Hornaday A-tips. .264 153 and .257 138 questions on twist/stability

[linebaugh]

Is anybody shooting either the .264 or .257 A-tips and at what velocity with what twist are you running? What issues are you seeing if any on bullet performance and bullet failure from over spinning?

I have a mcmillan short action stock and want to run a 6.5 PRC or 25 PRC. Before I dive into this deal I dont want to be over-spinning and blowing up bullets... again. Accordinv to the berger twist rate calculator I need to spin over 300k rpm to get full stability which is getting righ back into the realm of bullet failure in past experience.

If anyone wants to offer additional info I would be interested in hearing what velocity you guys are seeing with these calibers on a short action with nominal OAL for short action.

My barrel length will be 24-28".

Any bullet measurements would be nice beyond just OAL.

I know I am asking for a lot but realistically any thoughts on the subject matter would be appreciated. Thank you

 

[FeMan]

On several occasions shooting LR tactical matches, I have seen the A-tips out of 6.5 PRCs blow up on guys I was competing against. The barrels were no doubt HOT, which along with bore condition and twist are big factors. I dont know their twist rates but I saw it with enough guys that I stuck with Bergers. I had the same issues with 7mm ELDMs previously.

 

[Straightshooter1]

Is anybody shooting either the .264 or .257 A-tips and at what velocity with what twist are you running? What issues are you seeing if any on bullet performance and bullet failure from over spinning?

I have a mcmillan short action stock and want to run a 6.5 PRC or 25 PRC. Before I dive into this deal I dont want to be over-spinning and blowing up bullets... again. Accordinv to the berger twist rate calculator I need to spin over 300k rpm to get full stability which is getting righ back into the realm of bullet failure in past experience.

If anyone wants to offer additional info I would be interested in hearing what velocity you guys are seeing with these calibers on a short action with nominal OAL for short action.

My barrel length will be 24-28".

Any bullet measurements would be nice beyond just OAL.

I know I am asking for a lot but realistically any thoughts on the subject matter would be appreciated. Thank you

I've some 153 A-Tips what I've been firing out of my 6.5 PRC with a 26" barrel having an 8:1 twist and they did well for me at just over 3,000 fps (like ~3,030 fps).

Here's some data for that bullet:

 

[Kracken McGraw]

Will a 6.5 PRC work on that Standard short action?

 

[B23]

Will a 6.5 PRC work on that Standard short action?

Will it "work" is a relative term and how well it works depends on what bullets you intend to shoot and how far out you want to stretch the COAL. In something like a SA Rem700 you can install a 3.00 mag box or even 3.100 "Baney" box that'll gain you a good amount of usable cartridge length and that setup will work pretty well for bullets up to the length of the 147 ELD-M but those 153 A-Tip are quite a bit longer and you'd be better off using a medium or long action. For a factory action the Tikka's work well.

Those new Hornady 25 caliber 138gr A-Tip are a longgggg son of a gun (1.465 OAL) especially for only weighing 138 grains. I just picked up my new 25 SAUM a couple days ago and it's shooting the 134 ELD-M crazy good. Mine is built on a BAT Igniter short action and the magazine port is cut 3.18 and I'm using Unknown Munitions det. mag setup that allows up to a 3.150 COAL so I've got plenty of room to work with even for those really long 138 A-Tip.

In a custom short action that is cut for the extra long bottom metal setups a 25-6.5PRC with bullets the length of the 138 A-Tip will work but if someone wanted to keep costs in check building one on a Tikka would be a good choice. Could use a long action like a Rem700 but sometimes the fat short mag cartridges don't always feed the greatest in long actions.

 

[Kracken McGraw]

Will it "work" is a relative term and how well it works depends on what bullets you intend to shoot and how far out you want to stretch the COAL. In something like a SA Rem700 you can install a 3.00 mag box or even 3.100 "Baney" box that'll gain you a good amount of usable cartridge length and that setup will work pretty well for bullets up to the length of the 147 ELD-M but those 153 A-Tip are quite a bit longer and you'd be better off using a medium or long action. For a factory action the Tikka's work well.

Those new Hornady 25 caliber 138gr A-Tip are a longgggg son of a gun (1.465 OAL) especially for only weighing 138 grains. I just picked up my new 25 SAUM a couple days ago and it's shooting the 134 ELD-M crazy good. Mine is built on a BAT Igniter short action and the magazine port is cut 3.18 and I'm using Unknown Munitions det. mag setup that allows up to a 3.150 COAL so I've got plenty of room to work with even for those really long 138 A-Tip.

