Help Reloading 25 06

kurt k · August 17, 2005, 11:13 AM

Iam going to start reloading my on shells for a Savage Heavy Barrel Police Special model 110 in 25 06 and will be useing a Lee hand loader. Iam wanting to know what would be a good powder load, grain of bullet and primer for shooting varmit, also could you give me name brands for powder, bullets etc. It has been 30 years since I have did any loading so I will need any help that I can get.

WIL TERRY · August 17, 2005, 11:46 AM

May I suggest a SPEER, LYMAN, HORNADY,SIERRA, LEE, OR HODGDON loading manual??? Since you mentioned the LEE tool you might as well start by buying the LEE #2 manual, and a good one it is indeed. you can buy this manual with a free LEE press thrown into the deal by LEE if you shop around.
Don't move outta your tracks without reading one of these throughly before doing anything with ammunition for that 25/05 rifle.

308LAW · August 18, 2005, 08:19 PM

nosler ballistic tips, or hornady v-max are a good and very accurate bullet for varmints.

kurt k · August 19, 2005, 10:49 AM

308 LAW What grain of bullet and brand name of powder would be good for 25 06?

Zekewolf · August 19, 2005, 11:45 AM

I was recently astounded by the groups fired by a guy out at our local range. He was shooting a brand-new Remington Mountain Rifle in 25-06, and was shooting groups no larger than .5" @ 100 yds. I don't remember the bullet weight, but I do remember that he was using 4895 and 4350. Just about all his shots were touching.

Peter M. Eick · August 19, 2005, 02:39 PM

Yeah the 25-06 can do pretty good at 100 yards. I blew the outside shot though. Totally misread the winds! Stupid....

308LAW · August 19, 2005, 06:31 PM

Nosler makes an 85 grn Ballistic tip, medium powders like IMR 4895, IMR4064, or Reloader 19 will work, but I would try differnt powders to find one your rifle likes, same goes with bullet choice. Hornady makes a 75 and an 87 grn, Speer makes an 87grn TNT that would also work well. A few years ago I was working a load up for a friends Winchester .243 Varmit that we were taking to Colorado for a Prarie Dog hunt, his rifle was very picky and we ended up with the Speer TNT, and they performed just fine, I like Ballistic tips for Varmit but not all rifles will shoot them. As for bullet wieght stay on the light side of the caliber range for most varmits. If you are hunting coyotes the 100 and 115 grn ballistic tips would work as well as the lighter bullets but they are generally made for bigger game, get you a good loading manual from one or more of the major bullet manufactures or get on their website, some have data there. Good luck and if you decide to deer hunt with your 25-06 use a 115 partition and never look back.

308LAW · August 19, 2005, 06:32 PM

Peter nice group, how many shots is that and whay kind of rifle?

kurt k · August 20, 2005, 11:45 AM

Peter also what type of scope are you useing?

Zekewolf · August 20, 2005, 03:21 PM

I'm pretty sure that Peter only shoots with iron sights.

bill k · August 20, 2005, 03:35 PM

My 2 cents, worth 49.5g of IMR 4831 with 100g nosler blastic tip. Ground squirls love them but I deer hunt with it also.

kcoop9999 · August 21, 2005, 01:56 AM

I've been a .25-0 fan for years. Bought my rifle in 1984, a Ruger M77R, and it's accounted for quite a few coyotes. I'm not a benchrest shooter by any means,and the rifle is capable of better accuracy than I am(several friends draw lots on who asks to borrow it when I can't get out to hunt with them

) My favorite load usually groups about .75 when I do my part.
Don't know how well you rifle will like it but here it is:
Hornady 75 gr. HP
IMR-4831 55.8 gr.
Rem. Case
CCI 200 primers
I don't have a chrono, but estimating from the Hornady manual puts it at about 3400fps
Goop Luck!!!
Coop

kurt k · August 22, 2005, 07:50 AM

Thanks for all the replys. Yesterday I bought a Lee Challenger press at the Bill Goodmans Gun and Knife Show. They didnt have a lot of different types of loading supplys at the show but I bought Hodgdon H4895 for my powder, Hornady 87 grain soft point for the bullet and Winchester primers. This should give me 3364 fps. What do you guys think about the Hodgdon rifle powder?

