Powder for 25-06 with 85gr bullet?

ac700wildcat · November 21, 2008, 01:09 PM

I just finished my deer season today after getting my buck and I am ready to move on to loading some lighter bullets for coyotes. I'm thinking of an 85 gr nosler ballistic tip or 75gr hornady vmax. What kind of powder does everyone reccomend? I have h4350 and imr4350 here at home, but am wondering if there is something better. From going through my manuals, it looks like rl19 and rl15 might be good options.

Thanks,
Matt

tkofoid · November 21, 2008, 04:06 PM

I really like IMR 4350 in my 25-06 for all bullet weights,,although.... lately I have worked up loads in my 308 and 6.5X55 using alliant powders, Re15 & Re22. I am impressed with those powders! Without looking in a book ,I'd guess Re22 would do a good job in the 25-06. Next summer I will try it.

ac700wildcat · November 22, 2008, 10:17 AM

Anyone else? I'd like to go pick up some brass, powder, and bullets today.

10 Spot Terminator · November 22, 2008, 10:38 AM

Lyman lists the IMR4350 as the most accurate powder with an 87gr. bullet and Nosler listed RL19 as their most accurate powder in the 85gr. bullet tests . These are the only 2 reference manuals that I am aware of that actually rate for accuracy. Nosler of course uses their bullets only and Lyman tends to mix it up . Lymans best accuracy loads have been uncanny for me as have proven to be exactly that in about 75% of my guns after having tried different load workups . It is now my GO TO referrence to start and has saved me lots of wasted time and product getting to the sweet spot . If you are lucky enough to only need a couple of powders to cover all of your shooting needs then you truly are blessed .

ac700wildcat · November 22, 2008, 11:39 AM

I actually have both of those manuals and have been looking at them. I was hoping to keep my powder charge as small as possible to get more loadings out of a pound of powder. Looks like the IMR 4350 doesn't need as many grains of powder to get to max load but the rl19 would get me an extra 150fps for a few more grains and is listed as most accurate in the nosler manual. My modern reloading handbook lists h4350,varget, and h4831 towards the top of the load for fps, but doesn't list what was the most accurate. Too many choices. Maybe I'll just try the imr 4350beings I already use it in the 25-06 for my 115gr load and see if I'm happy what I end up with.

nlrudy · November 29, 2008, 07:36 PM

My brother and I have use IMR4350 with the nosler 85gr. for groundhogs and other light work, using the middle load listed in the newest nosler book which i don't have on hand at the moment, I believe it to be 55.5 maybe don't quote me , moving up to the highest to gain more fps made things get worse, also tried the rl19 which was listed to be the best and that didn't work well for us at all. That is out of a ruger 77 and a browning a-bolt, both shoot about the same. we just settled on a hunting load with the 115gr noslers and are using 57gr I believe of the IMR4350 also. But that shoots better out of the ruger than the browning but that could just be my poor shooting. What load are you using on the IMR4350 with the 115? Also use the IMR4350 for my dad 30-06 and it works great too.

Inspector3711 · November 30, 2008, 01:35 AM

For my .25-06 for 75 or 87 grain bullets I use varget with great success.

ac700wildcat · November 30, 2008, 05:39 AM

nlrudy, I hope you aren't using 57gr of imr4350 for 115gr bullets. The highest max load that I found for that combination was 52gr of imr4350. My load is less than that, but nothing has performed as well as I would like. My best group was 1.5" at 100yds, which isn't good enough for me when I can shoot factory Federal ammo down to .75". I still think I can make it shoot by playing with seating depth, but no time for that now, because I have the urge to get some coyotes.

I ended up going with 75gr Hornady v-max's for bullets and varget for powder. I have yet to load anything yet tho, so no report on how it shoots. In my modern reloading book it listed h4350 as 40fps faster than varget, but with almost 10 more grains of powder, so I went with the varget.

