As soon as I caught word of the 131 Black Jack coming out I couldn't resist. I gave Rich of Sherman Wildcats a call about having a Reamer made for a 25 SST and of course he had already got the the process started.
After the reamer was made by JGS, Rich sent it over to Adam Busse of Gunware. After Adam worked his magic, I got the rifle back around the first of January and have just now got to do some initial testing.
The cartridge is based on a SAUM case slightly shortened and has a slight amount of case taper removed with a 30 degree shoulder. Case length is 1.950"
The idea/goals behind the case design are to run high bc bullets seated long to get the bullet out of the powder column, fit in a standard short action mag, feed smoothly, and produce near magnum velocity's in a short efficient package. Along with staying just under PRS velocity limits with mild loads.
6.5 PRC 140 Berger, left 2.900"
25 SST 131 Ace, Right 2.900"
Rifle Specs
Rem 700 S/A
Ptg bolt
Gre Tan Fluted FP assembly
Rock Creek no. 5 sporter, 8 flutes, 26"
Micro bastard
March 3-24X52 FFP
Murphy Ti rail
NF Ti rings
MPA Competition Chassis
Jewel Trigger
I bought some ADG 6.5 SST brass from Rich and have been liking it much better than the Norma 6.5 SS brass, its more like lapua quality. Necks thickness is consistent as well everything else.
78 cases weighed
209gr- 212 ES 3gr
26 cases measured
1.944-1.949" ES .005"
To get down to 25cal I lube the inside and out of the neck and run through a forster FL die then cases are ready to be primed and loaded, pretty simple.
Out of the box brass is headspaced with about .0015" clearance and I have had no problems running full pressure loads on the first firing.
I have gone through about 25 pieces of brass testing it. One thing I've noticed with the tapered primer pockets is when they get loose they hold a primer much better and longer than a normal pocket.
After testing some brass till failure the case only lengthened .005" so they shouldn't ever need to be trimmed.
First ladder was done at 750yds 45* wanted to go further but the wind was blowing 17-20mph at 10clock. I was having to hold windage each shot so need to retest in better conditions as these were not ideal but needed to get the barrel broke in and brass formed anyway.
The unmarked shot at the top was 62gr, after I shot 61.7 62 landed way at the top so I had to adjust down and reshoot 62, then shot 62.3 and 62.6.
H-1000
2.892" +.015"
Fed 210
131 Black Jack
26" 7.25 twist
56 2915
56.5 2934
57 2932
57.5 3003
58 3032
58.5 3033
59 3103
59.5 3142
60 3150
60.5 3170
61 3211
61.5 3242
62 3267 Shiny Ejector Mark
62.5 3298 -
63 3317. -
63.5 3317 Shiny Ejector Mark out of room for powder.
I started testing a few loads and forming brass until I put 112 rounds through the barrel then shot another ladder over the magneto speed w/ H-1000
56.3 3094
56.6 3113
56.9 3105
57.2 3128
57.5 3144
57.8 3166
58.1 3170
58.4 3180
58.7 3198
59 3215
59.3 3232
59.6 3248
59.9 3270 Shiny Ejector Mark
60.2 3280. -
60.5 3282. -
60.8 3306. -
61.1 3335. -
61.4 3334. -
61.7 3360. -
At this point I still had not encountered any bolt lift but stopped there.
More Testing
62.3 h-1000
85*
+.015
3348 fps Ave 3344
3348 Es 11
3337
Tested 6 pieces brass it was good for 2 firings.
The next day it dropped to 38* so I ran 2 shots with this load over the chrono.
3357. Avg 3362 fps
3367. ES 10 fps
It dropped 47* and I gained 18fps?
Wind was 10mph at 10clock
61.4 h-1000
38*
+.015"
3340
3317. Avg 3330fps
3333 ES 23
Brass was lasting 3 firings at these pressures.
Wind was 10mph 10 clock
58gr h-1000
+.015
3170 fps
Brass will last a long time with this load.
Didn't shoot groups past 100 with this one yet but it looks good over the chrono. Groups were about .5 Moa at 100
60.3 h-1000
3300 Avg 3295 fps
3289 ES 11 fps
3295
Brass was lasting 6 firings with this load.
Now that I had some rounds through the rifle I called a buddy and we went hog hunting. I didn't get to test out these bullets on game yet unfortunately. On the bright side my buddy shot a 190 lb sow with his .223 in the head from the sitting position at about 150yards. She had 18-20 piglets with her.
I'm pretty happy so far and still have some testing to do. Retumbo and RL-26 are next, 3400fps shouldn't be a problem. Would also like to try some Hammer hunters. Looking forward to testing in better conditions to, over the 3 days I was testing and hog hunting temps were from 28* to 87* and it was really windy.
I'm honored to test out the First and only 25 SST. This was built as a light weight long range hunting rifle. I have it in the Chassis for load development for now, turns out it's a good look in there
I have a manners eh-1 with Curtis custom bm that I will put the action in eventually. At that point the scoped rifle will weigh around 9.3 lbs. In the Chassis right now it weighs 13 pounds. The more I shoot this rifle the more I like it. I will keep this thread updated as I continue testing.