Rangefinder · August 22, 2005, 09:34 AM

I use Hodgdon H380 for both my 6 & 7mm, always been very happy with it. Used RL-22 on the 6 and RL-19 on the 7 for a while, but it was just more practical to have the same powder for both calibers. Always liked Hodgdon since I started using it.

308LAW · August 22, 2005, 10:25 AM

Try it, start at the bottom end and load a few, work your way up and then take them out to shoot, see which ones shoot best, and whatch for signs of pressure. You will undougtably end up with many partial boxes of bullets and powders, but you may use them in the future, Just remember not to store powder in anything but the container it came in.

kurt k · August 22, 2005, 06:32 PM

308LAW..."start at the bottom end"..."work your way up"... What do you mean? Are you saying start with less amount of powder then add more powder to see which charge works best? What does the signs of pressure look like?

bill k · August 22, 2005, 06:52 PM

Look in your manual for examples, plus a tight bolt when you eject is is sure thing.

bill k · August 22, 2005, 06:55 PM

That said start with the bottom end work up by .5g. You should get the most accurate load well before the max is established. The load I sugggested is at the bottom end. Be careful or it can go boooooooom.

Peter M. Eick · August 22, 2005, 07:08 PM

Sorry guys, I was camping this weekend.

The shoot was 5 shots (look closely you can see them all).
The gun is a stock Remington Sendero Fluted 25-06.
The scope is a Leupold Vari-X 3 40MM AO 6.5x20
The load should have been (I think this is the correct one that is):
Seirra 87 grn spire point
Winchester brass trimmed to 2.480
51.0 grns of imr-4831
Winchester Large rifle primers
3.250 COL.

The only other possiblity is I shot it with 43.2 grns of IMR-4064 but I really think it was the 4831 load.

(and no it was not open sights, I bought the scope for my M1A's but I pulled it off because the 3rd generation AL mounts peened up. The 6.5x20 is a big scope and it was just to much for the Supermatch M1A and the AL mounts).

bill k · August 22, 2005, 07:24 PM

"Stock Remington Sendero Fluted 25-06", Let everyone know what stock means. Bull barrel, fluted, free floated barrel, aluminum bedding block, and pillars.
"Not you daddy's shotgun",
A great rifle, nice group, with a 30 cal bullet the last one would have been there.
Bill

Peter M. Eick · August 23, 2005, 07:35 PM

Yeah it is a bull barrel, pillar bedded, aluminum block and mcmillian stock with a nice nearly 7 lb trigger from the factory. It does have the j lock on the bolt (which I will swap out some day).

To me it is a stock gun. I walked into Carter's country here in houston with my 6.5x20 scope and said "sell me a 25-06 to go with this scope". They sold me a nice Remington Sendero Fluted Stainless and I was happy. I have not even once taken it out of the stock to adjust the trigger yet and I have had it 4 or 5 years. Some day I will adjust the trigger, maybe this fall (but probably not, I have a pre-64 30/30 94 that needs to be figured out first

)

It was fun to just go blow a bonus check for the heck of it. I just always wanted a 25-06 as I consider it one of the classic calibers. Sort of like the 38-55, 30/30 etc.

Zekewolf · August 24, 2005, 11:58 AM

Well, since this thread is about accuracy (and that's some great shooting, Peter...was kidding, of course, about the iron sights), the Sendero doesn't come with a McMillan stock. It comes with an H-S Precision stock, and the stock does offer an aluminum bedding block. You either have a bedding block or pillars...not both. H-S says to torque the action screws @ 65 in/lbs, which is what I use; Remmy says 40-45 or so.

The trigger's easily adjusted down to 2.5# or so, and a less-than-7# trigger should improve your groups.

Peter M. Eick · August 24, 2005, 06:22 PM

I knew you were kidding. I could have sworn it was a McMillian stock, but what the heck, you are probably right.

I do know the stock has an aluminum block in it (actually a couple of them and some sort of framework around the action). I saw the insides of a buddys one time.

So please explain the difference between pillar bedded and the aluminum block. I thought that the way mine was with the block and the frame work that it had both.

