Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Custom Rifles & Wildcats .257 WSM

This is an old thread but has some good info in it that pops up on .257 wildcat searches. I've been shooting 25-06 AI and Rem for over 50 years and have found it to be one of the most effective for hunting in areas with some open space and some range. Here are thoughts that occurred to me in this thread:

The 25-06 AI is noticeably faster than the standard Rem version. I've gotten around 100-200 fps additional velocity out of it depending on bullet/powder but most importantly, with a 26" barrel, it exhibits "scary" hydro-static shock symptoms similar to the .257 Weatherby in hunting applications. It travels at about the same velocity across the board as well. I have found it to be more accurate than the .257 Wby and find it highly effective for 1000 yard prairie dog shooting. I notice which 25-06 cartridge I am shooting immediately because the speed difference is quite noticeable, believe it or not.

The 25-06 AI holds four rounds in the mag and with one in the chamber, that's five. I've had to use them all a few times and was happy to have them.I shoot 100g bullets for most deer situations at 3350 fps in Rem and 3550 in AI. I personally prefer not to be limited to three shots as is required with the short mags.This cartridge feeds slick at all times and of course, cases, box magazines, receiver rails and many other components are well optimized and readily available for this 100+ year old cartridge.Case life is around 20 reloadings as long as you anneal periodically. Load data is all over and using IMR 4831, you will develop your 1000 yard precision load in about 20 rounds.

All the short mags ( 25 WSM, .25 PRC (RCM), etc.) provide velocities similar to or even a bit higher than the 25-06 AI. They all require a more expensive:
1. Magnum receiver, bolt face, (wide rails on receiver),
2. Custom chamber reamer,
3. Custom reloading dies,
4. Cases,
5. Magazine boxes.

Even in 2018, little is known about these cartridges in .25 caliber and you are likely to burn a quarter of the barrel life in developing a good load. I would definitely add the cost of the $252 Quick Load simulator to analyze optimum barrel time and propellants before burning barrels.

These cartridges all will be slightly more efficient than the longer, thinner 25-06s (e.g. 10% less powder, 10% less recoil) but these attributes become less important when any of these, including the '06's, are capable of putting all shots through one hole at 100 yards or hitting an apple at 1000 yards. The short mags with long VLD bullets will never feed as well as the '06 but with effort, you should be able to get them to work well enough to support hunting applications.

Since this update is in 2018, we now have a 128g and 131g high B.C. .25 caliber bullets and with an 8 twist barrel, they fly supersonic a mile and get to 1000 yards as fast as any other other cartridge in the world.

I'm now making a 25-06 AI with an 8 twist light varmint contour barrel 30" long. I'll shoot 87g-131g bullets (I love the 75g bulelts but am afraid this slow twist will fragment them (I will see). The smaller bullets at 3800 fps making running coyotes highly predictable and the big ones at 3200 fps making 500 yard elk highly predictable. I'll use enough barrel to safely move the chamber ahead once after the first throat is burned. All these cartridges burn throats (just like any over-bore magnum) but will last thousands of rounds for mid-range hunting applications since they shoot around .5" groups even with burned throats.

One of my 25-06s is a Weatherby Mark V Featherweight with 24" fluted barrel. It weighs 5.5 pounds. It is a pleasure to haul up and down the Rockies but its light barrel is too light and affects accuracy such that shots beyond 300 yards are really not tenable, even with epoxied forend. I'd recommend light weight aficionados use a #2 fluted barrel contour as a minimum, even if it does cost you a few ounces. Because of the tremendous long range precision capabilities of all these .25 caliber cartridges, you might want to go for even a little heavier barrel. It's a "carry" vs "shoot" trade off. I'm 70 and can still carry a little heavier rifle and I place a high value on being able to hit what I want, regardless of range.

I use the Game King bullets for ranges from 400-600 yards on deer and antelope. They do mushroom faster than most hunting bullets at magnum .25 caliber speeds but they are ideal for the slower velocities encountered at longer range. I still get about 4 feet of deer penetration from them at 500 yards but they seem to flatten game at long range. The solid mono-metal bullets do not expand at the slower long range speeds and I only use them for hunting inside of 250 yards. So far, I have found no need for them because, traditional bullets flatten game in their tracks at this speed and normally penetrate completely through anything. My #1 hunting bullet is the lead tipped 100g Hornady Interlock. I use Berger 115g bullets for 1000 yard p-dogs but have never shot a deer or antelope with them. Since it is 2018, we now have the high B.C. Hornady ELD bullets that work great at short and long range, even when they are taking game at 800 yards.

I see little difference in precision between the long action and short action receivers although I personally notice a shorter bolt stroke (also a 60 degree bolt stroke) when I have to unload a magazine fast.