Target Sports

SPORTS STARS: JACK OF ALL TRADES

Created on 19th May 2009

LAURIE HOLLAND on the high-velocity quarter bore .25-06 Remington

THE JACK of all trades is usually said to be master of none, but many cartridges manage to perform multiple roles successfully, .243 and .308 Winchester coming to mind. This month's subject is another. It's a long-range, flat-shooting number that takes on pests and medium game with equal competence. Introduced by gunsmith AO Niedner in 1920, it was a ‘wildcat' until Remington adopted it 49 years later. Although never coming anywhere near achieving the popularity of the aforementioned Winchester numbers it enjoys enduring support among American shooters, especially those located in open-country regions. There are currently 25 factory loadings from six ammunition producers (all American bar Serbian company Prvi Partizan) and most powder and bullet makers provide handloading data.

America's Own

The quarter-bore (0.257" diameter bullets) is an American phenomenon dating from the introduction of smokeless powders. A few older designs barely survive: the .25-20 and .25-35WCF, .250 Savage and .257 Roberts. Some bullet weights still reflect the capabilities of these designs and also their rifling twists, 87gn being the highest. This weight allowed Savage to claim 3,000 fps MV in 1915. The odd 117gn weight dates from even further back to the 1890s .25-35 Winchester deer load, the longest bullet that could be stabilised in the standard rifling twist rate at the cartridge's modest velocities. Factory loadings of .25-06 offer a choice of 85gn, 90gn, 100gn, 110gn, 115gn, 117gn and 120gn projectiles and handloaders can add 60gn, 75gn and 87gn designs. Lighter models are thin-jacketed ‘varmint' bullets with 100-120gn more heavily constructed for antelope and deer.

Son of .30-06

As the name suggests, the .25-06 is the .30-06 military cartridge with the case neck reduced to accept the smaller calibre bullet. There is no other change to the parent case, its body and overall lengths and 17º 30" shoulder angle retained. The process extended shoulder length at the expense of the neck which is reduced from the .30-06's 0.39" to a still adequate 0.31". With its later introduction, hence use in stronger rifle actions, the .25-06 employs higher pressures with an MAP of 63,000 psi (SAAMI), and an impressive 450 MPa (65,250 psi) allowed under CIP. rules. However, the cartridge won't appeal to short rifle action fans with a COL of 3.25", only a tenth of an inch under the .30-06's and needing a full-size action.

Large powder capacity plus light, small diameter bullets suggest high velocities and flat trajectories allied to moderate recoil - and these are the cartridge's strengths. With lighter bullets it offers superb performance on coyotes and similar at long ranges. Loads of 100gn are ideal for American Pronghorn antelope, creatures of open grass and sagebrush prairies and the small Texas Coues and whitetail deer hunted from fixed stands down long senderos. 115-120gn bulleted loads are well-suited to the long deer shots required in western US states, and are popular amongst North American mountain sheep-hunters. The 115gn Nosler Ballistic Tip at 3,100fps produces a trajectory that stays within 3" of the aiming mark out to 300yd if zeroed at 250yd and retains nearly 1,600 ft/lbs ME; 400yd shots are on for experienced users. We've seen modest interest in the cartridge here in recent years, some shooters appreciating its long-range foxing capabilities allied to suitability for any British deer species given appropriate bullet selection.

Propellants

The case had more capacity than needed by early .30-06 military and sporting loadings and this characteristic became more marked with the calibre reduction. The issue was propellant burning rates. Pre-WW2 types were faster-burning than ideal for this combination, restricting charge weights and MVs with the by-product of excessive airspace in the case - especially with heavier bullets. (Nosler's maximum load of IMR-4064 for the 120gn Partition leaves nearly 1/3 of the case empty and produces an MV that is 375fps down on that of the ‘slowest' modern powder listed, Hodgdon Retumbo.)

Bruce Hodgdon's acquisition of surplus No. 4831 20mm cannon powder after WW2 and selling it to Americans at bargain prices did much to popularise handloading and also encouraged the use of some previously ‘over bore-capacity' cartridges, including the .25-06. The subsequent appearance of still slower burners, not to mention improvements in their stability and consistency, has been a major feature in recent years as cartridge manufacturers introduced ever-larger cased designs, placing more exacting demands on propellant characteristics and performance. The ultra slow-burning powders have benefited .25-06 users greatly - the recently introduced Hodgdon H1000 and Retumbo, Vihtavuori N165 and N170 squeeze more performance out of the cartridge, especially with 100-120gn bullets. This is a cartridge that likes slow-burners even with light bullets. The various 4350s, Alliant Reloder 19 and Vihtavuori N160 are about the fastest burning powders that combine good accuracy and high velocity.