Thanks for the comments by the way, I will probably tear into the 700 and adjust the trigger one of these weekends before I shoot it again. I have several different sets of instructions how to adjust it, but time is the weak point.

Thanks for the education.

Zekewolf · August 24, 2005, 06:56 PM

Peter, pillars are just that...pillars. They're metal inserts in the stock where the actions screws go. The bottom of the action mates with the top of the pillar and the bottom of the pillar, of course, is mated with the head of the action screw. Brownell's sells pillar bedding kits and you could see a picture there to give you a better idea of how they work. Just use the "search" feature on Brownell's website.

When you take the stock off your Sendero, you'll see a solid, one-piece aluminum bedding block on which the action sits. Judging from the picture that you posted, you got a real shooter. Reducing the trigger pull will make it even better. If you follow the instructions for adjusting the trigger, you'll do just fine. It really is simple.

August 17, 2005, 11:13 AM	#1
kurt k Junior Member Join Date: August 17, 2005 Posts: 6	Help Reloading 25 06 Iam going to start reloading my on shells for a Savage Heavy Barrel Police Special model 110 in 25 06 and will be useing a Lee hand loader. Iam wanting to know what would be a good powder load, grain of bullet and primer for shooting varmit, also could you give me name brands for powder, bullets etc. It has been 30 years since I have did any loading so I will need any help that I can get.

August 19, 2005, 02:39 PM	#6
Peter M. Eick Senior Member Join Date: August 3, 1999 Location: Houston, Texas Posts: 2,991	Yeah the 25-06 can do pretty good at 100 yards. I blew the outside shot though. Totally misread the winds! Stupid.... __________________ 10mm and 357sig, the best things to come along since the 38 super!

August 20, 2005, 03:35 PM	#11
bill k Senior Member Join Date: December 9, 2004 Location: Dog Creek, CA Posts: 457	My 2 cents, worth 49.5g of IMR 4831 with 100g nosler blastic tip. Ground squirls love them but I deer hunt with it also. __________________ Retired Air Force 8th TFW The Wolfpack

August 21, 2005, 01:56 AM	#12
kcoop9999 Member Join Date: August 21, 2005 Location: Soutern Iowa Posts: 29	.25-06 loads I've been a .25-0 fan for years. Bought my rifle in 1984, a Ruger M77R, and it's accounted for quite a few coyotes. I'm not a benchrest shooter by any means,and the rifle is capable of better accuracy than I am(several friends draw lots on who asks to borrow it when I can't get out to hunt with them ) My favorite load usually groups about .75 when I do my part. Don't know how well you rifle will like it but here it is: Hornady 75 gr. HP IMR-4831 55.8 gr. Rem. Case CCI 200 primers I don't have a chrono, but estimating from the Hornady manual puts it at about 3400fps Goop Luck!!! Coop

August 22, 2005, 09:34 AM	#14
Rangefinder Senior Member Join Date: August 4, 2005 Posts: 2,017	I use Hodgdon H380 for both my 6 & 7mm, always been very happy with it. Used RL-22 on the 6 and RL-19 on the 7 for a while, but it was just more practical to have the same powder for both calibers. Always liked Hodgdon since I started using it. __________________ "Why is is called Common Sense when it seems so few actually possess it?" Guns only have two enemies: Rust and Politicians.

August 17, 2005, 11:46 AM	#2
WIL TERRY Senior Member Join Date: July 6, 2000 Location: BLACK HILLS Posts: 1,322	Sir, You Are In Dire Need Of A Loading Manual!!!!!!!!! May I suggest a SPEER, LYMAN, HORNADY,SIERRA, LEE, OR HODGDON loading manual??? Since you mentioned the LEE tool you might as well start by buying the LEE #2 manual, and a good one it is indeed. you can buy this manual with a free LEE press thrown into the deal by LEE if you shop around. Don't move outta your tracks without reading one of these throughly before doing anything with ammunition for that 25/05 rifle.

August 18, 2005, 08:19 PM	#3
308LAW Senior Member Join Date: August 15, 2005 Posts: 210	nosler ballistic tips, or hornady v-max are a good and very accurate bullet for varmints.

August 19, 2005, 10:49 AM	#4
kurt k Junior Member Join Date: August 17, 2005 Posts: 6	308 LAW What grain of bullet and brand name of powder would be good for 25 06?

