New old .25 cal wildcat

[VinceMule]

my 257 Weatherby has .030 freebore, formed on Winchester 264 Win mag brass, reamer ground for the slightly shorter neck.

115g Berger
110g Nosler accubond
3600 on 26" 9T X caliber barrel
3/8" and smaller three shot groups that repeat
Deer flop

This "wild cat" cartridge is formed by putting a very heavy chamfer on the outside of the case mouth, lubing with Lee sizing wax, one pass though the 257 Weatherby full length sizer, perfect double radius shoulder. I have never lost a case.

100g ttsx, 100g Hornady flat base shoot bug holes at 3850 fps and the 100g Partition shoots half inch groups in my rifle.

PTG has this reamer print on file.

This is my second reamer. The first 257 Weatherby reamer I had ground had the std weatherby length neck and zero freebore. 100's at 3850 and 85-87g bullets at 4130 was the norm.

Earlier in my life, I had two 25/284's and one 25/06 AI.

I shot out a number of 25/06's. I met a gunsmith in Texas who was a big deer club member. He was building all the guys 25/06, shilen barrels, 12 twist shooting the 100g Sierra flat base at 3600 fps with a case full of R#25 with fed 215's. I had him chamber a barrel and I got the same results and no pressure on the win cases at 3600 with the 100's. 100g Sierra flat base are no longer available, neither is the 117g Sierra flat base also stabilized at 3350 with R#25 and just smacked deer down hard. This 12T in 25/06 was a coyote, crow rifle for the most part as I was getting another 250 fps out of the Weatherby with zero freebore.

Double radius has a direct impact in how doughnut formation is retarded in these Weatherby cases.

I don't know if I am going to jump on board with a super fast twist in the 257 Weatherby, rotational torque on the base of the bullet is a heck of an issue to deal with which translates to slow velocity.

Mike's 25/280 AI may have the balance of the best of the best.

 

[RAGGED EDGE]

Just had a .25-06 AI built on a WBY ULW action with a Preferred Barrel out of Utah. The first 3 133-grain Bergers went into one ragged hole @ 100 yards. Too cold to get out the chrono, but I can't wait for a little warmer weather.

 

[std7mag]

I'm using a Savage Axis II barreled to 250 Savage 1:10 for coyotes.
75gr Sierra HP Varmint bullets over a low charge of Alliant Varmint nets 3,150fps out of the 24" barrel.
For a little more distance the 90gr Sierra BlitzKings perform really well.

Have taken 2 deer with the Savage & 100gr Ballistic Tips.

 

[DesertBoy]

Just had a .25-06 AI built on a WBY ULW action with a Preferred Barrel out of Utah. The first 3 133-grain Bergers went into one ragged hole @ 100 yards. Too cold to get out the chrono, but I can't wait for a little warmer weather.

That's who is barreling/chambering mine. They are awesome. It's cool if you go on the website, they give you the option up front with the .257 Bee, wether you want the standard Weatherby free bore, or the Black Jack reamer option.

 

[RAGGED EDGE]

I'm using a Savage Axis II barreled to 250 Savage 1:10 for coyotes.
75gr Sierra HP Varmint bullets over a low charge of Alliant Varmint nets 3,150fps out of the 24" barrel.
For a little more distance the 90gr Sierra BlitzKings perform really well.

Have taken 2 deer with the Savage & 100gr Ballistic Tips.

I have a 116 Weather Warrior, and a bunch of old Barnes (pre-groove) 85-grain "X"s' that are most devastating on deer. BangFlop! I'm getting around 3050 fps.

 

[.300 Dakota]

My first barrel was a factory Vanguard 1:10 twist. I got it shooting under .75 MOA with 115gr Bergers with H1000. It was a $500 base Vanguard.

I am currently working on loads for the new 1:7 barrel on that 257 weatherby with 128gr hammer and 135gr Berger. Both are under .5" MOA. The picture is 3 shots each for the above bullets at 500 yards. The bergers was just a test load with no development. The hammers are a developed load. I have not checked velocity yet. I am planning to get a chrono soon. I will have to check the loads, but they are using RL26 or H1000. I can't remember off the top of my head.

One of my 257 Wbys was the base Howa. It would invariably put 2 shots touching or nearly and 1 in shallow left field. The guy I sold it to reports same, but says it's a non-issue to him because the first 2 shots are always close together. Didn't matter that you let the barrel cool to ambient between each shot. Other was a Mauser Mark X custom, which could have been put together any kind of way, so may not have been the cartridge's fault. 1.5" cloverleaf groups of 3 was as good as it got. I've read where others have had the same experience with most every Wby cartridge. Always a mixed bag of opinions/experiences. My absolute favorite is the .240. I just wish it came in 1:8 twist with 26" magnum contour barrel.

 

[.300 Dakota]

I keep leaning towards a few of the more well known 25 caliber wildcats.
25-284, 25-350 Rem Mag, 25 Souper.

I love the idea, but GOOD LUCK finding .350/6.5 Rem Mag brass OR ammo to tear down!

I have a short throated (.090") .25 Creed reamer from JGS I've never used. Might be time. It's designed for use with "normal" 1"10 twist barrels and bullets up to 110 grains perhaps. 90gr Hammers or Sierra HPs would be great.

