25-06 Problem?????

[msinc]

I just put together a 25-06 Remington on a 700 LA. 1-in-10 twist #5 contour barrel. Shoots one ragged hole at 100 yards with 95 grain Berger bullets. If I try 120 grain Remington factory ammo it sprays them all over the paper, like a 6" group. Obviously not stabilizing the heavier bullet. My question is what was Remington 700's 25-06 factory twist rate ???, and why do the reloading manuals have data for 120 grain bullets with a 1-in-10 twist test barrel??? Did Remington go to a 1-in-9 twist when they came out wiht the 120 grain bullet???
Many shooters claim that the 117 grain SST is fine in a 1-in-10 twist, is this true or will I be wasting valuable primers and powder trying??? Thanks in advance for any info, it is greatly appreciated!!!!

 

[STOMP442]

Are you certain your barrel is 1-10 twist? a standard 10 twist should stabilize 115-120gr bullets easily as most bullets in that weight range are rather blunt and not real long. My .25-06 shoots the 115gr Berger just fine and that is probably one of the sleekest 25 cal bullets available for a standard twist. That being said there is not a whole lot that you couldn't accomplish with that 95gr combo. Especially if it shoots that well.

 

[LHSmith]

As far as I can determine Remington standardized on the 10 twist when they first started chambering rifles for 25/06.

 

[msinc]

Are you certain your barrel is 1-10 twist? a standard 10 twist should stabilize 115-120gr bullets easily as most bullets in that weight range are rather blunt and not real long. My .25-06 shoots the 115gr Berger just fine and that is probably one of the sleekest 25 cal bullets available for a standard twist. That being said there is not a whole lot that you couldn't accomplish with that 95gr combo. Especially if it shoots that well.

Yes sir and thanks for the reply...The 120's are in fact Remington pointed soft point core-loks. They are rather long for what they are and what made me wonder if Remington upped the twist to a 1-in-9 is the same scenario with the 260...the 140 grain PSPCL is really long and they made the 260 with a 1-in-8 twist. I will find out because I am going to check the bore. I ordered a 1-in-10 and that is what is stamped on the barrel, but yes sir it doesn't hurt to check. I will also find out something when I try those 117 grain SST's.

 

[msinc]

As far as I can determine Remington standardized on the 10 twist when they first started chambering rifles for 25/06.

That is what I thought too. As best I can tell virtually every factory 257 caliber rifle is a 1-in-10 twist. Thanks for the reply!!!

 

[std7mag]

I'm afraid it's probably due to the actual velocity of the factory Rem ammo.
Or rather lack thereof.

Reloaded 243 shot consistantly 8" higher than factory Rem ammo.

I was under book max by 1.3gr.

 

[358WCF]

I just put together a 25-06 Remington on a 700 LA. 1-in-10 twist #5 contour barrel. Shoots one ragged hole at 100 yards with 95 grain Berger bullets. If I try 120 grain Remington factory ammo it sprays them all over the paper, like a 6" group. Obviously not stabilizing the heavier bullet. My question is what was Remington 700's 25-06 factory twist rate ???, and why do the reloading manuals have data for 120 grain bullets with a 1-in-10 twist test barrel??? Did Remington go to a 1-in-9 twist when they came out wiht the 120 grain bullet???
Many shooters claim that the 117 grain SST is fine in a 1-in-10 twist, is this true or will I be wasting valuable primers and powder trying??? Thanks in advance for any info, it is greatly appreciated!!!!

A box of Remington PSPCL 120s scattered in my 25-06 too. Unsure of the vintage, but they were here so used them to get scope on paper & do a quick barrel break in. They were WAY under advertised speed too. Nothing I've loaded in that brass shot very well so I scrapped it. The CT 115 Ballistic Tips shoot well so it's not likely a stabilization problem.

 

[Guybo]

Every 25.06 i've ever owned had a 1-10 twist and all have shot the heavier 115 - 120gr bullets with no issues what so ever. My favorite bullet is the Speer 120gr Hot-Cor and my Rem CDL 25.06 shoots them with excellent accuracy. I've honestly never shot a factory bullet out of this rifle so i don't know how they would shoot.

 

[th82457]

I have owned about 5 different 25-06 over the years. All 1:10 twist. In all of them I had very good accuracy with 87 to 117 grain bullets, When I tried 120 grain bullets - accuracy did fall off some due to I assume long bullet vs. slow twist. With that said I have always been able to get the 115 Nosler's both ballistic tip & partition to shoot well. The 117 Sierras have also done well. I think a 1:9 twist for anything heavier bullet wise would definitely tighten groups.

 

[Mr. Zorg]

My Interarms Mark X in 25-06 rifle has 1:10" barrel rifling twist rate and shoots Winchester 115 grain CT Ballistic Silvertip, Federal Power Shock 117 grain, Federal Fusion 120 grain, and Federal Premium 110 grain Nosler Accubond factory ammunition lights out. The .257 115 grain CT Ballistic Silvertip has a G1 BC = 0.453 and OAL = 1.205", the Federal Power Shock has a G1 BC = O.316 and OAL = 1.075", the .257 110 Nosler Accubond has a G1 BC = 0.418 and OAL = 1.180", the .257 120 grain Federal Fusion has a G1 BC = 0.468 and OAL = 1.160".

