About a year ago I bought an AR15 barrel from AR member "Bill/Oregon" chambered in 25/45 Sharps or 25x45, simply the .223 or 5.56x45 necked up to .257". Medium contour and 18" length.
Last summer I put it together and started shooting it with 75 grain, 85 grain and 100 grain bullets. Most of my testing started with TAC powder and I found that max doses of TAC and the 75 grain bullets were Tack drivers grouping just over .5" for 5 shots at 100 yards and 2800fps.
I continued to work with it in hopes of taking a few deer this fall and wanted to use the Sierra 90 Hollow Point BT Gameking.
I found that the 90 grain Sierra performed well with CFE223 powder and pushed to nearly 2700 fps (2690, 30 shot average) shot several groups at .5" for 5 shots at 100 yards with a 3-9 scope.
I took the rifle to Oklahoma and shot 2 does with it this fall. One a 168 yard shot, doe was on the move and broad side, bullet entered and exited through the ribs just north of the diaphram. She continued her run for 30 yards them collapsed.
Second doe was 290 yards, standing still and taken broadside through the heart, bullet exited and the deer bucked at the shot and walked 30' in a triangle pattern then was down.
That shot was interesting as I could not see her heart when I shot only the top 6-8" of her back a small rise between me and her obscured the target. I watched her for 20 minutes and decided to hold right where the line of sight top of the hill was knowing my bullet would clear that and that the bullet would drop 6". Makes me smile when a plan and an accurate rifle come together !
Overall I'm very pleased with the 25x45 and will continue to work with this rifle, it doesn't have an impressive lazer beam trajectory but a .257" 90 grain bullet at 2700 fps is no slouch on deer.
All of my work with this rifle has been with 75, 87, 90 and 100 grain bullets and CFE223 and TAC powder.
100 grain bullets are the least impressive for accuracy in my rifle.
Hope you all enjoyed your Fall hunts.

I wonder how the 100 grain TTSX would work if you took the tips out to work in the 2.26 OAL.
Will you be trying some bullets loaded backwards on hogs?

quote:

Originally posted by boom stick:
Will you be trying some bullets loaded backwards on hogs?

Not sure why I would do that?
I'm really happy with how they shoot pointed end first....

Have you tried Hornady's 117 gr Round Nose. It won't shoot as flat or go as fast but should work well. It was designed for the old 25-35.
The article I read about this cartridge says it fits and shoots fine.
Some of the longer more pointy bullets may require the bullet seated back in the case enough to work through the magazine and action the ogive of the bullet will be inside the case mouth.
Leo

Snellstrom, great to hear you put that Columbia River Arms barrel to work!

Thanks Bill !
Leo I'm not going to mess with the 100 grain or heavier bullets. For me the 90 grain Sierra's are a great combination of enough weight and enough speed to satisfy my interests.
The 75 grain seem to be great bullets for game or varmints smaller than deer.

To get them to act more like a solid and to possible be of heavier weight.

quote:

Originally posted by Snellstrom:

quote:

Originally posted by boom stick:
Will you be trying some bullets loaded backwards on hogs?

Not sure why I would do that?
I'm really happy with how they shoot pointed end first....

Need to get my 277 Wolverine tuned up and use it next year.

quote:

Originally posted by graybird:
Need to get my 277 Wolverine tuned up and use it next year.

We will get started on that this winter !

A fun thought...
using the same shoulder position of the 25-45 but using the larger 22 Nosler case. a roughly 20% increase in case capacity over the 25-45 translating to a gain of 150-200 fps in performance. let’s call it the 257 Bobcat. (A nod to the 257 Roberts lol)

quote:

A fun thought...
using the same shoulder position of the 25-45 but using the larger 22 Nosler case. a roughly 20% increase in case capacity over the 25-45 translating to a gain of 150-200 fps in performance. let’s call it the 257 Bobcat. (A nod to the 257 Roberts lol)

You are onto something !
I don't know anything about the 22 Nosler or if it cycles in an AR15 and their magazines but 25 Nosler aka Bobcat sounds cool.
Lately I've been doing all of my oddball testing with AR's because I can put the project together at home without involving a gunsmith and the added expense and wait time.

https://www.midwayusa.com/product/2228516192/

These mags should work for the 257 Bobcat

The 22 Nosler was designed for the ar15 and thus will cycle if kept within the same 2.26” OAL. You would use the same bolt but a different mag. I don’t have a cartridge creator program but if someone could help with the shoulder angle and position issue. I am wondering if the 23 degree shoulder angle makes sense or maybe a compromise for ease of fire forming cases from 22 Nosler brass. A big plus is to rechamber existing 25-45 barrels. In summary, the ethos would be for ease of conversation and minimal cost for a good return on investment in performance over a 223 or 25-45 Sharps. A 257-22 Nosler may be the easiest route but the devil is in the details.

Bobcat!

That Bobcat would be a nice AR-friendly younger brother to Francis Sell's dear old .25-35 Tomcat for lever guns.

It is a winning combo of bullet and velocity like that Tomcat. The Bobcat performance would be similar to other beloved cartridges in an AR15. I think the beauty would be a significant performance bump over your 223 with minimal investment with a barrel and mag swap plus reloading stuff.


I was thinking about a shoulder angle and position going from the shoulder of the 22 Nosler to the neck junction of the 25-45 if that makes the most sense. If a 25-45 barrel could be rechambered and fireformed from 22 Nosler cases, that would be “tits” as the non neutered males say.

I was thinking that this cart would be useful for small game, predators, hogs and deer. The performance on hogs and deer would have the best results over a normal 223 so if you were unhappy with the thump you were getting and like to be different... this might be for you.

I have had simulair results with the 6x45 over the years, mine is a Sako L-461, I shoot the 75 gr. GS Customs and lately the Barnes X bullet under a load of H335 or 322...Ive shot some big MUle deer and pronghorns with it back in the day, it was my first wildcat and the only one that Ive stuck with...I considered the 25/45 at the time, but I had,have, a 25-35 and a couple of 250-3000s so went with the 6x45...