DKA · November 30, 2008, 07:20 AM

Load 2324 in caliber .25-06 Remington

Back

Bullet Nosler Ballistic Tip
Bullet Weight 85 grs
Powder Hodgdon H4831
Powder Weight 57 grs
Primer Federal 210
Brass Make Remington
Barrel Length 26 (inches)
C.O.L (inches)
Velocity 3374 fps
Group 0.515 (inches by 3 shot at 100 yds)

nlrudy · November 30, 2008, 08:52 AM

ac700wildcat, as I said, I don't have the book in front of me unfortunately, i could be totally wrong, I do know that I couldn't get the imr4350 to shoot the 115 as well as the 85gr, we really need to use a better bench setup also to help remove more human error, everything I have been reading this morning the varget seems to a be a good choice also but that will have to wait till after deer season.

Guybo · November 30, 2008, 01:20 PM

Quote:

Without looking in a book ,I'd guess Re22 would do a good job in the 25-06.

Re22 is my favorite powder for the 25.06. It works extremely well with the heavier bullets 100grs and up. My favorite bullet for this caliber is the 110gr Accubond with 53.5grs of Re22. This is a lethal combination on whitetails here in NC and kills them like lighting. Mike

ac700wildcat · November 30, 2008, 01:44 PM

Nice group Guybo. I'm hoping to get my 115gr partition load to shoot like that. So far I've only tried seating against the lands and .01 off the lands, so I think I have plenty of room for seating depth adjustment to get it to shoot well. If it just won't shoot I might have to try the rl22. I did take two does with the load that grouped 1.5" and it did a heck of a job.

I'm going to start working on a load for the 75gr vmax's with varget today and will post when I have some results. I probably won't get out to shoot anything today, but hopefully this week.

Matt

nlrudy · November 30, 2008, 09:11 PM

ok found my real data, 85 gr ballistic is 51.5gr IMR4350 and 115gr ballistic is 47gr IMR4350, going to have to try the rl22 though for the 115gr that looks sweet

November 21, 2008, 01:09 PM	#1
ac700wildcat Senior Member Join Date: September 11, 2008 Location: ND Posts: 239	Powder for 25-06 with 85gr bullet? I just finished my deer season today after getting my buck and I am ready to move on to loading some lighter bullets for coyotes. I'm thinking of an 85 gr nosler ballistic tip or 75gr hornady vmax. What kind of powder does everyone reccomend? I have h4350 and imr4350 here at home, but am wondering if there is something better. From going through my manuals, it looks like rl19 and rl15 might be good options. Thanks, Matt

November 30, 2008, 01:35 AM	#7
Inspector3711 Senior Member Join Date: February 9, 2008 Location: Puget Sound Washington Posts: 1,553	For my .25-06 for 75 or 87 grain bullets I use varget with great success. __________________ "If someone has a gun and is trying to kill you, it would be reasonable to shoot back with your own gun." The Dalai Llama (5/15/01, The Seattle Times) "That rifle on the wall of the labourer's cottage or working class flat is the symbol of democracy. It is our job to see that it stays there." George Orwell

November 30, 2008, 07:20 AM	#9
DKA Member Join Date: February 16, 2008 Location: Southeast, NC Posts: 61	Load 2324 in caliber .25-06 Remington Back Bullet Nosler Ballistic Tip Bullet Weight 85 grs Powder Hodgdon H4831 Powder Weight 57 grs Primer Federal 210 Brass Make Remington Barrel Length 26 (inches) C.O.L (inches) Velocity 3374 fps Group 0.515 (inches by 3 shot at 100 yds) __________________ Keep on doing what you are doing and you will keep on getting what you are getting.

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November 21, 2008, 04:06 PM	#2
tkofoid Senior Member Join Date: October 10, 2008 Location: N. D. Posts: 149	I really like IMR 4350 in my 25-06 for all bullet weights,,although.... lately I have worked up loads in my 308 and 6.5X55 using alliant powders, Re15 & Re22. I am impressed with those powders! Without looking in a book ,I'd guess Re22 would do a good job in the 25-06. Next summer I will try it.

November 22, 2008, 10:17 AM	#3
ac700wildcat Senior Member Join Date: September 11, 2008 Location: ND Posts: 239	Anyone else? I'd like to go pick up some brass, powder, and bullets today.

