Author Topic: The jewel of the TCU calibers  (Read 1394 times)

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Offline Flash

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The jewel of the TCU calibers
« on: November 15, 2012, 10:54:33 PM »
Anyone shooting the 257? I have a carbine barrel on the way and am looking for some load data. I've wanted one of these for years and had so many things more important so, im finally getting one. Any body out there play with one of these??
What doesn't kill us, makes us stronger!

Offline pastorp

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Re: The jewel of the TCU calibers
« Reply #1 on: November 15, 2012, 11:29:05 PM »
The only tcu cartridge I've played with much is the 7 tcu. But I do love the quarter bores. And have been wanting a 25 cal. that I could use in a contender carbine. I was thinking of one based on the 30-30 case but lately I've been leaning more to the 257JDJ.

Be interesting to hear how your project works out for you.

Byron

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Offline Flash

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Re: The jewel of the TCU calibers
« Reply #2 on: November 16, 2012, 01:40:53 AM »
I would have bought the 25-35 but decided on the TCU instead. A friend of mine had the JDJ  and it was the absolute sweetest contender barrel I ever saw in 25 caliber but i want something slower.
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Offline smousefam5

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Re: The jewel of the TCU calibers
« Reply #3 on: November 17, 2012, 01:00:34 PM »
We had a 25-35 Contender barrel for a while and it was a lot of fun. I'm thinking a carbine barrel would make for a sweet rig.


I've had a 7TCU and just picked up a 6TCU carbine barrel. All of the TCU chamberings are pretty sweet in my estimation.

Offline Flash

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Re: The jewel of the TCU calibers
« Reply #4 on: November 21, 2012, 09:26:49 AM »
Shot my 25 TCU today and boy does it shoot nice. Im getting about half inch groups at 100 yards without really trying. I avoided the high cost of dies by opening the neck with a Lyman M die and after firing, i next size with a carbide 25acp sizer die. Commercial dies are just too darn expensive. Oh and im seating with a 7mm TCU.
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Offline pastorp

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Re: The jewel of the TCU calibers
« Reply #5 on: December 10, 2012, 10:17:54 PM »
Well Flash, is this 257tcu a hunting barrel or something else?

Now that you have used it for a little while do you still like it ?

What bullets have you settled on in it for your use?  Inquiring minds want to know?

Regards,
Byron

Christian by choice, American by the grace of God.

NRA LIFE

Offline Flash

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Re: The jewel of the TCU calibers
« Reply #6 on: December 12, 2012, 01:12:58 AM »
Its going to be a hunting barrel for anything that can be taken with it. I've tried the 75 grain Sierra HP and a charge of AA2200 and Im quite pleased with this load but im sure the barrel has potential to shoot other loads as well as this one and with other powders. For using a rudimentary loading method, this barrel has become one of my prized shooters. The brass bumps up to 25 caliber so easily without losing any and i haven't noticed any difference in performance with commercial or military cases. My next step is to scrub the fouling out of it and load some cast bullet rounds to see how it handles those. I've heard MGM chambers with very little free bore so im hopeful the barrel does well with lead. The charge of AA2200 is at 95% plus, load density which is a big help with jacketed accuracy so a powder which isn't position sensitive with a relatively high density will be my starting point. If you're on the fence about owning one, don't hesitate. Ed's had it in stock and it was at my door in four days, including Sunday. Did i mention that i love it?
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Offline Elwood

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Re: The jewel of the TCU calibers
« Reply #7 on: December 13, 2012, 10:01:28 AM »
The 25-223 has been getting a lot of attention on ar15.com. Your TCU has more powder space than a 25-223 so it should easily digest the loads mentioned in this thread. http://www.ar15.com/forums/t_3_121/499109_25_223.html
I would still proceed with caution though.
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Offline Flash

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Re: The jewel of the TCU calibers
« Reply #8 on: December 13, 2012, 11:45:36 AM »
The 25-223 has been getting a lot of attention on ar15.com. Your TCU has more powder space than a 25-223 so it should easily digest the loads mentioned in this thread. http://www.ar15.com/forums/t_3_121/499109_25_223.html
I would still proceed with caution though.

Thanks, i got a ton of loads from a member here but more is better in this case.
What doesn't kill us, makes us stronger!