August 19, 2005, 11:45 AM	#5
Zekewolf Senior Member Join Date: April 2, 2005 Posts: 886	I was recently astounded by the groups fired by a guy out at our local range. He was shooting a brand-new Remington Mountain Rifle in 25-06, and was shooting groups no larger than .5" @ 100 yds. I don't remember the bullet weight, but I do remember that he was using 4895 and 4350. Just about all his shots were touching.

August 19, 2005, 06:31 PM	#7
308LAW Senior Member Join Date: August 15, 2005 Posts: 210	Nosler makes an 85 grn Ballistic tip, medium powders like IMR 4895, IMR4064, or Reloader 19 will work, but I would try differnt powders to find one your rifle likes, same goes with bullet choice. Hornady makes a 75 and an 87 grn, Speer makes an 87grn TNT that would also work well. A few years ago I was working a load up for a friends Winchester .243 Varmit that we were taking to Colorado for a Prarie Dog hunt, his rifle was very picky and we ended up with the Speer TNT, and they performed just fine, I like Ballistic tips for Varmit but not all rifles will shoot them. As for bullet wieght stay on the light side of the caliber range for most varmits. If you are hunting coyotes the 100 and 115 grn ballistic tips would work as well as the lighter bullets but they are generally made for bigger game, get you a good loading manual from one or more of the major bullet manufactures or get on their website, some have data there. Good luck and if you decide to deer hunt with your 25-06 use a 115 partition and never look back.

August 19, 2005, 06:32 PM	#8
308LAW Senior Member Join Date: August 15, 2005 Posts: 210	Peter nice group, how many shots is that and whay kind of rifle?

August 20, 2005, 11:45 AM	#9
kurt k Junior Member Join Date: August 17, 2005 Posts: 6	Peter also what type of scope are you useing?

August 20, 2005, 03:21 PM	#10
Zekewolf Senior Member Join Date: April 2, 2005 Posts: 886	I'm pretty sure that Peter only shoots with iron sights.

August 22, 2005, 07:50 AM	#13
kurt k Junior Member Join Date: August 17, 2005 Posts: 6	Thanks for all the replys. Yesterday I bought a Lee Challenger press at the Bill Goodmans Gun and Knife Show. They didnt have a lot of different types of loading supplys at the show but I bought Hodgdon H4895 for my powder, Hornady 87 grain soft point for the bullet and Winchester primers. This should give me 3364 fps. What do you guys think about the Hodgdon rifle powder?

August 22, 2005, 10:25 AM	#15
308LAW Senior Member Join Date: August 15, 2005 Posts: 210	Try it, start at the bottom end and load a few, work your way up and then take them out to shoot, see which ones shoot best, and whatch for signs of pressure. You will undougtably end up with many partial boxes of bullets and powders, but you may use them in the future, Just remember not to store powder in anything but the container it came in.

August 22, 2005, 06:32 PM	#16
kurt k Junior Member Join Date: August 17, 2005 Posts: 6	308LAW..."start at the bottom end"..."work your way up"... What do you mean? Are you saying start with less amount of powder then add more powder to see which charge works best? What does the signs of pressure look like?

August 22, 2005, 06:52 PM	#17
bill k Senior Member Join Date: December 9, 2004 Location: Dog Creek, CA Posts: 457	Look in your manual for examples, plus a tight bolt when you eject is is sure thing. __________________ Retired Air Force 8th TFW The Wolfpack

August 22, 2005, 06:55 PM	#18
bill k Senior Member Join Date: December 9, 2004 Location: Dog Creek, CA Posts: 457	That said start with the bottom end work up by .5g. You should get the most accurate load well before the max is established. The load I sugggested is at the bottom end. Be careful or it can go boooooooom. __________________ Retired Air Force 8th TFW The Wolfpack

August 22, 2005, 07:08 PM	#19
Peter M. Eick Senior Member Join Date: August 3, 1999 Location: Houston, Texas Posts: 2,991	Sorry guys, I was camping this weekend. The shoot was 5 shots (look closely you can see them all). The gun is a stock Remington Sendero Fluted 25-06. The scope is a Leupold Vari-X 3 40MM AO 6.5x20 The load should have been (I think this is the correct one that is): Seirra 87 grn spire point Winchester brass trimmed to 2.480 51.0 grns of imr-4831 Winchester Large rifle primers 3.250 COL. The only other possiblity is I shot it with 43.2 grns of IMR-4064 but I really think it was the 4831 load. (and no it was not open sights, I bought the scope for my M1A's but I pulled it off because the 3rd generation AL mounts peened up. The 6.5x20 is a big scope and it was just to much for the Supermatch M1A and the AL mounts). __________________ 10mm and 357sig, the best things to come along since the 38 super!

