25 06

[hawlejr]

Back in '73, I bought a Weatherby .257 Mag. It was a 1-12" twist, 24" barrel, and I wasn't happy with it. Had it glass bedded, and still, no matter what, it wouldn't stabilize anything over 100gr. I had a bunch of .257 bullets, and components for an "overbore" rifle, so when I ditched it later that year I bought a (then new) Ruger M77 24" heavy barrel. Shot lights out almost no matter what I fed it. Bought a forming die and made all my 26-06 from range brass the M1 guys left around after a match. Lake City '54 and '57, some new actual 25-06 brass, some Remington brass...you name it. Formed it down to near .257 in the RCBS forming die, and then finished it in the FL die. At first I worried about neck wall thickness, so I bought one of the old Lee Target loaders which had a die you banged the case in with a mallet, and then reamed the inside of the neck wall. After some experimenting, I realized that was pretty much a waste of time because the outside of the case neck with bullet inserted was within spec. without reaming. Never had chambering problems. You do need to trim the brass if you FL size. Lately, I've just been collet neck sizing, and everything's fine. Shot beaucoup woodchucks and deer when I lived back east. I haven't shot it out here as I have been hunting mainly elk, and I have heavier calibers for that, but I wouldn't hesitate with either the 120 partitions, the 115 TSX, or the 120 Sierra GK. I saw a huge hog taken with the 120 GK. Bullet went right through both lungs and left a nice hole on the far side. Guide shot the animal in nearly the same spot, with a .308, and the bullet never exited. The 120 gr GK is also hollow point, and when you see penetration like that with a nice exit hole, you know you got something!

 

[choprzrul]

Wow, that load is smoking and it is obvious you are squeezing out every drop of velocity out of that 26" barrel—nice. Never heard a load combo using RL 16 in 25-06, but it makes perfect sense with lighter bullets like what you are using. Thanks for sharing.

The load is 1/2 grain below the first sign of pressure.

I suspect there is another 50-75 fps to be had using RL26, but I don't have any and my current load shoots 7/8" pretty consistently, and it has had excellent results on deer to 200 yards, so I'm not really that motivated to try something else

 

[HNDLDR]

Wow, that load is smoking and it is obvious you are squeezing out every drop of velocity out of that 26" barrel—nice. Never heard a load combo using RL 16 in 25-06, but it makes perfect sense with lighter bullets like what you are using. Thanks for sharing.

The high velocity is because of the design of the Absolute hammer bullet.
My 25-06 is a 24" Browning X-bolt.
I've pushed that bullet between 3600 and 3700Fps with
IMR 4451
IMR 7828
Magpro

If I could find any Reloader 19 I think I might break 3700 FPS.

These loads are without ejector marks and no hard bolt lift with multiple brands of brass.

Three deer have dropped to this bullet launched between 3585 and 3660fps.
Ranges were stones throw close, 175 yards and 320ish.

 

[Phil Rizzo]

The high velocity is because of the design of the Absolute hammer bullet.
My 25-06 is a 24" Browning X-bolt.
I've pushed that bullet between 3600 and 3700Fps with
IMR 4451
IMR 7828
Magpro

If I could find any Reloader 19 I think I might break 3700 FPS.

These loads are without ejector marks and no hard bolt lift with multiple brands of brass.

Three deer have dropped to this bullet launched between 3585 and 3660fps.
Ranges were stones throw close, 175 yards and 320ish.

R19 is a monster in my 25 Sherman.
It went over 3500 with 115 BT's and soft nosler brass. I was finding the max, that's not a daily shooting load. That was a 26" 1-7 Proof
Wonder if r23 would be too slow for 110-115's?
Since it's allegedly more stable…?

 

[del2les]

Back in '73, I bought a Weatherby .257 Mag. It was a 1-12" twist, 24" barrel, and I wasn't happy with it. Had it glass bedded, and still, no matter what, it wouldn't stabilize anything over 100gr. I had a bunch of .257 bullets, and components for an "overbore" rifle, so when I ditched it later that year I bought a (then new) Ruger M77 24" heavy barrel. Shot lights out almost no matter what I fed it. Bought a forming die and made all my 26-06 from range brass the M1 guys left around after a match. Lake City '54 and '57, some new actual 25-06 brass, some Remington brass...you name it. Formed it down to near .257 in the RCBS forming die, and then finished it in the FL die. At first I worried about neck wall thickness, so I bought one of the old Lee Target loaders which had a die you banged the case in with a mallet, and then reamed the inside of the neck wall. After some experimenting, I realized that was pretty much a waste of time because the outside of the case neck with bullet inserted was within spec. without reaming. Never had chambering problems. You do need to trim the brass if you FL size. Lately, I've just been collet neck sizing, and everything's fine. Shot beaucoup woodchucks and deer when I lived back east. I haven't shot it out here as I have been hunting mainly elk, and I have heavier calibers for that, but I wouldn't hesitate with either the 120 partitions, the 115 TSX, or the 120 Sierra GK. I saw a huge hog taken with the 120 GK. Bullet went right through both lungs and left a nice hole on the far side. Guide shot the animal in nearly the same spot, with a .308, and the bullet never exited. The 120 gr GK is also hollow point, and when you see penetration like that with a nice exit hole, you know you got something!

