Just got a 25 caliber barrel blank, heavy varmint factory contour...

not sure what to chamber it in, as the bore I have the least experience with is the 25 bore...

thoughts are rotating around

1. 250 Savage
2. 257 Roberts
3. 25/06...

This is going to be used as a varmint rig.. with bullets centered around the 75 and 87 grain V Maxes and the 85 grain ballistic tips...

any input from experienced users would be deeply appreciated...

my thoughts are the 250 Savage will be efficient, but the 257 will provide more ooomph, but the 25/06 will be overbore....

With varmint-weight bullets, you won't really get much more speed out of the larger cases than with the 250 Savage. OK, I admit it, I have just developed a craving to try something a bit different, so my advice is based on the fact that my Roberts is accurate and I have tried many bullet/powder/primer combos and it's no fun in the load development category any more.
The 250 Savage will use quite a bit less powder, which is something to think about these days. If the 250 turns out to not be for you, boring it out to a larger chamber seems a fairly easy operation.
I vote for the .250-3000 Savage.

.25 Soupers are fun if you don't mind wildcatting

I have all three and all are Savage/Stevens. For a dedicated varmint rig The Roberts with 75 V-Max and Varget would be "lights out". On the other hand, if you would consider an "improved" the 250/3000AI with the same bullet and RL15 is devastating out to 350 to 400yds.
GOOD LUCK and GOOD SHOOTING!!!

250 Savage AI. According to P.O., the best of his stable of improved cartridges. I've always wanted one myself.

I think it depends what action you are going to use. For a short action, I'd choose the 250 Savage. If it is a long action, I would use the 257 Roberts.

Another vote for .250 Ackley. What is the twist rat Seafire?

Bill:

Twist is the standard one in 10....

I hadn't thought of the 250 AI, but that does have a lot of appeal, as does the 25 Souper...

my Savage action is a single shot, and does have the length to comfortably swallow a 25/06 cartridge with a varmint bullet on it..

I'll admit, in a hunting field rifle, I'd go with a long action for a Roberts, but this one would comfortably work for the Roberts...

I built .257 AI's for my boys --accurate and deadly.

as much as I love the 257 Roberts, the Savage bolt is a pretty long action, and the 25/06 would be a better fit, IMO

just for informational purposes only:

this Savage is a 12 Short Action.... not a long action...

Another vote for the 25 Souper.

quote:

Originally posted by seafire2:
just for informational purposes only:

this Savage is a 12 Short Action.... not a long action...

then I assume that a 25/06 would not even fit...correct?

250 Savage AI or 257 Roberts?

Why not get the best of both worlds and chamber it in 257 Roberts AI?

I have a 250 savage and a 257 Roberts m700 classic. The 250 loves 85 nosler bal. tips, the 257 loves 85 amaxes. There is little difference in the recoil so I'd probably go with the roberts, just be sure the throat is short enough for you to chamber the in your action. The 250AI is a neat round it is just the same as a 257 so why go through effort to make cases.

257 AI

Rich
Buff Killer

seafire,
I own two .257AI's and love them both. But for a strictly varmint gun, i'd opt for the .250AI. As was mentioned earler, less powder.
This is the cartridge that Sierra uses for quality control. And will go 3,400 with an 87 or 90gr. bullet(Sierra's data) on 41.9grs of RL 15 or a 75gr bullet is listed at 3,600 with a charge of 43.2 grs. of RL 15 and both are shown as their accuracy load. Their test rifle, also a Savage has a 1 in 10 twist.

Stepchild

The Roberts will feed the Bull Dog with the .250-3K not far behind. Anything larger or IMP is just garnish. roger

roberts improved.....
great for the little critters and will handle deer-sized critters comfortably also. 10 inch twist will handle the 100/117 gr. as well.

25-06 is so BLASE'

257 Roberts is something to consider, BUT

257 Ackley . . . we are getting in the zone . . .

250-3000 now that is a Savage that will hunt!