Need help finding an ACCURATE 25-06 load for an 85gr bullet.

[Jumper]

Posit - The pics are the same targets. I included the one without the lines just for clarity. By shooting all the targets in a string instead of groups of three I'm spreading the error attributed to barrel heating and fouling across all the groups. I'm looking for the three groups that hit closest to point of aim. This should indicate the most pressure tolerant load and be Optimum Charge Weight for my rifle. Even though group 2 seems smallest its point of impact,POI)was further away from the point of aim,POA) than groups 4 and 5. With H4831sc the groups were almost too big to draw any conclusions. RL-19 seems better. It has a pretty flat POI curve from 54.5gr to 56.6gr. 57.3gr falls apart big time.

2506 - I've got an adjustable trigger that I've lightened up a little more. Its light and crisp. You could be right about the barrel but I've got some more reloading to do before I give up on it. Thanks for the load data. Maybe my rifle doesn't like BT's either.

 

[Posit]

2506 is right, in that at some point you may achieve maximum possible accuracy from your rifle, but I agree that you haven't really wrung it out yet. Also agree you could try flat base bullets; theory is the boat tail's aerodynamics do not increase accuracy until past 300 yards. ,I have a Rem 700 22-250 that spews BTs all over the place, but shoots FBs very well.)

Your situation is why many of us have many types of powder, bullets and primers on hand... go thru this exercise a few times and its amazing what you have in stock!

You haven't mentioned a chronograph, so assume you don't have one. But if you can use, borrow, or shoot with someone, a Chrono is very valuable in load development/selection.

 

[Jumper]

I've got a chronograph. If you look closely at the bottom entry on the target paper you'll see the velocity written in.

The rifle has shot 56.2gr and 56.6gr of H4831sc into less than .75 moa, but I haven't been able to duplicate it reliably yet.

 

[flatlander]

Crimping necks for rifle loads is counterproductive to accuracy. Think about it - BR shooters turn case necks to insure consistent neck tension & concentricity for one reason - accuracy. Even if you trim all your cases to +/- .001" of the same length once, they're going to change lengths to varying degrees everytime you fire & resize them. Every .001" variation in neck length is going to cause variations in neck tension if you crimp, no matter what type of crimp die you use. It's my opinion that crimping also increases the negative effect on accuracy of even slight variations in neck wall thickness.

The real kicker on crimping rifle ammo is - why do it? Unless you're loading big heavy bullets in large bore cartridges for hunting dangerous game,and these bullets will have a cannelure for crimping), I can think of no reason to crimp rifle bullets. I've loaded many tens of thousands of rounds of 223 & 308 for use in AR15s & M1As for highpower competition, and have yet to see the need for crimping bullets even in magazine-fed loads for the rapid fire strings.

My last 25-06 shot the Nosler 85s really well using AA3100. The small boattail of Nosler's BTs doesn't seem to have much of a negative effect on 100yd. accuracy, especially when compared to the longer boattails of heavier VLD bullets.

 

[Posit]

Did you calculate SD and ES? Not to tell you something you already know, but in addition to seeing velocities of the loads you develop, you can see the consistency of a given load by noting the standard deviation and the extreme spread of the load. These values are good indicators of potential accuracy- if a load is consistent it has the potential to produce a consistent harmonic in the barrel and strike the same point of impact with each shot, providing shooting technique is consistent.

 

[Jumper]

I learned 2 things today at the range: 1) 58.3gr of RL-19 looks to be the charge my rifle wants for 85gr Nosler BT's. After working up progressively in .7gr and then .5gr increments from 53.1gr of RL-19. The group at 57.3gr just fell right apart, opening up significantly. This typically indicates that the barrel wave is at the muzzle end when the bullet exits. Not good for accuracy but, usually means your almost there. Sure enough, 57.8gr and 58.3gr hit almost the same POI measuring .9 and .7 MOA. 58.8gr opened up to 1.1 MOA but was still the same POI. I'll take it. See below:

and 2) The Outers Foul-Out electronic bore cleaner REALLY cleans all the copper out of your barrel. This was my problem before when I was working up the load with H4831sc. An old timer at the range remarked how he had to shoot 2 boxes through his 270 after cleaning it with his Foul-Out to get it to shoot good again. FYI 25-06 is the same way. Live and learn.

Tomorrow I'll mix up some different cases maybe use some different primers vary the charges a little bit. See how well it shoots. BTW my family thinks I'm a nerd

 

[seymour fish]

Why no crimp? It should give a uniform starting pressure from shot to shot compensating for any difference in neck tension.

Wrong

 

[seymour fish]

I learned 2 things today at the range: 1) 58.3gr of RL-19 looks to be the charge my rifle wants for 85gr Nosler BT's. After working up progressively in .7gr and then .5gr increments from 53.1gr of RL-19. The group at 57.3gr just fell right apart, opening up significantly. This typically indicates that the barrel wave is at the muzzle end when the bullet exits. Not good for accuracy but, usually means your almost there. Sure enough, 57.8gr and 58.3gr hit almost the same POI measuring .9 and .7 MOA. 58.8gr opened up to 1.1 MOA but was still the same POI. I'll take it. See below:

and 2) The Outers Foul-Out electronic bore cleaner REALLY cleans all the copper out of your barrel. This was my problem before when I was working up the load with H4831sc. An old timer at the range remarked how he had to shoot 2 boxes through his 270 after cleaning it with his Foul-Out to get it to shoot good again. FYI 25-06 is the same way. Live and learn.

Tomorrow I'll mix up some different cases maybe use some different primers vary the charges a little bit. See how well it shoots. BTW my family thinks I'm a nerd

Your strategy is a random number generator

 

[nmkid]

My 25.06 came alive using IMR 4064 with the light bullets 85 gr and especially the 75 gr. With the heavier bullets, (for me) 110 gr Accubond 4831sc was the best. How many shots do you fire in between cleaning? FWIW I clean the carbon out every 20-30 rounds and total cleaning after 50+ rounds. Douglas barrel.

 

[beemanjohn]

Ten year old thread?

 

[seymour fish]

Ten year old thread?

Jumper appears to have "jumped". Perhaps an equally fruitful career in hangliding ?