• Hey All! Lately there has been more and more scammers on the forum board. They register and replies to members requests for guns and/or parts or other things. The reply contains a gmail or hotmail address or similar ”anonymous” email addresses which they want you to reply to. DO NOT ANSWER ANY STRANGE MESSAGES! They often state something like this: ”Hello! Saw your post about purchasing a stock for a Safari. KnuckleheadBob has one. Email him at: [email protected]” If you receive any strange messages: Check the status of whoever message you. If they have no posts and signed up the same day or very recently, stay away. Same goes for other members they might refer to. Check them too and if they are long standing members, PM them and ask if the message is legit. Most likely it’s not. Then use the report function in each message or post so I can kick them out! Beware of anything that might seem fishy! And again, for all of you who registered your personal name as username, please contact me so I can change it to a more anonymous username. You’d be surprised of how much one can find out about a person from just a username on a forum such ad our! All the best! And be safe! Jim

25-06 Recipes?

Sako Collectors Club Discussion Forum

bloorooster

The Old Hippie
Looking for anyone who would like to offer advice. I’ll be interested in cocktails for 100g-120g
Pills. Does anyone use 7828 SCC? Looking for a good whitetail hunting load.

Hippie
 
Thanks Uncle Kax , I’ve used their website for years, along with Nosler and Sierra manuals.
Was more in hopes to find info or discussion from others regarding what worked well for them.
Thanks for at least chiming in with some help.

The old Hippie
 
What worked well in someone else's rifle has no relation to how it will work in your rifle. I think you will find most here reluctant to give load recommendations for that reason, as well as from a safety standpoint. Load data given by the bullet & powder companies has been through extensive testing & the powders listed are your best choices. My experience has been that usually powders that fill the case around 90% or better work better than powders that leave more airspace or need compression. It's up to you to find what works best in YOUR rifle. I generally start with bullet choices best suited to the task & go through the trials of using different powders. I usually never get the best accuracy from max loads. Heavy for caliber bullets at moderate velocities usually give the best terminal performance for me. Enjoy the experiment, as there are no short cuts.
 
What worked well in someone else's rifle has no relation to how it will work in your rifle.
Paulson is absolutely correct about this.

However, I use exclusively IMR7828SSC in my .25-06 and have had occasion to use the identical load in two other Sako .25-06's where it worked equally well. Unusually, it not only did well in all three, but the once-fired cases would fit any of the three, which is almost unheard of.

Please don't simply duplicate this load as it may not be safe or appropriate in your rifle, so start below and work up: 55 grains of IMR7828SSC under a Nosler 115 grain Ballistic Tip, WW WLR primer. Chronographed velocity from my rifle is 3125 fps.

By the way, I've never owned a piece of .25-06 brass. All of mine is reformed from .30-06 (the way it was done for upteen years before the .25-06 became a factory standardized cartridge.) I find no difference in the performance of ammunition on the first firing after reforming (when the little crease where the '06 neck started is still visible) and subsequent firings with neck-sized brass. The same is true of my Sako .280 where I use nothing but reformed '06 brass.
 
Thanks Stone!
That was more or less what I was interested in finding. I have not shot much of the 7828ssc. I started with 100g Hornady A max bullets, CCI large rifle primers with charges from 52.5g up to 55g. Best group was over 1.5” with 53g , which is good enough to hunt with but not even close to what hand loading brings to my other chamberings.
I use factory 2506 brass , WW and Hornady for the most. I’ve never attempted to resize 30-06 brass. Can the same be done with 270win brass? I have a ton of it.
I completely understand the valid points of safety in hand loading that have been mentioned here. Was only trying to narrow the window of experimental cost in the development process.

Thank you all

Hippie
 
I use factory 2506 brass , WW and Hornady for the most. I’ve never attempted to resize 30-06 brass. Can the same be done with 270win brass? I have a ton of it.

Hip.......

You can.....but the 06 case is about 0.046" shorter.
 
As Kevin indicates, you can resize .270 brass for your .25-06 but you'll need to trim it a bit since it will be too long. The same may be true with .30-06 brass since when you reduce the diameter of the neck the brass has to go somewhere, so the case gets a little longer. Trimming and chamfering after resizing is pretty routine, anyway.

