.25 wildcats

[RonS]

Has anyone explored any .257 caliber wildcats lately? If so, lets hear about them and show us what you have...

 

[RGRobinett]

Has anyone explored any .257 caliber wildcats lately? If so, lets hear about them and show us what you have...

I've messed with them, from .25BR, up to .25/.300WSM (.257 IdiotMag) - my favorites have been .257 Roberts, Ackley Improved. In 2013 & 14, won yardages (a pair of 200Yd.) and Grand Agg. NBRSA Hunter Nationals, with a Bartlein (1:9" twist 4 groove) barrel chambered for the 25x47 LAPUA. .257s are GREAT performers!

The .257 IdiotMag was "designed" - ordered as soon as the case was SAAMI spec'd - simply a necked-down .300WSM - with 110 Gr. BT, it delivers 3520FPS with sub 0.4MOA grouping, and of course, is a great mule deer killer. The .257 Ack. Imp. runs the 110s at 3330 FPS (Rl-17) and has been deadly on mule deer too! RG

 

[mikeinct]

I have a soft spot for the neglected 1/4 bore rifles..My first high powered scope sighted bolt action deer rifle was a 257 Roberts. I got a freebie Lyman 65Gr cast bullet mold & some gas checks.They looked silly in those big cases..But,They would shoot really well w only 7 Grains of Unique powder hand lubed, shot as cast ..Fast forward 30 years..The gun & the mold are long gone..I still have 800+ Lyman gas checks..I retired this year..I acquired a CZ 527 carbine in 223..6 lb wood stocked youth model in blue with nice iron sights..It is being rebored to .257 w a 1-12 twist & throated to handle light weight slugs.It is My answer to the great 22 cal LR ammo shortage..Oh & I think it has plenty of cool factor...A dedicated super light weight Walk A Round varmint rifle..Something That I always wanted..Mike in Ct

 

[357Mag]

Ron -

Howdy !

FWIW - I have wildcatted .35 Remington down to .224" calibre.

The custom RCBS case-forming die set makes the cal reduction of th brass in 3 steps.... .358" cal down to .308"...... .308" cal down to
.25" cal; and .25" cal down to .224" calibre final.

As a result, one of the intermediate steps of forming my
" .22-35 Remington " wildcat is a " .25-35 Remington " variant.


With regards,
357Mag

 

[JRS]

Building a new 250 Ackley Improved. African Obeche stock in French Walnut, Borden Alpine action, Jewell trigger, Brux #4 heavy sporter barrel, Seekins DBM and Leupold VX-7 1.5-6 scope.

 

[RonS]

The 25 BR and the 25x47L intrigue me...and I have dies that can do both. But I think I'm more interested in the 25x47L as a hunting/plinking rig. I would like to stay with a short action and short barrel, 20-22", for hunting/plinking. I bought a 25-45 Sharps AR and I'm disappointed with it in more ways then one. Would a 1:10 twist allow me to shoot the heavier bullets as well as the lighter ones too? I'm not seeking speed just accuracy...

 

[JRS]

The 25 BR and the 25x47L intrigue me...and I have dies that can do both. But I think I'm more interested in the 25x47L as a hunting/plinking rig. I would like to stay with a short action and short barrel, 20-22", for hunting/plinking. I bought a 25-45 Sharps AR and I'm disappointed with it in more ways then one. Would a 1:10 twist allow me to shoot the heavier bullets as well as the lighter ones too? I'm not seeking speed just accuracy...

A 10 twist will work. For the 110-120gr bullets, a 9 twist would be just about perfect. If you decide to go the 25x47L, I have a JGS reamer that was used on one chamber, and a new (unused) JGS 25BR reamer.

 

[fredo]

Been a few years now, but I did some testing with a .25DTI wildcat shortly after its development. The "DTI" line of 6.8SPC based cartridges is Mike Milli's brainchild for AR shooters, and the .25DTI is/was a real performer. Necked down SSA 6.8SPC brass, 75Vmaxs @ 3175, 90gr Sierras @ 3000...from an 18" barrel!!! (1:10twist)

The .25DTI proved to be a most lethal blend of compact efficiency & potency from an AR-15. Several coyotes and whitetails died during testing, and died well! Thought about building a .25DTI on a bolt gun, and if my AO were suppressor friendly, prolly already would have one of each!
Super little round...

 

[RonS]

Fredo, that sounds like a very good option as well. Are they mag fed?