I haven't purchased or shot any 25-06 Remington factory ammo in my rifle but for comparison looking up the .257 120 gran Remington PSPCL bullet, it's listed as having G1 BC = 0.362 and OAL = 1.140". So I don't think the 1:10" barrel rifling twist rate is the root cause of your problem, but it wouldn't hurt to measure your actual barrel rifling twist rate vs nominal.

The .257 117 grain Hornady SST bullet is listed as having a G1 BC = 0.390 and OAL = 1.190". I haven't purchased or shot any ammo loaded with this bullet, but I wouldn't expect problems with stability in my 25-06 rifle, as that's lower OAL and lower BC than the .257 115 grain CT Ballistic Silvertip that's performed well for me shooting paper. Hornady recommends a minimum barrel rifling twist rate of 1:10 inches for their .257 117 grain SST bullet on their website.

 

[Murray Brook]

I didn't think that Berger made a 95 gr bullet in 25 cal. Are you sure it is a Berger. If they make them I would sure like to try some.
I've had three 25/06's and never had a problem with 120 gr bullets in any of them with the standard 10 twist. JME

 

[Gary in MD]

They definitely did make them in 25 cal.
I had some that were marked 95 grain MEF.
Meaning - Maximum Expansion Factor or something similar. They shot PDG out of my 257 Wby.
Gary

 

[msinc]

I didn't think that Berger made a 95 gr bullet in 25 cal. Are you sure it is a Berger. If they make them I would sure like to try some.
I've had three 25/06's and never had a problem with 120 gr bullets in any of them with the standard 10 twist. JME

Yes sir, they absolutely do make them...well, at least they made them at one time. Gary, I had no clue that was what "MEF" meant!!! and yes, they do shoot fantastic in this rifle too. Hope they are still made, I'd like to give 'em a try in my 257 Weatherby as well.

 

[SBS]

Just curious if your holes in paper were out of round, indicating marginal stabilization? It's also true that some factory bullets give terrible accuracy, though generally CoreLokt bullets are decent. I also have had no problems with 120 gr., albeit they were Hornady HP. Being a custom barrel, your suggestion of checking the twist is a good one. Remember that some button rifled barrels will vary + or - 1/2 twist and if you got a 10 1/2 T, it might be the culprit. You could also pull a few of these factory bullets and reload them if they are downloaded and see if there is any improvement.

 

[rockrat]

Friend had a 25-06 Rem adl that shot the 120gr Remington like a scattergun, but when he switched to the 117's, its was a whole different gun. Shot very well.

 

[msinc]

Just curious if your holes in paper were out of round, indicating marginal stabilization? It's also true that some factory bullets give terrible accuracy, though generally CoreLokt bullets are generally decent. I also have had no problems with 120 gr., albeit they were Hornady HP. Being a custom barrel, your suggestion of checking the twist is a good one. Remember that some button rifled barrels will vary + or - 1/2 twist and if you got a 10 1/2 T, it might be the culprit. You could also pull a few of these factory bullets and reload them if they are downloaded and see if there is any improvement.

No sir, they appeared to be nice and round, but sometimes with twist not sufficient to stabilize it can take more than 100 yards to really see that kind of yawl/tumble. I also will say that with previous rifles that were wrong twist/bullet weight they didn't open up to 6" at 100 yards either. Seems like there is something else wrong with this ammo. I saved 5 rounds to strip and inspect. Haven't done it yet and may not learn anything new when I do, but I am going to try. Will advise.

 

[msinc]

Friend had a 25-06 Rem adl that shot the 120gr Remington like a scattergun, but when he switched to the 117's, its was a whole different gun. Shot very well.

Many folks are telling me the same thing regarding the 120 Core-Lokt ammo, both here and local. I did notice on one of these rounds the bullet was so loose I could pull it right out of the case mouth. I doubt lack of neck tension could cause a 6" group though. Also, twice in 35 rounds of fire it was able to put two touching, so it was trying to shoot.

 

[Gary in MD]

Martin,
I have some 115 gr Ballistic Tips and 115 Bergers if you want to try any of those, I’ll send them your way?
Gary

 

[Bobbyboy6br]

I just put together a 25-06 Remington on a 700 LA. 1-in-10 twist #5 contour barrel. Shoots one ragged hole at 100 yards with 95 grain Berger bullets. If I try 120 grain Remington factory ammo it sprays them all over the paper, like a 6" group. Obviously not stabilizing the heavier bullet. My question is what was Remington 700's 25-06 factory twist rate ???, and why do the reloading manuals have data for 120 grain bullets with a 1-in-10 twist test barrel??? Did Remington go to a 1-in-9 twist when they came out wiht the 120 grain bullet???
Many shooters claim that the 117 grain SST is fine in a 1-in-10 twist, is this true or will I be wasting valuable primers and powder trying??? Thanks in advance for any info, it is greatly appreciated!!!!

Try the Sierra 25 cal 100 gr smk and load it with a cci-200 primer with 52.5 gr of RL19. It’s a match made in heaven

 

[FNSafari]

Its not so much the bullets total length as it is the length of the bearing surface in contact with the lands and grooves.