Desert tech 25wssm

[rosseickhoff]

So I just bought a used 7mm wsm desert tech. Was thinking about adding some barrels to the chassis. I have 338 lapua dies and some brass so will probably add either a factory or custom conversion along the line. Was looking at doing a Creedmoore bolt and barrel conversion but got me thinking that I could do a .257. The Creedmoore is great but would require bolt and barrel. 25 prc would be a great caliber but not a tremendous difference to the 7mm wsm. So I'm thinking a 25 wssm throated for 135 bergers or black jack bullets. Would use same bolt and mag in theory anyway. 7 to 8 twist. Anybody have thoughts or experience? I've seen Winchester brass for sale as well as conversions on 300wsm brass to the wssm. My thoughts are one rifle system, one scope, 3 barrels. Prairie dogs to elk in one small rifle case.

 

[std7mag]

Last year i was looking for a new 7mm-08 rifle. Stopped in a large "box" store thinking they surely would have one.
No luck, but the sales kid said lets see what's in the used section. All 6 guns...

Picked one up & stated Browning A Bolt. Then had a funny look on his face.
I asked what cartridge. He said 25 WS..
WSSM?
Yeah...
I was afraid to look at the price tag!!
$400!!!

So now i have this Browning A Bolt SSA in 25 WSSM.

Since it's a 1:10 twist, i've been concentrating more on the 115-120gr bullets.
Been playing with RL17 & RL19.

I haven't run it over the chrono yet to compare it to my 257 Roberts, 257 Roberts AI & 25-06.

 

[rosseickhoff]

10 years ago I ran across a used Winchester 25wssm, I was kinda broke and was telling my buddy about it. The next day his brother went and bought it. I did get to shoot it some. Was a cool rifle. Shot the throat out of it on some big prairie dog towns in the next couple years.
I have a 17 I love for shooting dogs but in the wind over 150 it's tough. Would slow shoot it for sure. Shouldn't be much harder on barrels than a 25 Creedmoore though.

 

[sable tireur]

So I'm thinking a 25 wssm throated for 135 bergers or black jack bullets.

The 131 Ace by Blackjack is no longer available as the company is out of business. You have the option of the 133 or 135 Berger and the potential of the Hornady 143 if they ever release it. There is also the Black Hole 145 gr.

I've been shooting the .25 WSSM since I was involved in the Beta testing the pre-2004 release of the cartridge. Mostly it's been fairly smooth until Olympic Arms cornered and controlled the .25 WSSM through the Winchester case production in order to produce their idiotic 300 OSSM cartridge for their AR-15 rifles. It wasn't until Olympic admitted defeat with this cartridge that the market once again opened up for those of us wanting the .25 WSSM.

Every now and then, Winchester releases a run of all three cases.

Throats can be treated with a little more kindness by not trying to achieve .257 Weatherby velocities. The idea is to use a cooler burning powder which lowers the velocity slightly.

My suggested powders are:

Reloader16 (although it is not necessarily a cooler burning powder)

VVN-160

Hodgdon Hybrid 100V

Ramshot Hunter

I shoot all three cartridges but the .25 WSSM is still one of my favorites.

Enjoy!



I forgot to add that you will need to adjust the feed lips of your magazines to accommodate the .25 WSSM and the longer bullets.

 

[rosseickhoff]

I have a 8lb jug of hybrid v100. That sounds like a great place to start. Thank you for the imput. I don't need to push it to hard as I have the wsm barrel. I would look for a cool accurate load.

 

[sable tireur]

I have found that all three cooler powders perform well in my rifles, including out to 1,000 yards on paper or steel.

I try to keep Hybrid 100V in my stock all the time.

Enjoy the process!