25 Dart

[Lee Martin]

I thought I'd share an old benchrest rifle my dad built back in 1992. We haven't shot it in 10 plus years but had it out on Friday.

The action, scope base, rings, and trigger guard are all home-made. The barrel is a Schneider.





The round was designed by H.L. Culver in the late 1950's. Essentially it's a 25 caliber on shortened and improved 220 Swifts.

25 Darts we formed on Norma brass, necks turned to 0.281":





It shot OK considering we loaded 75 grain Sierras over old IMR 3031 (plus the shooter, namely me, is a novice at the wind game).



-Lee
www.singleactions.com

 

[John Kielly]

Gee, remember when they looked like real rifles.......

Nice.

 

[R.G. Robinett]

Nice cartridge/rifle - what's the barrel twist rate? RG
P.S. And, case capacity - H2O?

 

[Lee Martin]

Thanks. The 25 Dart holds roughly 44.5 grains of water and is 1.88" in total length. As for the twist I'll have to ask my dad. It's either 1:10 or 1:12.

Incidentally, Culver cut the Dart to 1.5" in the 60's and necked it to 6mm. The 30 degree shoulder was retained and base (as with all Swifts) measured 0.447". He called it the 6 Screwball. It's very close to another cartridge we all know and love.

-Lee
www.singleactions.com

 

[R.G. Robinett]

Thank you, for sharing the info, Lee. RG