Who Owns A Quarterbore ?

[bigpete]

Yeah tbh that would be worse than owning a 257 wby imo.

[animalpest]

I have had a 25/06 for over 30 years - on its third barrel.

The 87grn are great for the game up to fallow. Bullets like the 75gr while very fast, lose velocity quick. They are excellent on smaller stuff up to dogs, kangaroos etc. The Sierra's normally don't exit but you need to stay away from shoulder shots with these. Speer have never let me down.

I generally run 100 gr Nosler BT on game such as goats and small deer.

Thanks,some actual proper input.
I'm going to stick to lighter projectiles as the area is ricochet sensitive. What 85-87gn pills did you try ? Did they exit fallow sized game ?

Pretty well tried them all due to lack of availability of bullets where I live and my need to play with things. They all performed well on goats and medium pigs so puts them in the same class as fallow.

I once shot a wild dog at about 25m with the 75gr V-Max. Blew the whole ribcage off but didn't penetrate further. Looked like an anatomy class with all the organs intact

I have used some old Speer Grand Slams on camels and they did the trick. Nosler BT with head shots out to ranges that I won't say here

[GQshayne]

I have used 85-90gr projectiles for decades on pigs. Running them a bit slower than you intend to, in my .243.

I think your idea of calibre for deer is certainly ok from what I know from reading about deer, but I am struggling to think that a 75gn projectile would be suitable. Even a Partition or similar sounds too light on for many species. Perhaps if you head shoot only then they would be suitable.

[deye243]

75vmax in the neck drops fellow like lightning

[bigrich]

I have used 85-90gr projectiles for decades on pigs. Running them a bit slower than you intend to, in my .243.

I think your idea of calibre for deer is certainly ok from what I know from reading about deer, but I am struggling to think that a 75gn projectile would be suitable. Even a Partition or similar sounds too light on for many species. Perhaps if you head shoot only then they would be suitable.

There’s many good projectile choices in 25 cal from 100-120gn, nosler bt’s, hornady 117sst’s , Speer. Partitions are too expensive in any caliber these days. How fast they’re going can make a difference too. Many projectiles in 25 cal are designed with the 25-06 in mind. In my slower 250 savage a 100bt performs as a slower expansion heavier bullet . Bullet placement in smaller bores is important, lots of yanks take elk with the 25-06 . It’s got the speed for penetration with the right bullet.apparently .

[Billo]

Had a few quarterbores over the last few decades, all of them needed to be reloaded as commercial ammo was either not available or ridiculously expensive.

A savage 99 in 250 Souper, Sako 250 Savage, 256 Win Mag ( custom martini & a Ruger 77) and lastly a 25-35W, favorite projectile for hunting 70gr Blitzking for speed n accuracy and blowing things up thou the 75gr Vmax was also a good option. 110gr Nosler Accubond is a tough old bullet and performs a lot like a 120gr BT out of a swede. Took a few pigs and deer with the 110gr but you really needed to hit some bone to get the best of it.

[bigpete]

Ok so has anyone used the 85gn nosler ballistic tips ?

[deye243]

Ok so has anyone used the 85gn nosler ballistic tips ?

Yep but my VT hated them from memory around 5" at 100

[bigrich]

Ok so has anyone used the 85gn nosler ballistic tips ?

A lot of yanks on forums like them as a general purpose bullet. They’re hard to find on shelves at the moment in my local gun shops , so I reckon they might work well.

[GQshayne]

I have used 85-90gr projectiles for decades on pigs. Running them a bit slower than you intend to, in my .243.

I think your idea of calibre for deer is certainly ok from what I know from reading about deer, but I am struggling to think that a 75gn projectile would be suitable. Even a Partition or similar sounds too light on for many species. Perhaps if you head shoot only then they would be suitable.

There’s many good projectile choices in 25 cal from 100-120gn, nosler bt’s, hornady 117sst’s , Speer. Partitions are too expensive in any caliber these days. How fast they’re going can make a difference too. Many projectiles in 25 cal are designed with the 25-06 in mind. In my slower 250 savage a 100bt performs as a slower expansion heavier bullet . Bullet placement in smaller bores is important, lots of yanks take elk with the 25-06 . It’s got the speed for penetration with the right bullet.apparently .

