This week Hornady announced yet another high performance cartridge based on the 6.5 mm Creedmoor case, the 25 Creedmoor. Competition shooters have been dabbling with combining the case with low-drag, high-BC .25-caliber bullets while Hornady apparently has been quietly pursuing the same course, and now Hornady has released “A .25 for ’25.”
Splitting the difference between the 6 mm Creedmoor and the 6.5 mm Creedmoor, the 25 Creedmoor produces less recoil than the 6.5 mm, but still retains plenty of weight along with a higher G1 BC of .645 for wind resistance, especially needed when shooting way out there. Recoil is so reduced, Hornady says, that a hunter won’t lose his sight picture and can see the impact of his bullet on a big game animal. Less recoil is a relief, too, for smaller competitors shooting a demanding 60-round-plus-sighters Long Range match.
Hornady designed 25 Creedmoor chamber dimensions hand-in-glove with the long, low-drag bullets intended for the cartridge; even with bullets seated well out of the case as is the manner for today’s top-tier precision cartridges, the 25 Creedmoor’s cartridge overall length is still 2.8 inches to feed through AICS-type magazines and chamber in short-action rifles.
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As is typical for the company, Hornady has come to the party ready to sing karaoke: concurrent with the announcement of the new 25 Creedmoor, Hornady has ammunition, reloading dies and brass immediately available. As well, Hornady has on its website a list of 17 gunmakers who can provide 25 Creedmoor rifles or barrels for your build.
Hornady’s initial factory ammo offerings are aimed at both competition shooters and hunters. For competition, the 134-grain ELD Match bullet—which has been performing very well for handloaders for several years—starts with a muzzle velocity of 2800 f.p.s. Hornady says the 25 Creedmoor excels as a hunting cartridge, so the company has topped the case with its 128-grain ELD-X expanding bullet in its Precision Hunter line that launches slightly faster at 2850 f.p.s. from a 24-inch barrel. Bullets in both loads feature Hornady’s Heat Shield tip and DVRT (Drag Variability Reduction Technology) profile.
For specifics on the 25 Creedmoor’s ELD Match downrange performance, go to Hornady’s Ballistic Calculator for the factory load and plug in your environmental conditions, zero and other data.
Hornady’s 25 Creedmoor is coming soon to a firing point near you—maybe at your next match. In a short video at the Hornady website, company Vice President Jason Hornady said, “You will not be disappointed with the performance.”
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