25 wssm

[kdog70]

Has anyone shot one of these rifles yet? I am so close to buying one for coyote & deer/punching paper up to 500-600 yards hopefully. At any rate a Model 70 Coyote 26 inch barrel that's what i am looking at. Opinions please.

 

[J E Custom]

Has anyone shot one of these rifles yet? I am so close to buying one for coyote & deer/punching paper up to 500-600 yards hopefully. At any rate a Model 70 Coyote 26 inch barrel that's what i am looking at. Opinions please.

Kdog

Do a search on the 25 WSSM.

There has been a lot of discussion on this round with some good informatiom supplied.

J E CUSTOM

 

[kappajoe]

PM sent with some info....

 

[kdog70]

I have done the search of the boards but i was hoping for new information or people found out something new about it some of the replies are very old when the cartridge came out so i was looking for some new information.

 

[silvertip-co]

I dont have 25WSSM info but I can tell you you'll like the 26" Mod 70. I have one and it shoots like a laser. Good luck on yours.

 

[jonesy]

I have not shot one yet. I did purchase one for my son for deer and caribou. I can't wait to shoot it. He'll get it for Christmas. I found it used in a Browning Micro Hunter II. I may have to cut the stock down some for him. I put a Leopold Vari-x III 3.5x10x50 on it. Should be a good set up.

 

[Tom Brush]

I have one of the Winchester Coyote rifles in .25 WSSM. It has been a very frustrating rifle to work with. Accuracy was not good. I glass bedded the action but it is still a 1 1/4" rifle at best. The trigger was terrible. The best that I could adjust it without a spring change was 4 1/2#. I replaced it with a Rifle Basix.

One of the things unique to the WSSM's is that the chamber must be absolutely dry. I wipe mine with alcohol after cleaning. If you do not do this the case may not grip the chamber and it will stretch and the bolt will be very hard to lift. I learned of this method in a magazine article. I experienced the heavy bolt lift and this solved it.

Some gunsmiths are having good luck using a larger diameter action that does not stretch and custom barrels with neck turned cases. Factory case necks are very thick. The neck turned case necks are thinner and seal better.

You may not think that I like the .25 WSSM but I do. The Coyote is a nice rifle. I may have gotten the lemon. By the way the barrel is 24"


Tom

 

[dwm]

One of my friends just picked up a Winchester Coyote in .25 WSSM at a local gun show. It is a very nice rifle, nice wood stock and good barrel weight. At it's first trip to the range it shot 1/2 to 3/4 inch groups at 100 yds with cheap factory Winchester 120 grain ammo. (120 gr. Super-X® Positive Expanding Point)

He then shot 2 rounds at 200 and they were 1/2 inch apart, he was very happy ...

I swapped my 25 WSSM barrel out for a 6.5 WSSM barrel ...

The 25 WSSM was fine, shot the 110 Accubonds just fine, took a large hog and a deer with it a couple of years ago.

I wanted a little heavier bullet with a higher BC, so I went to 6.5 WSSM instead. It is shooting great, I haven't been hunting with it yet though.

 

[kdog70]

so a 6.5 WSM do you run that bullet out of the 25 case or what.

 

[4xforfun]

One of my friends just picked up a Winchester Coyote in .25 WSSM at a local gun show. It is a very nice rifle, nice wood stock and good barrel weight. At it's first trip to the range it shot 1/2 to 3/4 inch groups at 100 yds with cheap factory Winchester 120 grain ammo. (120 gr. Super-X® Positive Expanding Point)

He then shot 2 rounds at 200 and they were 1/2 inch apart, he was very happy ...

I swapped my 25 WSSM barrel out for a 6.5 WSSM barrel ...

The 25 WSSM was fine, shot the 110 Accubonds just fine, took a large hog and a deer with it a couple of years ago.

I wanted a little heavier bullet with a higher BC, so I went to 6.5 WSSM instead. It is shooting great, I haven't been hunting with it yet though.

I am about 1/2 MOA away from pulling the trigger on buying another tube for my bench gun in 6.5 WSSM. My smith has a 30" 1-8 twist barrel sitting on the shelf for me if I want it. How is the 6.5 treating you???? I plan on shooting it in informal 300/600 yard f class, and let my kids shoot it in 1k comp. The kids are kind of small for the 300 WBY. I figured the 6.5 WSSM would be a good round for them. I plan on shooting 130's or 140's out of it. It probably will kill a few critters during it's life with us, also. All I need to pull the trigger on the project is a few more good reviews from actual owners !!

Sorry for hijacking this thread, and thanks.

 

[dwm]

I am by no means a 6.5 WSSM expert, there are other people on this forum with much more experience with this wildcat than me. I will provide what I can on the subject though and appoligize up front if this is too much for a 25 WSSM thread.

Mine is built on a Savage Model 16 short action, originally a 7MM WSM. I had Pacnor make a prefit Savage large shank, polygonal rifled, super match barrel and they chambered in 6.5 WSSM. I installed it myself using 25 WSSM head space gauges.

This version of the 6.5 WSSM is based off the 25 WSSM case so the Redding 25 WSSM bushing die can be used with 6.5MM bushings to size the cases. (I already had the dies from the 25 WSSM barrel.) The necks on the Winchester WSSM cases are really thick from the factory so I always turn them and then anneal them before using them. The Winchester brass seems a bit hard to me.

The 25 WSSM Redding seating die can be used to seat the 6.5 mm bullets. Works fine with the 140 Berger VLD and 140 AMAX.

I had mine made with an 8 twist so that it would be good for the 140 grain bullets.

So far I have only shot it to 200 yards and am still in load development. I have been shooting the 140 AMAX and 140 Berger VLDs and it is doing pretty well at 200.

I started a 260 REM project at the same time. They are almost equivalent in performance to the point where they work with almost the exact same powder and load.

I have been considering having it re-chambered to 6.5 WSM when the throat is shot out ...

As for long range performance of the 6.5 WSSM, I will leave that to the other guys with 6.5 WSSM to comment on.

 

[kdog70]

A little back on track....I bit the bullet and found someone locally that was willing to get rid of his 25 WSSM the exact model i was looking at buying....with reloading stuff and bi pod and his Rem 700 243 for a deal. So i gotta find two scopes...and a lot of time for shooting.....