I agree, heaps of larger suitable projectiles, but Pete want to use 85's.

[deye243]

Mine loves the 87g tnt and don't be fooled they are not explosive as you would think i have put them into buckroos and at 180 the exit resembles a 100 of grain pill .

[mickb]

Hi mate, maybe you've already decided but I see you rementioned 257 weatherby a couple times. Sounds dangerously like an itch that needs scratching. You wanted the flattest, dont intend to shoot it too much. Id just bite the bullet and go for the king.

Weatherby vanguards out there still available new, brass can be formed off 7mm rem mag if you run into dramas there. If as you say you arent shooting with it a lot you can afford to treat it with semi-custom status aka pay a bit extra for components or ammo. Its not like you are trying to build a 375 chey tac or 505 gibbs etc

[Wyliecoyote]

I have done a lot of 25s over the years, probably one of my favourite calibers.

25 BR. Super accurate like its 6mm cousin.

25 Souper Imp. Very efficient and uses 308/243 as base brass.

257 Roberts.

25/6.5×55 Accurate, strong brass where speed is just a bit over the Souper Imp.

25/284 Exceptional long range accuracy, as quick as 25/06 and less temperamental.

25/06 Good speed but can be fussy on primer choice in some guns when using 100 plus grain bullets and slow powder. Often needs magnum primers to pull in fliers.

25 Banshee. Crazy fast, cases are hard to find, lots of work plus fire forming, expensive but virtually impossible to destroy. Very short barrel life. Held Majura 1000 yd IBS club record for a while in HG group by Ian Lampl.

The choice is limited in factory offerings of 257 Roberts, 25/06 or 257 Weatherby. No 25 cal factory rifle i know of will stabilise the new Hornady bullet.
The best hunting bullet I found was the long defunct 120 Nosler solid base, closely matched by the Sierra 117 SBT.

If I were looking to do long range hunting with a 25 cal now, 25/284 on Lapua 6.5/284 brass, Hornady 134 ELDM, if they ever arrive, or the 110 Accubond. Simplex makes the dies still. Needs a long action that lets the heavier bullet seat out further but a short action will work with lighter bullets.

https://sportingshooter.com.au/hunting- ... led-25-06/

https://www.shootersreference.com/reloadingdata/25-284/

[bigpete]

Hi mate, maybe you've already decided but I see you rementioned 257 weatherby a couple times. Sounds dangerously like an itch that needs scratching. You wanted the flattest, dont intend to shoot it too much. Id just bite the bullet and go for the king.

Weatherby vanguards out there still available new, brass can be formed off 7mm rem mag if you run into dramas there. If as you say you arent shooting with it a lot you can afford to treat it with semi-custom status aka pay a bit extra for components or ammo. Its not like you are trying to build a 375 chey tac or 505 gibbs etc

That's pretty interesting to read that 257 weatherby can be made from 7mm rem brass. I'm guessing you just run it through 257 wby dies and fireform it ?

[bigrich]

I have done a lot of 25s over the years, probably one of my favourite calibers.

25 BR. Super accurate like its 6mm cousin.

25 Souper Imp. Very efficient and uses 308/243 as base brass.

257 Roberts.

25/6.5×55 Accurate, strong brass where speed is just a bit over the Souper Imp.

25/284 Exceptional long range accuracy, as quick as 25/06 and less temperamental.

25/06 Good speed but can be fussy on primer choice in some guns when using 100 plus grain bullets and slow powder. Often needs magnum primers to pull in fliers.

25 Banshee. Crazy fast, cases are hard to find, lots of work plus fire forming, expensive but virtually impossible to destroy. Very short barrel life. Held Majura 1000 yd IBS club record for a while in HG group by Ian Lampl.

The choice is limited in factory offerings of 257 Roberts, 25/06 or 257 Weatherby. No 25 cal factory rifle i know of will stabilise the new Hornady bullet.
The best hunting bullet I found was the long defunct 120 Nosler solid base, closely matched by the Sierra 117 SBT.