August 22, 2005, 07:24 PM	#20
bill k Senior Member Join Date: December 9, 2004 Location: Dog Creek, CA Posts: 457	"Stock Remington Sendero Fluted 25-06", Let everyone know what stock means. Bull barrel, fluted, free floated barrel, aluminum bedding block, and pillars. "Not you daddy's shotgun", A great rifle, nice group, with a 30 cal bullet the last one would have been there. Bill __________________ Retired Air Force 8th TFW The Wolfpack

August 23, 2005, 07:35 PM	#21
Peter M. Eick Senior Member Join Date: August 3, 1999 Location: Houston, Texas Posts: 2,991	Yeah it is a bull barrel, pillar bedded, aluminum block and mcmillian stock with a nice nearly 7 lb trigger from the factory. It does have the j lock on the bolt (which I will swap out some day). To me it is a stock gun. I walked into Carter's country here in houston with my 6.5x20 scope and said "sell me a 25-06 to go with this scope". They sold me a nice Remington Sendero Fluted Stainless and I was happy. I have not even once taken it out of the stock to adjust the trigger yet and I have had it 4 or 5 years. Some day I will adjust the trigger, maybe this fall (but probably not, I have a pre-64 30/30 94 that needs to be figured out first ) It was fun to just go blow a bonus check for the heck of it. I just always wanted a 25-06 as I consider it one of the classic calibers. Sort of like the 38-55, 30/30 etc. __________________ 10mm and 357sig, the best things to come along since the 38 super!

August 24, 2005, 11:58 AM	#22
Zekewolf Senior Member Join Date: April 2, 2005 Posts: 886	Well, since this thread is about accuracy (and that's some great shooting, Peter...was kidding, of course, about the iron sights), the Sendero doesn't come with a McMillan stock. It comes with an H-S Precision stock, and the stock does offer an aluminum bedding block. You either have a bedding block or pillars...not both. H-S says to torque the action screws @ 65 in/lbs, which is what I use; Remmy says 40-45 or so. The trigger's easily adjusted down to 2.5# or so, and a less-than-7# trigger should improve your groups.

August 24, 2005, 06:22 PM	#23
Peter M. Eick Senior Member Join Date: August 3, 1999 Location: Houston, Texas Posts: 2,991	I knew you were kidding. I could have sworn it was a McMillian stock, but what the heck, you are probably right. I do know the stock has an aluminum block in it (actually a couple of them and some sort of framework around the action). I saw the insides of a buddys one time. So please explain the difference between pillar bedded and the aluminum block. I thought that the way mine was with the block and the frame work that it had both. Thanks for the comments by the way, I will probably tear into the 700 and adjust the trigger one of these weekends before I shoot it again. I have several different sets of instructions how to adjust it, but time is the weak point. Thanks for the education. __________________ 10mm and 357sig, the best things to come along since the 38 super!

August 24, 2005, 06:56 PM	#24
Zekewolf Senior Member Join Date: April 2, 2005 Posts: 886	Peter, pillars are just that...pillars. They're metal inserts in the stock where the actions screws go. The bottom of the action mates with the top of the pillar and the bottom of the pillar, of course, is mated with the head of the action screw. Brownell's sells pillar bedding kits and you could see a picture there to give you a better idea of how they work. Just use the "search" feature on Brownell's website. When you take the stock off your Sendero, you'll see a solid, one-piece aluminum bedding block on which the action sits. Judging from the picture that you posted, you got a real shooter. Reducing the trigger pull will make it even better. If you follow the instructions for adjusting the trigger, you'll do just fine. It really is simple.