April 23, 2023, 03:52 AM | #1 |
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25-06 loads
I have been reloading for a while so I am not a newbie, I did just start reloading for the 25-06, I inherited a ruger 77 from my brother and some ammo he had reloaded for it so I was all set on that rifle, the ruger being a bit heavy but a real shooter I decided to get a lighter version so I found a used Winchester model 70 ultimate shadow, barrel is 2" shorter and lighter profile. I started with 117gr bullets, Hornady and sierra but couldnt get it to group well, tried to some 110 hornady ftx and its coming into it now, I have worked up to almost max load and Ive got about a 2" group. My question is and I think I read it somewhere on here before, does the 25-06 prefer a max load for best accuracy? Right now I am playing with bullet jump to try to get my groups smaller. Any other thoughts?
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April 23, 2023, 05:27 AM | #2 |
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I don't know about preferring max load--like most cartridges probably depends on type of powder/primer/bullet combination.. I have a savage axis in 25-06 sporter barrel--funny enough I was just thinking about tryin it out since I haven't fired it in a very long time. I've had good results using IMR 4831 with 120 gr gamekings.
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April 23, 2023, 06:26 AM | #3 |
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Whats the barrels twist rate?
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April 23, 2023, 07:36 AM | #4 |
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According to the specs its a 1in10
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April 23, 2023, 10:28 AM | #5 |
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My Model 700 in 25-06 with 1 in 10 twist preferred shorter bullets; the Sierra 87 grain shot consistently better groups than the Sierra 117 grain boat tails. So getting better groups with the 110 grain FTX vs the 117 grain makes sense to me. The 25-06 would benefit from a quicker twist rate, but the practice back then was for longer twist rates for the 87 to 90 grain light varmint bullets.
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April 23, 2023, 11:04 AM | #6 |
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i know this aint the same ...but....
i have a savage 99 in 250AI...so it is stepping it out there...not quit as fast as the 25-06 but its over 3100fps... the barrel has been swapped out to a douglas and it is a 1-10 twist...now this ol gal is a killing machine....but she dont care for the bullets in the 110 and heavier class...but oh how she loves them 100gr seirra soft point game king bullets and h4895 so yeah i would give the 90-100gr class bullets a try ymmv
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April 23, 2023, 01:44 PM | #7 |
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25-06 is a classic cartridge that has stood the test of time even though a slew of new sexy cartridges have appeared on the runways of fashion shows of Paris. I just noticed that sierra has discontinued it's 120 gr HPBT gameking--major bummer since I found it to be very accurate and one I'd confidently shoot larger game to a fair distance. Oh well.
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April 23, 2023, 03:13 PM | #8 | |
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Quote:
What is your intended primary use for the rifle?? I grew up in the NE, where the .25-06 was the ultimate long range woodchuck gun. Buddy of mine got a Rem 700V and using the 87gr HPs over a case full of IMR 4350 regularly destroyed chucks out to 500yds. OF course nobody carried those heavy barrel varmint rigs in the deer woods. Moved out west and found out most used the .25-06 for antelope and deer, and while the 117/120gr slugs were everywhere, finding my favorite 87s on the shelf was nearly impossible. One box I did find turned out to be Hornady with a warning not to drive them over 3400fps, so I had to load DOWN to use them.... (yes, those were pre-internet days) A light weight sporter class rifle that does 2" (or a bit less) is entirely adequate for deer class game. Despite the internet telling us everything shoots sub MOA, in the real world some rifles simply won't.
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April 23, 2023, 04:28 PM | #9 |
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44amp, I totally get what your saying and trust me, I do shoot my rifles, my ruger77 25-06 shoots under 1in groups and I know some rifles just won't, am I ok with a 2"group deer rifle, absolutely, will I try to get 1 in our of it, I'll surely try. That's the whole fun of reloading, right?
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April 23, 2023, 09:20 PM | #10 |
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I've owned and shot a Rem 700 VS in 25-06 for 45 years. It is now on its second barrel and I've enjoyed this rifle every time I shoot it.
