25-06 ai

Pathfinder

Pathfinder

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Ordered a Barrel from North shore barrels lately to spruce up my Savage bolt action.

Most of the reseach I have done show people pushing 100 gr. bullets with RL-22 at very good speeds and accuracy, Im going to playing around with some lighter bullets too, any suggestions ?

I also havent' decided on fireforming using the C.O.W method or just making up some stiff 25-06 loads to shoot and break in the barrel at the same time. Thoughts ?

ps (by the way I somehow ended with an extra set of dies for this project so if anybody is looking for a set at a good price let me know.)
 
I just picked out a max load from Hodgdon's website that I had powder for and loaded them up and sighted my rifle in with them. I still have 50 to use on coyotes.
 
I've had great luck with IMR4350 with 100gr and 110gr bullets in the standard 25-06.
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Ill try both methods...Ive got some 87gr. Speers that will great for this kind of Job...If I get it back in time Ill get the electronic caller out and see what comes in.
 
I have been getting great results with 100g sgk's and imr 7828 with a 26" barrel. I used COW in my 270 AI with great results but plugged barrel twice in 25-06AI so I use sgk's for fireform too.
 
Headspace problems

Cummins4x4 said:
I would think so. I found I had to lightly lube the case walls with sizing wax otherwise some rounds got pushed forward and were not headspaced properly.
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If a standard 2506 case does not chamber tightly, or if you dont feel any crush fit when the bolt is locked down, you definitely have a headspace problem! The use of lube in a chamber during fireforming is asking for serious bolt thrust pressures! Not to mention the potential for hydraulic dents in the chamber!
Have it checked out! Save yourself any possible injury or worse.



On new cases (standard calibers) (new unfired brass)I neck my cases up one caliber. Then i neck size my cases bit by bit until I can just chamber the case that the finished cartridge is for.
I look for a slight crush fit this way as well.
Keeps the case ABSOLUTELY perfectly headspaced.
And alignment is as close as you can get with an unfired case.

Have fun you gunnutz!
 
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When using the COW method to fire form I was getting some resistance closing the bolt on an unfired standard 25-06 case. What was happening was the firing pin was pushing the case forward about 5 thou and because the pressure wasn't enough to force the case back against the bolt face I ended up with a primer protruding very slightly. A very small amount of sizing wax wiped on the walls solved the problem. I would rub my fingers on the wax, then wipe the wax on the case leaving a very thin film, certainly not enough to dent the case or the chamber.

When I noticed the protruding primer I phoned Sierra's support # and talked to a very knowledgeable fellow. His suggestion was the lube and to make sure I cleaned the chamber thoroughly after fire forming. I also had a gunsmith check the head space on the Cooper and it was right in the middle of the SAMMI spec. The gunsmith also indicated that this wasn't an unusual occurrence and that the very MINIMAL amount of lube wouldn't damage anything and should fix the problem of the brass moving forward and not moving back to the boltface. I fire formed 200 brass using this method without any issues.

But thanks for the replies fellows, I always follow safe practices and wouldn't have tried this without doing some research first.
 
I thought I woudl add that fireforming an empty case with 18gr. of 4759 was a miserable failure. a few of the cases had rounded shoulders some showed little sign of being fire in an improved chamber...Ill keep shooting 25-06 loads for now. Finally got the right bases/rings so Ill be forming more cases this weekend while sighting in / practicing.
 
It will be interesting to see what kind of velocities you will be getting when you get it dialed in.
 
you should have gotten two barrels, or found a .257 barrel for fire forming. That cartrige will only give you about 7-800 accurate rounds, so fire forming will eat barrel life. The COW methond is good, and I would stay away from VLD bullets, or learn how much length you need to add every 50 rounds or so.
 
paperslayer said:
you should have gotten two barrels, or found a .257 barrel for fire forming. That cartrige will only give you about 7-800 accurate rounds, so fire forming will eat barrel life. The COW methond is good, and I would stay away from VLD bullets, or learn how much length you need to add every 50 rounds or so.
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Well...that should be a a lifetime for me. Once its dialed in I dont' think Ill be "plinking" a whole lot. Hopefully load development wont' be too tedious. Im only forming 30-40 cases so Im not too worried about the barrel life. The throat is faily short so Ill eventually have to seat the bullets about a bit more as it wears.
 
paperslayer said:
you should have gotten two barrels, or found a .257 barrel for fire forming. That cartrige will only give you about 7-800 accurate rounds, so fire forming will eat barrel life. The COW methond is good, and I would stay away from VLD bullets, or learn how much length you need to add every 50 rounds or so.
Click to expand...

Where in the world did you get that idea? Not just mine, but several other guys I know have at least 1500 rounds and still sub MOA accuracy consistently.

As well, all of my fire forming has been done with bullets, either on paper or hunting. We don't waste bullets or wear barrels fire forming.:)

Ted
 
Why not? said:
Mine gets 100 gr bullets to 3600 fps with good case life and no expanded primer pockets after five rounds.
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that's what Im hoping for, Im using R22 so I wont' bother doing much development until the weather gets a bit cooler...looking like mid twenties for the long weekend. Ill be punching paper with the 87gr. fireforming load.
 
You folks who are having a problem with rounded shoulders or cases that have not filled out using the COW method are not using the correct powders.
The best powders for this process are Bullseye or Unique.
I have 3 AI chambered rifles, and get perfect cases EVERY time.
I usually start at 12 grains of Bullseye, and adjust upward [if necessary] to get the nice sharp, fully expanded case.
Much better than adding barrel wear by shooting loads to fireform.
FWIW, a correctly cut AI chamber will be a slight "crush" fit with a new, unfired standard case.
Regards, Eagleye.
 
Eagleye said:
You folks who are having a problem with rounded shoulders or cases that have not filled out using the COW method are not using the correct powders.
The best powders for this process are Bullseye or Unique.
I have 3 AI chambered rifles, and get perfect cases EVERY time.
I usually start at 12 grains of Bullseye, and adjust upward [if necessary] to get the nice sharp, fully expanded case.
Much better than adding barrel wear by shooting loads to fireform.
FWIW, a correctly cut AI chamber will be a slight "crush" fit with a new, unfired standard case.
Regards, Eagleye.
Click to expand...

I knew about Bullseye and Unique..I just didn't have any I figured I didnt' have anything to lose trying with 4759...not gonna bother playing with that one anymore as Ive loaded enough 25-06 rounds to give me that brass I need for a while.

About the crush fit. I didnt' have any unfired brass to test but the best crush fit I was able to make was with 270 brass with a false shoulder. (sized part of neck until I was able to close the bolt).
 
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