25 acp

[Blammer]

any suggestions on what mold to get?

What as cast dia should I look for?

[Catshooter]

Blammer,

Moulds for it are hard to find. I'd grab any that showed up.

The .25 is supposed to be .251 bore diameter, but of course the truth is the truth. I have seen .248 and .250 so who knows?


Cat

[reloader28]

Noe makes a nice looking 50gr fn that I think would be perfect. My 25 is out of commision right at the moment so its on hold so far

[Echo]

dang 25's are too fiddly small for my paws...

[RED BEAR]

I use an up mold for a 46 gr flat nose and a 44 gr hollow point. Not sure if they have went up but I got both for under 100 dollars the 46 gr is 4 cavity and the 44 is a three cavity. I was expecting different pins not two different molds both work great . Good company to deal with. I just love my 25s great fun shooting.

[35remington]

Supposed to be .251”.....groove diameter.

[photomicftn]

You can look for a Lyman/Ideal 51gr RN mold on eBay, or try this from NOE:

[Wayne Smith]

I use an up mold for a 46 gr flat nose and a 44 gr hollow point. Not sure if they have went up but I got both for under 100 dollars the 46 gr is 4 cavity and the 44 is a three cavity. I was expecting different pins not two different molds both work great . Good company to deal with. I just love my 25s great fun shooting.

You might mention the company name since you think so highly of them!

[mattw]

Following this with interest...

I have around 200 loaded rounds and 400 empty brass waiting on a gun to follow me home. I have a Phoenix Arms HP22A, 22LR with both barrels. It has never failed to fire or eject and the daughters love it. From what I understand if you get a good one, keep it for ever... If you get a bad one, send it back they will make it good. They make a 25ACP, may track one down this winter. I also like the Beretta tip up DA/SA, but they do not show up reasonably very often.

That said, over the years I have ended up with a couple random moulds for the 25, have never cast one. I did reload these for a commercial casting/loading buddy a few times over the years as they were not a good candidate for the 1050! I always test fired a few in an old Colt 25 or Browning 25. Loved the Browning! I would love to see someone like Kel-tec make a 25.

[RED BEAR]

Sorry the company is mp molds my tablet auto corrected my spelling just search for mp molds. I think they are in Slovenia or something like that but shipping is free and mine got here in a little over a week. I think the 25 is under .251 . Nice brass mold very well made. And yes I do think highly of them.

[Wayne Smith]

Yup, MP Molds is Mia Prevec and he is in Slovenia. Well known to this site. I have several of his molds, just no .25 pistol.

[Chev. William]

NOE Has a "Cherry" designed to cut BOTH the TL255-50-RF and The TL255-65-RF Bullet Molds and I have purchased both bullet Molds from NOE. 50 grain bullets are standard, 65 grain bullets offer more energy retention although you will need to develop hand loads for them. I try to load for about 25,000psi MAP with either. A 63 grain bullet is also special order available from Hunter Supply and I have fired them with 3.0 grain charge of Bullseye in my Ruger Revolver. about twice the Muzzle rise over 'PPU' .25ACP/6,35 Browning factory loads.

Both Bullets are designed to be sized to Fit YOUR barrel Dimensions as Taurus and one other gun maker cuts the Bore/Groove diameters over nominal. I have seen a photo of a 35 grain .251" Diameter Jacketed bullet in the Muzzle of a Taurus with Daylight showing around it.

My Custom converted Ruger Single Eight in .25ACP has .251 Grooves/.243 Bore according to my gunsmith. It has a Custom 10-5/8" barrel on it and can shoot better than I can at this time.

Chev. William

[allsy]

NOE Has a "Cherry" designed to cut BOTH the TL255-50-RF and The TL255-65-RF Bullet Molds and I have purchased both bullet Molds from NOE. 50 grain bullets are standard, 65 grain bullets offer more energy retention although you will need to develop hand loads for them. I try to load for about 25,000psi MAP with either. A 63 grain bullet is also special order available from Hunter Supply and I have fired them with 3.0 grain charge of Bullseye in my Ruger Revolver. about twice the Muzzle rise over 'PPU' .25ACP/6,35 Browning factory loads.

Both Bullets are designed to be sized to Fit YOUR barrel Dimensions as Taurus and one other gun maker cuts the Bore/Groove diameters over nominal. I have seen a photo of a 35 grain .251" Diameter Jacketed bullet in the Muzzle of a Taurus with Daylight showing around it.

My Custom converted Ruger Single Eight in .25ACP has .251 Grooves/.243 Bore according to my gunsmith. It has a Custom 10-5/8" barrel on it and can shoot better than I can at this time.

Chev. William

Thank you for that, I am looking for a .25ACP bullet for range only work. The 50-RF might be the ticket. Those little bullets in plated or jacketed have been very hard to find.

[Chev. William]

Hunters Supply lists 48 grain Lead Bullets that should size to fit your bore, in both FP and HP configurations.
They also will cast either in 'soft' or "hard' alloy Lead by custom order.

I also have not seen .25ACP Plated bullets available.

