.25 or .257
Hi guys, been almost a yr. since being here, with the move, hunting season, and two heart attacks inwhich the last one had the buzzards circling. Anyway I am getting a little better and have a question. I noticed that R&L has in stock now two different length .257 barrels, 24″ & 27 5/8(700mm). What I would like to know is if anyone has used one and how accurate it is compared to a regualar LW 24″ .25 barrel? The comments on their site say it will shoot .25 pellets also and to have one that will shoot both would be great. If I bought one it would be the 700mm length one offered. I’m just curious which would be better to invest in having, the regular 24″ .25 LW barrel or this .257(700mm) barrel which would give me something to tinker with in the future? 
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I you do go with the TJ barrel with hopes of someday doing the cast bullet shooting, have Dyotat do the barrel and bushings, in the mean time just use a LW. There is more to it than just putting AF style bushings on a TJ barrel and Doug, our Dyotat had the hammers, springs and experience to make these cast bullet rifles run properly. Doug deals with TJ all the time and can get you the barrel when needed. Sounds like you can have the range up and running to get the safe distance these rifles need.
It sounds like you have the time, so if it were me I would let Doug do it.
If you can go class 3 then anything you put on your deer rifle can be removed and work pretty well on a cast bullet Condor type rifle if threaded . Common air gun type LDC have a habit of turning into air powered projectiles, or their internals end up a wad of unidentifiable material at the end cap. LDC’s need to be manufactured with the understanding that they operate at 3500 PSI and beyond, or be a shroud like a Condor SS, however with a different end cap that will not stretch the frame/end cap holes like the present one does on just 3000 PSI. But even if with a intentionally designed LDC, these are not going to be “the bird feeder mouse far quiet” or neighbor friendly unless those neighbors live quite a piece down the road. On my Haley I never even tried.
Thanks Roachcreek. I know to go full cast in .257 there would be many mods to be done for proper shooting. I just thought it would be nice to have a barrel for the .25 and one day if I get that wild hair to move on up I would already have a barrel. I spent quite a while reading here last nite and saw where some have gone to a larger tank and a higher pressure. I would not mind having a larger tank but for the .22 and .25 I know I would not need the higher pressure. And since my move I do have the space to stretch out the shots, although a lot of trees at present that need to go. If cleared I probably would have almost 300 yards to shoot. The shoebox compressor is on my want list also and would be a much needed item for going larger. I read too about the .30 cal that Tony is working on and it sounds real sweet! Maybe one day I can join the big dogs if my ticker holds out..lol
Oh, I have not searched hard but is there a noise suppressor that might work similar to a shroud that would screw on to the end of my threaded barrel, maybe new product in the last year? Already aware of TKO/Mountain Air and their acc. They don’t make any for the Airforce Condor. Here in Louisiana they have finally joined other states in allowing all game and predator hunting with suppression and goes into law this August, so may go class III for my deer rifle. Would just like something simple to put on and take off easier than a shroud. Where I live noise is not a concern in the least as there is gunfire almost daily all around. If could just drop sound down to hammer hitting it would not spook the tree rats as bad. :biggrinn:
Randy claims that his 257 TJ barrels shoot pellets very accurately and at very high speeds with his valves, speeds that we air gunners try to avoid, he is doing this with barrels that are not throated for cast bullets, as he never intended when he started selling those barrels for them to be cast bullet shooters. I have all the faith in the world as to Randy’s veracity so don’t think that I am doubting him.
As a cast bullet shooter you would need a source of 4500 PSI air, as the cast bullet guns eat air like nothing else. My Haley got 45 shots for a 66 CF bottle from 4500 to 3400 shooting tethered. And you would need to have a reliable source of cast bullets, to do it right you would want to cast them yourself and to have a 100 yard range to shoot them on.
Now add to that the fact that if you made the jump to cast bullets, you would have to throat our barrel and get a Dyotat valve and hammer, this would make your barrel pretty much worthless as a pellet shooter, or at least with the accuracy associated with pellet shooters. Although at that point as a cast bullet shooter it would be a stellar performer. But with a RL valve it just does not have the power needed to do it right.
If your not going to cast bullets for yourself, and jump through all the hoops of dedication that cast bullet shooters live with, your better off just getting the LW barrel I would think.
As you know, I dearly loved shooting cast bullets and those I infected 😛 have a great time shooting cast bullets in air guns, but at 65 and even being in excellent health, I myself at times wonder if I want to start it all over again and get the thousands of dollars in equipment and come up with the dedication that is needed.
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I never bought into the .257 barrel shooting .25 pellets well. First he claimed that Kings were accurate at very high velocities. No way in hell! So just to give his claims a fair shot, I toned my TalonDor .257 down and shot .25 JSB, and Benji doms at 900 fps from it.
I can only guess that his claims are at the VERY old school 10 meters, or yards. Not Real shooting for a .25 in my mind. At 50 yards, they were in the 2″ range. At 80 yards, in the 7-10″ range. But to be fair, a lot of them went into 4 inch range.
Now keep in mind that my LW .25 bbl will shoot at 1-3/4″ at said range, and the .257 cast bullets will cut that in half!
For the Speed accuracy claim, I turned her up to the setting i use for the .257 cast bullet, and put some pellets thru her. 😯 😯 😆 Most missed the target completely. With some pellets going several FEET off of POA! :rofl: Could you hit a varmint with it? Possibly. Wit a shit load of luck! Could you pick the spot to hit it, No Way In Hell!! Now at 10 yards, there is no problem. 🙄 I Don’t shoot no Stink’n 10 yards with a pcp! Much less with a cannon such as a HOT .257! Perhaps he was comparing the accuracy to a .177 spoingr for hunting??? 😉
Knife