If I were looking to do long range hunting with a 25 cal now, 25/284 on Lapua 6.5/284 brass, Hornady 134 ELDM, if they ever arrive, or the 110 Accubond. Simplex makes the dies still. Needs a long action that lets the heavier bullet seat out further but a short action will work with lighter bullets.

https://sportingshooter.com.au/hunting- ... led-25-06/

https://www.shootersreference.com/reloadingdata/25-284/

that's some interesting info mate . the 25 souper was something i seriously considered . 25 cal 6.5 swede is something i hadn't heard of . i woulda probably gone with the roberts if the brass was more freely available . necking up 22-250 to 250 savage won out for me

[bigpete]

How is the savage project going bigrich ?

[bigpete]

So,circumstances at work are leading me down the path of getting something very flat shooting.
Don't need advice as such,have spent the last 2 days once again going down the 25 cal worm hole and have basically decided I want an 85gn pill max travelling at 3500fps or as close as. So candidates are pretty much 25-06,25-06 imp,or 257 weatherby. I don't care about barrel life,likely it will be shot maybe 10x a year.
So,anyone own one of the above and use it for shots at fallow and smaller up to 400m ?

I'm finding it humorous yet somewhat frustrating that very few people have been able to stick to the parameters of a very simple question lol.

[Wyliecoyote]

[/quote]
that's some interesting info mate . the 25 souper was something i seriously considered . 25 cal 6.5 swede is something i hadn't heard of . i woulda probably gone with the roberts if the brass was more freely available . necking up 22-250 to 250 savage won out for me [/quote]

How the 25/6.5×55 came about was two reasons. Brass was hard to get and of poor consistency in 257 Roberts. I had already done a number of 6BR +600s for a few FClass Open shooters, a 6 BR reamer plunged in 600 thou deeper would fit the Lapua Swede case perfectly when necked down to 6mm. Because it was very accurate and very suited to the slower burn rate of 2209 of that 90s era and where brass life was very good i just went with a 25 cal version. It shot very well but once the 6.5/284 Lap cases became available i went to 25/284, then 284 then finally a couple of shorter and/or full length 30/284s for my LG Fly rifles.

[on_one_wheel]

Perhaps something like an Ackley Improved 6.5-06 A-Square, custom chambered for custom hand made longer / higher BC, heavy jacketed, ballistic tipped projectiles

[mickb]

So,circumstances at work are leading me down the path of getting something very flat shooting.
Don't need advice as such,have spent the last 2 days once again going down the 25 cal worm hole and have basically decided I want an 85gn pill max travelling at 3500fps or as close as. So candidates are pretty much 25-06,25-06 imp,or 257 weatherby. I don't care about barrel life,likely it will be shot maybe 10x a year.
So,anyone own one of the above and use it for shots at fallow and smaller up to 400m ?

I'm finding it humorous yet somewhat frustrating that very few people have been able to stick to the parameters of a very simple question lol.

Id guess few people have used the target calibres/range/game requested in which case its easier to stray onto our own stuff. Now about the 270win mentioned earlier, did you give it a second thought? jokes.

[mickb]

Hi mate, maybe you've already decided but I see you rementioned 257 weatherby a couple times. Sounds dangerously like an itch that needs scratching. You wanted the flattest, dont intend to shoot it too much. Id just bite the bullet and go for the king.

Weatherby vanguards out there still available new, brass can be formed off 7mm rem mag if you run into dramas there. If as you say you arent shooting with it a lot you can afford to treat it with semi-custom status aka pay a bit extra for components or ammo. Its not like you are trying to build a 375 chey tac or 505 gibbs etc

That's pretty interesting to read that 257 weatherby can be made from 7mm rem brass. I'm guessing you just run it through 257 wby dies and fireform it ?

hi mate, I think so but have never loaded it, heard from a mate 20 years ago and double checked by googling. Apparently the cases end up fractionally shorter but being it headspaces off the belt it works.
264 win mag works even better apparently

https://forum.nosler.com/threads/to-mak ... ass.14191/
https://weatherbynation.com/index.php?topic=4567.0

[bigrich]

How is the savage project going bigrich ?