 

[.300 Dakota]

You will love the Souper, best of the ones you listed, IMHO. Easy to form brass and performs very well.

I have been looking for a No.1 to build a Souper on for awhile. But I just scored a Ruger No1 with custom barrel chambered in 25 Krag AI. Just picked up Monday, so first info to report. But reserch has me smiling. Its not going to be a Hot Rod like the Wby, but should run just short of a 25/06.

Nothing like a shiny Ruger #1 with lots of figure!!!

What do you form brass from for the .25 Souper? .243, .260, 7-08, or .308?

 

[Randy Tidwell]

Nothing like a shiny Ruger #1 with lots of figure!!!

What do you form brass from for the .25 Souper? .243, .260, 7-08, or .308?

It's a rimed case that can be made from 30-40 Krag, 303 British or 30-30 Win.

Hoping to find some Krag brass. Coming up empty so far. Hitting big gun show next weekend.

This will be a rare occasion for me using fired cases, normally don't touch them.

 

[.300 Dakota]

my 257 Weatherby has .030 freebore, formed on Winchester 264 Win mag brass, reamer ground for the slightly shorter neck.

115g Berger
110g Nosler accubond
3600 on 26" 9T X caliber barrel
3/8" and smaller three shot groups that repeat
Deer flop

This "wild cat" cartridge is formed by putting a very heavy chamfer on the outside of the case mouth, lubing with Lee sizing wax, one pass though the 257 Weatherby full length sizer, perfect double radius shoulder. I have never lost a case.

100g ttsx, 100g Hornady flat base shoot bug holes at 3850 fps and the 100g Partition shoots half inch groups in my rifle.

PTG has this reamer print on file.

This is my second reamer. The first 257 Weatherby reamer I had ground had the std weatherby length neck and zero freebore. 100's at 3850 and 85-87g bullets at 4130 was the norm.

Earlier in my life, I had two 25/284's and one 25/06 AI.

I shot out a number of 25/06's. I met a gunsmith in Texas who was a big deer club member. He was building all the guys 25/06, shilen barrels, 12 twist shooting the 100g Sierra flat base at 3600 fps with a case full of R#25 with fed 215's. I had him chamber a barrel and I got the same results and no pressure on the win cases at 3600 with the 100's. 100g Sierra flat base are no longer available, neither is the 117g Sierra flat base also stabilized at 3350 with R#25 and just smacked deer down hard. This 12T in 25/06 was a coyote, crow rifle for the most part as I was getting another 250 fps out of the Weatherby with zero freebore.

Double radius has a direct impact in how doughnut formation is retarded in these Weatherby cases.

I don't know if I am going to jump on board with a super fast twist in the 257 Weatherby, rotational torque on the base of the bullet is a heck of an issue to deal with which translates to slow velocity.

Mike's 25/280 AI may have the balance of the best of the best.

True. I wouldn't consider anything faster than 9 were I not tailoring to the ultra-long bullets over 130 grains. The entire boattail of these bullets will be below the neck/shoulder junction, as the short neck is just enough to grab the .25 cal bullet. I'm thinking of progressing with the .090" freebore .25 Creedmoor I have a reamer for. Doesn't have to be fancy. A 9 twist McGowen or Douglas XX barrel would be ideal, but 10 twist is acceptable if I can find one in stock faster.

I, too, had a .25-06 AI. I learned that I LOATHE fireforming brass! I also hate using double the powder, primers, and bullets as hard as they are to come by. I could get a good pre-fit from PVA for a 1:7 .25 Creedmoor, but I have no interest in launching ultra-heavy-for-caliber bullets from a Creedmoor case. Many guys love it, just doesn't tickle my fancy as much as ultra-high velocity capability.

 

[Randy Tidwell]

Nothing like a shiny Ruger #1 with lots of figure!!!

What do you form brass from for the .25 Souper? .243, .260, 7-08, or .308?

Sorry miss read your post. The Souper typically is formed from 308 . But it can be formed from any 308 base case.

 

[.300 Dakota]

It's a rimed case that can be made from 30-40 Krag, 303 British or 30-30 Win.

Hoping to find some Krag brass. Coming up empty so far. Hitting big gun show next weekend.

This will be a rare occasion for me using fired cases, normally don't touch them.

Gotcha! I thought the Souper was a .25/.308 Win.

 

[.300 Dakota]

Sorry miss read your post. The Souper typically is formed from 308 . But it can be formed from any 308 base case.

I much prefer necking up vs down. The .243 neck is pretty short, though!

 

[.300 Dakota]

FWIW, the .250 Savage is one of my all-time favorites. I had a 700 Varmint rebarreled by Hart to duplicate the factory contour, but had the length cut to 23". An 87 grain Hornady SP launched at 2710fps was my whitetail and varmint load. I dispatched varmints across fields and got pass-thrus on our smallish deer as close as 10 yards. The best part was zero meat damage. As they use to say, you could eat right up to the bullet hole. Groups would open past 100 yards with longer 100gr and heavier boattail bullets, but the 90gr Sierra BTHPs were great. I have toyed with the idea of making another inexpensive one since.