Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Dual purpose .25 Caliber Bullet Suggestions

I know that this post probably should be in the reloading forum but I thought I might get a broader viewing here.
I am looking for suggestions on a good dual purpose “100 grain” .25 caliber bullet that will be leaving the barrel at about 2800 FPS. plus.

I intend to use these bullets on coyotes primarily and also deer secondarily. They will be fired in a 250 Savage chambered bolt rifle.
I have been using 87gr. Sierras for ‘yotes and loaded up 100gr. Sierra GK intended for deer but so far have not killed anything with those. The problem is the 100 grainers shoot to a different POI.......AND I don’t trust the GameKings to work reliably in that small of diameter. (Past experiences)

I have heard over the past several years that Nosler has beefed up their Ballistic Tips so I was thinking about trying those in 100 grains.
The Accubond would be my second/maybe first choice but they only come in 110 grains for .25 cal. My velocity would fall a bit.
I am trying to stay with something that is as “arrow-dynamic” as I can. (Higher BC)
Any good suggestions????

Both the Speer 87gr Hot Cor and the Sierra 90gr GKHP have good reps in the 250 Savage, for what you are after. They are both inexpensive enough to get a box of each and see which one your rifle prefers. Have a ball Pard!

The Ballistic Tip would be great!

I would recommend using the bullet for the largest game and shoot the smaller game with it too.
That's important if you are shooting fur bearers and want to sell the pelts because the typical "varmint" bullet is supposed to blow up and rip huge holes, and that kills varmints extremely well, but is just the opposite of what you want to make money.

So if you want a dual purpose bullet I might recommend a Barnes X. This will go through your deer and leave a good wound channel but also will not blow the furs apart.

If you have no intention of skinning and selling the fur, the above mentioned Accu-Bonds, Ballistic Tip Hunting and Gmae King HP will all do just fine even if they blow a larger exit then the Barnes will. You would not care.

85gr Ballistic Tip. I shoot them at 3800+ out of a 257Wby and they still don’t blow up. Probably be perfect out of a 250.

I settled on the 100gr Ballistic tip for an all purpose bullet back when I was shooting my 2506. Best accuracy in that rifle, solid performance on North Dakota whitetails. Were I to go back to that caliber, I'd probably look no further. Hard to look elsewhere, in my case.....

Kaiser Norton

Probably the quickest kill that I've made on an elk was on my second best 6x6 bull. Broadside shot at about 75 yards, I put a 117 grain Sierra GameKing from my .257 Ackley just behind the bulls shoulder and he simply collapsed on the spot, dead. Other of my past experiences with those 117 grain GameKing bullets include one shot kills on: 3 Bighorn rams, a Dall ram, a Mountain Caribou, and dozens of mule and whitetail deer and pronghorn antelope.

In the 40 or so years that this .257 Ackley has been my primary deer, antelope, and sheep rifle. I've used the 117 grain GameKing, 115 grain Ballistic Tips, and 120 grain Hornady Hollow Point bullets, and I've probably had more one shot kills with this rifle and those bullets than any of my other rifles.

One of the best shots that I've made with any rifle was one year when I was antelope hunting in eastern Montana. I was heading back to my truck, and crossing a Prairie Dog town, I saw three PDs lined up on a mound about 125 yards away. I laid down prone, and shot all three with one 120 grain Hornady HP. The first two pretty much vaporized, and the third was cut in half. Later that day another 120 HP dropped an antelope buck in his tracks.

I agree with the 100gr Ballistic Tip.
Thanks! Good luck and have fun! Tom

I too found the Sierra 117 SBT to be on the tough side in a 25-06, on mule deer. I used the 120 Hornady HP in a 257 Ackley myself, in the early 80's on crows, etc. I sold it to a friend who piled up those East TX whitetail with it and that bullet! But in the 250 Savage, and from a short barrel, I'd still suggest you stick with 80-90gr. I knew and older gent who used his Mod 99 250 Savage and the 87gr on elk/mule deer over in Star Valley, WY.

Yeah 100 gr NBT for sure.

The 100 grain Nosler BT will work great for the purpose.

I liked the 100 grain Hornady and used it a loot until they quit making them. In my opinion a BIG brainfart move by Hornady.

Thanks for the suggestions guys!

Another one to give a look would be the Swift Scirocco 100 gr. .429 bc

The 100 Hornady was my longtime answer to this question in my Ruger 250 Savage and 257 Roberts. I've worked up loads with the 100 Ballistic Tip but haven't used it yet on game. I did try the 100 Speer Hot Core spitzer this year on a large buck out of the 250 with great results.
The 87 Hot Core has been very good out of my old slow twist M99 Savage for deer and coyote.

In a rifle with a ROT slower than 1-10", I'd go with the 87 grain Speer HotCore.

In a rifle with a 1-10" ROT I'd go with a 100 grain BT.

I have 2 bad experiences shooting deer with the 90 grain Sierra HPBT, disintegration on contact resulting in insufficient penetration, so I quit using them after using them successfully for over a decade.

This sounds like good advice.

As for NBT's on fur, I haven't found them to be a very friendly to fur.

I knew and older gent who used his Mod 99 250 Savage and the 87gr on elk/mule deer over in Star Valley, WY.[/quote]

I had an older Sierra reloading manual that showed a mushroomed 87 grain bullet taken from an 1970s “monster” muledeer taken in Colorado.
I have never used the 87 grain Sierras on anything larger than south Texas hogs and coyotes. They work great on coyotes. The hogs that I shot were 200 yards or so. They ran into the brush and died but, just not as soon as I would have preferred.
I really would prefer a 100 grain bullet for deer.

Another vote for 100 gr if deer are on the menu (except monos).

The 100 gr Hornady is/was a great bullet if you can fine some.

I have had that same experience with

This is what I was referring to in my original post. I have had more than one bad experience with Sierra GK .277 bullets on deer.
Always a dead deer but the bullet impact area looked like a grenade went off.
It always made me wonder “what if”................

100 interlock or ballistic tip