Which 25 for a hunting rifle and 131 Blackjack?

[Varminator 911]

I'm thinking about building something around the 131 Blackjack for a low recoil hunting rifle with some real reach. So what do you guys think would be the best chambering in magnum bolt face that's less capacity than the 257 Weatherby but above 25 PRC? The choices I see are 25 SST. 25 SS, 257 Blackjack, and 25 SAUM. Good brass and maybe H1000 compatible are considerations.

Another question might be which 25 will dominate the competitive shooting scene? If so that might be a good choice even if it has less power. Not sure that I want to go down to 25 Creedmor.

 

[MudRunner2005]

I wish Rich would do a regular 40-degree .25 SS. I think it would be perfect.

 

[Varminator 911]

I wish Rich would do a regular 40-degree .25 SS. I think it would be perfect.

I wasn't aware that Rich didn't yet have the 25 SS. The 25 SST is no slouch. Thanks for your input.

 

[MudRunner2005]

I wasn't aware that Rich didn't yet have the 25 SS. The 25 SST is no slouch. Thanks for your input.

He might now, but last I knew he only had the SST (30-degree) in a .257... Maybe if you call him and help push, he'll make a regular .257 SS 40-degree.

 

[CA48]

My guess is the 25 creed will be the most popular 25cal in the competitive shooting scene for same reasons the 6.5 creed has been popular.

I think for the purpose your describing the 25SST or 25 blackjack would be ideal. Mild loads with h-1000 run 3200fps with a 26" Bbl. They are the only 2 cases in their class on a mag bolt that can run easily in a dbm setup and feed smoothly. The SS works in a dbm also, doesn't feed quite as smooth as the SST. The SS and SST has ADG brass available which has been great. I don't know what the dimensions are on the Blackjack case or who makes brass for it but looking at it and seeing the predicted velocities, it seems like a mirror image of the SST.

The 25SS is only going to add 50-75fps over the SST which is great but if I was going to step up the velocity and build a new wildcat it would probably be a 25 Sherman Max. I think you would likely find a useable load just over 3400 fps in a 26" barrel, close to matching the 270 wby but with a lot more small advantages. I thought about a shortened 300Norma based 25 wildcat. But I think there would be to many issues running them any faster and barrel life would drop off significantly then again you could run them easy and just buy brass once. It sounds like a little more than you want for your listed purposes but would make a great elr cartridge with comparatively cheap bullets. There are a lot of great options now and Im thankful BlackJack stoked the fire again for the 25cals.

 

[Varminator 911]

I hadn't thought about the 25 Sherman Max. Sounds close to the 257 Weatherby. I worry about barrel life but the bee has been popular for decades so it must work for a hunting rifle. I'll look into the Max. It sounds wicked. 3400 fps would toast a coyote way out there..!!

 

[CA48]

I think the 25SST capacity is going to be the best combo of bbl life and velocity IMO. Running mild loads of H-1000 will significantly boost barrel life in any case. The 25 Sherman Max will no doubt have the best barrel life for that capacity and would make the ultimate medium action round for long range deer and speed goats. The results have been good on game so far. I will try them out my self this year.

 

[Varminator 911]

I agree the 25 SST sounds like a sensible choice. Do you think case fill would be near 100% with H1000 at a good velocity node?

 

[CA48]

Yes, at 60.3gr I'm at 3300fps with h-1000. You start running slightly compressed loads around 62gr and it's to much pressure.
I've been running a mild load of 58gr at 3200fps with Single digit ES.

 

[Varminator 911]

Yes, at 60.3gr I'm at 3300fps with h-1000. You start running slightly compressed loads around 62gr and it's to much pressure.
I've been running a mild load of 58gr at 3200fps with Single digit ES.

Wonderful. That sounds like a great chambering and good powder for the 131. I'll see if I can't figure how how to get a gun built.

 

[Tarheelpwr]

When I askedRich about other .25 cal, he didn't plan on making any. He sounded like he's sticking with the SST mainly stating that anything more is too much of a good thing for a .257 bore.

 

[Varminator 911]

When I askedRich about other .25 cal, he didn't plan on making any. He sounded like he's sticking with the SST mainly stating that anything more is too much of a good thing for a .257 bore.

Agreed, 60 grains is a lot of powder in a 25. Barrel life won't be anything to brag about. Even the Edge only uses 90 gn of H1000. But 3200-3300 fps with the 131 matches all but the biggest 30 calibers for wind drift at 1000 yds.

 

[Randy Tidwell]

Read up on the 25 Souper (308 necked down)! I built a Feather Weight Mod 70 for my hunting partner. Bartlien 9 twist, tac driver with Barnes TTSX.

I was told the 25 Souper was created before the 308, but the Military still wanted 30 cal, so it was necked up to 30.

We love the cartridge. Light recoil and flat shooting. Easy to form and easy to load. Very forgiving round.

 

[Michael O'Connor]

I wish Rich would do a regular 40-degree .25 SS. I think it would be perfect.

The extra powder space is really not needed. The 25 SST is very efficient and the 30° shoulder cycles better, I am sure.