As usual It was great working with Rich and Adam and I would like to thank them for their expertise and hard work. I'm Glad we are getting to put bullets on Steel now and get some hard data.
After the reamer was made by JGS, Rich sent it over to Adam Busse of Gunware. After Adam worked his magic, I got the rifle back around the first of January and have just now got to do some initial testing.
The cartridge is based on a SAUM case slightly shortened and has a slight amount of case taper removed with a 30 degree shoulder. Case length is 1.950"
The idea/goals behind the case design are to run high bc bullets seated long to get the bullet out of the powder column, fit in a standard short action mag, feed smoothly, and produce near magnum velocity's in a short efficient package. Along with staying just under PRS velocity limits with mild loads.
6.5 PRC 140 Berger, left 2.900"
25 SST 131 Ace, Right 2.900"
Rifle Specs
Rem 700 S/A
Ptg bolt
Gre Tan Fluted FP assembly
Rock Creek no. 5 sporter, 8 flutes, 26"
Micro bastard
March 3-24X52 FFP
Murphy Ti rail
NF Ti rings
MPA Competition Chassis
Jewel Trigger
I bought some ADG 6.5 SST brass from Rich and have been liking it much better than the Norma 6.5 SS brass, its more like lapua quality. Necks thickness is consistent as well everything else.
78 cases weighed
209gr- 212 ES 3gr
26 cases measured
1.944-1.949" ES .005"
To get down to 25cal I lube the inside and out of the neck and run through a forster FL die then cases are ready to be primed and loaded, pretty simple.
Out of the box brass is headspaced with about .0015" clearance and I have had no problems running full pressure loads on the first firing.
I have gone through about 25 pieces of brass testing it. One thing I've noticed with the tapered primer pockets is when they get loose they hold a primer much better and longer than a normal pocket.
After testing some brass till failure the case only lengthened .005" so they shouldn't ever need to be trimmed.
First ladder was done at 750yds 45* wanted to go further but the wind was blowing 17-20mph at 10clock. I was having to hold windage each shot so need to retest in better conditions as these were not ideal but needed to get the barrel broke in and brass formed anyway.
The unmarked shot at the top was 62gr, after I shot 61.7 62 landed way at the top so I had to adjust down and reshoot 62, then shot 62.3 and 62.6.
H-1000
2.892" +.015"
Fed 210
131 Black Jack
26" 7.25 twist
56 2915
56.5 2934
57 2932
57.5 3003
58 3032
58.5 3033
59 3103
59.5 3142
60 3150
60.5 3170
61 3211
61.5 3242
62 3267 Shiny Ejector Mark
62.5 3298 -
63 3317. -
63.5 3317 Shiny Ejector Mark out of room for powder.
I started testing a few loads and forming brass until I put 112 rounds through the barrel then shot another ladder over the magneto speed w/ H-1000
56.3 3094
56.6 3113
56.9 3105
57.2 3128
57.5 3144
57.8 3166
58.1 3170
58.4 3180
58.7 3198
59 3215
59.3 3232
59.6 3248
59.9 3270 Shiny Ejector Mark
60.2 3280. -
60.5 3282. -
60.8 3306. -
61.1 3335. -
61.4 3334. -
61.7 3360. -
At this point I still had not encountered any bolt lift but stopped there.
More Testing
62.3 h-1000
85*
+.015
3348 fps Ave 3344
3348 Es 11
3337
Tested 6 pieces brass it was good for 2 firings.
The next day it dropped to 38* so I ran 2 shots with this load over the chrono.
3357. Avg 3362 fps
3367. ES 10 fps
It dropped 47* and I gained 18fps?
Wind was 10mph at 10clock
61.4 h-1000
38*
+.015"
3340
3317. Avg 3330fps
3333 ES 23
Brass was lasting 3 firings at these pressures.
Wind was 10mph 10 clock
58gr h-1000
+.015
3170 fps
Brass will last a long time with this load.
Didn't shoot groups past 100 with this one yet but it looks good over the chrono. Groups were about .5 Moa at 100
60.3 h-1000
3300 Avg 3295 fps
3289 ES 11 fps
3295
Brass was lasting 6 firings with this load.
Now that I had some rounds through the rifle I called a buddy and we went hog hunting. I didn't get to test out these bullets on game yet unfortunately. On the bright side my buddy shot a 190 lb sow with his .223 in the head from the sitting position at about 150yards. She had 18-20 piglets with her.
I'm pretty happy so far and still have some testing to do. Retumbo and RL-26 are next, 3400fps shouldn't be a problem. Would also like to try some Hammer hunters. Looking forward to testing in better conditions to, over the 3 days I was testing and hog hunting temps were from 28* to 87* and it was really windy.
I'm honored to test out the First and only 25 SST. This was built as a light weight long range hunting rifle. I have it in the Chassis for load development for now, turns out it's a good look in there
I have a manners eh-1 with Curtis custom bm that I will put the action in eventually. At that point the scoped rifle will weigh around 9.3 lbs. In the Chassis right now it weighs 13 pounds. The more I shoot this rifle the more I like it. I will keep this thread updated as I continue testing.As usual It was great working with Rich and Adam and I would like to thank them for their expertise and hard work. I'm Glad we are getting to put bullets on Steel now and get some hard data.
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