25-284 long-range rifle

[jeffreybehr]

Thought I'd create a new thread instead of adding to my old one, here...

.25 WSSM thread.. I'm starting over.

I have simply given up trying to find a subhalf-minute load for the 6XC after spending hundred$ sending about a thousand rounds thru the new barrel...SO...I'm starting over with a new bullet diameter, .257", and a new caliber, the Winchester Super Short Magnum.. I've always liked 25s, and my...

forum.accurateshooter.com

Here I am a year later.

Haven't shot a round in a long time.. Remember my intention to buy a new Oehler chrono? I did, got it set up and back in the case, loaded the collapsible wagon I use to transport shooting stuff to/from the car, and then promptly quit shooting...again.

Lately I've been fantasizing about calibers, rifles, chronos (bought a Garmin Zero C1 Pro but haven't yet used it), 25 Creedmoor, etc.. Have (old and new) target barrels in 6XC, 25Creed., 6.5-284, 25-284, and maybe more.. A few weeks ago I had mentally settled on the 25Creed and then a 'mere' 6Creed.. Then tonite, since I have a soft spot in my heart for the 284 Win. case and I still have a fair supply of .257" bullets including the Berger and Hornady longs plus hundreds of brandnew, 6.5-284 Norma cases and an odd bunch of 25-284 dies, I decided to assemble the same-caliber cartridge that my first serious rifle (in the 1960s) was chambered in, the 25-284.

The barrel is a 28", 7"-twist, SS, match-grade McGowan, and it's ready to go, but apparently I've never gotten serious enough about this caliber to look for headspace gages.. Have ordered a pair of Forster gages that should be here next week, and soon I'll have the barrel on...and of course I saved the 0.473"-face Savage-12 bolt.

Gee, now I can determine bullet-seating touching-the-lands OALs easily, since the barrel is loose in my hands!
....
and I'm finished with the five bullets I have.. WOW that Patriot 120 is long!!!!!

Here's a pic of dummy cartridges.. Bullets left to right are Patriot 120, Hornady ELD-X 110, Berger VLD 115, Hornady ELD-M 134, and Berger LR Hybrid 135.. Looks to me as if I could have the barrel throated maybe a tenth-inch deeper.

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  2024Nov13_DSC1054_Five 25-cal. bullets seated_2000w.jpg
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[jeffreybehr]

It's really challenging to come up with beginning-load data for this biggish 25; Hodgdon has a little, but no one has data for modern powders or long bullets.. My opening loads include SuperFormance, IMR4925, and IMR7828 for the two light bullets and RL26 for the longs.. I already own all these powders and sometimes as much as in the teens and twenty pounds* .. I have 18 loads (including break-ins) using 4 bullets and 4 powders to try, along with 2 Zeiss scopes to align and the new Garmin chrono to use; will take me probably 3 or 4 hours...but what's better than spending hours in gorgeous weather at the range?

* My wife called me Mr. Excess for good reason.. A few years ago a fellow on the east side of Phoenix was selling a surplus 8-pounder of RL26 for $300; I took enough cash with me and took home both of his 8-pounders! FWIW, anyone local (Phoenix) looking for 8 or 16 pounds of W760 or H4350 or RL17?

 

[Sniperhandle]

It's really challenging to come up with beginning-load data for this biggish 25; Hodgdon has a little, but no one has data for modern powders or long bullets.. My opening loads include SuperFormance, IMR4925, and IMR7828 for the two light bullets and RL26 for the longs.. I already own all these powders and sometimes as much as in the teens and twenty pounds* .. I have 18 loads (including break-ins) using 4 bullets and 4 powders to try, along with 2 Zeiss scopes to align and the new Garmin chrono to use; will take me probably 3 or 4 hours...but what's better than spending hours in gorgeous weather at the range?

* My wife called me Mr. Excess for good reason.. A few years ago a fellow on the east side of Phoenix was selling a surplus 8-pounder of RL26 for $300; I took enough cash with me and took home both of his 8-pounders! FWIW, anyone local (Phoenix) looking for 8 or 16 pounds of W760 or H4350 or RL17?

