Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Deer Hunting .257 Cal Bullets?

It was an interesting season. I carried an A Bolt II in 25-06 for the first time. Beautiful rifle. I decided to shoot Hornady 117 SSTs that came with it after reading up on them. On 3 boiler room shots right behind the shoulder the deer didn’t go down and no hair or blood to be found. Two deer twitched and ran, one went azz over tea kettle off the shoulder of the tram road never to be seen again. I checked the zero and it was right on. All 3 easy shots. I may be old and crazy but I can still shoot minute of deer. I’m trying to figure out what’s going on. Never had this with any cartridge or bullet. Id appreciate your thoughts.

How are we going to figure in the "old and crazy" variable?

That is the friggin’ challenge, how does it (it being old & crazy) change the ballistic coefficient and/or sectional bloody density?

Hard to say. I have only used the SST's in a 30-06, the 150 grain variety and had nothing but good results.

Guy at the range when I was checking zero said he’d had the same thing happen with the 25-06 and changed from 117s to 87s or 90s to cure the problem. Said the 117s penciled through without leaving any blood trail. I spent hours looking for those deer. I don’t have enough field experience with the 25 to decipher this. I’ve killed a small mountain of deer with everything from 6.5x55 up to 30-06.

Exit holes from my 30-06 were 2 inches across and maybe a bit bigger. I am running the 120 grain Speer SPBT in my 257 Roberts and it is a quick killer.

I use 100 grain partitions in my 257 Roberts. Have for 35 years. Never had to trail a single deer. My best buck with that rifle dressed at 240#. DRT. Love that little round that definitely punches above its weight.

I use the 100 TTSX Barnes in 257 Boberts, 115 ballistic tips in 25-06’s, 110 Accubonds in 257 Weatherby

I've had several Roberts, my bullet of choice for whitetail hunting is a Sierra Game King. I prefer 100 grain but my rifle also shoots 87 grainers well too.

Try anew bullet.

I like this load, got it from gunner500.

How often to you see a Roberts cranking along at near 25-06 speeds.

Brux barrel is on a LA 700, COAL a bit longer than the typical 2.8" SA.

This load works well on WT's and hogs. Gunner calls it a "little buzz saw" and he ain't wrong.

DF

Similar SST experience some years ago with a 140 gr. out of a 6.5-284.

IMO, too many good bullets out there for that. So, I don't use them any more.

Others say they work great.

DF

Hmm, I'd aim for bone, through both shoulders.

Or I'd use a lighter bullet (like I am 75gr X bullet) at warp speed. Last trotting buck I shot with it went 25 yrds and piled up.

I gave up on the 25-06 yrs ago look no further than a 270 for flat trajectory and blood trails

Not a 25-06 but I use a 100 grain partition in a 257 weatherby. Pretty much drt.

Use 120 rem corelokt in 25/06 with excellent result. Use 129 sst in 6.5 creedmoor,139 in 7mm08, and 180 in 300 win with no problems most just drop on a short run with a good blood trail.

I personally like 100 grain TSX or TTSX in .25 caliber. Every deer I’ve shot died right in it’s tracks. All inside 100 yards, and I swear my .257 Roberts frees their soul before they hit the ground.

this year i used a 103 gr. Hammer bullets in my 257 Weatherby mag. velocity 3680 FPS was a one shot bang flop on a buck that was weighed and dressed weight of 193 lbs at 125 yards ,blood all over on the ground too. one shot on a antelope buck at a measured 460 yards with my 257 Weatherby mag. same bullet 103 gr. Hammer bang flop too. this Ruger #1 shots 1/2 inch 3 shot groups at 100 yards with these Hammer bullets. 100 gr. Nosler Partitions and 100 gr. Swift A-Frames do the same thing but don`t shoot as accurate groups they open up a little bit put still do the bang flop. next year i plan on shooting a Ruger #1 257 Roberts with 75 gr. Hammer bullets i wanna keep the speed up it kills better for me.

Uncle has been using the 117 SST from his 25-06 for going on 20 years. He is a lung shooter, never heard him complain.