By the same token, when using .30-06 brass for the longer .270 Win and .280 Rem the action of reducing the neck diameter makes the case a little longer which is a better match for these two slightly longer cases. The shoulder of the .270 is in the same place as the '06, so it requires little attention. The shoulder of the .280 is further forward, so '06 cases are run into the die just far enough to allow them to chamber and headspace on a "false shoulder" created when the .30 cal neck is reduced to .28 cal.

Lots of folks refuse to use brass which isn't marked on the headstamp with the correct size. This has never bothered me since I've never depended on the headstamp to identify ammunition -- it tells you nothing about the bullet weight, powder charge, etc. All it tells you is what cartridge it was intended for when it was originally manufactured.
 
I’ll check it out, Like I said, I’ve always used unprimed or once fired brass specific to caliber. I do have a surplus of brass in calibers I no longer shoot.
Trimming is not a problem, like you said, I trim and chamfer everything anyways. I need to try it just to understand that aspect of resizing and the physics that take place when forming brass from one caliber to another without distortion or damage.

Thanks again guys

Hippie
 
Hippie: A couple of things about reforming brass cases.

New or once-fired cases usually work just fine. But if you have cases which have been fired and reloaded multiple times then they should be annealed before reforming since the necks will be work hardened to some degree and may split if squeezed to another caliber.

Normal full length dies usually work fine for simple neck-downs where the shoulder of the case isn't being moved, or moved only minimally. You can buy expensive "case forming die sets" from various manufacturers, but I've never found the need of them.

Cases should be properly lubricated, but don't over-lube or you'll get creases and dents in the shoulders. Small dents aren't the end of the world since they'll iron out on the first firing of the reloaded round.

I've used .30-06 cases for .25-06, .280, .270, and 8x57. Years ago when I owned a .257 Roberts I would take them all the way down to that caliber. Betcha didn't know that you can even use .30-06 cases to make shotshells for the .45 ACP. I've used plenty of .308 cases for .243. Have made .222 from .223, as well as .300 Blackout from .223. Another SCC member taught me to make 7x33 Sako from .350 Legend, and they work like a charm. I once owned a Ruger 77 in 6.5 Remington Magnum (should never have sold such a rare bird, of course); I made cases for it from .264 brass and killed a coyote and a whitetail with it before sending it down the road for a lot less money than I should have. Perhaps one of the most challenging conversions is .357 Magnum to .256 Winchester -- requires both a proper annealing and some good luck to go with it, but can be done (this is probably one of those instances in which a set of intermediate forming dies would be helpful.)

Sometimes you don't reform, but simply fire the right round in a different chamber to make fresh brass. I've done this with .22 Hornet in a K-Hornet and .300 H&H in a .300 WBY. In a pinch, you can even seat the bullets out to engage the lands (a false type of headspacing) and make extremely short-necked .222 Magnum brass from .223. I wouldn't recommend this as a steady practice, but it would let you shoot a .222 Magnum for which you could obtain no other brass or ammunition.

Well, this is straying from the subject, but illustrates that there can be a lot of adaptations made with cartridge brass when the need arises.
 
Hi my Sako shooter friends!
I realize this is an older post that I am repling to, how ever I find that trigger pull weight has a lot to do with the way I shoot. My triggers in my AV 30/06 &
my Forester .243 are quite light pull weight, That being said, I do not have a pull weight device & cannot tell what weight the two mentioned triggers are set at. I do know that the new to me 25/06 lefthand AV trigger is too strong for me & I made it better but not to where it is as lite as the other rifIes I have. I shot it last weekend (25/06) & I didn't have my hollow ground screwdriver with me & did not get he results I expected from a Sako. I slacked it off prior to the shooting, but not wanting to do too much for fear of slam fireing. My Timiny on my Interarms MK X is @ 2-1/2 lbs. Now Mr Paulson please do not get angry as I don't expect that all my Sakos will shoot the same, as I am still trying to get some ammo & loads built & try to do better. Does the 25/06 as a caliber not shoot as well as others or Do I have much more work to do?? Just asking!!
 
