load suggestions .25-06

[vhunter]

hi all,

I'm from the rep. of Ireland, over here re-loading is illegal, in the uk and northern Ireland however it is not. I am in contact with a company in the north who supply handloaded target and hunting ammo, they use nosler and sierra bullets.
I decided to go for a sierra 70gr blitzkings as a dedicated foxing round.

Here's my question, rather than just order 3 or 4hundred rounds off him only to find that they don't group well and leaves me with a hole in my pocket I was thinking I should order a few different powder loads say 20 rounds of 5 or 6 different loads test them, see which shoots best and then put in a large order for that load. What gr. weight of powder should I ask for? Should I work up the different loads by .5 of a grain or a grain at a time.

I'm very green when it comes to this subject so please keep that in mind if the any of the above doesn't make any sense, its gonna cost me a bit getting the right load so I want to get the order right the first time, thanks.

 

[Huckleberry75]

Re: load suggestions .25-06

Wow, that is a P.I.T.A. (pain in the a$$). We would need to know what powder options that you have, to go along with the Nosler/Sierra bullets. Without having the ability to roll your own, you will really just have to see what they load and try them out. I have had excellent luck with 85gn Nosler BT's using 51.0gns of H414. This may not work in your rifle, but my browning a-bolt seems to like it pretty well.

What rifle are you shooting? Twist rate? Barrel Length? This information might help some of the others with your problem.

 

[vhunter]

Re: load suggestions .25-06

thanks huckleberry every little bit helps, I'll try and find out what powder os powders he's using.

the rifle is a tikka t3 lite, 1in 10 twist, I should have known better when buying the rifle, I was wasn't that well informed on long action calibers and I bought one with a 20inch barrel

l although it will have a moderator on it so that should calm the bang and recoil a fair bit.

 

[rg1]

Re: load suggestions .25-06

Your plans to buy a sample of different weight or brands sounds like the best route to take. 25-06 rifles tend to like either light for caliber bullets or the heavier ones. Some shoot light weight bullets fine but some rifles prefer the heavier bullets for best accuracy. I'd try the 70 grainers and also pick a 87-90 grain bullet and finally Nosler's 100 grain BT ballistic tip. Nosler's 100gr. ballistic tip is one of the finest 25-06 bullets and the most common one that 25-06 owners say produces top accuracy in their rifle. If you try to pick very many bullets and then try different load charges you're going to end up with too many rounds to buy. I'd try maybe 3 different bullets at standard loads to see which bullet shoots best, then later you could order some different powder charges for the bullet your rifle likes best. I've read that the 85 Nosler BT shoots well also. My rifle likes a Hornady 87gr. SP bullet for varmints. The bullet in your case will be the biggest influence on accuracy. A shame that you can't do the loading yourself.