25 TCU?

[Blackhawk44]

Anyone ever play with this one?  Trying 75gr and 100gr bullets.  About to try one in 10" Contender.  Thanks for the input.

[alan in ga]

I like the TCU case in single shots. Would probably be more prone to try a 25 TCU in a carbine barrel myself. I think the 'plain ol' 6 TCU with all the match grade bullets would be my first choice,,and I'm a 25 caliber fan [own three Ruger 77s in 250 Savage].
alan in ga.

[casper_zip]

:-)  

Hey Blackhawk44:

I shoot the 15" 257 TCU and love it. With 75 grain Nosler HP's, it will put them into one small ragged hole all day long. This is one sweet shooting caliber. I had intended originally to have a barrel made called the 25 CopperHead. It was "invented" by John Wooters, one of your Texas guys. It was the featured article in Handloader Magazine, this came out about 1969. I still have this Handloader Issue. He used the 222 case necked it to 25 Cal. and named it the 25 CopperHead.

About 25 years passed by, but I never forgot this one, often went back and read and re-read his article. In the meantime, doing research, many and most people had never heard of this 25 CopperHead. I did find out that if I used the 223 case necked to 25 caliber, I'd have a 257 TCU. Thats the route I went, as I have a good supply of 223 brass, and its so easy to make 257 TCU cases.

I burn lots of AA-2200 and it makes this 257 TCU perform like crazy, and accuracy for varmints, crows, etc. and it will kill deer out as far as I ever shoot them.

I also shoot and love the 6mmX45 like Bob Milek used so much. Its just the same as the 257 CopperHead as far as power and accuracy. If you are a fan of the late Bob Milek as I am, he stated many times his caliber of choice in handguns were the 25 CopperHead/257 TCU, and the 6MM/223 or as some folks call it, the 6MMx45.

Glad to see folks who use the 25's and 6MM's in the T/C Contenders. My next one I am working on is the 30/223. I have the 300 Whisper and love it, but want a little more power with the 223 case necked to 30 caliber.

Holler at me if I can help you any way.

Casper_Zip

[Bug]

I have also looked long & hard at this cartridge. The only hang-up I have is my preference for 10" bbls. It would seem just a tad too much capacity for the 10 inch barrel. Also looked closely at the .257 Copperhead. Seems about ideal for the 10", and would be a significant step up from the .256 Win Mag. However, I have about decided to make my next project a rimmed Copperhead... A .357 Remington Maximum case run into a .25 Copperhead die. I should get about ideal capacity for the 10 incher, and the added plus of a rimmed case. Also, I'll have something to shoot up all the .25 cal bullets (almost 20 Lbs!) I have left sitting on the shelf. In fact, I just emailed a 'smith about this, asking for his opinion.>>>>>>Bug.

[Blackhawk44]

Bug- just a thought but you might want to stay with 5.56 brass.  Max brass getting harder to find every day.  Wooters' Copperhead was designed for a rifle.  He never played with Contenders.  John stayed with 222 brass because did not want any more velocity and wanted the longer neck to help hold cast bullets.  If you want less velocity out of the 5.56 case don't reduce capacity, step down in powders.  Instead of 335 and 748 use 1680, 4227, Lil Gun and Blue Dot.  James Calhoon uses Blue Dot in 223 to go from almost full speed down to Hornet down to 22 mag.  Bob Milek used to use 12.5 gr of Blue Dot for full loads in the 221 Fireball.  Works great, I used it.  Just take lots of care trying for max speeds, go more slowly and watch VERY closely for pressure.  They can jump very quickly.  I'm thinking maybe somewhere between 10 to 11.5 gr Blue Dot in our TCU with 75 grain bullets.  Should be at or just above high 25-20 to 256 speeds.  Side benefit in the Fireball was much reduced muzzleblast and flash.

[Bug]

I wasn't really wanting to reduce capacity from the Copperhead. The 357 Max case would only reduce the neck length by about 0.100" (1/10th inch)from the Copperhead. All other dimensions would stay the same, as would case capacity, at around 27 gr of water, which is about where I want to be. The .256 is down around 15gr. What I was looking for was an easy rechamber for a .256 Win Mag barrel. These can be had without going to a custom shop. The rechamber might could be done by running a piloted .222 reamer in the chamber, followed by a .25 throater. A .25 PPC was also suggested, if you want to go with a rimless case. A custom reamer runs in the neighborhood of $175, and then you have to have dies made also - maybe a neck die for the .222 with a .283 bushing? The only reason I don't already have one, is that other necessities, like house, car, food, etc., keep getting in the way, so, I'm going to have to keep it on the shelf until I decide it's just a gotta-have, or I have an unexpected windfall. This should be a dandy ctg. for things like the Martinis, rolling blocks, NEF, etc. Maybe I'll find a 'smith interested enough to "Invent" it.>>>>>>Bug.

[Blackhawk44]

Gotcha, Bug!  Now I see where you are headed.  Like I said, the only fly in the ointment could be Max brass.  If for some reason you have to go with rimless, could even start with 221 Fireball reamer and use cutoff GI brass.  If it doesn't have enough poop, just work your way up the reamers, 222, 223, 222mg.  Enough.  Luck, BH