Last edited:
Welcome to the world of the 25/06 Remington!
They’re as fickle as women! (My apologies, ladies, no insult intended ) I’ve never experienced such a contrary caliber in my entire life.
My suggestion is to test on a clean , unmarked paper plate. No bullseye to reference, just pick your spot in the center, same as you would on a game target. Don’t shoot for groups, just try to kill the paper plate.
It’s difficult at best to expect all rifles to shoot the same, triggers can be similar in breaking weight but results can still vary. I’ve gotten to the point that since they are all hunting rifles after all, tight little bug hole groups are wonderful to produce on paper, but the deer really don’t seem to care. If your 25/06 will put a hole in the middle of the paper plate..where you intended it to be..your gun did its job perfectly!
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Thanks for the reply Mr. Hippie,
I bought the rifle because @ 83+ I never had a lefty rifle & being left eye domenant I figured I earned it! My son has a Sako 75 in 25/06 & destroys old small propane bottles @ 185 yards at his hunting club. Don't get me wrong, the rifle is beautiful & shoots 120 gr. factory Core-Loks fine, I will try to post target pics. soon. I will try to get a smattering of bullets to try to see what it shoots best & follow Mr, Paulsons advice about the loading results he has gotten. I also find that keeping records of reloading formulas in the past can be a very good idea. I have set the trigger pull weight lighter & tested it to make sure no slam fire occurs, ( bumping the recoil butt pad hard on the floor while the rifle is unloaded & cocked) looking foward to next outing with 117 Gr, Sierra boattails @ 2,800FPS loading!
 
Last edited:
Bucktote,
There is an old fashioned way you can check your trigger pull to get fairly close to what you need.
In the old days before I could afford luxuries like trigger pull gauges, I fashioned my own poor man’s trigger scale by bending a small wire into a hook shape (to trip the trigger) and attaching a small cloth sack to the hook which hangs on the trigger.

Then point the gun upward, cock it and start filling the sack with objects of a known weight until the trigger trips. you can use any identical objects of a known weight such as coins, fishing sinkers, bullets, etc. Do it a few times to be sure.

As a reloader, I have lots of projectiles that are a known weight. For example, I would fill the sack with 200 gr .45 cal bullets until it weighed enough to trip my trigger. Then I could either weigh my sack or simply count the bullets inside and multiply by the bullet weight. Convert grains to ounces or pounds and you have your trigger weight. I normally just counted the bullets and added a bit for the hook and sack.
Add to or subtract from the number of bullets in the sack to achieve your desired weight. For finer adjustment, use lighter bullets. It’s crude but it works.
 
Thanks Bottom Gun,
Sounds easy enough, great idea! At 83+ I don't need to buy a lot of gadgets & am looking forward to next outing with new to me lefty 25/06.
 
Hi Bottom Gun,
Tested trigger pull today. Made double hook rod from coat hanger, Applied two 1lb. ankle weights= no trip, applied 3lb weight= trigger trip on all triggers tested: Rifle unloaded & cocked!
Conclusion all triggers about 2-1/2 lbs pull weight & do not slamfire when butt bounced off floor smartly!
Thanks again for the simple testing device plan.
 
I'm glad to hear that method worked for you, Bucktote. Sometimes the simplest solutions are best.
I hope your new rifle shoots well for you. I'm looking forward to seeing you post a sub-MOA target from it.
 
Hi Bottom Gun!
I went to the farm on the 4th & shot my 30/06 & 25/06 . The trigger on the 25 was still stiff but I shot Rem. factory loads in the 25/06(120gr@ 2,990 fps) & I will enclose the 25/06 target if I can. As you can see not a bad group. last two shots were hasty as I wanted to finish up & beat the traffic home & to finish the box of 20. The 30/06 shoots 3" high this is because I sometimes get invited to a friends place & shots can be 300+ yds. P.S. I added pics of the .243, & the 30/06
 

Attachments

  • IMG_6312.jpg
    IMG_6312.jpg
    63.4 KB · Views: 33
  • IMG_6313.jpg
    IMG_6313.jpg
    59.2 KB · Views: 30
  • IMG_6315.jpg
    IMG_6315.jpg
    66.8 KB · Views: 30
Last edited:
Looks like you got it worked out, Bucktote. That’s not a bad group for factory ammo. I think it shows definite potential so working up a load for that rifle would likely be time well spent.

I see your other two rifles are dialed in right where they need to be. I’d say you’re all set for hunting.
 
Back
Top