I just learned of this cartridge recently, but haven't seen much talk about it on forums. It evidently requires nothing but a barrel change in an AR. I thought it looked like a interesting option for hogs?
Any thoughts or experience with this caliber in an AR? Is the dearth of chatter about it a clue as to its' efficacy? I'm not sure that it has great BC, though. I don't know how long of a bullet would work in this cartridge.
Any feedback would be appreciated.
Best.
Never heard of it. Heard of 6x45. Wouldn't really be much different, if it's done the way I'm thinking. Might give some performance advantage over a 5.56x45 for that application.
My hunting set-up AR is a 6.8.
This is the manufacturer's page:
http://srcarms.com/wordpress/25-45-sharps/ammunition/
I like that it seems like it would give a bit more horsepower to the AR for hogs and still use the .223 case for brass. And I'm assuming flatter flight over range than the .300 BLK.
There are plenty of .257" wildcats based on the .222/223 cases. The earliest one I’m aware of is the .25 Copperhead that John Wooters developed in the early 70's, but I’m sure there were others. If you want that level of performance, then the 250 Savage or 257 Roberts are much better ways to go. The main reason for them is the popularity of the AR platform and the fact that the .223 is illegal for big game in a lot of places. If you want to use the AR platform AND it’s illegal to hunt big game with a .223 where you live, then these cartridges (plus the 7.62x40 WT, and the various 6mm and 6.5mm variants) start to make a lot more sense.
The problem is that right now, several very good options are in the works and none has dominated the market. I think we'll standardize on two or three .223-based cartridges in the next 10-15 years, but we're not there yet.
After WWII, people based dozens of very good wildcats on the .300 H&H belted magnum case. It took nearly 30 years, but those cartridges finally sorted themselves into today’s 7mm Remington Magnum, 300 Winchester Magnum, and 338 Winchester Magnum lineup, which left the 7x61 Sharpe & Hart, .334 OKH, .308 Norma Magnum, and a hatful of other excellent cartridges gathering dust.
If the .223 is illegal for big game in your neck of the woods and you want to hunt with an AR, then I think that the smart call is to get a 300 BLK upper and bide your time.
Okie John
“The reliability of the 30-06 on most of the world’s non-dangerous game is so well established as to be beyond intelligent dispute.” Finn Aagaard
"Don't fuck with it" seems to prevent the vast majority of reported issues." BehindBlueI's
Couldn't agree more!Originally Posted by okie john
I have owned a 25-45 Sharps SRC 20" HB upper for over a year and a half. Last fall I killed two 125# does with one shot each of the 87 grain Hot Core pointed soft point ammo. I shot them broadside and did not have to look beyond 25 yards for either deer. SRC has plenty of ammo and reloading dies. The reloading brass is probably the most common reloadable brass (.223/5.56) in the US. The 25-45 Sharps duplicates the performance of the original 250 Savage (250/3000) load with the 87 grain bullet at 3000 fps. The 25-45 will match that velocity with the 87 grain bullet and the 20" barrel. 100 grain bonded bullets are also available. Highly recommend the 25-45 sharps. Plan to LW one with a 16"bbl.
LC - that sounds interesting. I ran across this article on .25-45 on a sight called, "American Hunter". I don't know how accurate the article is, but it sounds promising.
https://www.americanhunter.org/artic...-sharps-rifle/
I noticed this paragraph from the article with interest:
"I fired all four SRC factory loads through the rifle. The original 87-grain Speer Hot-Cor soft-point load averaged 2978 fps—close enough to the 3000 fps mark to back SRC’s claims. This is a great all-purpose load that’s also available in a remanufactured format retailing for 34 percent less. The third load, intended for varmints and predators, launched Sierra’s 70-grain BlitzKing bullet at almost 3100 fps. Designed especially for feral hogs, the fourth load—the Swine Smasher—uses a new bonded-core bullet called Dead Tough developed by SRC. It’s a 100-grain, blunt-nose projectile that’s supposed to penetrate deeper than 24 inches in 10 percent ordnance gelatin."
He doesn't mention the velocity of that 100 grain bullet, but I like the idea of having three uppers, with attached, zeroed scopes in 5.56, .25-45 and .300 BLK. I also like that I could load all three from the same parent case.
I guess I want cake and to be able to eat it too...
Last edited by Rack; 09-20-2016 at 10:59 AM.
American Hunter is one of the official magazines for the NRA, the other being American Rifleman.
If you want to keep your AR in any caliber, you need to become an NRA member.
This site http://store.srcarms.com/product-p/25x45-100ss.htm lists the velocity of the 100-grain load at 2,650 fps, which could be very interesting if you were launching a spitzer boat-tail of that weight.
Okie John
“The reliability of the 30-06 on most of the world’s non-dangerous game is so well established as to be beyond intelligent dispute.” Finn Aagaard
"Don't fuck with it" seems to prevent the vast majority of reported issues." BehindBlueI's
Already am a member. Forgot the name of their hunting magazine.
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