Hey guys, i'm searching for a bullet that i can shoot out of my 25-06 at extreme ranges and was looking for something with a high B.C. I see that Sierra makes the 100 gr matchking (B.C. of .394 @ 3250 FPS) but other than that, i haven't been able to find any .257 cal bullets that have high B.C.'s I see that Nosler's 115 gr BT supposedly has a B.C. of .453 but this seems rather high for the bullet. Does anyone know of any .257 bullets with higher B.C.'s? I'm wanting something that i can shoot out to 1000 with minimal wind drift, drop, etc. Thanks
Ruck

Ruck

Berger 115 gr VLD @ .522 (need 10 twist)
Berger 110 gr @ .414 (need 12 twist)

Ray

Published BC's are always suspect, in that they are "assigned" by the manufacturer and often used as a not-so-subtle marketing ploy.

On the other hand, the claimed .453 BC of the 115 Nosler BT is not out of line, and is relatively lower than the very similar .264/120. Ballistic Tips often exhibit real world BC's higher than the calculated formulas would indicate.

If you're target is varmints, I question whether you'll actually benefit from the 115 grain over the 100 grain Ballistic Tip in a .25-06 for extended ranges, but only actual shooting will tell. The trade-off between higher muzzle velocity with the lighter bullet and better retained velocity with the heavier bullet is not always that easy to analyze on paper, especially considering that the actual BC changes with velocity as the bullet travels downrange.

Ray, thanks for the heads up on the bergers. The rifle that i have right now wears a Hart barrel with a 1:10 twist in it. I might check out the 115 gr VLD's.

Stonecreek,
I have often pondered exactly what you describe when it comes to the real-world advantage of the 115's over the 100's. I have ran the numbers repeatedly in my ballistics software (sierra infinity) and it just seems to me that the 100's excel more so than any other bullet weight in the 25-06. They retain more energy, drop less, and retain higher velocity at extended ranges than the 85gr BT's and if i remember correctly, they out perform the 115gr BT's at 25-06 velocities. The 100gr BT's have a relatively high B.C. (somewhere around .400 i think) and they just seem to be the best tradeoff in this caliber. I am wanting to experiment a little however and see just how this translates downrange in real world tests. I'll try to keep you all updated as the results come in. I'm searching for the ultimate long range bullet in .257 cal. Maybe i'll have come to a conclusion before too long. Thanks for the input!
Ruck

Check out Lost River Ballistics bullets - highest BCs that I know.

i checked them out...also about the highest price of any bullet i've seen...something like 25$ per 20 bullets...i'd still like to give them a try though

Barnes:
.257 115 XLC FB .429

Berger:
.257 115 VLD .522

Combined Technologies:
.257 115 Ballistic Silvertip .453

Hornady:
.257 120 HP .394

Lost River:
.257 90 J36 .479

Nosler:
.257 115 Gr. Spitzer Ballistic Tip .453

Sierra:
.257 117 SBT .438

Speer:
.257 120 Conventional .435

Swift:
.257 120 A-Frame .382

Now, after all that, I have had the best luck with the Sierra 120 HPBT.

ricciardelli, don't forget this Lost River Ballistic Bullet:

J36 .257-100 grain
Ballistic Coefficient: .529
Min. Required Twist: 1:9
20/Box - $38.35

Send an e-mail to wildcatbullets@hotmail.com

They have an ultra low drag 156 gr, 145 uld and 130 uld. The b.c. of the 156 is .820, it needs 1-8 or 1-7 twist.

This guys bullets are very affordable, I have not used them but my buddy (257Wraith) also has some info on them. Just PM him.

IV

.820? that's freaking rediculous

About 1 month ago, I tested the Wildcat 130 grain BCFBHP, and 142 grain ULD in my 25/06 AI, which has a Shilen 24 inch 1 in 10 twist barrel.

At my request, I also received four sample 156 ULD bullets to ogle over, as I realised that they would not stabilise in my barrel. Testing by others has shown that a 1 in 7.5 or 1 in 8 twist would be needed to stabilise this bullet.

