cart SHOPPING CART You have 0 items
SELECT CURRENCY

Discussion Forums

1
Search forums
Forum Index > Rifles general discussion > Scirocco performance

Scirocco performance

11 Dec 2011
@ 04:47 pm (GMT)

vincent Keller

The Scirocco 2 in 100 grain , 25 cal , has been out for a while now and I would like to see if anyone of you guys has had an opportunity to kill some critters at a variety of distances and might be willing to venture an opinion on what you think about them so far , especially how they compare and relate to other premium bullets . I am primarily interested in 25-06 performance at the 300 to 500 yard range at mule deer size animals. Any input would be appreciated . Thanks...............ballistic

Replies

1
13 Dec 2011
@ 10:18 pm (GMT)

Nathan Foster

Re: Scirocco performance
Hi Vincent, glad to have you on board.

Ok, this is a situation where we as hunters can become stuck as we are asking for optimum performance under extreme conditions.

The .25-06 is very effective at ordinary hunting ranges. At 300 yards, kills can be dynamite, at 400 yards, the .25-06 can still produce very good results. But as range is pushed further along with an increase in game body weights, the .25-06 is tested to its limits and there is a risk of asking too much from projectile manufacturers.

All of the core bonded bullet designs give best results where velocity is high. The Scirocco shows great strengths when used at ordinary hunting ranges on medium game, creating what its makers intended, an optimum balance of wide wounding versus deep penetration.

As velocities fall away, so does the ability of a core bonded bullet to create disproportionate to caliber wounding. In other words, wounds are proportionate in diameter to the expanded diameter of the projectile. And so, rather than a 2" or 3" internal wound, internal wounding closes to for example .75" at around 400 yards, then down to .5" at 500 yards and so forth. The smaller the wound, the slower the kill.

In order to effect a wide wound in the absence of high velocity- at the ranges you want to shoot to, the projectile must be capable of shedding a large amount of weight, allowing the fragments to create wider wounding. But on the other hand, when hunting heavily bodied game, the cluster of fragments must be large enough to give sufficient penetration. In this regard, the .25 is limited, due to a lack of projectile weight, resulting in small, light fragments arriving at the target.

The compromise, is a design like the 117gr SST. Hornady have been very careful with this bullet design, it has a flat base, rather than a boat tail to aid jacket core integrityr for deep penetration. The Jacket is stout, yet the front portion is fast expanding and able to shed weight and create wide wounding fragments. This is about as good as it gets in the .25's when used on deer at long ranges. The 115gr Partition is also capable of similar performance, suited to large bodied deer. Having said this, The Partition bullets work better at 1800fps and above, as opposed to the SST which expands fully, shedding weight, down at 1600fps.

If you have followed me so far, the next challenge is shot placement. The .257" SST (and Partition) are not particularly good at bucking wind. However, we have to forget about BC and focus on bullet performance, that balance of wide wounding versus deep, broad wounding on the body weights you seek. Wind will be your enemy at the ranges of 450-600 yards. Where shots strike the rear lungs, kills may be slow regardless of which bullet design you use, even with the wide wounding SST. So, if hunting on a windy day, you will have to either have a good handle on the wind or be willing to pass up the shot. Evenings and mornings will yield best results, waiting for the wind to settle for 20 minutes to an hour either way. To effect very fast killing, shots will need to strike the forwards shoulder bones, utilizing the line of the foreleg.

At long ranges, a bigger cartridge, say for example, the .308 Win and 178gr A-Max sends back an audible report, a 'whock' sound when the bullet strikes game. You can hear the energy release. With the .25-06, this often does not happen and can leave doubt "did I hit it?" "Where did I hit it?" etc. By breaking bone, promoting maximum energy transfer, bullet expansion and internal trauma, results are much more vivid, being able to see the animal drop on the spot or falter, rather than break into a long run, seemingly unharmed and the shot called a miss.

Have a think about these things as you go ahead. Whatever bullet you use, try to take autopsy photos and study wounding carefully (and email me the pics so I can share them in the wounding data base!). You will very quickly gain a feel for what works and what doesn't. You may very well make mistakes with wind drift in this interim period so be prepared to study the results of any errors. If you do have a chance to try the SST and feel that results at 400-500 yards were inhumane, don't look for another projectile design, move to a more emphatic cartridge as it doesn't get any better than the SST at these ranges.

Success with the .25-06 at longer ranges will depend largely on whether you are inclined to pass up shots in windy conditions, versus whether you are more inclined to take a chance.
1
 

ABOUT US

We are a small, family run business, based out of Taranaki, New Zealand, who specialize in cartridge research and testing, and rifle accurizing.

store