Need advice from the quarter bore fans

[Hammer101st]

I was wanting to build a 250ai but current brass offerings are not ther so i think i settled for the 25 creedmore it will be on a kelblys short action or i would go the 257 bob route. This is going to be a hunting rifle and my question is do the lower weight bullets in the 100 to 120grn classes offer an advantage over say higher grain 6mm or lower grain 6.5mm bullets?

Try to keep the bias of your love for the caliber at bay LOL

 

[Bill Norris]

I was wanting to build a 250ai but current brass offerings are not ther so i think i settled for the 25 creedmore it will be on a kelblys short action or i would go the 257 bob route. This is going to be a hunting rifle and my question is do the lower weight bullets in the 100 to 120grn classes offer an advantage over say higher grain 6mm or lower grain 6.5mm bullets?

Try to keep the bias of your love for the caliber at bay LOL

not if the 6mm or 6.5mm is Ackley Improved such as the 243AI & 260AI.

 

[std7mag]

If you can find some, neck up your favorite manufacturers 22-250.

Don't discount PPU brass. Excellent quality especially for the price!!

As for 25 caliber vs 6mm..

For some unknown to me reason, the 25 caliber kills cleanly, more effectively above what you would expect.

 

[Kevin Taylor]

I have hunted with 257 Roberts for 3 decades. Never needed a heavier bullet for anything in the lower 48.

 

[TrapperBR549]

I love the Roberts, currently own 3, but the availability of bullets would push me to either 6 or 6.5 mm.

 

[Hammer101st]

I love the Roberts, currently own 3, but the availability of bullets would push me to either 6 or 6.5 mm.

I hear ya but for some reason the 25 bug bit the sh!t out of me for some reason

 

[Bill Norris]

I hear ya but for some reason the 25 bug bit the sh!t out of me for some reason

I believe if you tried either the 6mm or 6.5mm in an AI form you would be well pleased with it. The 115 gr. in 6mm at well over 3200 fps and the 120 gr. in 6.5mm at 3200 fps leaves nothing to be wanted in a short action. Accuracy is 1/4 MOA @ 100 yds. in both with a good custom build. (WSMNUT) here on the site is the man no doubt.

 

[Hammer101st]

I believe if you tried either the 6mm or 6.5mm in an AI form you would be well pleased with it. The 115 gr. in 6mm at well over 3200 fps and the 120 gr. in 6.5mm at 3200 fps leaves nothing to be wanted in a short action. Accuracy is 1/4 MOA @ 100 yds. in both with a good custom build. (WSMNUT) here on the site is the man no doubt.

Well i have the 6.5ai covered with a swede and 6.5-06 so more of them but i dont have the 6 covered

 

[STOMP442]

The 25 Creed is the easy button. Factory made quality brass is available and it will do essentially the same performance without the extra step of forming and custom dies. My 6 creed and 243 Ackley are within 100 fps of each other with the same 105 grain bullets. I would guess the 25 Creed and the little Savage case being nearly identical in capacity and performance. That being said nothing warms my heart more than an Ackley improved case and the .250 Savage is one of the best. I have formed many a .250 Savage case from Lake City Match .308 brass back in the day. Takes lots of work but it can be done. You could probably even form it from 25 Creed cases and fire form from there.

 

[Hammer101st]

The 25 Creed is the easy button. Factory made quality brass is available and it will do essentially the same performance without the extra step of forming and custom dies. My 6 creed and 243 Ackley are within 100 fps of each other with the same 105 grain bullets. I would guess the 25 Creed and the little Savage case being nearly identical in capacity and performance. That being said nothing warms my heart more than an Ackley improved case and the .250 Savage is one of the best. I have formed many a .250 Savage case from Lake City Match .308 brass back in the day. Takes lots of work but it can be done. You could probably even form it from 25 Creed cases and fire form from there.

I heard of guys using creedmore brass. But problem is when pushing the shoulder the little bit it makes for pretty thick side walls and web and people said that they had hard time getting it fire formed

 

[K22]

I have hunted with 257 Roberts for 3 decades. Never needed a heavier bullet for anything in the lower 48.

