Quarter bore heaven: reloading the accurate .25s

Guns Magazine, July, 2009 by John Barsness

The 99

Many Savage 99 purists look at 99s made after 1960 in the same way pre-'64 Winchester Model 70 users look at post-'64 Model 70s. The lone exception is the straight-gripped 99A in .250--because it has a 1:10" twist barrel. I am on my third 99A, mostly because somebody has always offered me more money than I paid for my last one.

Ultimately, however, the barrel's twist doesn't really matter, because the .250 Savage is at its best with 100-grain bullets loaded to 2,800 fps or so, just as Charles Newton intended. At that muzzle velocity, "non-premium" bullets work just fine. There's no reason to try to make the .250 into something it isn't--and I speak from personal experience. If you want more zip from a .25, buy a bigger one in the first place.

With the rest of the .25s, the real advantage of 110- to 120-grain bullets is resistance to wind-drift, a frequent problem on the Western plains. Here, a really high ballistic coefficient spitzer drifts noticeably less than any 100-grain bullet, and trajectory is just about as flat to 500 yards.

These heavier bullets also might be the best choice if you want to use a .25 on game bigger than deer--though I have known several hunters who've taken black bear and elk with various .25s and 100-grain bullets. These men and women are all good hunters and good shots who know the major "secret" of killing power is putting the bullet in the right place, an easy thing to do with any of the .25s.

HANDLOADED AMMO PERFORMANCE

       BULLET           POWDER(BRAND)       CHARGE
(BRAND, WEIGHT, TYPE)                   (GRAINS WEIGHT)

      .25-06 REMINGTON (ROGER NO.1 WITH 24" BARREL)

   BARNES 100 TSX           H4350            52.0
   BERGER 115 VLD          Magnum            60.0
NOSLER 120 PARTITION       Magnum            59.0

                  .257 WEATHERBY MAGNUM
 (WBY. VANGUARD AND NEW ULTRA LIGHT ARMS M28, 24" BBLS.)

   HORNADY 100 SP          Magnum            75.0
   HORNADY 100 SP          Magnum            75.0
 NOSLER 110 ACCUBOND        H1000            74.0
   BARNES 100 TSX          Magnum            75.0
NOSLER 115 PARTITION        RL-25            72.0
NOSLER 100 PARTITION       Magnum            75.0
NOSLER 120 PARTITION       Magnum            69.0
NOSLER 120 PARTITION       IMR7828           67.0

       BULLET           VELOCITY   GROUP SIZE
(BRAND, WEIGHT, TYPE)    (FPS)      (INCHES)

    .25-06 REMINGTON (ROGER NO.1 WITH 24" BARREL)

   BARNES 100 TSX        3,316        .56
   BERGER 115 VLD        3,192        .66
NOSLER 120 PARTITION     3,178        .72

                 .257 WEATHERBY MAGNUM
WBY. VANGUARD AND NEW ULTRA LIGHT ARMS M28, 24" BBLS.)

   HORNADY 100 SP        3,420     .56 (Wby.)
   HORNADY 100 SP        3,409     .50 (NULA)
 NOSLER 110 ACCUBOND     3,376     .98 (NULA)
   BARNES 100 TSX        3,510     .59 (Wby.)
NOSLER 115 PARTITION     3,276     .67 (NULA)
NOSLER 100 PARTITION     3,515     .75 (NULA)
NOSLER 120 PARTITION     3,315     .93 (Wby.)
NOSLER 120 PARTITION     3,290     .75 (HULA)

HANDLOADED AMMO PERFORMANCE

      .25-35 WCF (WINCHESTER 1894, 26" BARREL)

       BULLET           POWDER        CHARGE
 BRAND WEIGHT TYPE     (BRAND)    (GRAINS WEIGHT)

    SPEER 75 FN         VV120          25.5
   HORNADY 100 SP       Varget         26.0
   HORNADY 117 RN      Big Game        30.0

        .250-3000 SAVAGE (VARIOUS RIFLES)

  HORNADY 75 V-MAX      RL-15          38.0
NOSLER 85 BALL. TIP    IMR4895         35.0
  SPEER 87 HOT COR      RL-15          37.5
 SPEER 100 HOT-COR     IMR4895         33.0
   HORNADY 100 SP       RL-15          33.0
   HORNADY 100 SP      Big Game        36.0
   HORNADY 100 SP       Varget         35.0
NOSLER 115 PARTITION    H4831          40.0
   HORNADY 117 RN      Big Game        33.0

          .257 ROBERTS (VARIOUS RIFLES)

    SIERRA 75 HP       IMR4350         46.0
   HORNADY 100 SP      IMR4350         47.0
   BARNES 100 TSX       Hunter         47.0
   BERGER 115 VLD      Big Game        41.0
NOSLER 115 PARTITION    H4350          44.0
NOSLER 115 PARTITION    H4350          44.0
NOSLER 120 PARTITION    Magnum         50.0

    .25-35 WCF (WINCHESTER 1894, 26" BARREL)

       BULLET          VELOCITY     GROUP SIZE
 BRAND WEIGHT TYPE      (FPS)        (INCHES)

    SPEER 75 FN         2,808          1.31
   HORNADY 100 SP       2,434          1.08
   HORNADY 117 RN       2,150          1.37

       .250-3000 SAVAGE (VARIOUS RIFLES)

  HORNADY 75 V-MAX      3,107     .65 (22" bbl.)
NOSLER 85 BALL. TIP     2,934       .94 (20")
  SPEER 87 HOT COR      3,015       1.75 (24")
 SPEER 100 HOT-COR      2,771       1.28 (20")
   HORNADY 100 SP       2,766       .94 (22")
   HORNADY 100 SP       2,866       .89 (20")
   HORNADY 100 SP       2,803       .95 (20")
NOSLER 115 PARTITION    2,655       1.34 (22")
   HORNADY 117 RN       2,595       2.00 (20")

        .257 ROBERTS (VARIOUS RIFLES)

    SIERRA 75 HP        3,495       .56 (24")
   HORNADY 100 SP       3,082       1.02 (24")
   BARNES 100 TSX       3,153       .67 (24")
   BERGER 115 VLD       2,878       .88 (24")
NOSLER 115 PARTITION    2,925       .75 (24")
NOSLER 115 PARTITION    3,052       1.31 (24")
NOSLER 120 PARTITION    2,890       .66 (24")