Dropped of my rem 700 and all the gear at my smiths last Friday. Going with a lothar walther 1-10 heavy sporter barrel, which is basically the same profile as factory Remington. Going with standard 250 chamber. I considered Ai chamber, but reformed 22-250 brass would end up too short in the neck. Reformed 22-250 brass is 10 thou under trim length, I can live with that. After a couple of firings it would be spot on. If my loads can get close to 3000fps for 100’s and a bit quicker with 87’s I’ll be happy. Should have a bit more punch than 223 in the paddock. I did a dummy round for my smith to long throat the chamber. 2.565” col to touch the lands . Should put the base of a 87 hot core base just above the top of the shoulder and 70 thou of the lands. I’ve been watching your topic on 25 cal with interest. 25 souper is an interesting cal, and can be made from 243 brass. From what I’ve read recently, if I had to choose a quick 25 , and stuffing around making brass isn’t a issue, 257 Roberts data compares well to 25-06, a 257 Roberts improved would be the ultimate. Having said that, P O ackley reckoned the 250 improved was the most efficient case for quarter bore. Decisions, decisions Pete.

[bigpete]

I forgot they make an 87gn hot cor. My experience with hot cors is that they're very good in the larger calibres but not so much in the smaller calibres IF you can't push them hard enough.

Tbh I'm really wanting a 257 wby but the 25-06 is probably the easier cartridge to deal with. Looking at the ballistic data,basically if I can drive around 85gn at 3500fps I can sight in for a 200m zero and it will only drop 12" at 400 and retain around 1000ft/lb of energy at that distance. The 25-06 can just achieve those parameters or at least is not far off,and the 257 wby exceeds them. And I don't want to shoot further than that ever and probably won't need to but if you're going past one end of a vine row and the deers up the other,there's precious little you can do to get closer and little time to faff about working range out. The cheeky buggers have all the scrub in the world to live in there but are rarely in it it seems

[bigrich]

25-06 sounds like a very simple thing to work with Pete. A lot less hassle than exotic stuff. Necking up with one pass through a FLS die is about as high tech as I get with brass these days. I’ve made 358win brass easy enough, I’d give 243 to 260 rem a go. My main “no fuss” cartridges I play with now are 222 and 308 . Inherently accurate and get the job done. 250 savage will fill out my caliber range nicely for me. I think 25-06 will serve you well Pete

[deye243]

................

[mickb]

I forgot they make an 87gn hot cor. My experience with hot cors is that they're very good in the larger calibres but not so much in the smaller calibres IF you can't push them hard enough.

Tbh I'm really wanting a 257 wby but the 25-06 is probably the easier cartridge to deal with. Looking at the ballistic data,basically if I can drive around 85gn at 3500fps I can sight in for a 200m zero and it will only drop 12" at 400 and retain around 1000ft/lb of energy at that distance. The 25-06 can just achieve those parameters or at least is not far off,and the 257 wby exceeds them. And I don't want to shoot further than that ever and probably won't need to but if you're going past one end of a vine row and the deers up the other,there's precious little you can do to get closer and little time to faff about working range out. The cheeky buggers have all the scrub in the world to live in there but are rarely in it it seems

Pete Im a terrible enabler, I reckon if you really want the 257 get it. Its sort of being made out to be some sort of ultra rare expensive bore but it is still just another factory round with current factory rifles firing itty bitty economical bullets.Its not like you are embarking on a 375 Chey tac or 729 jongmans. If you were embarking on a pro-culling career Id look at 25-06 sure but in your own words you arent using one enough to matter.

[bigpete]

Yeah,I've even got a mate with a set of dies and potentially some brass so now all I need is the cash and the reasoning to get it ( as in i need to explain to firearms branch why I need another cat B firearm )

[bigrich]

one thing that stares me right in the face when researching 25's is how 303-25's got used for everything back in the day, much the same as 223/243 are now . a 25 even at the modest velocity of a 303-25 would perform much better than paper ballistics indicate at sensible ranges . according to uncle nick's data the 303-25 has about the same ballistics as my 250 savage . loaded hotter in a P14 action it's a good round . nick's favorite was the 257 roberts. dunno why we are not still using the roberts . 120's out of it would work better than 95's out of a 243 i reckon

[mickb]

yeah the 303-25 was a classic. I made a post here a couple years ago asking if anyone had seen one for a while. One minute seemed like they were everywhere, then they werent.

[mickb]

Bigpete, what did you end up going for?