Your favorite Quarter Bore and why

[megastink]

I'm considering a build on a custom action with lightweight components and am thinking of what caliber to choose. I have a .243, a few 6.5's, .270, 7mm, and 308. I do not have any .25's, and I think this is a good time to round out my collection. I hunt PA whitetail deer and have been known to walk a few miles scouting in season. I also rarely get shots beyond 300 yards. I'm thinking the 257 Roberts would be a great choice for me.

I would love to hear from all you quarter bore aficionados as to your favorite 25 caliber cartridge and why. Feel free to throw in a hunting story along the way. Looking forward to the campfire chat.

 

[Tidus56]

I have a 257 Roberts AI and it's been okay, it was built before all the heavies came out so it's not twisted proper for those. I have found because my twist is wrong it's been a bummer with the selection of bullets it can shoot. Point of story be sure to twist it proper. My next quarter caliber will either be a 25 Creedmoor or 25SST.

 

[sable tireur]

To possibly save some repetition, here is the link to a very recent topic covering 15 pages of suggestions:

https://www.longrangehunting.com/threads/which-25.305187/page-15#post-2560756

Enjoy!

 

[Coyote Shadow Tracker]

I'm considering a build on a custom action with lightweight components and am thinking of what caliber to choose. I have a .243, a few 6.5's, .270, 7mm, and 308. I do not have any .25's, and I think this is a good time to round out my collection. I hunt PA whitetail deer and have been known to walk a few miles scouting in season. I also rarely get shots beyond 300 yards. I'm thinking the 257 Roberts would be a great choice for me.

I would love to hear from all you quarter bore aficionados as to your favorite 25 caliber cartridge and why. Feel free to throw in a hunting story along the way. Looking forward to the campfire chat.

There are a lot of posts on the .25 caliber on LRH. Just do a search.
PA hunting for Deer you already have some of the best calibers already ever used for Deer. You did leave out the 30-30 for PA. If you want a .25 your suggestion on the 257 Roberts is excellent. The 257 Roberts has been Iconic in Texas for Deer.
One thought is if you might be going to places with some longer range 300-800yds build yourself a bigger case .25. It could be a Laser and still have the knockdown power with the right bullet and twist!

 

[Elk Hunter 338]

Fixin too be a 25-300 PRC .... Yeah buddy .. cuzz I wanna go fast mama

 

[lancetkenyon]

For 300 and in? No need to go short mag like the 25SST or long action like a
25-06AI or .257Wby.
If you need factory ammo, take that onto account. Of you handload, something like a 25Creedmoor, 25x47L would be where I was looking.

 

[DUCKMAN11]

25-284 if you want short action
25-06 if you want long action
25-06AI if you want more speed
257wby if you want even more speed

A lot depends on your bullet and barrel. If you have a fast enough twist to shoot the heavy 121gr+ pills then velocity is nice but isn't as much of a factor due to the higher bc of the bullet. Now if you have a 10tw and are shooting 100-120gr.....speed is your friend.

I'm In no way knocking short action cartridges for hunting by saying this but....... I've never had a big buck walk out and had a long action in my hands and thought "dang I wish I had my short action right now"

I have a 25-06 that shoots 115vld's with a maximum point blank range of 245yds. It's pretty lazer-ish

 

[436]

The .257 Roberts has always been a winner, I loved the one I had, the .257 Roberts AI is even better and extremely efficient according to P.O. Ackley, and I don't think he was wrong about that. Now out of all the quarter bores I've owned over the years, starting with .25-20 Win & .25 Rem up to the .257 Wby Mag, well, I'd say the .257 Wby Mag take the day by far, and then some. It's an outstanding cartridge for both factory ammo and the hand-loader, just never buy one shorter than 26" inches. Just my 0.2 Cheers.

 

[FrogFire7]

you already have some of the best calibers already ever used for Deer. You did leave out the 30-30 for PA.

Why not get the best of both worlds and do a .25 version of the ole 30-30- the .25-35! I bet you would be the only one that has a fast twist .25-35 . Case design sucks though... So you'd probably have to do .25-35 AI or something

My grandfather had a 99 carbine in .25-35. Was a neat rifle

 

[Justice1327]

Like many before…257 AI Roberts.
But the 25-284 has me thinking

 

[DUCKMAN11]

Like many before…257 AI Roberts.
But the 25-284 has me thinking

25-284 has about the same velocity as a standard 25-06 but in a short action. It would probably work best in a tikka or "extra medium" sized action.

I looked long and hard at the 25-284 mostly because of the brass that is available. I also looked at doing the 25-284shehane but the 25-06AI just had a little more speed.

 

[CApighunter]

I've got an itch to get a 25 PRC prefit for my tikka action.

 

[Coyote Shadow Tracker]

I'm considering a build on a custom action with lightweight components and am thinking of what caliber to choose. I have a .243, a few 6.5's, .270, 7mm, and 308. I do not have any .25's, and I think this is a good time to round out my collection. I hunt PA whitetail deer and have been known to walk a few miles scouting in season. I also rarely get shots beyond 300 yards. I'm thinking the 257 Roberts would be a great choice for me.

I would love to hear from all you quarter bore aficionados as to your favorite 25 caliber cartridge and why. Feel free to throw in a hunting story along the way. Looking forward to the campfire chat.

25 Super (25-08)

 

[Frog4aday]

The .257 Roberts is probably perfect for your needs (light gun for lots of hiking with shots 300yds or less.) But I just love the power & speed of the .25-06 Rem. Shoots flat, hits hard. If you reload, I really like @Coyote Shadow Tracker suggestion of the .25 Super (25 in a .308 Win case.) Something different and effective.