My observations have been that the .25-06 likes to be loaded near max for best performance and accuracy. If you're not near max load velocity will be close to a .257 Roberts. I always tried to stay with powders that pretty much filled the case and left little air space. When it comes to primers best have been Fed BR and Winchester. Many prefer to use H4831 but my rifle preferred IMR4831 and IMR4350. For the last 15 years I've used a lot of RL19 with outstanding results. Like 44 AMP I've shot mostly bullets in the 85 to 90 gr weight class. For 117 bullets I would use RL22 and it has given me excellent results.
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April 25, 2023, 07:57 AM | #11 |
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If I rebarrel my old savage 25-06--which I bought used--I'd probably do it in 1:7 twist 25-06 AI; both newer powders and newer higher BC/SD bullets certainly put the base 30-06 well within its capabilities as a serious long range quarter bore shooter IMO.
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April 29, 2023, 02:28 AM | #12 |
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WHY
such a tight twist? While no empirical data, I'd think that at AI velocities, you'd run the risk of bullets coming apart, especially the little ones. Wouldn't 1:10 handle the biggest 25 cal bullets?
Although, my AI handles Speer 87 TNT's without breaking up. It has a 12 twist 26 inch tube. I chrono them at 3750-3775. I'm hoping the bbl will last through the box of 750 I got a couple years ago. From what Ackley said about the 2506 AI, I'd do a 250AI the next time around, if there is one. I've rather gotten over my speed freaking and magnumitis, Probably gonna sell my 300 Win. The 2506AI was/is a fun learning experience though. And, it does achieve good air time on the pds. FWIW, -West out |
April 29, 2023, 06:08 AM | #13 | |
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Quote:
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April 30, 2023, 04:18 AM | #14 |
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I have both a standard chambered and the AI version. The standard one came into it own after about the 2nd year and working through several different 100gr bullets. I found that the Nosler BT and Partition both shot extremely well over both Hodgdon and IMR-4831. The issue I had was with drift at longer ranges. I bumped up to the 115gr Partition over RL22 and never looked back. This one will drive the 110gr Accubond or 115gr Partition into 1" or less out to as far as you can hold them together. The only bullet I had issues with was the 100gr Sierra. Just couldn't get them to group under 2-3" at best no matter what. I called Sierra and after about 15min on the phone with one of their tech's I loaded up 5 rounds with IMR-4350 and the group was a clover leaf ragged hole.
As mentioned on the heavier weight bullets, my AI was purpose built for reaching out and smacking feral hogs. It sports a 28" 1-8 Broughton 5C. It is fast enough to go up to a 135gr, but I prefer the 120's due to broader selection and the added velocity. It doesn't even square the primers off at 3300fps over Ramshot Magnum. It will get right up to 2950 with the longer heavier weights but if I'm gonna run them, I'd just as soon use the 270. Funny thing about the 120's, the discontinued Nosler Solid Base is the absolute most accurate, tied with it is the 120gr Rem CL, followed close by the Hornady 120gr HPBT. Due to the difficulty in finding some powders I might suggest looking at Ramshot or Accurate. I've seen them listed more so than the others and from their 4350, 3100, Magpro, Big Game, and Magnum, they meter easy and produce accurate loads. I have never used mag primers in either rifle but do use the CCI BR2 in the AI loads. I just found it to be the most consistent with the load I settled on.
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May 4, 2023, 04:13 PM | #15 |
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I took the advice from a response here and I found some 100gr btsp speer bullets, loaded according to the manual " most accurate load, 35 thousands jump to the lands. Hopefully I got the picture to upload
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May 5, 2023, 06:25 AM | #16 |
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Nice shooting.
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May 5, 2023, 06:30 AM | #17 |
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I have found that once you find the right load the shooting part just falls right into place
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May 5, 2023, 07:02 AM | #18 | |
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Quote:
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May 5, 2023, 07:08 AM | #19 |
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You couldn't be more right, finally switching to 100 grain bullet and different powder did the trick probably to my 10th try but it finally worked out
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