Best powder- bullet combination for 25 06

[Land Rover]

25 06 Rem, 26" New Barrel with 9.5 twist

Hi guys I have tried my first loads without much luck.
powder AR2217 = H1000
federal large magnum primers
117gr SST and 117gr Speer spbt
Best 3 shot group 1", worst 2" and Ave 1.5"
All powder weights seemed to group much the same, from memory the third shot was the problem.
Velocities were very high.
57.5 gr 2217 = 3151 ave
58 gr2217 no reading
58.5 gr 2217 no reading
59 gr 2217 = 3191 ave
59.5 gr 2217 = 3261 ave MAX Load
The spreads were from 10 fps to 40 fps
Are the loads too quick, should I slow them down for accuracy?
They were seated .3mm off the lands.
Barrel has had 40 rounds total through it.
Should I try another powder? and I am keen to try 117gr Sierra Prohunters.
What do you guys think I should do/try next?

 

[johnnyk]

Don't have my .25-06 anymore but I had great accuracy and velocity from RL22/115gn Berger/BR2's. I was going to try Retumbo but got rid of it.
Reasoning for Retumbo was I am having great success with it in my 6.5-284/140gn A-Max's. Good luck. JohnnyK.

 

[Dosh]

LR, loaded H4831SC and Berger 115 VLD for my son's 26" heavy barrel. Tried 2 other powders and Accubonds, but not successfully. Bergers made 1/3 MOA @ 200 yards after some seating depth tweaking. Good luck

 

[RT2506]

If the rifle is properly bedded and barrel free floated and has a trigger pull below 3lbs and is shot from a solid front and rear rest, NOT A LEAD SLED, and you can shoot properly then you are ready to do some load work.
H4831 or IMR or AA 4350 has always been my go to powders for the 25-06 for which I have loaded for and shot for over 20 years.
These loads usually shoot great in most rifles. WORK UP TO THEM.

52 grs H4831, Rem case, CCI BR2 primer, 117 Sierra Pro hunter, Hornady SST, 115 Nosler BT loaded between 10 and 30 thousands off the lands.

49 grs IMR or AA 4350, Rem or WW case, CCI 250 mag primer, same bullets and COAL as above.
My current rifle Rem 700, Shilen SS #6 26" long in HS precision stock shoots the above load with the 117 Sierra Pro Hunter in bug holes at 3000 fps. The 117 Sierra Pro Hunter is my favorite deer bullet. BANG FLOPs them 99% of the time.

 

[BergerFan222]

I usually note accuracy when I am working up a load in 0.5 or 1 grain steps.

If the most accurate load is accurate and fast enough, I'm done. If not, I pick a promising combo of accuracy and speed and tweak the OAL.

The Berger bullet was always the most accurate in my 25-06, but the 115 grain Nosler Ballistic Tips always did well also.

H1000 is a fine powder.

I recall bad results (Accuracy wise) with a Speer hunting bullet, but I do not recall which one.

 

[velvetant]

115 Noslet BT with RE25 or Retumbo
H1000 should be good with it also but have not tried it.

 

[MudRunner2005]

I've never had good luck with H1000 in any calibers. It's always been a finnicky powder, and inconsistent.

For my .25-06 AI, I use Berger 115 VLD's, 7828 SSC, and Federal 210M's.

 

[Dgutter]

For ballistic and terminal performance I really like the 115gr Nosler Ballistic Tip. I back it up with Retumbo now but H1000 had produced some really fine results as well. Both powders are great, I just seemed to see slightly less pressure signs with the Retumbo at comparable velocities.

 

[the jigger]

I don't know best. For my two rifles IMR4831 was best among ;
IMR4350
RL19
RL22
RL25
These are the five I had on hand. Both rifles preferred the lighter bullets
Savage 110fp 24" 1in 10 barrel 90gr Sierra Blitz King 3550fps
Weatherby Vanguard 24" 1 in 10 barrel 100gr Nosler Partition 3290fps.
GOOD LUCK and GOOD SHOOTING!!!

 

[Land Rover]

If the rifle is properly bedded and barrel free floated and has a trigger pull below 3lbs and is shot from a solid front and rear rest, NOT A LEAD SLED, and you can shoot properly then you are ready to do some load work.
H4831 or IMR or AA 4350 has always been my go to powders for the 25-06 for which I have loaded for and shot for over 20 years.
These loads usually shoot great in most rifles. WORK UP TO THEM.

