• If you are being asked to change your password, and unsure how to do it, follow these instructions. Click here

New 110 gr ELD-X in 25-06

I've even heard of retumbo as an option.
I tried Retumbo in several different cartridges from .25-06 AI up to 7mm STW and .300 Ackley and never could get consistency. Some folks have great luck with it, I just never was one of those. None of my rifles liked it. I still have about 1/2 to 3/4 of the final pound sitting on the shelf because that's what was left when all was said and done.

I highly recommend IMR 7828 SSC for the .25-06 and anything up to 7mm RemMag. Anything larger, IMR 7977 has given me single-digit SD's and a nearly full case fill. 7828 will work just fine (from .25-06 up to .300 Weatherby), but the better case fill of 7977 will help keep pressures down while achieving the same velocities. I still use 7828 SSC for .25-06 AI and .30-06 AI, up to 7mm RemMag.
 
Wish they would have made it in a 120. I have always wanted to try the speed 120 sbt. Believe it is listed at .480

Never had any problems with the Sierra 117's though.
 
The 131 ACE will be available in July and our HTR hunting bullet will be available at the end of 2018 and will have an even higher BC but also be purpose built for Long Range Hunting (holding onto design details until later in the year closer to production run).

As a result there will be two high BC 257's on the market at the end of 2018 with BC's higher than that of all but the heaviest 6.5mm bullets and performance that outruns the 6.5's, 270's, and many 7mm's due to the design and achievable velocities.

Better ballistics with less recoil. Win-Win.

If you need the energy of 170-180 grain bullets then by all means the Berger 170 EOL and 180 grain 0.284's are the easy go-to. If you want flatter trajectory and increased wind performance, our bullets going 3000-3300 fps are absolutely going to be hard to beat.

It's a no-brainer for a Match rifle but 25 Cal our bullets are going to make for one hell of a deer hunting setup without the penalty of unnecessary recoil.

On the 257 Blackjack Cartridge front we really made some headway today! The 257 Blackjack is a short action magnum that will launch our 131 ACE over 3200 fps from a 24" barrel and will be a great balanced option for match shooting and long range hunting without the penalties of heavy recoil and short barrel life.

It seems some guys have been saying they are waiting on major manufacturers to do what they have been unwilling to. We have brought high performance 257 Match Grade bullets to the market without the sticker shock of $50 / box bullets.

We have a lot of excited customers but I don't know if any of them are as excited as I am about the HTR and our 257 Blackjack cartridge we are working on, lol.

impactbullet.jpg
 
Last edited:
Very interesting. What twist is needed to stabilize these 131 gr ACE bullets?

We recommend 1:7 - 1:7.5" twist for standard 308 boltface cartridges up to 3200 fps. For 3200 fps and above we recommend 1:7.75" which Rock Creek makes very well but more commonly as 1:8" by most mfgs like Bartlein and Krieger.

Yes you can shoot magnums from 1:7" twists but the likelihood of the bullet deforming due to RPMs will be higher. There are a handful of guys building 25-06 in 1:7.25" and should not have a problem. We experienced no issues at 3200 fps, but there are a couple of guys that are planning to push the 131 ACE updwards of 3400-3600 fps in monstrous wildcats to see how the bullet behaves and to use the rifles as point and shoot stalking/hiking rifles for a flat medium range point-blank style of rifle.

I have not even run the ballistics at 3400-3500-3600 fps... To me 3200 fps was PLENTY and very manageable to drive behind the rifle to spot shots and watch the bullet zip downrange.

284.png

284 Wind.png


130 Grain Bullets Drop to 1300 yds.png


130 Grain Bullets Wind to 1300 yds.png


These charts are not meant as end-all be-all. Just food for thought. One is very reliable loads from 30-32" 284 class rifles and actual velocity data from our test 25x284. The 130 grain bullet graph of course compares the best 130 grain bullets available, many which are not fully heavy-for-caliber but highlights the performance gain a guy can obtain by switching to 25 cal if he prefers the recoil levels of 130's over heavier 140-180 grain bullets common to Long Range Shooting and Hunting.
 
Last edited:
The 131 ACE will be available in July and our HTR hunting bullet will be available at the end of 2018 and will have an even higher BC but also be purpose built for Long Range Hunting (holding onto design details until later in the year closer to production run).

As a result there will be two high BC 257's on the market at the end of 2018 with BC's higher than that of all but the heaviest 6.5mm bullets and performance that outruns the 6.5's, 270's, and many 7mm's due to the design and achievable velocities.

Better ballistics with less recoil. Win-Win.

If you need the energy of 170-180 grain bullets then by all means the Berger 170 EOL and 180 grain 0.284's are the easy go-to. If you want flatter trajectory and increased wind performance, our bullets going 3000-3300 fps are absolutely going to be hard to beat.

It's a no-brainer for a Match rifle but 25 Cal our bullets are going to make for one hell of a deer hunting setup without the penalty of unnecessary recoil.

On the 257 Blackjack Cartridge front we really made some headway today! The 257 Blackjack is a short action magnum that will launch our 131 ACE over 3200 fps from a 24" barrel and will be a great balanced option for match shooting and long range hunting without the penalties of heavy recoil and short barrel life.

It seems some guys have been saying they are waiting on major manufacturers to do what they have been unwilling to. We have brought high performance 257 Match Grade bullets to the market without the sticker shock of $50 / box bullets.

We have a lot of excited customers but I don't know if any of them are as excited as I am about the HTR and our 257 Blackjack cartridge we are working on, lol.

View attachment 100929
If you guys need someone to test these hunting bullets out this fall I'd be willing to shoot some whitetails with them. As soon as the 131 ace is available I'm buying 500-1000 of them. My 25-284 reamer should be here within the next 2-3 weeks. I got my 1-7.5 Krieger about a month ago. As soon as my reamer shows my buddy will be putting it together for me.
 
If you guys need someone to test these hunting bullets out this fall I'd be willing to shoot some whitetails with them. As soon as the 131 ace is available I'm buying 500-1000 of them. My 25-284 reamer should be here within the next 2-3 weeks. I got my 1-7.5 Krieger about a month ago. As soon as my reamer shows my buddy will be putting it together for me.

We will definitely be testing them on permit-whitetails soon. Just been a little busy.

Since the clock just ticked over to July 4th I figured I might as well let you 25 cal guys know we are putting our Lilja blanks on deep discount in celebration of the Founding Fathers signing the Declaration of Independence way back in 1776. : )

july 4th.jpg


Untitled.png


More details on these blanks for sale are on Blackjackbullets.com's Lilja page and the webstore at www.blackjackbullets.com
 
I reload 100 gr. Bar TTSX loaded over IMR7977 in my wife's 25-06 for antelope hunting here in south central Montana and it has worked pretty grandly. Once a good recipe is found it is hard to look at changing, especially since I tinker with my other rifle recipes and I'm still looking for the perfect recipes for those (hunting loads).
 
I load 117 gr Hornady BTSP over H4831SC for PA whitetails. It's a mild load that kills like lightning. Tried other powders but my 25-06 likes H4831SC the best. Looking forward to trying the 110 ELD-X.
 
Top