A bud uses them and he likes them better than a Game king which I never thought he would say. He was always a GK fan until he shot the SST. Says they put deer down quick fast and in a hurry where the GK usually let em run 20-30 yards.

My thoughts on your issue is the deer were not hit properly.

I have not used the exact bullet in question, but from my experience with other SSTs I find it hard to believe there was a lack of expansion. The 95 grain 6mm, 165 grain .308" and 120*** grain 6.5mm have been really good deer bullets in my camp.




***Yes 120, not 129. The 120 was one Hornady made for 260 Remington factory ammunition that my nephew has used.

In .25 caliber, I have some different weight partitions and 100gr interlocks and recently I bought some 87 and some 100 grain hot cores. I plan on carrying a 25 this fall, maybe a second as a back-up. Choice is a 1 in 14” twist 250 99, a 700 Classic 257 or 25-06 ADL.
When SST’s came out, I shot a doe with the 25-06 which had a 4” entrance wound. I sold all my SST bullets cheap. They shot very accurately in my 6mm, 280, 7x57 & 25-06, actually some of the best groups in the 6mm and the 25-06. They looked great on paper and I bought quite a few boxes. I’m glad to read the positive stuff about them. If I shoot SST’s again, I’ll be sure to buy current production SST’s.
I’ve been looking for different .25 caliber bullets. Found the hot cores, but not much else out there right now that I could find. I’m hoping to find some .25 caliber options in the next 6 months including GK’s and TTSX’s.

Have used the 100gr Sierra Gameking, 90 gr Sierra HPBT, 100gr Barne TTSX and the 115 gr Nosler Ballistic Tip in the 25’s. At the 25-06 velocities it would be hard to beat the Ballistic Tip. They have be phenomenal in my .25-284.

GreggH

115 NBT and Partition work well for me at moderate velocities out of a 257 Roberts.

100 TTSX on top of 49.0g of Hunter @ 3114 from a 22" Montana, seated .120 off lands.

Keep the info coming gang. I’m soaking it all up. And thanks for your thoughtfulness.

I don't have an answer. But I've had great results on deer fro 25 years with the 100gr. Ballistic Tip , and 115gr. Partition.

The sst is way to fragile for close shots.

I have been using a .25-06 and a. 257 Roberts for a long time. I've had some great experiences and a couple duds. The most frangible were the least effective for me.

87-115 in the 25-06 never an issue
257 Ai loves 117gr Sierra boatails never had an issue opening up deer or dropping them

Not 25-06, but the bullet on the right below is a 95gr SST that my son used on a frontal shot on a deer with his .243 Win at very close range 4 years ago when he was 14. Impact velocity was about 3,000 fps. It went through about 2 feet of deer and ended up under the hide toward the rear.






About 50 minutes later, his younger brother shot this guy with a shorter-barreled .243 Win with Hornady Lite loads. 87gr SST impacting at about 2,400 fps and exited.

Both deer dropped in their tracks.



Entrance wound:

What muzzle velocity are the 117s running at?

When I had my 250 savage I shot a lot of 100gr ballistic tips, interlocks, and pro hunters. That all worked great!

I settled on the 110 gr. NAB out of my .257 Roberts 24" barrel at 3000 fps. Actually, I think that combo kills too well when it comes to Pronghorn. The exit holes are massive.

Guys, I think I’m going back to Hornady IL 117s or the GK 117s at moderate velocities. They should expand well without blowing up. I have a thing about behind-the-shoulder shots since they tend to do much less meat damage. Since shot placement in the woods is somewhat less than perfect for crazy old pharts I also want a bullet that will go through a shoulder and keep on trucking. That’s the kind of performance I’ve consistently had with Hornady IL 165s and expect with the 117s

Speer 120 is what I used in my 77V 25-06 on 20 something caribou over 3 years. Handloads.

Same result as yours. The OP SST results are surprising, considering my experience with 150 SST's in the 30 '06, on caribou, also mirroring your results.

I believe SST's are designed for expansion at longer ranges, lower velocities? I used Hornady Super Performance factory loads at about 3100. The GMX didn't produce as big holes under 300 yards, but were just as effective as the SST. About 8" difference in POI at 300 yards, the GMX going high and right.

