Hi there,

My father is the reloading guru of the family, and we have been trying to get a load that my #1 Stainless 25.06 likes, but aren't having a lot of fun.

I found one recipe for SP 100 Grain Hornady using win 748 at 53.5 grains, but the online manual was quite vague, and I didn't get a lot of information on it.

The last attempt was using Barnes triple x moly coated BT's, and the rifle did not like it at all (117 grn)

So here we are, and we aren't sure where to start developing for this. Since he isn't very internet savvy, and I am not very reloading savvy, he asked me to look around and possibly ask for a hand on a starter recipe for this rifle.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Loadtech shows 51.3gr of 748 as max at 63000.

First welcome to the forums.

I personaly feel W748 is too fast a powder for the 25-06. I`d switch to something in the burn range of H4831/H4350 or R19/R22 and see what happens. There is a lot of data out there for these powders so I`ll let you pick the load you want to go with, just remember to start low and work up.
My 25-06 seems to do best with the lighter bullets. I`d stay with the 100 gr to to start if you`re hunting for best accuracy. Don`t forget to play with the OAL before giving up on a bullet & powder combo. Sometimes a little tweeking makes a world of differance.
The 100 will do fine on deer sized game although you you may want to go up if you hunt the larger northern / Canadian deer.

Thanks Ol Joe, I think you have made it easier to leave the 748 for the 223 ammo.

I'll pick up something different, and we will see what happens!

I am hoping you are right about the bullet weight. I haven't had much luck so far on the 115 - 120 grn factory stuff, and this is the first batch of 100 grn bullets we will try to load for.

Load just one round of 748 in the 25-06 and fire it at dusk.
You will get a huge fireball and enough concussion to nearly blow your shirt off. This powder is a poor match for the 25-06.

Then try 4350 for 100 grain bullets and 4831 or 7828 or one of the other similar extruded powders for the heavier bullets.

I just started loading for the 25-06 and the 748 was a big waste of time for me. But reloader 25 with 100gr nosler bt's gave me 1'' 5 shot groups at 100 yards I used the max load of 59gr. I also used 85gr nosler bt's and reloader 19 at 60gr this is max load and it gave me 75 at 100 yards I hope this helps.

The powders are the easy part. The 4350s and the 4831s are the goto powders.

Bullets are trickier. I had one rifle that thought that 115 grain Nosler partitions were match grade, but refused to group with any of the other bullets in that weight range. It also shot any of the 75s very well.

The first thing I try these days is to prep a batch of cases with 47.5 grains of IMR 4350, and try ten shots with every 115-120 grain bullet I have on hand. Generally find something that works.

Zacho
If your father is the reloading guru he like the rest of us old loaders must have a half dozen load manuals to refer to. There should be a good number of loads listed with some slower powders. The 25-06 is somewhat overbore, so it should like slower powders.
Lyle

W-748 is nor really a suitable powder for that caliber and weight.

Try:
Retumbo From 56.0 grains to 60.5 grains
Winchester WLR Primer

I tried several powder/bullet combos, and had best luck with IMR 4350 but I was not impressed. I could group around 1 to 1-1/2" at 100 yards (sorry I'm not into this MOA stuff). I've never claimed to be much of a rifle shooter, but I was not happy with those results. Finally I tried RE-22 and the groups shrunk quite happily. Now, on MY good days, they are easily under 1" groups. This is with 115 gr NBT's and 120 gr partitions. For what it's worth, my powder charge of RE-22 is 51 grains with the 115's and 49.5 with the partitions. I have no idea what they chronograph, but I don't care. Winchester primers seem to be better for some reason. I think I learned that from ricciardelli's web page. I do all of my shooting in Wyoming, where it's 0 one day and 100 degrees the next, so whatever people say about RE-22 being temp sensitive is BS. That's what works for me, anyway.

Dad, like many of us, could use a few extra dollars to buy more up to date manuals for reloading.

He berates me some, for buying a 25.06 in the first place. I beleive that his words were something like," You just had to go buy a rifle that I have no experience with, and have no information on, it couldn't be a 308, or a 30.06, so we will just have to see."

I spose I deserved that haha.

Anyhoo, dad really is a great reloader for the firearms he owns. the typical rounds, .357 44 mag 308, 06', etc. This is the first rifle in the family that is a little different than what we are used to.

I had a hard time picking out my first hunting rifle. I managed to miss all teh oportunities that I had growing up to take hunter education, and thus, at 29, I took the class along with 16 9 year olds heh. But that is another story.

I liked the versatility that this particular round offered as far as a coyote chaser, and Mulie round. I have been a shooter, like my father all my life, and though he never hunted as I was growing up, we went shooting on many occasions. He has had enough of seeing blood an guts as he puts it after going to war for his country, and has lost the drive for it.

I happened to have the 748 from working loads for my Savage 12bvss, which we haven't had the time or money to work on either as far as load developement goes, mainly because that particular rifle shoot better than 1/2" groups, even in my hands, and teh 1/2" groups it is shooting now at 100 yards is good enough until I can afford a proper varminting scope for it.

It may have sounded perhaps that we are a little off the cuff due to my post, and though I would love to know more about the load developement that has been done to the rounds he has tried so far, it's something that my father enjoys, has taught me, but I leave him to it. It is a nice place that be can go and do his thing, away from the troubles that we all have, and just be with his rifles.

The number 1 also sucked me in, with the factory ammo, and some shimming I resolved the typical Ruger issues, but I am not satisfied with spending 20 dollars a box for factory ammo that it shoots well, but I know we can do better than.


Thank you for your time and responses to this thread, and perhaps tomorrow, (gun show at the Student Union Building, Yeehaw!!!) I can do him and myself a favor and buy a few new manuals for him.

Thanks again, Zach

Here is an inexpensive way to get the info you want. It gives info from moat of the bullet and powder companies, and is inexpensive

Loadbooks USA "25-06 Remington" Reloading Guide
Product #: 751600
Status: Available
Our Price: $5.99 Sale!
Compare at: $6.89 You save $0.90!

this is from Midway USA

Lyle

Accurate Arms MagPro works well in the 25-06. It is a slow burner along with IMR7828 and RL22. My Colt\Sauer rifle doesn't much care for the heavyweight bullets either. But it was deadly out to 300+ yards on these Namibian Springboks using Barnes 85 grain X bullets.