First cast loads in #1 .25-06

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  • Last Post 10 April 2016
MarkinEllensburg posted this 14 March 2016

Several years ago I made a trade for a bunch of moulds, lead and a Lyman sizer. In this lot was a single cavity 257420 mould. Finally after years I found gaschecks an H&I die and top punch. Sized some up and then loaded them. First 5 shows a bit of promise @ 50 yards.

About the same time my dad cast a bunch that I think are a nominal 120 grain but I've no idea of the mould number or even make. His Alzheimer's is such that I doubt he'd even remember. Anyway these show much better promise, the smaller of the two groups. Both 7gr. Unique.

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MarkinEllensburg posted this 14 March 2016

120 gr bullet group.

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Ken Campbell Iowa posted this 14 March 2016

go ruger 1 ... impressive ... we don't see many 25 stuff here ...

ken

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onondaga posted this 14 March 2016

http://www.castbulletassoc.org/view_user.php?id=9690>MarkinEllensburg,

The target from your  Dad's mold looks ready if you were Squirrel hunting. The load level is good for that too. Just sight in! My squirrel load is a 90 gr SWC at 1160 fps with 3.0 gr TiteGroup from a single shot Remington Spartan in 7.62X39. It does under an inch at 50 yards all day.

That rifle will really grow on you, Ruger#1s are comfortable to hold.

You are fortunate to locate a 25 Cal mold that shoots for you and I'd say stick with it even if you don't know who made it. It is shootin. Besides bullet fit, bullet fit and bullet fit, The one thing that gets me top accuracy with cast is bore polishing and then a specific  maintenance while shooting to keep bore condition close to consistent from shot to shot. So, here are a couple tips from my bag: I pull a dry/clean BoreSnake through once every 5 shots and never let the barrel even get warm. I switch guns at the range and only shoot them cold five shots each.

My bore polishing method is here: http://www.castbulletassoc.org/view_topic.php?id=8364&forum_id=63>http://www.castbulletassoc.org/viewtopic.php?id=8364&forumid=63

You might consider trying TiteGroup at your low level also, it has better ignition in rifle cases with small charges than Unique. I had a #1 in that caliber about 30 years ago and loved it.

Please give us some rifle and close up bullet and ammo pictures! Gary

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Paul Pollard posted this 14 March 2016

Mark,

"About the same time my dad cast a bunch that I think are a nominal 120 grain but I've no idea of the mould number or even make."

From match reports around the time of 2007, it looks like he was shooting a .25-20 SS case in the Ruger #1. It shows the mould to be RCBS 120 - SP.

http://www.castbulletassoc.org/br/2007/pdf/fairfax/fairfaxnt0908-0907.pdf>http://www.castbulletassoc.org/br/2007/pdf/fairfax/fairfaxnt0908-0907.pdf

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MarkinEllensburg posted this 14 March 2016

Ken, I hope to post more of this rifle once I join a range that has good benches.....

Gary, thanks for the tips. I've had this rifle since the early 90's. I lapped the bore right out of the box by cleaning after each of the first 20 shots with JB bore paste plus hoppies followed with dry patches until they came out clean. It has always been a tack driver grouping 3/4 inch at 100 yards with several load and bullets. I carried it for years while deer hunting. I don't have the RCBS mould, and I'm not sure my Dad does either. He traded often.

Paul, thanks for the link. That answers a host of questions. The buttstock I posted in my introduction was for his .25SS. He used to tell me that he learned from each match he went to. It is funny that he bought or rebarreled to a .25-06 after I bought mine. His didn't provide the accuracy he demanded so he either traded it away or took the barrel off.

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MarkinEllensburg posted this 21 March 2016

pics.....

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MarkinEllensburg posted this 21 March 2016

another

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MarkinEllensburg posted this 21 March 2016

one more targets at 50ish yards. some .30-30 some .25-06. My camera is pretty darn good.......

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onondaga posted this 21 March 2016

http://castbulletassoc.org/view_user.php?id=9690>MarkinEllensburg

Beautiful rifle,thanks for posting pictures!

Gary

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MarkinEllensburg posted this 09 April 2016

Update on April 3rd I went shooting again. Had great weather for it. Shot a few more groups with the .25-06 and it seems I'm getting closer to a good load. Best so far has been Unique 9 grains. Shooting was 50 yards measured using a couple of sand bags for a rest on the hood of my Yukon. Aim point was a 1” square and scope was set on 9x. These pics tell the story...

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onondaga posted this 10 April 2016

http://www.castbulletassoc.org/view_user.php?id=9690>MarkinEllensburg

Nice target and nice looking bullet too. Personally, I'm not a fan of bore riders and I get bullets with more bearing area to shoot better for my rifles. There is no doubt that some shooters do excellently with them, but I'm not one of those that do. I like bearing bands right up to the ogive.  Also, There is only a few choices in .257, and you got one that is shooting well!

Gary

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