Who needs premiums??? .

If I still had a .25-06, I'd likely use Speer 120's or something close to it in Corelokt or Interbond for handloads at closer ranges. Maybe even a mono.

I am a big fan of 100gr TSX/TTSX/NBT in my 25-06,25-06AI and 25-284.

They flat out work on deer and varmints.

I have good success with 100 grain Ballistic Tips and TTSX from my Browning 25/06. I typically load the Ballistic Tip but both have performed well up close (60 yds or so) as well as 150 yds plus. Most deer go down immediately and in a few cases they may run (if hit behind shoulder) 50 yds or less.

I have always like cup and core Nosler old style Solid Base and Hornady S.P.s in a variety of calibers
and weights.
I have recently been able to acquire 100 gr 25 cals in both, although both are no longer made.
I have yet to shoot game with them, but really looking forward to it.

I did shoot a whitetail with a 100 BT which performed better than the shooter did.

So, did you recover the other two deer? If so, what was the internal damage like?

How far did they run before they got out of sight?

Deer and how they react to shots can drive you crazy. I took two bucks last year both with perfect behind shoulder shots with completely different results.

First was with my 257rob using 100gr BT from 100yds..hit him right behind shoulder taking out both lungs and messed up off shoulder. The way he ran off i thought i missed which I was shocked at that distance. But he ran 40yds into thicket and piled up.

Second was with 280ai and 140BT at 425yds. Hit him perfect behind shoulder and he flipped ass over head and didn't move.

Unless you take out the CNS or break both shoulders, deer are usually going to run. I've taken both lungs out and even most of heart on shots and deer have run 50+ yes. People say deer are easy to kill but they have strong will to live and still amaze me sometimes how far they can run with solid hit.

Could that have been a139gr SST?

My bad...it was a 140 Nosler Ballistic Tip... not SST. Good catch.

The TTSX bullet shoots well, in my rifle but it seems a bit hard for sub 200 pound deer to me, just my opinion. I have had all good results with the 117 grain Hornady and as well the 117 grain Sierra. No deer has made it past 25 yards with a typical shot behind the shoulder. The 257 Robert’s is my favorite deer cartridge.

I’m going to work up some loads with the 117 Sierras and see if I can get good accuracy with IMR 4831 at less than maximum velocities. Most shots here are at 100 yards or less so the lower velocity should be fine even for 200 yards. As a rule I avoid Hail Mary shots. I want clean kills.

I took a buck couple years back with 80ttsx out of my 250ai. It was a quartering away shot and aimed for middle of off front shoulder. Bullet MV is 3563fps and 100yd shot so probably hit the buck around 3400fps.

Buck stumbled a few steps and went down...thought he DRT. Gave him 15 mins and walked up to him and he staggered up stumbled 10ft and dropped back down with his head was up looking at me. Knew he was hit hard and would eventually bleed out but not what I was expecting. Put another shot into chest and he didn't move...still head up looking at me.

Third shot took my time and took a head shot and finally went down. I don't take risky shots and hate seeing game suffer with bad shots. After gutting and skinning the buck...bullet took out liver, one lung and shoulder. Second bullet zipped thru without much damage.

The buck would have eventually bled out and died after first hit since he obviously didn't run off after walking up on him but I won't use the 80ttsx at that speed for behind shoulder shots. It's probably a great thru the shoulders bullet but definitely want more expansion and energy dumped into vitals with softer bullet.

Long story short...if you are a behind the shoulder shooter ...I would look at accubonds, partitions, ballistic tips, etc that fit more into opening up and dumping energy into vitals more than mono bullets with higher speeds.

Honestly, I've always liked the 120 Partition and 117 Interlocks. Great accuracy with either of them.

