Rifleshooters: Which Quarterbore?

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.455Eley

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Through no fault of it's own, I've found myself with an extra .30-06 rifle. With a .243, a .270 and two .30-06s, one of the .30s has become superfluous. I'd sell it but left handed bolt actions don't grow on trees. The rifle is a perfectly nice late-70s Remington 700 BDL. I've decided to do a custom lightweight 'mountain-type' rifle on it and decided to finally, after planning for some time, to make it into a 'quarterbore', a .257 or .264. I pretty well narrowed it down to .257 Roberts or .260 Remington, with .250-3000 Savage a distant third. I know it's a long action and at least the .260 and definitely the .250 are short actions but I want the ability to load heavier bullets, plus it's what I have. I can load for these, so obsolescence of the chambering or ammo availability isn't an issue. So, finally, which .25 would you use if you were building one? If you have another that you would recommend, what is it?

Thanks for your information, Eley. :)

I asked this on the Colt Forum earlier as well, so no, you're not seeing double lol.
 
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If I was doing it my rifle would be a .250 Savage.
I have a Ruger 77RL in that caliber and it is accurate and a real deer
killer. Got brass and bullets for it already.

I have come close to buying a .25-06 a few times. I think that would be
my second choice.
 
Personally, with a 243 and a 270,,,I'd send the extra 30-06 bbl off to JES Reboring to make it into a 35 Whelen (or a 375 Whelen or 9.3x62 Mauser).

If I was forced to choose a .25, I'd make it a 257 Roberts for no other reason than I like the older classics.
 
Most mountain rifles are made on a short action. The list of your other rifles is so well balanced that unless you have a jones for the 25, you'll still be redundant after spending a bunch of money! 25 is a class of gun with good hunting bullets and marginal target bullets.

6mm and 6.5mm on the 06 case were two of the most common wildcat dies made by Huntington/RCBS for decades, you might consider one of them.

Ivan
 
6.5x55 for a handloader would be my choice too. If not ,a 260 but a ackley improved chamber , again for the handloader .
 
I have a Browning bolt, in .257 Roberts.

Love it, but having to seat the heavier bullets very deeply, with the medium length action irks me.

With your long action, you could chamber it with a longer throat, to allow seating further out, and also increase powder capacity a bit.
 
2152hq said:
Personally, with a 243 and a 270,,,I'd send the extra 30-06 bbl off to JES Reboring to make it into a 35 Whelen (or a 375 Whelen or 9.3x62 Mauser).
Click to expand...

That's what I was thinking, only .338/06 or .338/06 A-I. I have too many .30/06s myself and one is going to get a new barrel someday. It will be a .338 bore, not a .35, but I do understand the .35 Whelen nostalgia thing.

If you are stuck on having a .25, i.e. you would never use the larger-bore rifle, I would make it a .257 Weatherby (unfortunately, need for magnum bolt face = a little extra gunsmithing). Everything else is too similar to your .243 and .270 to make any sense. A lightweight "climbing rifle" in .257 WM that will put the first three shots right where you want them would be a delight to own. :)
 
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There are so many really neat calibers out there, like the .257 Roberts ,, 250/3000, etc.

But I like the B.C. and flat trajectory of the 6.5 bullet. A 6.5x55 ,, 6.5 creedmoor, 6.5x57,, or 6.5-06, all sound interesting. :D

I always thought something like the Savage model 11 Light weight hunter in 6.5 creedmoor or 7mm08 would be an interesting hunting / carrying around rifle..

Savage Arms

Of course a 35 Whelen would be really cool also.. :D :eek: :D

Have fun deciding ..
 
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Since it is a long action, I might opt for the Winchester .264. Great accuracy and mild recoil. It is a very good long range round with the 142 grain bullets.
 
Long action, I'd go with the 25-06 with 257 Robert 2nd. I've had both and still have a 700 25-06.
I also like the "classics".

Dennis.
 
I'm a big fan of the 25-06 round and I've owned at least one rifle in that caliber for over 30 years. I currently own two rifles in that caliber and I have no plans to sell them. It's a flat shooting round and is excellent on wild game up to Mule deer size.
 
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I've had a .25-06 Ruger Number One for many years. Excellent rifle that I have used on everything from coyotes to elk.

Your Remington 700 is a long action rifle so it makes sense to make use of that. The .25-06 would be a natural. The .257 Roberts is another fine cartridge, ballistics very much like the .25-06.

For larger game (Colorado mule deer and elk) I have always liked the Remington 120-grain Core-Lokt. For medium game (antelope, deer at ranges out to 200 yards or so) the Speer 100-grain Hot-Cor is excellent. Both of these hold together very well while a few others I have tried broke up on any bone contact, separated jackets from cores, or just went to pieces rather than providing good penetration. Nosler Partitions would also be a good choice for use on game. IMR 4831 and 4350 are my proven performers in the .25-06.
 
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