.257 135 Berger real world experience wanted.

6.5shaggy

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I am making plans to start my next build. Lighter weight, long range, low recoil rifle for me and my teenage boys to shoot deer and hogs with. I like efficient cartridges but I don't mind hot-rods either. I do all of my own work but I am far from a master gunsmith. I've been looking at the Creed, 25-06, 25-284, and the Wby, but I am leaning heavily towards the 06 or Wby as i have tons of brass. I also have a 284 win and two 6.5-284s so I don't want more of those floating around to get in the wrong rifle. My kids are disciplined but mistakes can happen.
I have two boxes of the new 135s on my shelf waiting on this build, so I decided to do some velocity tests to help pick a cartridge to proceed with. I have an older M77 25-06 and a REM 700 257 Wby, both with 10 twist barrels , 24 and 26 inches respectively. I loaded 3 rounds for each rifle with researched loads of Retumbo from this and other sites, 1/2 grain increments ending about a grain below what most were considering max. I was expecting 3050 for the Wby and 2900 in the'06. Using a magnetospeed, I found the Wby to produce 2863 FPS and the 25-06 2768 FPS with primer flattening starting to appear.
I have 30+years of reloading experience and know about where I'm at in the pressure curve, but I expected more speed at thsee loads. I will continue the ladder tests, but I am a little disappointed with todays results. What I need from you guys is to confirm that 1 to 1.5 grains more powder is going to boost speed to the magical 3200+ that I've been reading about. Will a 7 or 8 twist make that much more pressure over a 10 twist to gain velocity? Is a 25 Creed so efficient that I should reconsider? Am I totally missing something else?

Any info is greatly appreciated,
Shag
 
I am getting 2840 from a 25 creed and 135gr Berger. From 25-06 I was getting 3130 with the 131ace. Both 26in barrel. So yes I think there is something off with your setup and the velocity. Nothing wrong with your powder choice.
 
I have a couple clients using them in the 6.5 SST at 3150-3200. They have taken some game this fall and say they are devastating.
Antelope and elk so far. The farthest I've heard on elk so far was 400+ and 600+ yards.
One went 20' and one did a dirt plant!
 
I have a couple clients using them in the 6.5 SST at 3150-3200. They have taken some game this fall and say they are devastating.
Antelope and elk so far. The farthest I've heard on elk so far was 400+ and 600+ yards.
One went 20' and one did a dirt plant!
He's asking about the .257 135's. Did you mean 25 SST?
 
yes, sorry!
That is outsized performance for a "little" 257... Awesome. Anxious to get my 6.5 Max up and running. Just about to the finish line. Gonna be a deer slayer I'm a thinkin.

EDIT: Sorry, I feel bad for highjacking this thread. Please forgive me, OP.
 

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In my 25 creed 7tw 26" barrel, I have great accuracy nodes at 2830 and 2890 with N555, with RL26 there's a good node at 2960. They do run a out 25-30fps slower than the 131s due to more bearing surface/weight.
 
I am making plans to start my next build. Lighter weight, long range, low recoil rifle for me and my teenage boys to shoot deer and hogs with. I like efficient cartridges but I don't mind hot-rods either. I do all of my own work but I am far from a master gunsmith. I've been looking at the Creed, 25-06, 25-284, and the Wby, but I am leaning heavily towards the 06 or Wby as i have tons of brass. I also have a 284 win and two 6.5-284s so I don't want more of those floating around to get in the wrong rifle. My kids are disciplined but mistakes can happen.
I have two boxes of the new 135s on my shelf waiting on this build, so I decided to do some velocity tests to help pick a cartridge to proceed with. I have an older M77 25-06 and a REM 700 257 Wby, both with 10 twist barrels , 24 and 26 inches respectively. I loaded 3 rounds for each rifle with researched loads of Retumbo from this and other sites, 1/2 grain increments ending about a grain below what most were considering max. I was expecting 3050 for the Wby and 2900 in the'06. Using a magnetospeed, I found the Wby to produce 2863 FPS and the 25-06 2768 FPS with primer flattening starting to appear.
I have 30+years of reloading experience and know about where I'm at in the pressure curve, but I expected more speed at thsee loads. I will continue the ladder tests, but I am a little disappointed with todays results. What I need from you guys is to confirm that 1 to 1.5 grains more powder is going to boost speed to the magical 3200+ that I've been reading about. Will a 7 or 8 twist make that much more pressure over a 10 twist to gain velocity? Is a 25 Creed so efficient that I should reconsider? Am I totally missing something else?

Any info is greatly appreciated,
Shag

Are you asking real-world world success experience in hunting or reloading/target shooting?
 
Thanks fellows! I am interested in all info about the high bc .257 bullets, internal, external, and terminal performance. I have my cartridge choices narrowed to 25-06, 257 wby or maybe 25-284 due to I have tons of brass for all and dies already on the shelf. My main concern was the very slow velocity achieved with my test loads. I have no intention of developing a load for one of my 10 twist rifles, I was simply trying to get a hands-on comparison of the 25-06 vs the 257wby but my speeds were miserably slow. I loaded Retumbo 55.0 in '06 and 67.0 in the 257. Am I that far from max in your experiences?
 
I'm shooting a 257 blaser, 83gr powder capacity. Pressure shows up north of 3380fps w/ 135s with Retumbo N568 and 8133. Shoots well at 3350. This is a 28" barrel. This brass is pretty soft in the web area, I get click at top of bolt cycle 50fps before I get any lift.
 
I'm a 257 weatherby super fan—but am always amazed at a plain Jane 25-06 and how efficient it is. I'm using really short barrels in most of my hunting rifles now as I find a suppressor are nice to have on both shooting at game (not spooking) and easy on the ears.and a short barrel 17-18 inches with a 6 or so in suppressor make a nice package…and a 25-06 does good with a 18 in barrel
 
I have a 22" 7 twist Bartlein carbon 25 SST that I was able to hit 3124fps before hitting pressure with the 135 Berger. Have a node at 3030fps that I still need to explore, only shot a 2 shot group testing COAL at that node, but at .030" jump led to a sub .1 MOA group, so I need to explore some more.
Shifted focus to a 257 Wby that my wife picked me up for my bday. It's a 10 twist, so focused on hitting 4K with a 92 grn HH and got there 2 weekends ago. Need to shift back to my 25 SST but just started load development for a 338 SS..I need more time to feed my addition.lol
 
I just picked up my 7twist 25-06 yesterday from the gun smith and will be testing the 135's this weekend hoping to get 3100fps. I used a M77 action and a spiral flute #5 Benchmark, HS precision stock. Will be testing N560 and h4831.
 

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