My buddies are giving me that itch!

[taylorce1]

To play with wildcats again, as they sent me pictures of their latest projects.



L-R in order .257 Roberts, .25-7PRC (135 gr Berger), .25 Bobcat (110 gr ELD-X), and 7.62X39. Up until recently all he's owned was a half a dozen of the Roberts rifles both factory and customs that he and his two boys shoot.

My buddy rebarreled a M700 7mm RM to build his .25-7PRC and has been doing some testing. He's getting 3300 fps with the Berger bullet. I never saw him as one to go away from a more traditional look with his rifles but he surprised me.



I'm still waiting to hear on the .25 Bobcat as he's still waiting on the barrel. The .25 Bobcat is made on the 6 mm Dasher case and will be built on an AR-15 platform. He said if he can get it to cycle correctly, it will be his new pig rifle. He said the Dasher case holds 10 grains of water less than his Roberts, but thinks he'll only be around 100-150 fps slower with the ELD-X bullet. However, he's not sure the ELD-X will work as obviously he has to seat much deeper than he did in the picture.

I also have another friend who just built a .25 Nosler, on a Mark X action. He hasn't got a chance to test it much as he just took a huge promotion at his job, still cleaning up a mess he was left with. However, he can't shoot anything as long as the Berger because of magazine space. His bullet of choice is going to be a Hammer Hunter 121 grain.



Here is the load data his Hammer came up with for him.



I must admit that I have little interest in burning as much powder as the PRC and Nosler case. That Bobcat or a .25 Creedmoor would be a nice deer and pronghorn rifle. In reality though, I'd be really happy with a nice Remington 700 Classic in .250 Savage.

[hooligan1]

That Nosler is gonna be a Lightning Bolt, Laser gun..

[taylorce1]

I think both the Nosler and the .25-7 PRC will provide some blistering velocites for those who need it.

[stagpanther]

I'm working on 134 gr bullet loads for the 25 PRC blackjack right now. It's going to be at least a few months before my fast-twist 257 weatherby barrel is going to be ready.

Just a thought: drive big .257's real fast and the throat is going to burn fast as well. It's easy to get seduced to pushing the high BC/SD bullets over 3200 fps--I'm not shooting any 1,000+ yard matches so I stay under that for barrel life.

[paknheat]

Got a lotta love for the quarter bore blasters.

.257 Roberts with a 100 grain Barnes TTSX bullet has proven to be a great overall Texas game getter.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

[stagpanther]

It looks like the 25-7mm PRC is actually a bigger case than the 25 PRC blackjack (based on the 6.5 PRC)--so it presumably can be driven hotter.

[stagpanther]

I think a mid-sized 257 like the creedmoor or even possibly 25-284 makes a lot of sense. Taking a 280 AI and necking it down might be cool too! (?)

[stagpanther]

wrong thread--edit (sorry)

[taylorce1]

Originally Posted by stagpanther

It looks like the 25-7mm PRC is actually a bigger case than the 25 PRC blackjack (based on the 6.5 PRC)--so it presumably can be driven hotter.

Yes, it's definitely a long action cartridge.

As far as the .257-280AI, I doubt you'd see much of a gain over the .25-06. The biggest velocity gain for the .280 AI over the Rem cartridge is operating pressure, 65K psi for the AI vs 60K psi for the Rem. When you load the .280 Rem to 65K psi loads the difference the AI produces isn't as much.

Depending on magazine length of the rifle, I'd bet you would be limiting yourself on bullets in a .25-280AI. .25-284 would be a better fit in a long action with a fast twist barrel for the Bergers. Being able to load to 3.3" vs 2.8" is huge.

[stagpanther]

Depending on magazine length of the rifle, I'd bet you would be limiting yourself on bullets in a .25-280AI. .25-284 would be a better fit in a long action with a fast twist barrel for the Bergers. Being able to load to 3.3" vs 2.8" is huge.

Yes it is--but MDT chassis with AICS 30-06 magazine is quite generous. But me personally would LOVE to see a 25-284 (hint hint). BTW, did my first test of the 134 ELDMs in my 25 PRC blackjack--very mild loads and they show promise!

[taylorce1]

Originally Posted by stagpanther

But me personally would LOVE to see a 25-284 (hint hint).

You're going to have to build that one. If I build a .25 caliber it'll more than likely be an adult sized .250 Savage to go along with the Charles Daly mini Mauser I have for my daughter. I've always been enamored by that round.

She out grew it so fast and basically went from huning with a .223 at 9 years old straight to a .300 Savage at 11. She was over 5' tall by 11, and had no issues shooting the M700 Classic .300 Savage I got for her, then she moved to a Howa Alpine .308 at 15 for a mountain rifle. She finished out at 5' 11" and I'm 5' 10" so the 12.5" lop and small bolt handle make the rifle feel really tiny to the both of us.