Quarter Bore Resurgence

[257Roberts]

Love the Roberts, have 3 of them, But have always wanted something more. Bullet selection has always been the 25s enemy, but I see now that Berger has a 133gr Elite Hunter [0.613] and 135gr Hybrid [0.650] that look to be game changers. Yes they require a faster twist, but seeing these has rekindled my desire for a custom 25 something...

I'm looking for cartridge suggestions. The gun I am thinking about about is an old Winchester XTR Featherweight. Its got the longer action, but the short little box magazine. I'm not married to it, but its what I have on the shelf to start with, and I love model 70s. I see this as a target/competition gun, and also a long range hunter, deer/sheep/goat sized stuff.

Efficiency and barrel life is important, velocity is secondary. With 0.600+ BCs one can easily live with a little less speed. I am trying to come up with a cartridge list, 25x47 Lapua, 25 Creedmoor, 250 Savage, 250 Ackley, 25 WSSM, 25 Souper, 257 Roberts, 257 Ackley, 25-284, 25 PRC, 25 SAUM, 25 WSM, 25-06. What others am I missing? Any recommendations?

The 25-284 looks just tremendous! 3100fps+ with 135gr 0.650 BC looks other worldly, but is going to be hard on barrels.
250AI looking very close at. Can seat long bullets out and not intrude in the powder space. Decent brass, but requires a fireform.
Likewise the 257AI, but I worry a bit about seating depth with a long heavy bullet?
PRC, SAUM, WSM etc all seem like overkill and barrel burners.
Creedmoor, Souper and 284 all have great brass, and I believe just a die sizing, that's a plus.

I don't really know what I want exactly, looking for thoughts & experiences.
I've got lots of stuff, and don't really need another gun or cartridge to reload, but that's not the point right?

Thanks for any input.

 

[Preacher]

I dearly love my 25/284's, especially the new one with a 7.5 twist Brux barrel shooting the 131 Black Jacks @ 3100..
Seemed to be easy to find a load for it with Retumbo, and did shoot a doe with it late last season...
Also have a 30" heavy 257 SAUM Imp that is in the works for Ridgeway with the same bullet....

 

[johnmyers]

25-06 Ackley is pretty sweet

 

[Twicepop]

For years all you could get in the quarter bore was a 1:10 or 1:12 twist sometimes even slower. Now some of the barrel makers have come out with faster twists that will stabilize bullets heavier than 120 grains, which was needed to get a decent sectional density and high B.C.'s. The 25-284 is blow torch, I had toughts of doing one of these once and talked to several people that have had them and they all said barrel life is very short if you run it like it's designed to be run'
A friend/shooting buddy of mine has had three Roberts, one an Ackley and he said that they only advantage he got from the Ackley version was no more case trimming. He said that if he loaded the regular "Bob's" up to what they call +P pressures the velocity was almost identicle to the Ackley version.
IMHO, if I was going to do a quarter bore, I'd go with the 25-06 Ackley Improved for the following reasons. Excellent quality brass is available (30-06) from the best brass makers, it has the case capacity to put the velocity close to that of the .257 Weatherby, it has a long neck to help reduce the effects of throat burning and being an Ackley, case trimming will probably only need to be done once.

 

[tominboise]

One of my favorite hunting rifles is a Weatherby chambered in 25-06. Very handy and just all around a great cartridge. I have always thought that the 25 Souper (25-308) would be a great cartridge and have wondered why no one has introduced it as a factory round.

 

[257Roberts]

I put this image together for comparison. Hope it works pasting it here.
So many interesting choices.

I know my 6.5x284 is going to be short barrel life, that's why i ordered two barrels for it right up front.
1200 rounds maybe? hopefully. Id guess the 25-284 and the short mags are less than this.

25-06, 25-06AI, 257 Wby, are these maybe 2000 rounders?

 

[greisdor]

What is the intended use for this rifle ? If hunting go with the 25 06 or 25 284. If Benchrest then go for the 2508 or 25 creedmore.

JR

 

[nakneker]

I built a 25x47 Lapua a couple years back, the build was based on the BIB 110 bullet. Alex Wheeler put it together, probably still has the reamer. I have a ton of brass and bushing dies since I have a few other rifles based on that case. Absolutely no regrets, it not terribly hard on the barrel, mild recoil and very accurate. Mine is set up to be a hunting rifle with a #3 barrel and light weight McMillan stock. I’ve had a 250 improved and 257 Roberts improved in the past and liked them a lot too. The Lapua brass was a big factor in going with the 25x47.

 

[th82457]

I am in the same boat, seriously considering a new build for deer, antelope, varmints. I have had a few 25-06 over the years & taken a bunch of game with them. I also had a .250 Savage & a .250 A.I. The 250 A.I. was by far the most accurate & delivered very good velocity with a 1:10 twist & 100 grain loads. With the newer bullets & fast twist barrels I am considering a .25 Creedmoor, mainly due to excellant brass availability & very similar to the .250 A.I. in performance & better barrel life than larger cases like the 25-06. I believe Peterson is making factory head stamp brass for the .25 Creedmoor also. Just my two cents.

 

[TZaun]

Add 25x47 to the list of benchrest capable accuracy cartridges with the 110 BIB. I will be trying out the 135 Hybrid as soon as I can, but I personally would've liked to see it about .080" shorter in OAL. Those longer bullets just get too finicky to tune, and that's if they can shoot really good at all.

