257 __________ ? name this wildcat

Can BlackJack or the more experienced guys here help me out: What will be the difference between this cartridge and a necked down 6.5 PRC? If the PRC is 66.5gr total h2o capacity, would this equal about 64.6 grains after subtracting out the neck volume? Am I in the ball park to speculate this new cartridge would be about 5 grains smaller than a necked down PRC?

The 257 Vegas.

clyancey said:

Can BlackJack or the more experienced guys here help me out: What will be the difference between this cartridge and a necked down 6.5 PRC? If the PRC is 66.5gr total h2o capacity, would this equal about 64.6 grains after subtracting out the neck volume? Am I in the ball park to speculate this new cartridge would be about 5 grains smaller than a necked down PRC?

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I think that's a pretty accurate assumption. It will be more efficient than a PRC and my guess is, it will give up little if any velocity to a PRC in a much more compact design (short action)

yorke-1 said:

Is your new hunting bullet significantly heavier or does it just need to be down loaded to 3050 fps?

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Heavier for a solid increase in BC and to get more people comfortable with 25 Cal in big mule deer and elk territory.

The current 131 ACE is a killing machine and all evidence suggests a very good bullet for elk penetration and great exit holes on mule deer and elk.

Tidus56 said:

The problem is I need the info so I know if I am building a 25 sst or a 257 Maverick. (seems like a good name)

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Definitely go with 25 SST for now. It is a great cartridge and a superb long range deer and elk machine. For match shooters it may be a touch hot but for crossover rifles of match+hunting it really fits the bill.

Our production brass with be about 1-1.5 years out if we use our first choice of supplier. We could get something sooner but we are focusing on getting high quality brass out affordably so as many shooters as possible can run the cartridge. This will take a little time but gives us a good amount of time to work out any kinks and develop a good load data collection in that time frame.

Clifflopez said:

How about something short, so it's not such a pain in the dick to find ejector marks.

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A man after my own heart!

HARPERC said:

.257 MudRunner Express

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Nah... But, on the other hand it would be hilarious to watch everyone come unglued if you did. HAHAHA!!!

can1010 said:

25 HLP (25 HeLP ) that wont be a beginners wildcat case to form. should be able to keep it 2.800 and fit in any action without modifications. cant wait to hear more on this case and will the hunting bullet still require the same rate of twist as the 131?

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We will provide ready to go brass after prototype, testing, and load development accumulation. The second bullet will work very well out of most cartridges in 1:7 and 1:7.5. Some 1:8's in slower cartridges of the magnum class may lose a few % bc at low altitudes and temp. 1:7 and 1:7.5 for magnums is recommended.

Jaredk03 said:

257 Washington in honor of our first president and founding father. He's on the quarter, so it kinda makes cents (pun intended) for this quarter bore!

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I would love to reference the Founders. They knew so much and were looking so far down the road. I've considered going down this road but haven't found anything that fits just right as well as our current name.

Aldon said:

25-D.O.A.

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DOA was on the shortlist for a long time.

We've had the geometry for years but did not have the finance to make the project happen. DOA was there all along. Now things are coming together. Even if DOA isn't the official name, DOA will work in reference to it!

Edd said:

Are you intending for this to be the one and only Blackjack 257 cartridge or is this the first of a series?

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We have two cases that we want to release over the next 5 years. This one is primarily intended for guys to run from 3000 - 3225 fps for a crossover hunting / match rifle.

This will be the only case released for the first 3-4 years of this leg of our journey. With the advances in bullet design an extra super-magnum is not entirely necessary considering the advanced optics and predictive software we all have.

Between 25x47 which runs 2900-2975 fps and this type of cartridge than can do 3150-3250 all my bases are covered!

jjmp said:

257 Phoenix ,born anew by Blackjack Bullets.

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This was also on the shortlist for a long time along with DOA and a few others mentioned here!

clyancey said:

Can BlackJack or the more experienced guys here help me out: What will be the difference between this cartridge and a necked down 6.5 PRC? If the PRC is 66.5gr total h2o capacity, would this equal about 64.6 grains after subtracting out the neck volume? Am I in the ball park to speculate this new cartridge would be about 5 grains smaller than a necked down PRC?

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This will yield better barrel life and better efficiency for our 131 grain ACE and second bullet release. The PRC is no doubt great for some uses but our goal was to make a stellar match and low recoil hunting round that would tip the scales on ballistics and maximize barrel life as much as practical running 3200 fps.

257 Blackjack said:

I would love to reference the Founders. They knew so much and were looking so far down the road. I've considered going down this road but haven't found anything that fits just right as well as our current name.

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How about a 257 Nobama