25BR? Robinett Offers New .257-Caliber, 88gr Match Bullet
Randy Robinett, who makes the great 30-cal BIB bullets for the 30 BR, has a new 88gr match bullet in .257 caliber. Commenting on the new Robinett bullet, Al Nyhus notes: “I’ve already spun some of Randy’s 88gr 25s downrange. You’ll be very happy.” Jackie Schmidt reports: “It is a 10-ogive, but with a relative straight shank for at least 1/4″ past the base. The gas ring is about .2576″, and the shank is about .2573″. This is a really nice-looking bullet.” Jackie plans to build a new 25BR rifle using the 88gr BIB: “Why the 25BR instead of a 25 PPC? I already have all of the essential pieces to do it. That is a good enough reason for me. I happen to have an old 8-groove Shilen 25-caliber blank in 1-13 twist. I can picture this bullet at about 3250 to 3300 out of a 23 inch barrel with a big dose of N133 out of a 25BR.”
Can the 25BR be competitive? Jackie thinks so: “I used to shoot a 25BR, in fact, I actually won a couple of yardages in Registered Competition. I shot a teen agg at Tomball in the spring of 1998 with 85 grn Fowlers, N130, and a 1-13 Shilen. Back when I shot a 25BR, I believed that it was as accurate as any chambering available. The problem was, there was only ONE bullet that would allow it to live up to its potential, and that was the 85gr Fowler. As you know, being able to get components on a reliable basis is a big part of staying competitive. Since the offerrings for the 6mm were so abundant, I decided to go that route. I will, in all likelihood, stay with the 6PPC [for short range]. But an 88gr 25-caliber bullet running over 3200 fps just might be the hot ticket for other disciplines. F-Class is one that comes to mind. Or 600-yard Benchrest. For shorter ranges, while the 88gr BIB looks great, I feel that a 75-78 grain .257 bullet, on a little shorter jacket, might be more suited for the 100-200 yard game. Of course, we won’t know until we put holes in paper.”
For more details on the 25BR, read Darrell Jones’ Gun of the Week article on his “Peppermint” 25BR (photo above). Darrell achieved great accuracy shooting the 115gr Berger bullet with Varget powder. This rifle won its first-ever competition, a local 600-yard F-class match. Shooting the Berger 115s with 31.5 Varget, “Peppermint” won with a perfect score of 200 with 14 X’s. Darrell writes: “I’m very happy with the project, and more than satisfied with the accuracy of the 25 BR. This is definitely a worthy cartridge for Egg Shoots, 500m varmint matches, and the 600-yard F-Class game.”