W760 is a great powder for a lot of cartridges, You would be wise not to sell any powder, It becomes scarce at different times and you will wish you hadn't sold it. I have always found a use for the powders I have, You will dream up something new and you will need it.

 

[kojaone]

tagging in on 25-284

 

[284winner]

I enjoy mine. If a guy uses 284 brass and has a bunch on hand, I can't think of a better way of using it. I could have went with a CM or necked down .260 brass but this 25-284 gets me 3200 fps(131-135 grain bullets) if I need it or I can lob them at 3000 if I load down a bit. Pretty versatile round really.

 

[Chris kloster]

I have ran RL26 H1000 h4831 and i am
About to try N555. Long story short the 25x284 has always been a little disappointing on velocity. 3050 is about where I have topped out. On my second barrel now.

 

[jeffreybehr]

Seems I'm increasingly fascinated with ultra-slow-burning powders for this 25 with the two heavy bullets.. In addition to the Reloader26 (#150 on Hodgdon's 2024 164-step burning-rate chart) and StaBALL HD (#155) I've mentioned, I've bought some Ramshot Magnum (#153) and VV N568 (#156.5).

Still haven't received the headspace gages but have a Forster 6.5-284* micrometer seating die on its way.

* Since the case is located/centered in the spring-loaded sleeve of the seating die by the shoulder and not the neck, the Forster tech. told me the 6.5 die will work well.

BTW I'm using these new Norma cases unprocessed; after firing once I'll outside-turn the necks and trim the flashholes.

 

[kojaone]

I enjoy mine. If a guy uses 284 brass and has a bunch on hand, I can't think of a better way of using it. I could have went with a CM or necked down .260 brass but this 25-284 gets me 3200 fps(131-135 grain bullets) if I need it or I can lob them at 3000 if I load down a bit. Pretty versatile round really.

What reamer does one use for 25-284 ?
I have a lot of old 1x 284 win cases
Also have a bit of 6.5x 284 Norma in Peterson an Lapua

 

[RCE1]

I inherited a Model 70 in .25/284 that was a beautiful custom rifle. I was surprised at the recoil, to be honest. I guess that's courtesy of the 284 part. I moved it along as it wasn't really a rifle that I needed and someone else wanted it.

 

[Preacher]

What reamer does one use for 25-284 ?
I have a lot of old 1x 284 win cases
Also have a bit of 6.5x 284 Norma in Peterson an Lapua

I use a reamer set up for the Black jacks and necked down 6.5-284 brass..and another for Winchester brass.

 

[284winner]

What reamer does one use for 25-284 ?
I have a lot of old 1x 284 win cases
Also have a bit of 6.5x 284 Norma in Peterson an Lapua

Mine was designed for the 131 BLackJack bullet. Might be interested in selling it if you need one. It's only cut one chamber. I used a solid pilot for my first barrel but got a much nicer one that's a floating piloted reamer. Can't remember if it's Henrickson or a Manson reamer. Bought it from BlackJack directly.

 

[jeffreybehr]

While looking for something else, I found my old Forster 6.5-284 micrometer seating die and this morning got it adjusted for the Hornady 134.. Next will be the Berger 115 VLDs.. I'm still setting the OALs with the bullets just touching the lands and just not able to rotate the case head when the dummy cartridge is inserted into the not-yet-installed barrel.

 

[284winner]

While looking for something else, I found my old Forster 6.5-284 micrometer seating die and this morning got it adjusted for the Hornady 134.. Next will be the Berger 115 VLDs.. I'm still setting the OALs with the bullets just touching the lands and just not able to rotate the case head when the dummy cartridge is inserted into the not-yet-installed barrel.
View attachment 1607892

I couldn't get the 115s to fly good in my 7.5 twist barrel. Decent groups but nothing impressive. Minute of deer for sure. 1 moa

 

[jeffreybehr]

I couldn't get the 115s to fly good in my 7.5 twist barrel. Decent groups but nothing impressive. Minute of deer for sure. 1 moa

And mine's a 7"er!

