STOMP442

By the looks of that shot placement I would have to chalk that deer living so long up to sheer will to live. I would try the bergers again before writing them off completely because of one incident.

I'm with lance. 115 berger is the best there is. By far the best ballistics of any 25 cal bullet made and awesome terminal performance. Prairie dogs to elk the 25-06 and the 115 berger got you covered.

Second Amendment sports had tons of primers when I was there last weekend. Powder was pretty sparse except for IMR 4064. Sportsmans didn't have anything other than IMR7828, IMR4895 and H50BMG. Again this was all last weekend so things could have changed but I struck out. Good luck.

Fact of the matter is velocity probably plays the smallest role when it comes to stabilization. Its all about the length and shape of the bullet. The more stable a bullet is the more optimized the B.C. and while velocity does help its only a small percentage when compared to other factors that determine the stability of a bullet. Temperature and elevation are much bigger factors than velocity. For example, using Bergers twist rate calculator and running the numbers for the 230gr Match Hybrid in standard conditions being 59 degress at sea level the stability factor is 1.51 at 2650fps and only 1.64 at 3400fps. Run these numbers again at 75 degress and at 3000 feet elevation and you get a stability factor of 1.74 at 2650fps and 1.89 at 3400fps a much bigger difference. This particular bullet is still stable down to 1000fps with a stability factor of 1.1 in standard conditions but the B.C. is reduced by 12%

Seems to me you already got it figured out. The .25-06 worked fine last time why not use it again. No need to reinvent the wheel or waste money. If you really just want to spend money upgrade the optics.

128 5/8

Chances are the bullet isn't the problem. Have you tried a different powder or primers? Is the rifle bedded and barrel floated? In my experience if the bullets in the green box (Sierra) don't shoot you got a problem somewhere. If given the choice though I will always choose a Berger over anything else.

The two deer I have seen them used on exited but massive internal damage was done. One deer took three steps the other fell where he stood.

Amax works extremely well especially at long range. I have had solid results shooting them in a 6.5 120gr and 140s.

You say you have less than half a box of ammo through this rifle? Any particular reason you took an un-proven rifle on a possible once in a lifetime hunt? I am not trying to bash you here as you were obviously successful in your hunt and good for you but how certain of that rifle and ammo combination are you? Was this rifle sighted in using the Bi-pod or simple sand bags off a bench? How many groups did you shoot and what size were they? Did you have consistent high flyers? Lots of things to consider than simply chalking the success up to the magnum cartridge which is only doing 200fps more than the standard cartridge.

Darn you Lance! Good pick up buddy.

Runners is why I quite using a .223 for Coyotes. I don't care about pelts so I steped up to my .250 Savage running 115gr Bergers at 2850fps. Needless to say the runners stopped. As far as dies go contact just about any die maker and the should be able to make you a set. MidwayUSA shows an RCBS set available and in stock currently.

I don't have a .284 Win. But it will definitely be to long to work in a standard short action with the heavier bullets. My 6.5-284 has a C.O.A.L of 3.214" with a 140gr Berger vld, the .284 will be every bit of that with 168s or heavier im sure. Your best bet for a 7mm cartridge would probably be the 7-08 Improved as mentioned above. A custom rifle in a 6mmXC would make an outstanding long range deer rifle and on my list to do. .243 Ackley 6 Creed Even a fast twist 22-250 improved able to handle an 80gr bullet would make a sweet rig too.

Chem-pak Pro Custom Gun Finish is my finish of preference. Add a little Rotten Stone and Bone black to fill the pores and really make the wood pop. You can get all the stuff from Brownells or Midway. I would post links but the site is not letting me.

I am running 26" on all my stuff.

Regular Savage short action. In fact my newest match barrel I installed was throated a touch short for my liking but I am still getting 2940 fps out it with plenty of room to chase the lands as the barrel wares. I even have the Berger 140 vld set .025" from the lands which makes things a touch shorter. Even if you had to seat the longer 140s a touch deeper to fit the mag I don't think you would have any problems reaching that velocity.

260 Ackley with 140s at 2950 fps and the 284 win with the 162-168gr bullets are essentially indentical in performance out to 1000 yards give or take ~80 foot pounds of energy. 284 win really shines with heavies launched from a 30" tube.

Looks like it falls right in there with just about every .260 Ackley I have built. I have done five or so now and the sweet spot for all of them has been between 42-44.5gr of H4350 with 140 Bergers and 2910-2960 fps. It all boils down to the particulars of the barrel tolerances I think. I have found the 6.5mm bores among the easiest to tune, they seem to want to shoot no matter what.

Looking very good. I like the second group best with less vertical but testing at longer ranges will verify that. What is your velocity and powder charge for that load? I'm guessing a velocity somewhere around 2900-2950?

260 Ackley or 250 savage Ackley are hard to beat in a short action. 26" barrel to maximize potential in a standard magnum contour like a Shilen #4 all set in a beautiful walnut stock.

I was under the impression the Remington's were made with a 10 twist and the savages have the 9.25 twist. In any case the 105 bergers probably wont work well. The 95gr berger will more than likely be the heaviest you can I have had good luck with the 105 Amax in my savages though.

Dude that looks amazing. Great job!

1/8th minute clicks suck. I have always hated that Nikon puts 1/8th minute clicks on everything over 14 power. I also hate putting bullets into the lands especially in a hunting rifle. I found that in 9 out of 10 rifles the sweet spot is 25 thou off the lands with a Berger or just about any other bullet for that matter. I think you will find great success with the advice given here. Good luck.

Dots or hash marks do come in handy for windage but I much prefer a clean fine duplex. I dial elevation but I hold for wind and don't seem to have any trouble holding where I need to. Practice with whatever setup you choose is most important.

4064 would work well too. Very similar burn rate to varget.