25 and 35 Rem Reloading

[CWarmouth]

Hello All,

I was wondering if anyone could give me reloading data for the 25 Remington and 35 Remington, shooting Model 14s. What you are using or what online resources are available.

For the 25 I'd like to load light for a 60 gr and 86 gr for my 11 year old son to plink with, and also a hunting load for a 117 gr bullet.

For the 35 I'm shooting a 200 gr bullet.

Thanks,

Carl

[umcpumpgun]

Reloading for all of the Remington rimless ctgs. can be adapted from other rimed ctgs. such as . 25 Rem--25-35 Win. .30Rem--30-30 win. 32Rem--32 Win. special as the case capacity is very nearly the same,and of course the .35 data is in nearly every reloading source. I once just for fun reloaded some .25 Rem. with some 25 auto 50 grain bullets that I had on hand. They are a couple of thousands undersize for the cal.,but shot very well at 50 yds. and almost to point of aim with other loads. I can't remember the load offhand but will try to find it and post it here later today. They were a perfect gallery load and held a really nice group. Good shooting.

[umcpumpgun]

The .25 Rem. gallery load I refered to above is a Hornady 60 gr f.p. bullet with 27 grains of Imr 4895 at 2.410 O.A.L. with consistent 2" groups at 65 yds. Mild load that there really isn't any need to increase. Not bad for a gallery load that hits same p.o. a. at that distance. What I have found in the 14--14 1/2 rifles is that Unique and Alliant 2400 work very well with cast lead bullets. I personally think if I were looking for a performance load to hunt with I would take a long look at Imr 3031 as it works well in the .30-.32 cal. ctgs. in these guns as well as the half brother Winc. ctgs. Ken Waters 600 page Pet Loads is the best source I have found on oddball ctgs. as well as the common stuff.

[CWarmouth]

Thanks for the advice. Load data I got from someone else suggested 21 gr of 3031 for the 60 grain bullets and 25 gr of 3031 for the 86 grain bullets. What do you think about that?

[umcpumpgun]

According to Ken Waters Pet Load manual 27 gr. 3031 is nearing max in the 86 grain bullet so will be well within safe limits there. As for the 21 grain load for the 60 grain bullet load, I don't have any idea about accuracy and can't find any data for the 60 gr. weight bullet,but you can always us the powder load from a heavier bullet to a lighter bullet and be well below the max load. I never liked the thought of having to use a 117gr. flatnose in the .25 Rem. for hunting. Just seems awfully heavy for the velocites that this ctg. will produce with this projectile. I think either an 87 or 100 grain bullet would be much better,the latter being my favorite. I have tried spitzers in mine with good success except the fact many that have a long profile will not fit through the loading gate unless seated fairly deep. A semi-pointed might be a better option. A fact that is often not considered is the loading gates on these guns are not all the same lenght as there were changes made in production. If you don't trust the offset of the twist magazine,you can always put one in the chamber and one in the mag. if it makes you feel safer. Two shots are nearly always enough for hunting purposes.

[Rickster]

21 gr of 3031 for the 60 grain bullets and 25 gr of 3031 for the 86 grain bullets. What do you think about that?

21gr of 3031 behind a 60gr FP will give about 2000fps and 11,000psi peak and 3900psi at the muzzle. This will be very mild, like a 25-20, only louder.

27gr of 3031 behind a 86gr FP will give 2350fps at 22KSI peak and 6700psi at the muzzle. This load will shoot close to the same point a good hunting load. So it will be excellent for practice.

You may run into one small problem with these loads. Mild loads will sometimes have enough pressure to back the primer out, but not expand the case and push the primer back in. This wedges the case in the slot in the breach block, causing what will feel like sticky extraction. Its hard to describe, but you will know if you run into this because you will have protruding primers. There is no harm done, but your son may have difficulty working the action. And you will be tempted to believe something is wrong. But it is OK. I use a very similar load for the 30 Rem with 110gr bullets and 25gr H4198. If you experience sticking, faster powders will help.

If you can wait a week, I have been polishing up a rather long write up on loading the Rem 25. I have experimented with 3 rifles, and umpteen powders/bullets. I know the old girl pretty well by now.

[CWarmouth]

Thanks guys, I appreciate the info. Tell me more! As you can probably deduce, I am a novice at this. I recently acquired a nice 25 to match my 35 but I don't know anything about reloading ammo. I did get a lot of bullets, brass, dies, etc with the purchase and I have a neighbor willing to help me get started. I am reading a book on reloading from the library but I still would love to hear more about the 25.

I have not seen the 100 grain bullets. Where are they available from?

[umcpumpgun]

The 100 grain bullets I mentioned were pointed or semi pointed and are made by just about every manufacturer. Flat or round 100 gr has not be produced for a long time. Keep in mind you can load 87gr. cast lead bullets intended for the 25-20 which are also sized .258 dia. You can purchase them from Meister Bullets for roughly 45$ per 500 and a little cheaper by the thousand. Just google the name and his website will come up. These are good quality bullets and I shoot them in mod. 25's with great accuracy.

[CWarmouth]

I never liked the thought of having to use a 117gr. flatnose in the .25 Rem. for hunting. Just seems awfully heavy for the velocites that this ctg. will produce with this projectile. I think either an 87 or 100 grain bullet would be much better,the latter being my favorite.

Forgive me if I am a little slow, but I am having a hard time getting my mind around what I think you are saying. A lighter bullet at a higher velocity is more effective than a heavier bullet at lower velocity? In the traditional archery world (I also hunt with a longbow), the opposite is true. A longbow does not generate a lot of speed so we make up for it by using a very heavy arrow, thereby achieving enough momentum to get good penetration. So I am still thinking that way with the 25. But you are saying a light bullet would be better? That doesn't seem right to me. I'm not saying I'm right, I just don't understand. I would think the 117 moving a little slower would be better.

What about a hollow point 87 grain? How would that be for hunting? Better or worse than a soft point jacketed? What about cast bullets (unjacketed) inside of 50 yards?

Thanks again for your help.

CW

[Rickster]

I did a brain dump in a new thread. http://www.remingtonsociety.com/forums/ ... 146#p13146