 

[ISS]

Great parent case that 284. '06 powder capacity in a short case.

 

[284winner]

Great parent case that 284. '06 powder capacity in a short case.

Yep if your shooting 162s or lighter, it's great in a SA.

 

[284winner]

And mine's a 7"er!

Hope you have better luck than I did. It's possible for sure. My barrel just doesn't like the light bullets. It loves the 120 Speer BTSP

 

[jeffreybehr]

This is just me fantasizing, but since I have two basically identical Savage 12BR rifles and lots of cases for each, I could set up one in 25-284 and the other in 25WSSM I was developing previously.. I have two Zeiss scopes I could use while I'm comparing results.. What fun it could be!

And confusing!!!!!!!!!!

FWIW, will soon be ordering 100 each of Blackhole's 25-cal. 130s and 145s. Delivered to me, average cost is exactly 76 Cents each.. G1 BCs are .556 and .680, respectively.. Worth trying.
=============================
Any new news on Sierra's long 25?

 

[M14AMU]

Thought I'd create a new thread instead of adding to my old one, here...

.25 WSSM thread.. I'm starting over.

I have simply given up trying to find a subhalf-minute load for the 6XC after spending hundred$ sending about a thousand rounds thru the new barrel...SO...I'm starting over with a new bullet diameter, .257", and a new caliber, the Winchester Super Short Magnum.. I've always liked 25s, and my...

forum.accurateshooter.com

Here I am a year later.

Haven't shot a round in a long time.. Remember my intention to buy a new Oehler chrono? I did, got it set up and back in the case, loaded the collapsible wagon I use to transport shooting stuff to/from the car, and then promptly quit shooting...again.

Lately I've been fantasizing about calibers, rifles, chronos (bought a Garmin Zero C1 Pro but haven't yet used it), 25 Creedmoor, etc.. Have (old and new) target barrels in 6XC, 25Creed., 6.5-284, 25-284, and maybe more.. A few weeks ago I had mentally settled on the 25Creed and then a 'mere' 6Creed.. Then tonite, since I have a soft spot in my heart for the 284 Win. case and I still have a fair supply of .257" bullets including the Berger and Hornady longs plus hundreds of brandnew, 6.5-284 Norma cases and an odd bunch of 25-284 dies, I decided to assemble the same-caliber cartridge that my first serious rifle (in the 1960s) was chambered in, the 25-284.

The barrel is a 28", 7"-twist, SS, match-grade McGowan, and it's ready to go, but apparently I've never gotten serious enough about this caliber to look for headspace gages.. Have ordered a pair of Forster gages that should be here next week, and soon I'll have the barrel on...and of course I saved the 0.473"-face Savage-12 bolt.

Gee, now I can determine bullet-seating touching-the-lands OALs easily, since the barrel is loose in my hands!
....
and I'm finished with the five bullets I have.. WOW that Patriot 120 is long!!!!!

Here's a pic of dummy cartridges.. Bullets left to right are Patriot 120, Hornady ELD-X 110, Berger VLD 115, Hornady ELD-M 134, and Berger LR Hybrid 135.. Looks to me as if I could have the barrel throated maybe a tenth-inch deeper.

Attachments​

• 
  2024Nov13_DSC1054_Five 25-cal. bullets seated_2000w.jpg
  526.8 KB · Views: 8

The shooting industry loves it! Keep on pounding those dollars$$$$$$ into the game!

 

[jeffreybehr]

A little off-topic--increasingly nervous about the 'slop' in the way the turrets fit in my Lee 4-hole turret press, I just ordered a Lyman 8-hole turret press.. Apparently it's a little closer-toleranced all around than the Lee.. Probably will order the Creedmoor washer/detent spring kit.

Edit: Press arrived Dec. 05.