That brings back memories. As an old NM shooter and range officer for my old shooting club, I policed up brass after our weekend matches, and our club had numerous wooden ammo crates filled with LC 30-06 brass and steel clips from the Garand shooters using our DCM ammo.

I took one crate home and formed various cases from them, and in preparation for a several day out-of-state PDog shoot, I formed a few hundred 25-06's from those LC brass. Even after all these years, I think I still have 2-3 20rd boxes of those old formed brass.

A friend of mine always used the Sierra 120HP in his 25-06, and he also took several deer with those bullets. While I own a couple of old boxes of those I bought on clearance in the early 90's, I have never used them on deer or similar. Glad to hear your results were like his.

 

[Louisiana Reloader]

The high velocity is because of the design of the Absolute hammer bullet.
My 25-06 is a 24" Browning X-bolt.
I've pushed that bullet between 3600 and 3700Fps with
IMR 4451
IMR 7828
Magpro

If I could find any Reloader 19 I think I might break 3700 FPS.

These loads are without ejector marks and no hard bolt lift with multiple brands of brass.

Three deer have dropped to this bullet launched between 3585 and 3660fps.
Ranges were stones throw close, 175 yards and 320ish.

Nice, thanks for all the load info. My 25-06 is a Browning X-Bolt as well with a 24" barrel. Btw, if you are not happy with your factory "Feather Trigger" that is really not a feather trigger, MCarbo makes an awesome spring replacement that allows you to keep the functionality of the factory bolt button safety feature. I replaced the factory spring with an MCarbo spring and now I have the trigger on my Browning X-Bolt adjusted down to 1lb 8oz and I LOVE it. As I mentioned earlier in this post, I am pushing 110gr Nosler AB's and 110gr Hornady ELD-X's averaging 3,275fps using 55.7grs of Alliant PP4000MR. However, I am intrigued by these Absolute Hammer bullets mentioned several times in this thread and I might have to look into these.

 

[Charles De Salme]

This little 25/06 has taken over 25 antelope. Shooting a 87 gr Berger moly bullet. With my luck though they are no longer made. Once I run out I'll have to find a new load.

 

[HNDLDR]

Nice, thanks for all the load info. My 25-06 is a Browning X-Bolt as well with a 24" barrel. Btw, if you are not happy with your factory "Feather Trigger" that is really not a feather trigger, MCarbo makes an awesome spring replacement that allows you to keep the functionality of the factory bolt button safety feature. I replaced the factory spring with an MCarbo spring and now I have the trigger on my Browning X-Bolt adjusted down to 1lb 8oz and I LOVE it. As I mentioned earlier in this post, I am pushing 110gr Nosler AB's and 110gr Hornady ELD-X's averaging 3,275fps using 55.7grs of Alliant PP4000MR. However, I am intrigued by these Absolute Hammer bullets mentioned several times in this thread and I might have to look into these.

Thanks for the tip on the trigger kit. I have one of their spring kits for my daughters Savage Axis that I haven't installed yet. Guess I need to order two more for the two X-bolts in the house too.

Nothing at all wrong with the Accubonds. I've used them in my old 7mm REM. and my 300 Rum. Never was happy accuracy wise with the Hornady bullets for some reason but I know lots of people love them too.

 

[The Badger]

Have deer hunted with a 25-06 a good bit. I usually hunted with 110 accubonds as well as Sierra 117 SGK's and Pro Hunters. RL23 is my favorite powder for it. I have some 92 gr Hammer Hunters loaded up to try this season.

 

[choprzrul]

MCarbo trigger springs in XBolts are legit.

.

 

[Moondoggie]

In my mind there is no better deer and antelope cartridge than the 25-06. Feed it good bullets and it will get the job done.

^^THIS^^

 

[geocodyrgia]

I use Sierra 120's in both of my 25-06's (H&R single shot and Ruger MKI). They shoot outstanding. My dad goes through Sedalia fairly often and brings seconds down when he comes to visit the kids.

Loading with powder as fast as H4831, through 7828 to H1000, it all shoots well. I tend to use 7828 for heavy bullets in 30-06 sized cases. I came across 20-some pounds @ $10/lb so figured I'd find good use for it.

 

[Louisiana Reloader]

MCarbo trigger springs in XBolts are legit.

.

Absolutely they are. Completely changes the gun for the good and you get to keep all the factory safety features on the bolt.

 

[M1A1ABRAMS]

.

Thanks for the information on the Accubonds and I agree with you. If you have any information on where the 110gr Accubonds can be found please share. I have checked all my suppliers and also new ones and they are almost extinct and cannot be back ordered. I've loaded up some 110gr. ELD-X's for deer season this year so I will see how these perform in the meantime. Thanks

You may want to check your local estate sales. Look for reloading & gun related stuff that will be at the sale. I buy a lot of new bullets for pennies on the dollar at these estate sales & auctions. Flea markets are another good source. You may also buy other things that peek your interest.