flashole? and if book velocity carries no weight, what do you use? You didn't even add any loads to the OP's list. He has the rifle he has, if you can think of any loads post'em.

[flashhole]

Mine is a Ruger #1 with a 24" barrel. Velocity data serves as a good guide but until you measure you just don't know. I have two "go-to" loads: 115 Nosler Ballistic Tip bullet over a full case of Retumbo (slightly compressed) - 90 grain Sierra over H4831.

[TheBear]

I use sierra gameking #1625, they give you good expansion but stay in one piece.

[hooligan1]

Quote: Mine is a Ruger #1 with a 24 inch barrel. That's a nice rifle... Post some target pics.

[flashhole]

This was at 150 yards, me leaning over the hood of my pickup. That bullet is a 100 grain Nosler Ballistic Tip, powder Retumbo, Winchester Large Rifle primers.

[flashhole]

I had the gun outfitted with a Zeiss Conquest scope, have since replaced it with a fixed 6 power Burris Signature.

[flashhole]

This won me a bunch of beer. Two guns, Ruger 25-06 in the pic and a CZ-550 chambered in 243 Winchester. Bet was one shot each gun, two clean holes (not touching, fully contained in the cap) at 200 yards. If you look closely you can see the size difference in the holes.

[flashhole]

This is my most accurate gun. A Sauer 202 in 7mm Rem Mag. Retumbo is the powder of choice here too.

[flashhole]

One shot at 300 yards. Another bet winner.

[flashhole]

Range games. This is with my 223. Multiple shooters have to participate.

Put your money in (like the ante in a game of Poker). First shot has to the in the 10 ring. Everybody shoots.

Qualifiers move to next round. Put another hole in the target w/o touching the edge of the target or another bullet hole. Everybody shoots.

Qualifiers move to next round.

Target on the upper left was a winner. Lower right was a loser because I touched another bullet hole.

[flashhole]

It was a windy day and the sun was in my eyes and I had gas.

[flashhole]

My favorite gun is the Marlin 45-70 Guide Gun. Some holes at 100 yards. Not as accurate as the bolt guns but I shoot with a low power scope. Clean holes in bottle caps is common.

[flashhole]

Most fun gun is this 221 Fireball. This critter fell victim to an off hand shot at 90 yards. Should have flipped him over for the pic. No head.

[flashhole]

I load for accuracy at the top end of the velocity scale. Nothing else matters if you can't reliably hit what you aim at.

[steveNChunter]

Still narrowing down the list of bullet choices...
Right now the 80 gr Barnes TTSX is in the lead. I have read alot of accounts of people using them in .25-06's and even .257 wby mags and getting complete passthroughs on deer with full weight retention, even at close range.

How well will my 1:10 twist stabilize that 80 gr bullet? Keep in mind the Barnes is 100% copper and longer than most other bullets of the same weight.

What powder(s) would work the best in the 80 gr range?

Barnes load data shows 62 grains of H4831sc with a mv of 3656 through a 24" 1:10 test barrel.

I would expect ~3500 out of my gun

[GeauxTide]

100gr Partitions.

[Pathfinder45]

Try some 120 grain bullets.

[steveNChunter]

I have been shooting Federal Fusion 120's with decent results but I'm looking for the best combo of speed and accuracy, and a light bullet that will still make it out the other side. 120 grains is more than needed for whitetail IMO, and out of my 22" barrel probably has a mv of only about 2850-2900 fps. At those speeds I might as well be shooting a little lighter bullet in a .257 roberts.