I’ve had pretty spectacular results with TTSX bullets over the years. I’ve probably shot a dozen deer using slightly lighter than standard weights, i.e. 120 gr bullets in in a 7x57 or .270. They’ve almost always dropped within 20 yards and usually much less. One time though, I hit a large doe a little high and a little far back on the shoulder, at least that’s what I think. She took off and all I could find were a few drops of blood where she was standing when I hit her and then in one or two spots within a few hundred yards. That’s the only deer I ever failed to recover and it still bothers me. My guess is I missed the heart, lungs and spine and possibly the bullet failed to open, but maybe it was just the shot placement. I still use Barnes bullets almost exclusively.

My son has used the 80gr TTSX in the 25-06 for years. He has shot deer to huge-bodied bull moose to brown bear. They work and work well. Like real estate, location, location, location.

My load of 50 gr of 4831 & 117 gr SGK out of 24" ER Shaw barrel is death on whitetails in west TN. Never had any bad experiences, I've stayed away from any SST. Just my opinion, good luck sir.

CLB, if I can find the 117 ILs I’ll buy some. I’ve had consistently great performance from them in 6.5, 7mm, and 30 cal chamberings.

Any experience with the Pro Hunters? I thought my stash was GKs but they’re PH.

Here’s a postscript:
I was rummaging in the man cave and found a box of Hornady American Whitetail 117s, 2 boxes of Remington 100 Core-Lokt, 1box of the Hornady SST 117s (that I’ll sell), 1/2 box of Double Tap 100 TTSX. They all came with my A Bolt and I forgot about them. Too many decisions.

I've had good results from the 25-06 with 100 gr Barnes TSX, 115 gr Berger VLD, and 115 gr Nosler Ballistic Tip bullets.





Regards, Guy

110gr Accubond has worked well for me too

I’ve never used an SST in .257 but the performance you shared is not what I’ve experienced with my 25-06’s. I’ve found it a most emphatic killer if I do my part.

I
I just started loading those 110 gr Accubonds last year and haven't taken game with them yet. The accuracy is sure impressive.

Regards, Guy

The responses to this thread are making me wonder if there was something special in my Wheaties. Question: Isvthere a reason why y’all prefer the tipped bullets to a good cup and core? I have shot a couple of deer with tipped bullets and the exit wounds were the about the size of a big orange or a small grapefruit. Is that your experience?

100g Nosler Partition, 46g H-4350, Ruger No.1, 26" barrel, 257 Roberts. 3200fps + or - a bit. Point Blank Range, 0 - 300yds. Not that a partition is needed, but it doesn't hurt.

i like this load and will try it since i got a bunch of 100 gr.Partitions ,thanks for posting ,Pete53

Pete53, that load is with WW Super 164g case/brass, federal 210M primer @ 2.880 COAL. I use it in three different 257s. 26" Ruger No.1, 24" Savage, and a 20" Ruger Hawkeye.

With the exception of the 100gr TTSX & Partition, I’ve used mostly cup & core. 117 Pro Hunter & 100gr Horn Spirepoint/Interlocks with good success. The 117 pro hunter is pretty stout when shot from a 257 Rob which works good up in our woods.

I have used the 100 grain Nosler Ballistic Tip, 100 grain Swift Scirocco, 120 Nosler PT, 100 TTSX, and the plain old green box 100 grain Core Lokts from the 25-06 and my brothers 257 Wby. Lotsa good ones for the quarter bores.

100 grain Hornady Interlocks - was the go to bullet for my 25-06. I tried SST’s and they were a miserable failure.
I’m going to go with partitions in my 257 and the 25-06, I believe.

I’m going to have to do a lot of testing with my 1 in 14” 250”. Ken Waters wrote that the 1 in 14” twist will shoot 100 grain bullets fine. Others say it won’t. I have 87 & 100 grain hot cores. Some 100 grain partitions. I have my eye out for some Sierras.

I’d like at this time to give a sign of my middle finger sticking up to the new Hornady management.

I have a 250Ai and tried a few bullets 110NPT, 110 AB, 100BT 100g hornady and 100g sierra. I shot one bear and a bunch of deer with it. All the bullets kill deer just fine. but I mostly just shoot 100BT seconds. I havent caught a 100BT and they do enough damage but don't make a mess. Surprisingly the 100NPT seems the softest of the bunch. lots of damage (too much for my taste) and I caught two on broadside shots at deer. The shank in that one is very short and the front very soft.

