In looking for a handy do-all cartridge I keep coming back to quarter-bore choices. Calibres up to .243 don't strike me as optimal for medium game or serious target shooting, and over .264/6.5mm are too much for varminting and informal practice plinking. So I'm trying to figure out which .25 is right for me.
Can somebody give me a good reason to opt for .25-06 over .257 Roberts? Given the weights of most .25 bullets, especially if you're typically going to be shooting in the lighter range for varmints, the case capacity of a .25-06 seems to be a bit much. Even with heavier bullets I can't see the .257 Roberts giving up much of an edge. The long -06 case made sense with a big .30 bullet in an era of inefficient powders, but with a smaller bullet and today's powders? Isn't it really wasteful? And then there's the .257 Weatherby Magnum... well I don't need to set my target (or barrel) aflame with velocity, and the amount of powder that case uses to achieve that velocity just seems ridiculous.
The .257 Roberts seems more efficient in my eyes, can anybody tell me something I'm missing here? Actually why isn't there a viable .25 round based on the .308 case? That case capacity seems to get awesome efficiency in that weight range, with the .243 and .260 as examples. Why don't more people shoot .25-08 wildcats?
Or should I go more mainstream and just pick a side of the gap to fall on, and go with either a .243 or .260?
Can somebody give me a good reason to opt for .25-06 over .257 Roberts? Given the weights of most .25 bullets, especially if you're typically going to be shooting in the lighter range for varmints, the case capacity of a .25-06 seems to be a bit much. Even with heavier bullets I can't see the .257 Roberts giving up much of an edge. The long -06 case made sense with a big .30 bullet in an era of inefficient powders, but with a smaller bullet and today's powders? Isn't it really wasteful? And then there's the .257 Weatherby Magnum... well I don't need to set my target (or barrel) aflame with velocity, and the amount of powder that case uses to achieve that velocity just seems ridiculous.
The .257 Roberts seems more efficient in my eyes, can anybody tell me something I'm missing here? Actually why isn't there a viable .25 round based on the .308 case? That case capacity seems to get awesome efficiency in that weight range, with the .243 and .260 as examples. Why don't more people shoot .25-08 wildcats?
Or should I go more mainstream and just pick a side of the gap to fall on, and go with either a .243 or .260?