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> .25/06 loads
.25/06 loads
@ 03:29 pm (GMT) |
Mike DavisFirst off YES I have looked in KB and the books......Right now thats out of the way.have purchased a ruger 77 with semi varmit barrel,tang safety model,for a mate starting out...because the price was right and think it will do everything he ever needs with ease...its not a .270 but its close. so after much head scratching and umming and ahhhing still trying to work out what loads to use. main target species will be wallabies so no bigger/harder than nanny goat.... might encounter the occasional fallow and even less occasional red or pig Im thinking just keep a few federal factory 117grn sierra sp loads in pocket forthe bigger stuff but trying to work out best option for the wee hoppers. was looking hard at the 100grn speer hp...then spotted 87grn TNT both are similar price,both will handle the powders I can get hands on..... our ranges dont often exceed 350 yards most average would be 150..... Im thinking the TNT will be more emphatic killer with more room for error....but the 100 hp could handle larger stuff at a pinch.....but the TNT if poked in neck possibly would too. have looked for the mystical 100grn spbt sierra mentioned in KB but cant match up Nathans description of terminal performance with what sierra says. MAYBE its supposed to be SPEER SPBT in the KB???? |
Replies
@ 09:17 am (GMT) |
Nathan FosterRe: .25/06 loadsHi Mike, the two basic considerations are (ease of) seating the bullets (for concentricity) and wind drift. Both are partially solved via a boat tail bullet design. A Boattail bullet can work well with Lee neck dies. Other combos (bullets / dies) do not work out so well in this chambering.The .25-06 starts out quick, but the wind will take it off course. What tends to happen, is that folk become overconfident in this cartridge because it seems to shoot so flat. Kind of a "yay.... Dop" type situation. There are many good projectiles for your task but BC is the main issue. I quite like the 90 grain Sierra HPBT but again, its a fizzer in the wind drift department. Still, if you mate is not shooting long, this may be just the ticket. This bullet has a fairly tough jacket (tougher than the TNT), yet has a wide HP for rapid expansion. It is much the same as the .243 85gr HP Gameking, albeit starting out much faster. Useful, often overlooked, but with a major limitation (wind). Have a look over the various brands and choose the weight you want versus the BC and jacket design. If you want to go to 350 yards, you may as you have suggested, want to adopt a 100gr BTSP such as the Speer. As for my comments in the KB, I experienced many extremely large wounds using the 100 grain Sierra 100 grain Gameking (BTSP). But I also had it loaded fairly hot. Sierra state that this bullet is best used beyond 200 yards. I made the same statement in the KB but I made these notes almost two decades ago, well before Sierra published their comments. Using my hotter loads, I was seeing some of these more dramatic results out to 200 and in some instances out to around 250 yards. Performance really began to settle by the time the bullet reached 300 yards. The faster this bullet is driven, the more dramatic the results inside 250 yards. It may not however produce such results on very light animals (not enough resistance). This is the sort of bullet that gives you wow factor on porker sized pigs, then on the day you finally encounter a big grunter, lets you down. So it needs to be used with due consideration. From Sierra: The 100 grain #1625 Spitzer Boat Tail bullet is suited to large varmints and small and medium game. It features excellent accuracy and dependable expansion at longer ranges in those game animals. The 100 grain #1625 GameKing can be used at all ranges but is best utilized when ranges of shots exceed 200 yards. As with the Pro-Hunter bullet, this GameKing bullet has a jacket produced by Sierra’s unique four-station jacket draw process. This process produces jackets with maximum concentricity and uniformity together with uniform taper dimensions, resulting in bullets with extraordinary accuracy, dependable expansion, and deep penetration on medium game. |
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@ 09:43 am (GMT) |
Nathan FosterRe: .25/06 loadsOne more thing Mike, being a very old rifle, chances are that the throat is getting somewhat worn now. best to give it a quick birthday (polish) before going further ahead.Once the throats become worn, it can pay to use a projectile with a longer bearing surface. In a worn tang safety model with 24" barrel, properly bedded, lugs in full contact, mag box floated, a 100 grain BTSP may hit its sweet spot at velocities of around 3300fps or higher (especially with Superformance powder). It pays to work right across the velocity spectrum to see what it likes. If nothing pops, go to the 120gr Speer BTSP. But all attempts towards accuracy may be moot if the bedding and other factors have not been addressed. The usual story for the M77, most never reaching their potential simply because folk don't put the time into them. There is another recent thread on this forum of which I spoke about loads, dies and common concentricity issues in the .25 bore. I'll bump it to the top now so that you can easily find it. https://www.ballisticstudies.com/shop/Video+Learning/ruger77bedding.html |
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@ 04:01 pm (GMT) |
Mike DavisRe: .25/06 loadsThanks bud...will have a read and ponder it some more....she got soaking wet today and is slowly drying out...might be good excuse to have at it and take stock out to see what the bedding is like...its sitting in a bell n carsen stock so will be interesting. |
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@ 05:09 pm (GMT) |
Mike DavisRe: .25/06 loadshad a look at other thread.....then at projectile choices and BCs....something I would previously never think to do.....right next to the 90 grn HP is a 90 grn blitz with much higher BC and its got the same boattail....so might just be the be the ticket. it will have the explosiveness of the TNT but much better shape to help loading and wind etc....Mr Foster you evil man...you are slowly corrupting this bush hobbit into thinking outside the square.... funnily enough with the rifle we got half a dozen loaded 120grn speer hot core loads.....will see how they preform when find decent place to shoot paper again. |
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@ 08:41 am (GMT) |
Nathan FosterRe: .25/06 loadsSounds good Mike.Yes, in this instance, its really about the wind rather than the drop along with a few loading tips and tweaks. The B&C may be just perfect. The older model was glass over foam (look for any cracks near the action screws). The newer models all have an ali chassis. As you say, just a matter of checking it all over. |
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