Yep about 30 years. 117 Sierra, 53-53.5 grains MRP or RL22, Win primer. Worked in both my 25.06. Good bullet.

120 partitions in my no1 since 1975 always made hairy things fall over

You're going to be looking a long time if you're looking for a bullet for any reasonable deer cartridge that's going to put them down right there with "..boiler room right behind the shoulder..." shots. It doesn't matter if you turn the lungs into a bloody pulp, they might run 100 yards or more. If you want them dead right there, you need to wreck the running gear and/or the central nervous system. In most cases, your best chance for doing that is the high shoulder shot. If you hit about a third of the way down the shoulder you have a good chance of busting the spine and the shoulders. You might ruin a couple of pounds of shoulder meat...so what? You've got a deer right there.

I have killed more than a truckload of deer. I can only recall one instance when I shot a deer through the "boiler room" that the deer dropped right on the spot without any big bones or CNS components being hit. That was a small doe hit angling down through the front of the chest at fairly close range by a 150 grain (original) X-bullet from a 7mm RM (not what anyone would consider a soft, explosive bullet.)

I like to shoot them clean, behind the shoulder, when possible and advisable. Since moving down here, however I tend to like them DRT. I only shot one behind the shoulder since I've been down here. It was a perfect hit, good bullet, wrecked the heart and lungs and the deer ran about 75 - 100 yards into the woods. Poking around in the rapidly diminishing light in fairly warm weather (70's) in the brush of the SC Low Country following a slight blood trail, I decided from then on my SC deer were all going to be shot high through the shoulders.

For what it's worth, I've begun playing with my .25-06 AI again after a hiatus of about 15 years and the first bullet I'm going to try is the 117 SGK.

My father put an early 130 grain Ballistic Tip at high speed through a buck, pure broadside behind the leg. The chest cavity contents were wrecked with a large portion blown out of a big exit hole. That deer still managed to go about a hundred yards.

cra1948

I shot four whitetail last fall and all four dropped instantly. They were shot with 7x57 and TTSX bullets. Penetration was through and the exit wounds were big. Two were hit behind the shoulder. one was straight on and hit in the chest. The fourth wasn't a perfect shot by any means it took out the back. I think that bullet was a little aggressive. It was fine for three of the deer. It took out a lot of meat on the fourth.

I have never had that kind of kills with my 25-06. But I think it's possible with the right bullets.

Bugger

I still shoot Nosler 100 grain bullets in both the 25-06 and 257 Roberts with good results. I shot a lot of deer and antelope, but only remember one dropping in it's tracks...

I like boiler room shots and then the animal runs 25 to 75 yards. All the while
pumping out blood from the muscles due to a blown up heart. Any DRT animals
I have shot had a lot of blood left in the whole body because none was pumped out.
Just my 2 cents.

It's a killer.

Expect short runs of maybe 20 yards on lungs shots.

DRT with any of the high or high forward shoulder shots, same as any other cartridge.

No surprise. The front of a Partition is about as soft of lead as you will find.

It's all in the design.

Good luck on the Sierra, especially if Prohunters as I believe those are discontinued.

CRA 1948, I agree with you. I if I have to find one that’s gone 75 yards I’m OK with that as long as I find it. I’ve had good luck with IMR 4831 behind 117s and 120s in my B78. I also have R22. The 4350 I’m trying to save for my 30-06 since it’s gotten hard to find more around here. As for bullets, I have the Sierras in 100 and 117 so I should be all set. If I come up with Partitions I’ll try them as well.

This thread is why I have enjoyed the Campfire for all these years. Your collective input is great and y’all have a lot of experience.

Here is 100g 25cal. partition from a .257 Roberts. Whitetail, quartering away L to R, 153yds, shot tight behind the right shoulder, caught under the hide of the off side shoulder.

Impact at about 2800fps, retained 64.2g. Mushroom to .445.

Looks like perfect performance.

