kirk
Junior Member
Posts: 63
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Post by kirk on Nov 3, 2008 6:30:14 GMT -5
Anyone ever load up any varmint loads in a model 8 25 rem? Since all my hunting is done with bow and arrow, and I have yet to invade the home turf of IMFUNCITY for a hog hunt with the .35, I was thinking that the .25 would be loads of fun to down some predators with. I haven't had a chance to do any dedicated bear hunting yet, and was thinking of loading up some ammo and doing a combo bear hunt (spot and stalk) and some predator calling for bear, coyote, bobcat, fox, whatever comes in first. Bear in my area are not generally known to come to the predator call, but you never know. I have only shot the 117 gr hornady round soft point and was wondering if any of you have any experience with lighter bullets in this rifle.
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tbury
Full Member
Posts: 126
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Post by tbury on Nov 3, 2008 7:54:05 GMT -5
I would check out the 25-35 loading info on the Hodgden web site. I also would not be hunting bear with a 25 rem. 35 rem is the best bear round. Noel's pictures of the old hunter shooting a bear with a .25 rem is from a trapper. The bear was not mobile when shot. JMHP ;D
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kirk
Junior Member
Posts: 63
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Post by kirk on Nov 3, 2008 8:28:41 GMT -5
You are absolutely correct that the .35 is a much better bear round. In my youth my dad had several hound dogs and we treed and took many a bear. Calibers varied from .22 centerfire to 300 savage on up to 44 magnum. Once again though, these bear were treed and not at a long distace so the .25 would only see use on a bear coming to the call at close range. I would however like to load some lighter bullets for the smaller predators, possibly some soft point spitzers and am wondering how they may shoot.
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Post by guntotingmonkeyboy on Nov 3, 2008 15:04:08 GMT -5
I don't have a 25 Remington. But I do have a .25-35, and a .257, so I do get to play with .25 caliber bullets a lot If you are strictly going varminting, you can find 60 round nosed bullets, and 75 and 87 grain spitzers faitly easily. The 60 grainers are for .25-20, but would probably work for little critters. They would likely come apart on anything bigger than a varmint. Since you are reloading .25 Remington, you can get away with spitzers. 87 grain bullets seem to do well in my guns, but your mileage may vary.
I believe that Nosler has a 90 grain flat point solid available, and there are a plethora of bullets out there in the 100, 115, 117 and 120 grain catagories. If I were going to load one bullet to do everything in .25, it would be a 100 grain spitzer. It is light enough for varminting out to probably about 100 yards, and big enough for deer out to 150 or so. It would probably work on bear out to about 75 yards if you do your part. If this is the only gun/bullet combo that you are going to use for everything, that is the way I would go. But be aware that while this gun has a certain "cool" factor, it is NOT the best gun for either varminting or hunting deer/bear. And if you are expecting bears/coyotes/ other things, and your shots will be in close, go with a heavier bullet. A 117 or 120 grain bullet may not have as flat of a trajectory, but I would rather have that extra weight. especially for close in work.
-Mb
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tbury
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Posts: 126
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Post by tbury on Nov 3, 2008 17:26:54 GMT -5
Beware of bullets designed for 25-20. I once load an 86 gr half jacket for my 1 in 7 twist Stevens .25 rem. The spin was so fast the jacket spun right off the bullet. I have been using 100 gr spitzers in 250 sav. which is a great combo. I have not tried them in .25 rem for the model 8 yet.
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kirk
Junior Member
Posts: 63
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Post by kirk on Nov 3, 2008 23:50:16 GMT -5
Thanks guys for all the .25 load info. I know that a model 8 is definitely not a varmint rifle as accuracy and distance challenge it in this discipline, but calling in predators in southwest Oregon is mostly a close up affair as most of this area is heavily timbered or brushy. I can thik of no funner rifle than the .25 in a model 8 for this, especially considering I bowhunt exclusively for big game. This is the only chance I get to hunt with this particular rifle. I have a .222 Remington that is an absolute tack driver and a .243 Remington 700 as well as a 25-06 in a Tikka. All of these are great predator guns in their own right, but I prefer to save those for 200-300 yard shooting and getting some use out of a good set of open sights when the hunt calls for it. I bought the .243 and 25-06 for "my wife" as at the time I was convinced "she" couldn't live without them...(actually I had just bought several guns and was fast running out of good reasons to buy more).
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Post by guntotingmonkeyboy on Nov 6, 2008 14:06:03 GMT -5
If that is the case, stick with the 100 grain spitzers. They are pretty much a good all-around bullet for anything you shoot at at those ranges. They have enough mass to drop anything up through deer with no problem. I checked on the 60 grain round nosed bullets. They are for the .25-35, so they should work fine in .25 Rem, but why bother? The nicest thing about these rifles is that you don't have to stick to round-nose or flat point.
-Mb
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Post by supersporter40 on Feb 25, 2009 14:47:25 GMT -5
I would check out the 25-35 loading info on the Hodgden web site. I also would not be hunting bear with a 25 rem. 35 rem is the best bear round. Noel's pictures of the old hunter shooting a bear with a .25 rem is from a trapper. The bear was not mobile when shot. JMHP ;D To the contrary, Martin shot bear and so did Jimmy with their 25cal Model 8's that were not in traps. I can't ask Martin how he did it until I pass the pearly gates but Jimmy said it wasn't a good experience for him and he never shot another bear again. Not that the gun wasn't capable though, he just didn't want to kill any more bears. As you saw Martin and John plugged more than their fair share of moose with a 25. I tried the 85gr Nosler BT and it shot well but I still haven't gotten the dang thing to cycle and until it is fixed can't really say what is good or not. I found the guy who owns Martin's M8 and was invited to go to his house and have a looky see. He has all the reloading tools and notes etc which you can be sure I will scour through very close.
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tbury
Full Member
Posts: 126
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Post by tbury on Feb 25, 2009 16:59:00 GMT -5
Well with the model 8 you can throw 5 117gr bullets at a bear or a moose pretty quick. I still lean towards the 35 rem for dangerous game. ;D
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Post by supersporter40 on Feb 26, 2009 12:34:27 GMT -5
If it came right down to it I wouldn't have a M8 for DG at all. That's what this is for! Let the flaming begin. LOL
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35rem
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Posts: 61
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Post by 35rem on Feb 26, 2009 14:32:27 GMT -5
I would think it would be difficult to get the action to cycle with non-standard, especially light, loads. I would be concerned with making the gun work reliably, rather than "how low you can go".
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