This is an outstanding deer cartridge. My uncle hunted successfully with one for many years.

 

[dryhumor]

I once had 4 257 Roberts at the same time. When I miss them I start looking for brass… I was was pretty hard on Roberts brass. Created a lot of loose primer pockets.

I was close to going the 25 Creedmoor, mostly because you could get plenty brass right off the bat. Plus, in going that route you can twist the barrel a bit faster than the standard 1:10.

 

[Infrequent Shooter]

great thread here.

 

[Preacher]

I have ran 25 Creedmore brass through my 250 Savage AI with no apparent problems other than the Alpha brass is a bit larger at the base than the Winchester brass..

 

[Kurz]

I've been hunting with the .250 Savage AI for a long time. It's a favorite although it gets displaced by the testing of other cartridges too frequently these days. I have hunted with a 21" lighter weight rifle when I cover lots of ground on the desert and I have shot a 15" barrel in a hand rifle when I hunt the deeper woods of the UP.

The .25 Creedmoor can and will duplicate the .250 Savage AI within nickles and dimes. The lightest bullets I shoot are the Badlands 110 gr. Super BD2 and the heaviest are the 131 Blackjack.

I have a good supply of .250 Savage brass but I can make it from some Lapua .22-250 I have also.

The .25x47 is another fine hunting cartridge.

 

[Keefe300]

You have received a fair amount of advice so far.

Your original post stated you wanted a 250AI. I think you would be more than happy with that. If you change your mind or settle for something else, you will always wonder if the 250AI would have been better.

I have been a quarter bore fan for more than 20 years now and have hunted with and shot most all grain weights from the 80 grain TTSX in a 25-06AI to the 131 grain BJ in a 25CM. I have in the last 8 years settled on the 110 grain Nosler Accubond. This bullet preformed great in the 25-06 thru to the 257 WBY. Sometimes I think we over complicated things looking at heavier bullets and higher BC’s.

Someday I too may wind up building a 250AI. I have used a 25CM, 25-06Rem, 25-06AI, and a 257WBY. I also have other quarter bore ideas rolling around in my head, just no time to pursue them.

Good luck with whatever you decide and make sure to post your results.

 

[whatsupdoc]

Just press the easy button get a 25 Creed with a 7.25 twist barrel and shoot 133 Bergers
if you are going to hunt with it or 134 Eld if you are shooting steel.

I have shot the 115 bergers with that setup and they did not disappoint.

 

[nakneker]

I’ve had 2 257AI and one standard 257R, enjoyed them. Currently I’m having fun with a 25x47L but if I was building today I’d probably just build a 25 creedmoor, just too easy and the performance will be there too. The 25x47L has been a hoot, I’m shooting BIB 110s and it’s lethal. I would love to have a 25 creed chambered to shoot the Berger 133s, tempting. The advantage of the bigger bullets is obvious, just a high BC if you want to stretch things out a bit.

 

[std7mag]

Realistically, if your not planning on using it for long range Benchrest matches, brass isn't the limiting factor.
Nor are bullets if your patient.

Typical 25 caliber 1:10 twist will let you shoot from 75gr through 120gr bullets. (cup & core)

1:7.5 will let you shoot the heaviest cup & core bullets, plus the heavier monolithic bullets.

That being said, all my 25 caliber rifles are 1:10 twist. All 7 of them.
(2) 250 Savage, 257 Roberts, 257 Roberts AI, 25 WSSM, 25-06, 257 Weatherby.

The 250 Savage AI will put you up in the 257 Roberts category with a shorter cartridge length.

Deer season opens on Saturday in PA. Since i've already taken 2 deer the other year with the 250 Savage, i'm thinking of using the 25WSSM for opening day this year. (Browning A Bolt)
Sunday calling for rain, so the Savage 111 in 257 Roberts AI.
Monday i have off, so the Weatherby Mark V Ultra Lightweight in 257 WBY Mag.

 

[284winner]

I agree with whatsupdoc on the 25 Creed. 7.5 twist barrel and use both the heavier . 25 caliber bullets but still shoot the 115-120s just fine. Best of all worlds.