.25ACP Jacketed 50 grain bullets are sometimes offered (Magtech, PPU) and 35 grain HP are generally available (Hornady, Sierra) as reloading Supplies.

Chev. William

[Chev. William]

SADLY, The Industry Standard Test Barrel for Ammunition development of .25ACP is 6 inches and some use even shorter.
As a result Factory Ammo is Optimized for Short barrel Pistol use, not for longer Barreled Revolver or possible rifle use.
From Posted testing (Ballistics By The Inch) the factory .25ACP seems to give highest Muzzle Velocity out of a 16 inch long Barrel in a single shot Firearm; but is still slightly subsonic at around 1000-1100fps (the speed of sound is about 1124fps in our typical elevation of use).

Hand loads for longer barrels can, and do, improve that performance.
Estimates of Pressures in a Ruger Custom Single Eight Revolver in .25ACP with a 10-5/8" long barrel and about .004" Gap, firing a 3.0 grain charge of Bullseye behind a 63 grain bullet are about 25,000psi; similar to a 3.1 grain charge behind a 50 grain bullet.
Muzzle Velocity has not yet been Measured on these loads; but there is an Audible "Crack" to the report while wearing both Earplugs and Sound Deadening Earmuffs at the same time.
Stock Factory Loads did not have the "Crack" in their reports.

Chev. William

[GRUMPA]

I'm using the NOE mould, bullet itself comes out just fine. I sized PC'd mine and got lead build up the first 1/2" in the barrel. Ole wonder schmuck (me) took it for granted the barrel was a .251 diameter. After slugging the barrel it ckecked out at .253 and that project now sits.

I want to make a larger expander, factory LEE is to small and squeezes the boolit to small when you press a boolit in it.

All I'm wondering is with a fatter boolit, if it will fit in the chamber.

I do remember the C.O.L. was shorter than what the books call out. Mine wouldn't cycle at factory length.

[Chev. William]

I'm using the NOE mould, bullet itself comes out just fine. I sized PC'd mine and got lead build up the first 1/2" in the barrel. Ole wonder schmuck (me) took it for granted the barrel was a .251 diameter. After slugging the barrel it ckecked out at .253 and that project now sits.

I want to make a larger expander, factory LEE is to small and squeezes the boolit to small when you press a boolit in it.

All I'm wondering is with a fatter boolit, if it will fit in the chamber.

I do remember the C.O.L. was shorter than what the books call out. Mine wouldn't cycle at factory length.

GRUMPA,
IF you are Using the TL255-50-RF NOE mold it should have dropped bullets of about .255" band diameter, which should allow sizing properly for your .253" Groove diameter Barrel.
Unless, of course you stated the measured Bore Diameter! then the Grooves would be even Larger and you may need a Custom bullet mold after all; OR Start with .258" diameter Lead Alloy bullets and size them to .001" over Groove diameter.
I believe NOE lists some in their '.260" series'.
Jacketed Bullets CAN be resized down successfully IF LUBED FIRST! I know because I thoroughly 'Stuck' a un-lubericated Jacketed bullet in a Lee Push through Sizing die. Lee Graciously replaced the sizing die after trying to lap the Galled Jacket material out of my die first.
Just took ONE Stuck bullet to ruin that sizing die.

Chev. William

[GRUMPA]

Yes it was the groove dia I called out. I'm not keen on the idea of buying j-words, except in the high power stuff which pretty much goes with rifles. I have j-words for the 25 but heck if I can make the goofy things at a fraction of the cost I'm gonna do it..

[Chev. William]

any suggestions on what mold to get?

What as cast dia should I look for?

As cast diameter can be anything over .253" for use in correct .25ACP or 6,35 Browning dimensioned bore and groove diameter barrels. if you need to cast for a Taurus .25 Auto barrel , then .256" might be a better starting 'as cast' diameter.

NOE now has a 'cheery' designed to cut two different weight molds for nominal .255" diameter which are suitable for sizing to .25ACP/6,35 Browning diameter after tumble lube. I use a Lee .251" or .252" push through sizing die to fit my Lothar Walther derived Barrel(s). LW barrel Blanks are made to CIP dimensions and are manufactured with .001" tolerance on bore and Groove diameters according to what the L.W. USA office told me.

The NOE mold names are TC255-50-RF and TC255-65-RF and are partt of the 'Ranch Dog' design series bullet molds.

[Chev. William]

Yes it was the groove dia I called out. I'm not keen on the idea of buying j-words, except in the high power stuff which pretty much goes with rifles. I have j-words for the 25 but heck if I can make the goofy things at a fraction of the cost I'm gonna do it..

Grumpa,
I have successfully resized after Tumble lubing Hornady #2510 60 grain J-word .257" diameter down to .250" diameter so it is doable successfully (100 percent yield when lube before size).
Since .250" is my Rifle Barrel's Groove diameter, I assume they "Bump up" to just fit the Groove diameter upon firing. Residual lube remains on them after sizing and loading into cases so I have not experienced any Copper fouling to date in my shooting them.

This brings up the Question: Is Copper Fouling due to firing Unlubed Jacketed Bullets?

Chev. William