The 130 grain Bonded Core Flat Base Hollow Poinnt (BC .520) measured 1.224 inches, the 142 grain ULD (BC .790) measured 1.365 inches, and the 156 ULD (BC .810) measured 1.555 inches.

It is important to note that the BC values attributed to Richard Graves Wildcat bullets are estimates by his bullet die makers and not as a result of his testing.

Kirby Allen a Montana gunsmith has tested the all the above mentioned bullets out to at least 500 yards and believes the BC values are realistic.

Testing in my 25/06 AI, found that 130 grain bullet achieved 3,150 fps, and gave excellent accuracy with many groups being sub 0.5 moa, with the best 3 shot group measuring .185 (65.0 grains H870).

The 142 grain ULD (which looks like a javelin) achieved 3,050 fps, but did not stabilise and keyholed into the 100 yard target.

If you are looking for high BC bullets for your 25/06, then follow IdahoVandal's suggestion and contact Richard Graves, who is the proprietor of Wildcat Bullets. Good luck, Brian.

quote:

.820? that's freaking rediculous

Rediculous isn't the word I'd use. The number may be high, it may not even be precisely accurate, but I've no doubt the actual BC is higher than anything else available. BrianW reports the number as .810 in any case. Not all that hard to swallow when the weight is listed as 156 gr.(BC being proportional to SD for a given form), and one considers the .50 BMG AMAX by Hornady is listed at 1.05 BC. It helps if you have a twist that will stabilize them however.

Brian W -

Thanks VERY much for your post.

In 1959, when I built my first .25-06, I bought several thousand bulk "Hi-Precision" brand 130 gr. bullets. Their production facility was located in Iowa City, Iowa. They came packaged in cloth bags much like saw chain bags, with either 250 or 500 bullets to the bag.

(Hi-Precision was the company that produced many of the Herter's bullets, too.)

Experimenting showed the 130 grainers to be the most accurate bullet in that heavy contour 1-in-10" twist Douglas "premium" barrel.

I have been looking for more 130 grain .25 bullets ever since, with no success. Thanks VERY much for the tip.

Alberta Canuck, It was interesting to hear that you also had good success with the 130 grain bullet in your 25/06 some 45 years ago. It is hard to understand why the major bullet manufacturers have opted to go no higher than 120 grains in 257 cal, when there have been 140 - 160 grain bullets available in 264 for a long time.

Several hours ago, I spoke to Richard Graves of Wildcat Bullets on numerous bullet topics, including the 130 grain bullets.

I wanted to clarify which jacket he used for my 130 grain bonded core bullets, as I was aware that he originally made up a prototype on a different jacket.

Richard mentioned that my bullets were made with a Corbin tapered jacket, and to directly quote from one of his previous emails " This new jacket is very very good. Been out for about 8 months,and i have found it to be wonderful,plus it's one of the few jackets available that is tapered,.022 at the mouth,.035 in the shank section,penetrates like heck and shoots like a match bullet."

This 130 grain bullet with the tapered Corbin jacket gave excellent accuracy at velocities ranging from 2850 through to 3150 fps in my 25/06 AI. I estimate that a standard 25/06 with 24 inch barrel, should obtain around 2900 fps with this bullet.

The Wildcat Bullets price list is shown on http://www.wildcatbullets.com, and lists a 130 grain bonded core bullet made on a Hairfield .030 jacket. However, he mentioned today that he is still waiting on for a large number of Hairfield jackets to arrive, so he probably doesn't have that bullet in stock.

Also, I asked which was the heaviest weight that he thought a 1 in 10 twist barrel could stabilise when using a 25 cal ULD style bullet.

Richard believes that a 125 grain ULD was probably the limit, but mentioned to me again that a client from Denmark previously reported terrific accuracy with the 142 grain ULD in his 25/06, and recently purchased another 500 of this bullet weight. Richard and I believe that this client must have a 1 in 9 twist barrel, as my measured 1 in 10 twist barrel firing the same bullet at some 200 fps faster from my 25/06 AI, did not come close to stabilising the bullet.

Richard Graves is easy to deal with, and from my experience will certainly try to design and configure a bullet that should suit your circumstances. Good luck, Brian.