 

[fredo]

Yes, loaded to a < 2.260" AR-15 standard mag length, 100% feed/function semi-auto

 

[RonS]

When I started shooting, my first centerfire cartridge was the 223 Rem. And after about nine months I started getting the hang of shooting. Then once I started reloading, I wanted to build a rifle in every caliber from .172 to .308 on the 223 parent case. I almost succeeded, I'm missing the 6.5 & 7mm. But I have always been curious as to why there is not a lot of discussion of the .257 family of cartridges on this site. I would like to see more articles and information about any of the 257 caliber cartridges standard or wildcat...

 

[stacy]

ITS NOT A NEW ROUND BUT MY HART BARRELED 25-06 ACKLEY HAS BEEN A GREAT PREFORMER FOR ME W/115GR BERGERS IT DOES WELL AT ALOT OF DISTANCES !

 

[fredo]

Ron, I kinda thought about a .378"bf .25x45 or .25x45AI (.257-223/Improved), just never got serious with reamer design.
(IMHO, the 6x45AI is all that & a bag o' chips for a necked up .223 wildcat)

Alternately, a .473" bf .25x47L would be a cool quarterbore, too. Just seems like it's in 'no man's land' between the proven 6 & 6.5?

That SPC based .25DTI would require a .423" bolt, and with a bit more freebore allowance via bolt action could only help in squeezing a bit more performance out of mid-heavy .257cal bullets.
That 'stumpy' 90gr Sierra sux for b.c., but tough enough to pass thru mature deer at average range (200 yds)
With a longer OAL in a bolt gun, I'd bet the DTI pushing something like an 85br B-tip would make for a great deer/varmint killin' rig & allow for better ballistics, down range. ~30gr of burn, 18-20" barrel & barely any recoil...

Just thinkin out loud, for conversation! Always fun to wade into uncharted waters & figure stuff out along the way...

Have fun!

 

[Preacher]

My 25/284 XP-100 has served me well over a lot of years, the 115 gr Berger hunting VLD is my main bullet....

 

[Nvreloader]

Preacher

That is one sharp looking SP Pistol!!!!!!!!!

Tia,
Don

 

[RonS]

Fredo, we are on the same page. I have a bolt gun in 6x45, which was my first wildcat, with a 12 twist and with 70gr bullets, Benchmark or H322 it will shoot less than .5 MOA consistently all day out to 200 yes. My AR in 25-45 Sharps, just a fancy name for 257-223, shoots .5 - .75 MOA consistently as long as I'm not using factory ammo.

Preacher, that's one sweet looking XP-100....I've been looking for a XP-100 or a Savage Stricker to do a pistol build.

Stacy, I have several shooting buds that have 25-06's and I must admit they will put the hammer down, I'm just not a fan of long action cartridges. But I am a fan of any cartridge that's accurate...

 

[msalm]

One of my favorite rifles is a 25-284 on a FN SPR action, fthwt Rock creek bbl and a synthetic stock. Shoots very accurately and does a great job on deer.

 

[stacy]

Fredo, we are on the same page. I have a bolt gun in 6x45, which was my first wildcat, with a 12 twist and with 70gr bullets, Benchmark or H322 it will shoot less than .5 MOA consistently all day out to 200 yes. My AR in 25-45 Sharps, just a fancy name for 257-223, shoots .5 - .75 MOA consistently as long as I'm not using factory ammo.

Preacher, that's one sweet looking XP-100....I've been looking for a XP-100 or a Savage Stricker to do a pistol build.

Stacy, I have several shooting buds that have 25-06's and I must admit they will put the hammer down, I'm just not a fan of long action cartridges. But I am a fan of any cartridge that's accurate...

I UNDERSTAND!!!!!!

 

[SteveOak]

When I started shooting, my first centerfire cartridge was the 223 Rem. And after about nine months I started getting the hang of shooting. Then once I started reloading, I wanted to build a rifle in every caliber from .172 to .308 on the 223 parent case. I almost succeeded, I'm missing the 6.5 & 7mm. But I have always been curious as to why there is not a lot of discussion of the .257 family of cartridges on this site. I would like to see more articles and information about any of the 257 caliber cartridges standard or wildcat...

Bullet choice for .25 cal is quite limited compared to 6 and 6.5mm.

 

[RonS]

Steve, bullet selection is limited but in the right arena I think the 25's can hold there own. I would like to see more articles on the .257's in the modern cases.