Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Quarter bores

I bought a Ruger last year in .25-06. It was one of those deals that's just too good to turn down. I played with it for awhile, got good accuracy, had fun with it, then gave it to one of my kids. I like the caliber, I really do.

For years, I've been jonesing for a .257 Roberts. The maximum overall length of the cartridge is shorter than a .308, which leads me to believe that the Roberts would fit in a short action, but everything I've read tells me that it'll just barely fit in a short action and if I want to seat 100 grain bullets out far enough to take advantage of case capacity that I'll have trouble stuffing it into a short action.

If I'm going to have to use the long action, I'd just as soon have the .25-06.

The plan is one project down the road. My next project is already in process, so this quarter-bore fixation will have to wait. What I plan to do is to find a good used Savage action in a pawn shop somewhere and build a rifle. A light, short, hunting rifle. Shilen makes replacement barrels for the Savage platform and I can get one in any number of chamberings.

I guess what I'll do is see what type action I can find at the best price. If it's a short action, I'll have it chambered in .250 Savage. If it's a long action, then I'll have to decide between the Roberts and the .25-06. At any rate, that's a decision for the late winter/early spring.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I love my 257 roberts, the extra velocity from the 25-06 is not needed for deer unless you really want to reach out a long way.

ben