52 grs H4831, Rem case, CCI BR2 primer, 117 Sierra Pro hunter, Hornady SST, 115 Nosler BT loaded between 10 and 30 thousands off the lands.

49 grs IMR or AA 4350, Rem or WW case, CCI 250 mag primer, same bullets and COAL as above.
My current rifle Rem 700, Shilen SS #6 26" long in HS precision stock shoots the above load with the 117 Sierra Pro Hunter in bug holes at 3000 fps. The 117 Sierra Pro Hunter is my favorite deer bullet. BANG FLOPs them 99% of the time.

Thanks RT2506
I have ordered AR2213sc = H4831
And 117g Pro Hunters and some 100gr Prohunters (need them for my 303-25 anyway)
Will my Federal 215magnum primers be o.k
I will load up 21 X 52 grs and then try a few different seating depths starting just off the lands. And see if I can find a seating depth the rifle likes. Then I will play with the loads in .5 gr increments.

My rifle is properly pillar/bedded and checked by my gunsmith. My rest was a front and rear sand bag. I will check my trigger, a bit lighter would be nice. It wasn't squeezing of nicely, I had to make a conscious pull. I expect it to be under 3lbs though.

 

[RT2506]

You may run into pressure problems before you get to 52 grs H4831 if you use Fed 215 mag primers. If you are going to try 100 gr Sierras in your 25-06 and can get some IMR or AA 4350 work up to 52 grs. That usually really shoots well. I have found that most of the hunting style Sierra, Hornady, Nosler bullets shoot best between 10 and 30 thousands off the lands. I learned the hard way to never load a bullet closer than 10 thousands off the lands with hunting rifles. It is too easy to stick a bullet in the bore and dump the action full of powder when unloading your rifle to cross a fence or something or climb a tree stand. A round that is in the magazine while the rifle is fired a couple times can pull forward due to recoil and when you load it in the chamber and don't shoot it out it can stick the bullet. Out in the wild with a bullet stuck in the bore and NO cleaning rod makes a bad day. I like a 2 1/2 LB trigger pull on my rifles. I can feel the trigger and with just the slightest pressure BOOM. If you are having to pull much on your trigger it has to be 4 or 5 lbs. A good trigger will cut your groups a great deal.

 

[shorty]

My rifle is a first gen Sendero with a Krieger 26" barrel, 1 in 9 twist. To date my most accurate load is with CCI br2 primer 4831SC powder and 115gr Ballistic Tip's. Stock tube was 1 in 10 twist and I found that after I went to the faster twist barrel it, was a bit more finicky as to seating depth,also I went back to standard primer. I lost a bit of velocity, but cut my group size in half.Best of luck!

 

[Land Rover]

You may run into pressure problems before you get to 52 grs H4831 if you use Fed 215 mag primers. If you are going to try 100 gr Sierras in your 25-06 and can get some IMR or AA 4350 work up to 52 grs. That usually really shoots well. I have found that most of the hunting style Sierra, Hornady, Nosler bullets shoot best between 10 and 30 thousands off the lands. I learned the hard way to never load a bullet closer than 10 thousands off the lands with hunting rifles. It is too easy to stick a bullet in the bore and dump the action full of powder when unloading your rifle to cross a fence or something or climb a tree stand. A round that is in the magazine while the rifle is fired a couple times can pull forward due to recoil and when you load it in the chamber and don't shoot it out it can stick the bullet. Out in the wild with a bullet stuck in the bore and NO cleaning rod makes a bad day. I like a 2 1/2 LB trigger pull on my rifles. I can feel the trigger and with just the slightest pressure BOOM. If you are having to pull much on your trigger it has to be 4 or 5 lbs. A good trigger will cut your groups a great deal.

I'll keep trying the 117gr prohunters.
Are most of your 25 06 loads under the book max?
Have you tried H4831? for 117gr projectiles.
Maybe my loads were just too quick, they were past the book max loads and were showing pressure signs.

 

[Land Rover]

My rifle is a first gen Sendero with a Krieger 26" barrel, 1 in 9 twist. To date my most accurate load is with CCI br2 primer 4831SC powder and 115gr Ballistic Tip's. Stock tube was 1 in 10 twist and I found that after I went to the faster twist barrel it, was a bit more finicky as to seating depth,also I went back to standard primer. I lost a bit of velocity, but cut my group size in half.Best of luck!

I do have large rifle primers I can try, would they make that much difference from large magnum primers? I can try both and see what happens.