 

[newbieshooter]

Add 25x47 to the list of benchrest capable accuracy cartridges with the 110 BIB. I will be trying out the 135 Hybrid as soon as I can, but I personally would've liked to see it about .080" shorter in OAL. Those longer bullets just get too finicky to tune, and that's if they can shoot really good at all.

was going to try the 110 bib in my 25x47 last year - but they were unavailable?

 

[6ShotsOr5?]

A friend is shooting a 25 Dasher. For hunting, I might throw a 25XC into the mix. For competition, 25 BR-AI.

 

[TZaun]

was going to try the 110 bib in my 25x47 last year - but they were unavailable?

Hopefully @RGRobinett can get the jackets he needs and start making them again.

 

[357Mag]

Love the Roberts, have 3 of them, But have always wanted something more. Bullet selection has always been the 25s enemy, but I see now that Berger has a 133gr Elite Hunter [0.613] and 135gr Hybrid [0.650] that look to be game changers. Yes they require a faster twist, but seeing these has rekindled my desire for a custom 25 something...

I'm looking for cartridge suggestions. The gun I am thinking about about is an old Winchester XTR Featherweight. Its got the longer action, but the short little box magazine. I'm not married to it, but its what I have on the shelf to start with, and I love model 70s. I see this as a target/competition gun, and also a long range hunter, deer/sheep/goat sized stuff.

Efficiency and barrel life is important, velocity is secondary. With 0.600+ BCs one can easily live with a little less speed. I am trying to come up with a cartridge list, 25x47 Lapua, 25 Creedmoor, 250 Savage, 250 Ackley, 25 WSSM, 25 Souper, 257 Roberts, 257 Ackley, 25-284, 25 PRC, 25 SAUM, 25 WSM, 25-06. What others am I missing? Any recommendations?

The 25-284 looks just tremendous! 3100fps+ with 135gr 0.650 BC looks other worldly, but is going to be hard on barrels.
250AI looking very close at. Can seat long bullets out and not intrude in the powder space. Decent brass, but requires a fireform.
Likewise the 257AI, but I worry a bit about seating depth with a long heavy bullet?
PRC, SAUM, WSM etc all seem like overkill and barrel burners.
Creedmoor, Souper and 284 all have great brass, and I believe just a die sizing, that's a plus.

I don't really know what I want exactly, looking for thoughts & experiences.
I've got lots of stuff, and don't really need another gun or cartridge to reload, but that's not the point right?

Thanks for any input.

.257Roberts -

Howdy !

In my die set for forming my " .22-35 Remington " wildcat, is a die that takes the brass on its second neck down from .308" cal to .25" cal. That forms a new " .22-35 Remington " wildcat.

Shoulder angle is 26*, and easy to form. This angle allows the shoulder area to hold more powder than would a 30* iteration of the wildcat. This keeps case capacity comparable to a notional .25 Creedmoor, while still maintaining a +one calibre neck length.

.35Rem brass works just fine w/ a .308 bolt face. My Wichita WBR1375 action is outfitted w/ an M-16 style extractor along w/ the .308 bolt face. I never experienced a failure to feed or extract .22-35 Remington cartridges / cases..... fired or unfired. Case capacity would be between that of a stock .250-300 and a .250SavageAI.

I have thought about a .22-35 Remington wildcat, teamed with long-for-weight turned brass bullets from
Cutting Edge.


With regards,
357Mag

 

[3Ackleys]

My thought is find good brass first, then go from there. That being said, Peterson 25 Creed brass is available.

 

[shoot4fun]

Back in the late 80's, maybe early 90's, one of my hunting buddies brought a beautiful (perhaps the most beautiful) Ruger No.1 into camp. It was a 257 Roberts. My instant lust over it, coupled with his gun trader compulsion, led me to try every trader's trick to get that rifle. He held on to that one until he passed and I had just let my fire for both rifle and cartridge burn down to a mere ember. Then Kimber's 84M Hunter hit the market in 257 Bob and I bought one right away. What a letdown. Finally I found a NIB No.1 red pad about a 1 1/2 years ago; paid a premium but I love that rifle. It looks almost as beautiful as the one I coveted for so long.
All my life I have been enthralled with the Weatherby Magnums. Of all of them, the 257 Wby Mag was the one that had my eye the most. Well, it isn't a MKV but it has Weatherby's name; a Weatherby Vanguard Alpine in 257 WBY Mag came home with me in Fall 2020. Best of all, it had ammo in the deal so I didn't have to beg, borrow or steal to get some.

 

[284winner]

I dearly love my 25/284's, especially the new one with a 7.5 twist Brux barrel shooting the 131 Black Jacks @ 3100..
Seemed to be easy to find a load for it with Retumbo, and did shoot a doe with it late last season...
Also have a 30" heavy 257 SAUM Imp that is in the works for Ridgeway with the same bullet....

Where did you get your 25-284 dies ?

 

[Preacher]

Where did you get your 25-284 dies ?

Warner tool made the sizing die, I made the seater die with my reamer..
Cheaper to just buy a 6.5 x 284 bushing die and use 25 caliber bushings..

 

[284winner]

Warner tool made the sizing die, I made the seater die with my reamer..
Cheaper to just buy a 6.5 x 284 bushing die and use 25 caliber bushings..

That's what I'm doing. I'm using my 6.5-284 Redding bushing size die and a comp seater die. May bed the seat stem although it's not needed I found out

 

[Eric Leonard]

I’m thinking about maybe doing a 2506 ai reamer specked to use 270 brass in hopes the longer neck might save the throat a little