Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire A Family of Cartridges

Ken, why don't we whip some up when I come to visit next month? I need to return a certain piece of reloading kit that was in that Kennedy box that I did NOT intend to bring home, and it should work just fine for putting some loads together.

Ed

Just a thought of course. But how hard would it be to rechamber a 25-06 to .250 Howell? How much performance would one gain?
Same question with 243 to .240 Howell?
Just curious

Kique

Rechambering would be a simple job with a finish reamer and a head-space gauge � but the twist might not be right for the Howell cartridge's best bullets.

With appropriate twists, the gains in performance should be substantial � well worth the trouble and expense � as the result of (a) substantially more powder and (b) substantially better bullets. (And probably with slower powders for a more gradual increase in propulsion.)

Substantially improving a cartridge involves more than just dimensions.

On that note what twist did you have in mind with the .220 Howell?
I would think that with the design centered on the the 75gr Amax it would be 1-8" but it could go 1-7" to use some of other heavier bullets around now too.
What are your thought Ken?

The Greenhill formula calls for an eight-inch twist with the 75-grain A-Max, but Greg Richards assured me that a nine-inch twist would be better � so I went with a nine-inch twist in my last .220 Howell. Don't remember what I had in the first two � probably eight-inch.

Remember, a barely stabilized bullet goes farther faster than an over-stabilized bullet.

I bet that berger 115 vld with the high bc would be magic in that round. Somewhere between 06 and roy correct?

1-8" sounds like the ticket then.

Estimated gross case capacities �
.25-06 � 66 grains of water, gross
.250 Howell � 72 grains of water, gross � six grains more than .25-06, twelve grains less than Weatherby
.257 Weatherby Magnum � 84 grains of water, gross

Less kick too! I want one. Time to research and see what i can sell. Then gotta find brass. I didnt see any on the website you posted.

You'll hafta make your own � neck-down and fire-form .270 Winchester brass with pistol powder and an inert filler, and settle for the slightly shorter neck.

Kique that is another reason I am leaning heavy towards the .220 Howell
Being a case of 2.400" I can simply size .25-05 preferably or even .270 to get brass.

Best use for .270 brass I can think of!

Ed

ONLY use for .270 brass I will ever have

Tom, neither .25-06 nor .270 Winchester brass will form into .220 Howell brass in one pass. You'll hafta massage the shoulder back first, with
� an 8mm Mauser sizer die first, to begin
then
� a 7mm Mauser die backed-off (I forget how much � about a tenth of an inch, IIRC)
then
� form finally in .220 Howell sizer
and
� trim to length

Probably hafta ream the inside of the neck, too.

Got plenty of Imperial sizing-die wax? See Redding � http://www.redding-reloading.com/online-catalog/79-imperial-lubricants

It's the best that there is.

A little dab'll do ya.

Well, .270 brass turns into excellent cases for my 6.5:06 in one step with no fuss - and there is A LOT of giveway .270 brass around. Ever try STP for case lube?

Thanks for the tips Ken, I always appreciate your help and wisdom.
I knew it would need a bit of tinkering to get brass formed since the shoulder is further back than either the .25-06 or the .270
I figure with mild pressures and neck sizing 200 cases would last quite a while. What I really like though is that being under the length of the .30-06 Vs. slightly over as in the bigger of the Howell family of rounds I wouldn't be reliant on a single source of brass.
I don't envision it being a rifle that would see a lot of rounds at a single sitting from me either.

I have two unopened cans of STP in my garage as we speak.

I'm partial to Imperial Sizing Die wax, so if someone at the Quemado Lake gathering would like it, I will toss it into the pile.

Ed

Anyone who likes something else better than Imperial has probably never tried it. It's like what the senior Crossman wrote about departing from the Mauser action � it's like leaving the North Pole � the only way to go is south.

My first lube in 1952 was the pesky, sticky RCBS goo (STP?). Later, Fred Huntington sent me some anhydrous lanolin (lots better). Since then, I've used just about all of 'em � a lot more of 'em than I can remmber � Hodgdon's red stuff, several sprays (anhydrous lanolin in some rapidly evaporating carrier or other), et alii.

Bob LeClear retired 'em all with his Imperial sizing-die wax. It's the "North Pole" or "North Star" of case lubes.

Amen to that!

I see where Redding is advertising the Imperial Sizing Die Wax in its' original formula, including the green tint.

I also use the Imperial Dry Neck Lube. Messy if you spill it, but good stuff!

Ed

Using a fired, unsized case with a sharp mouth as a cutter, I used to cut "cookies" of thick felt, punch a hole in the center, and put 'em on the decapping punch, just above the threaded ferrule that holds the decapping pin. A dab of Imperial sizing-die wax would lube a passel of case necks before that felt washer would need a fresh dab.