In a custom short action that is cut for the extra long bottom metal setups a 25-6.5PRC with bullets the length of the 138 A-Tip will work but if someone wanted to keep costs in check building one on a Tikka would be a good choice. Could use a long action like a Rem700 but sometimes the fat short mag cartridges don't always feed the greatest in long actions.

Thanks for the detailed information, that’s kind of what I was thinking. I noticed Stiller makes a medium action now too that’s on their website . On those new Seekins PH3 rifles we were discussing the other day, they said the 6.5 PRC had an extended cartridge length of 3.14.

 

[Kracken McGraw]

Will it "work" is a relative term and how well it works depends on what bullets you intend to shoot and how far out you want to stretch the COAL. In something like a SA Rem700 you can install a 3.00 mag box or even 3.100 "Baney" box that'll gain you a good amount of usable cartridge length and that setup will work pretty well for bullets up to the length of the 147 ELD-M but those 153 A-Tip are quite a bit longer and you'd be better off using a medium or long action. For a factory action the Tikka's work well.

Those new Hornady 25 caliber 138gr A-Tip are a longgggg son of a gun (1.465 OAL) especially for only weighing 138 grains. I just picked up my new 25 SAUM a couple days ago and it's shooting the 134 ELD-M crazy good. Mine is built on a BAT Igniter short action and the magazine port is cut 3.18 and I'm using Unknown Munitions det. mag setup that allows up to a 3.150 COAL so I've got plenty of room to work with even for those really long 138 A-Tip.

In a custom short action that is cut for the extra long bottom metal setups a 25-6.5PRC with bullets the length of the 138 A-Tip will work but if someone wanted to keep costs in check building one on a Tikka would be a good choice. Could use a long action like a Rem700 but sometimes the fat short mag cartridges don't always feed the greatest in long actions.

The 25 Creedmoor has me interested also. I appreciate the note on those 134’s, sounds like a medium action would be needed there too.

 

[B23]

The 25 Creedmoor has me interested also. I appreciate the note on those 134’s, sounds like a medium action would be needed there too.

I think a short action with a 3.00 mag box and standard BDL hinged floor plate bottom metal would work fine with a 25 Creed even if you wanted to sling those long 138 A-Tips.

My 22-250 isn't getting much use anymore and with how well those 134 ELD-M's shoot I am seriously thinking about rebarreling it to a 25 Creedmoor. It's a Kelbly Atlas short action and already has a 3.00 mag box with standard BDL bottom metal so making it a 25CM to shoot the 134's would be easy peasy. The nice thing about the short action Rem700 footprint is the stock options and their availability is pretty much endless. I'm sure it's getting better all the time but the medium action stock options isn't there just yet.

This is the target from my 25 SAUM w/134 ELD-M and RL26. Left side is very first shots down a new Bartlein barrel finding pressure then loaded three and shot for group on the right side. At first glance it looks like there is only two holes but it's three. I'd like to take credit for the shooting but my gunsmith is a hell of a fine shooter and that was his handy work.

 

[806guns]

So I have a 7 twist 25-6.5 PRC I will be shooting the 138gr out of soon. It's on a Kelbly Atlas Lite and i will have to notch the action for a longer oal. I had a 6.5 prc barrel and had oal restrictions too.

 

[shoot4fun]

Is anybody shooting either the .264 or .257 A-tips and at what velocity with what twist are you running? What issues are you seeing if any on bullet performance and bullet failure from over spinning?

I have a mcmillan short action stock and want to run a 6.5 PRC or 25 PRC.

I will advise you not to use a short action of either the 65. or 25 PRC. Been there and done that and, especially with A-Tips you will most likely be limited to single-feeding.
Also, I had trouble with the 153 A-Tips not making it to the target and I was shooting an 8 twist barrel.

 

[806guns]

I will advise you not to use a short action of either the 65. or 25 PRC. Been there and done that and, especially with A-Tips you will most likely be limited to single-feeding.
Also, I had trouble with the 153 A-Tips not making it to the target and I was shooting an 8 twist barrel.

What oal are you using ? I fed 156 out of a mag.

 

[shoot4fun]

What oal are you using ? I fed 156 out of a mag.

Scrapped the whole project and deleted all my numbers to have brain room for stuff I could use. The whole project was a waste of time for me.
I did try Accurate Mag WSM magazines but, as I remember, the 153's had to be loaded out past mag length to get any kind of accuracy.
It tickles me to no end that you had such success.