I shot quite a few 100 grain nosler BTs in my 257 Roberts and it worked great on deer. Not sure how they act with the added juice of a 25-06 though

Yep,typical Partition performance and typical weight retention.


Front part of bullet smeared away, all part of the design and why they usually kill pretty quick.


Actual wider than how a Partition usually expands. That's well over 1.5x expansion. Normally the front of the jacket is laid back almost flat to the remaining shank.

The same in my book. That is a tough little bullet that seems to rock deer.

100 NPT is the most accurate bullet in my H.S. .240 Wby.

Never a bad thing when that happens.

DF

OP,
Went through trying times with my 6.5 Swede using some bullets highly regarded
by others. Unbelievable misses, unrecoverable hit deer. A Schmidt show rodeo,
one doe. Went lighter, softer, deer die better now.

Only 25-06 experience is loading some 117gr BT Speers for a friend.
He claims good, quick kills.

I’m going to give the 25-06 one more season with different bullets to see how it does. The rifle is a beautiful A Bolt II Medallion and I love it. The jury is still out on the chambering. I will likely go back to a 6.5x55 if the next season isn’t a helluva lot better.

.007 ain't gonna make a lick of difference.

How is an "unbelievable miss" the fault of a bullet?

Beretzs
Have you used the 100 gr Ballistic tip in the 25-06? Interested in hearing about results. Playing with one now.

GreggH

Thanks 10guage. Interesting reading. The comments by Dogzapper were particularly of note.

GreggH

I've had good luck with the 115gr Partition and 115gr Ballistic Tip, I have loaded up some 110gr Accubonds but haven't used them on a deer yet.

Those were the main point of the links. Probably other threads out there if you will do a little searching on the www

Those were the 2 that popped up with the keywords that I entered.

10gauge, thanks for digging up those threads. They’ve got me thinking. I ran into a guy at the range who hunts only bc with a 25/06. He was convinced that lighter bullets performed better on deer than the 117s and 120s. Dog zapper is certainly a believer. We hunt at much shorter ranges here and I don't know how much difference that may make but it’s worth a try. I’ll see if I can find a 100 gr load my rifle likes.

this year is my 1st year using Hammer bullets for deer and antelope hunting the Hammer bullets work well and are the most accurate bullet i have ever shot out of 257 Weather mag. Ruger # 1`s and my Weatherby Mark 5 and my son`s same Ruger #1 rifle too . i have also had great results out of my 22 K-Honet using Hammer bullets. i do like Nosler Partitions and Swift A-Frame but the Hammer bullets for me are more accurate in the 25 caliber rifles i own and use.

I am in the same boat. I like velocity.

Match the bullet to the game. Lighter softer bullet on light soft game.

Even a big deer is maybe 300#, hardly a big animal to me.

I hunt in brush, a 50 yard shot would be long. From the early 80s until the last 5 or 6 years allmy 6mm shot was an 85 grain Sierra SP. Considered a varmint bullet but it has no trouble punching through deer, even on some shoulder shots.

I have used the Sierra 100 whether boattail or flat base in the 25-06, it works fine as well.

I did have a load in a Savage LR 25-06. Max of IMR-4350 & a 100 grain Ballistic Tip. 3/4" or so with regular primer but a Magnum primer cut that group down to around 1/2", don't forget to experiment a little. Never killed any game with it.

Now I have to look them up. I’m a veritable googlefoo whiz.

You have a PM.

A mate shot a red deer hind with the 100gn Ball. Tip in his .25-06. The bullet exited a side on chest shot.

The 100 gr NBT were all I used in my 25-06 until TSX came along.

They are both potent deer killers but I like the TSX better.

Gregg, we’ve shot a few with the Federal Premium 100 BTs, Rem 100 Core Lokts and hand loaded 100’s using RL22 for 3300 and they crushed deer. Nothing was less than excellent. I was blown away how well the 100 BT worked, even at hyper speed.

Beretzs. Thanks for the response. Going to try some to see how they shoot in the rifle I will be doing load development with as well as my .25-284.

GreggH

Boy, that’s the other part of them, they just seem to wanna shoot great. One of the easy accurate bullets.