Howcome .25 left out? ( The 25/308 or 25 Souper )

[K9 Handler]

I have a 25 WSSM Browning. Nice round, but kind of overkill in my NE hardwoods where ranges are short. Too much power (if there is such a thing!)

I'm a long-time .308 shooter (one of Uncle Sam's boys) and I've recently started shooting a 7mm-08, but that begs the question: How come a .25 caliber bullet in a .308 case never took off commercially?

I mean, you have a 7mm and a .243 in the .308 case, and of course the 25 in the 30-06 case, by why not ever the .25 in the short-action brass?

Any guesses out there?

[Quarterbore]

I have looked at the 257 Souper (I think that is the correct spelling?) quite a bit and my personal oppinion is that because the 257/308 would all right between the 250 Savage and teh 257 Roberts in performance there just was never a big marketing reason to do it.

I like the wildcat as like you said it is a true short action cartridge and with the heavier brass 308 casings we could load to a little more pressure then what the 300 Savage or 7x57 Mauser cases can handle so a hot loaded 257/308 might be pretty darned close to 257 Roberts perfomance even comparing to the 257 Roberts +p loads!

Where I would love to see this cartridge would be in a rifle like the Remington Model 7 youth gun. A 257/308 in that small rifle would be great for smaller hunters and with the 257 bullets it would make a great varmint/deer rifle so that a smaller hunter could get out and do some varmint hunting in the summer with the same rifle they would use in the fall.

My oldest is 8 now and she can hunt in four more years. I have been using a 243 for deer myself the past few years but I am also a pretty decent shot. I need to get out and do more varmint hunting the next couple summers shooting my little 55-gr Nosler BTs and shoot out the barrel... this way I can rebarel in 257/308 and set it up for my daughter when she is old enough to hunt with me!

[Greywuuf]

I nearly Begged people for info on the 25 souper, as I wanted to put that barrel on my FAL. I never got a single response. it's like no one has ever shot one. I ended up putting a 358 win barrel on the FAL, but I have enough of them around I might still try the 25 some time soon. I shoot a 257 mag in a contender and make a few swaged bullets in .257, so I figure I should have one in a rifle as well.

[Carpe Diem]

The .250 AI is a ballistic twin to the .25 Souper, for all practical purposes at least. While it is a fine cartridge, it didn't set the world on fire as a wildcat like the .243-08 did. The factories look at shooting trends and will adopt popular wildcats (.22-250, .225, .243, .244, .25-06, .260, 7-08, .338-06....). If the .25 WSSM is too much cartridge, why not load it down?

I assume that Greywuuf shoots a .256 Magnum in his Contender, rather than a .257 Weatherby.....

[Quarterbore]

Well, I have a 243 that I am using for deer and varmints... not that I get to shoot as many chucks in the summer anymore... but when I burn out that barrel shooting my little 55-gr Nosler BTs at 4000-fps I may well do a 257/308 wildcat next. Hell, I might just do real wild and do a 257 Souper improved :D

Problem is my little 243 still shoots great and with three small kids and a busy work life it may take me years to burn out that barrel that everybody told me I would fry shooting these little atom bombs out of my 243!

[Carpe Diem]

My M77VT in .243 likes the little 55 BTips too, the best of any bullet I've tried - a very picky rifle. 4050 fps is not max but is highly accurate and shoots flatter than any .224-caliber varmint hunting load. My throat is showing signs of wear but the rifle still shoots well. I'll probably sell the rifle before I get around to re-barreling it. The stock is the best thing about this rifle IMO - my M700s are less finicky.

Let's see:
2 ea - .25-20 BN
1 ea - .25-35
1 ea - .25 Bullberry
1 ea - .250/3000
1 ea - .25-06
2 ea - .257 Weatherby

Yep, that's a good start on quarterbore cartridges.

[Neal]

Originally Posted by Quarterbore

Well, I have a 243 that I am using for deer and varmints... not that I get to shoot as many chucks in the summer anymore... but when I burn out that barrel shooting my little 55-gr Nosler BTs at 4000-fps I may well do a 257/308 wildcat next. Hell, I might just do real wild and do a 257 Souper improved :D

Problem is my little 243 still shoots great and with three small kids and a busy work life it may take me years to burn out that barrel that everybody told me I would fry shooting these little atom bombs out of my 243!

I have owned two 25 souper Rifles in my time, still own one, a friend of mine, has improved one as well,.. He states that if he had his time again, he wouldnt improve it, due to pressure problems, stretching brass ect. the Souper is an awesomely accurate cartridge, !00 grainers at 3050 f.p.s grouping at less than half M.O.A is esily achieveable,..My rifle, a rebarreled Weatherby .243,..and a Timney Trigger fitted,..which has a 1Lb 4oz trigger pull,..A.D.I 2209 powder, and sierra gameking projectiles,...Love it to bits,..

[DuaneinND]

If you go to my web page and look at the data for the 257DGR, you will find that a 308 based 25 is really closer to a 257AI, but is an honest short action cartridge.

www.duansguns.com

[Big_easy51]

I shoot a 25 Souper. I had it built by Hill Country Rifle in New Braunfels, TX, after reading an article on the cartridge written by Rocky Raab in an old Reloader's Bible. (Google him and you will find the article).
The rifle is built on a hand-honed Rem 700 BDL action (I bought a slightly used youth model .308 and discarded everything except the action). Dan Lilja made a 23", #6 contour fluted barrel...a 3 groove, 1:10 twist stainless. The stock is by McMillian, and the trigger is a Timney set at 2.5 lbs. Optics are a Zeiss 4.5-14 mounted with Conetrol rings and bases. The barrel, action, rings and bases are finished in black teflon.
Uning 75 gr Hornady V-Max bullets, I can get 3 shot groups that look like a slightly enlarged single hole at 200 yards. And with a Sierra 120 gr boat-tail hollow point Game King, accuracy at 400 yards is about 1.3 ".
There is no recoil with the 75 gr rounds, so the impact can be observed through the scope. There is a slight jump with 100-120 gr loads, bu not really any different from a .243.
To sum it up, this is, hands down, the most accurate rifle I have ever owned, and by far the sweetest to shoot. Other than having to search for dies (RCBS makes them but you will wait for them) and finally finding them reasonably priced at CH4D (and in stock to boot), the whole experience has been a real pleasure.

[KBL]

Wow, it's great to find this place!

My favorite deer cartridge is the .250 Savage, and it seems that there are few places to discuss this caliber with much feedback from others. Quarterbore sounds like the right place!

I do handload, and this is where the .250 Savage is transformed from an OK cartridge using anemic factory ammo, into one of the most efficient medium bore cartridges I've found.

I'd be curious to hear from owners of the .25 Souper, as to the kind of ballistics they get with this cartridge using 100 grain bullets. I currently shoot a load in my .250 Savage that pushes a 100 grain bullet @ 3109 fps (chronographed 5 shot average). How much better does the .25 Souper do?