November 22, 2008, 10:38 AM	#4
10 Spot Terminator Senior Member Join Date: January 3, 2008 Location: Central Oregon Posts: 348	Lyman lists the IMR4350 as the most accurate powder with an 87gr. bullet and Nosler listed RL19 as their most accurate powder in the 85gr. bullet tests . These are the only 2 reference manuals that I am aware of that actually rate for accuracy. Nosler of course uses their bullets only and Lyman tends to mix it up . Lymans best accuracy loads have been uncanny for me as have proven to be exactly that in about 75% of my guns after having tried different load workups . It is now my GO TO referrence to start and has saved me lots of wasted time and product getting to the sweet spot . If you are lucky enough to only need a couple of powders to cover all of your shooting needs then you truly are blessed .

November 22, 2008, 11:39 AM	#5
ac700wildcat Senior Member Join Date: September 11, 2008 Location: ND Posts: 239	I actually have both of those manuals and have been looking at them. I was hoping to keep my powder charge as small as possible to get more loadings out of a pound of powder. Looks like the IMR 4350 doesn't need as many grains of powder to get to max load but the rl19 would get me an extra 150fps for a few more grains and is listed as most accurate in the nosler manual. My modern reloading handbook lists h4350,varget, and h4831 towards the top of the load for fps, but doesn't list what was the most accurate. Too many choices. Maybe I'll just try the imr 4350beings I already use it in the 25-06 for my 115gr load and see if I'm happy what I end up with.

November 29, 2008, 07:36 PM	#6
nlrudy Junior Member Join Date: November 29, 2008 Posts: 3	My brother and I have use IMR4350 with the nosler 85gr. for groundhogs and other light work, using the middle load listed in the newest nosler book which i don't have on hand at the moment, I believe it to be 55.5 maybe don't quote me , moving up to the highest to gain more fps made things get worse, also tried the rl19 which was listed to be the best and that didn't work well for us at all. That is out of a ruger 77 and a browning a-bolt, both shoot about the same. we just settled on a hunting load with the 115gr noslers and are using 57gr I believe of the IMR4350 also. But that shoots better out of the ruger than the browning but that could just be my poor shooting. What load are you using on the IMR4350 with the 115? Also use the IMR4350 for my dad 30-06 and it works great too.

November 30, 2008, 05:39 AM	#8
ac700wildcat Senior Member Join Date: September 11, 2008 Location: ND Posts: 239	nlrudy, I hope you aren't using 57gr of imr4350 for 115gr bullets. The highest max load that I found for that combination was 52gr of imr4350. My load is less than that, but nothing has performed as well as I would like. My best group was 1.5" at 100yds, which isn't good enough for me when I can shoot factory Federal ammo down to .75". I still think I can make it shoot by playing with seating depth, but no time for that now, because I have the urge to get some coyotes. I ended up going with 75gr Hornady v-max's for bullets and varget for powder. I have yet to load anything yet tho, so no report on how it shoots. In my modern reloading book it listed h4350 as 40fps faster than varget, but with almost 10 more grains of powder, so I went with the varget.

November 30, 2008, 08:52 AM	#10
nlrudy Junior Member Join Date: November 29, 2008 Posts: 3	ac700wildcat, as I said, I don't have the book in front of me unfortunately, i could be totally wrong, I do know that I couldn't get the imr4350 to shoot the 115 as well as the 85gr, we really need to use a better bench setup also to help remove more human error, everything I have been reading this morning the varget seems to a be a good choice also but that will have to wait till after deer season.

November 30, 2008, 01:44 PM	#12
ac700wildcat Senior Member Join Date: September 11, 2008 Location: ND Posts: 239	Nice group Guybo. I'm hoping to get my 115gr partition load to shoot like that. So far I've only tried seating against the lands and .01 off the lands, so I think I have plenty of room for seating depth adjustment to get it to shoot well. If it just won't shoot I might have to try the rl22. I did take two does with the load that grouped 1.5" and it did a heck of a job. I'm going to start working on a load for the 75gr vmax's with varget today and will post when I have some results. I probably won't get out to shoot anything today, but hopefully this week. Matt

November 30, 2008, 09:11 PM	#13
nlrudy Junior Member Join Date: November 29, 2008 Posts: 3	ok found my real data, 85 gr ballistic is 51.5gr IMR4350 and 115gr ballistic is 47gr IMR4350, going to have to try the rl22 though for the 115gr that looks sweet