Got a Question.

[skeet]

Anybody here ever done anything with a 25 Gibbs cartridge?? I have run up on a Gibbs built by Gibbs himself on a mauser action. Original owner who is in his 80s. Rifle is in exc condition.... the stock was made out of nicely figured Myrtle. BBl is pretty good and the gun overall is really nice..maybe 96%...which isn't bad considering it was made in the late 50s early 60s..Scope is an older Redfield 6x..comes with dies brass bullets everything. Don't want to put the price here yet..hoping someone knows about the Gibbs cartridges..especially the 25 Gibbs. If it all works out I will post a pic or two.

[Jack]

Probably you know as much as I do, Skeet.
Rocky Gibbs was a gunsmith in the same era as P.O.Ackley. Gibbs developed a line of ultra 'improved' cartridges- meaning the parent cartridge is blown out about as much as the brass can stand. Gibbs cartridges will NOT chamber in a factory chamber- the shoulder has been moved forward on all the Gibbs line.
The parent case for the 25 Gibbs is the 25-06 or 30-06, I believe.
Rocky Gibbs may have worked with belted cases, too, but his line of super improved cartridges is what he's known for.
Loading data? Good luck. I think you could start with 25-06 improved data, and work up from there.

[skeet]

Guy has some paperwork for the rifle..Rocky Gibbs made it and there is loading data etc with it...but this is dated stuff as you can well guess. Don't know what a Gibbs built rifle is worth..but the price seems to be workable I'd think.. Going to look at other guns too. Guy has an old Remington 31 Trap gun too..as well as some older S&W handguns...and a load of reloading items..my specialty

[Jack]

P.O Ackley's book has some load data, too- I'm sure whatever data Gibbs gave to Ackley. Most of that data scares the daylights out of me - developed before pressure testing equipment was commonly available, and Ackley took data from whatever sources he could get and reprinted it.
Back in those days, wildcatters were often really enthusiastic at the powder measure. :) And Mauser actions were really cheap.

[Adam Helmer]

skeet,

A Gibbs Rifle is worth whatever a willing buyer will pay.

I have many old books and read about Newton and Gibbs. It seems not much those fine men expoused caught on then, or now. I would not even bid on a Gibbs rifle.

Adam

[Larryjk]

Adam Helmer, I believe that "Rocky" Gibbs first improved the 270 Winchester to the .270 Gibbs. He worked with Elmer Keith in development of a tube that was inserted into the case to send the primer flash to the front of the case to start the powdr burning at that end. This was a difficult feat at best and was dropped. I cannot find much documentation about that process. If you can find a case with the tube in place you have an item that is priceless. They are bing searched for on the internet. I recently refinished the stock on a .30 Gibbs and showed the owner how to load for the cartridge.
(He had inherited from his father and knew nothing about the rifle.)

[skeet]

Larry..Need your addy to send cases to. And as for the cases with the forward priming flash the guy actually had a couple but not for the 25 Gibbs they were for a 30 mag case..Was looking at an old artillery case the other day that had one of those tubes in it.. The guy wants a bit much for the rifle but is a realist..he smiled and told me 3000 bucks..I smied back and told him it wasn't worth a third of that..When he asked why..I said..people nowdays don't want to make their ammo..they may reload but you have to MAKE the 25 Gibbs...and only fools like me and you would WANT to do that.. He kinda smiled and said..yeah..you're right. I offered 700 buck..for rifle brass ammo dies etc etc. Buying a bunch of other things from him though.. He has 5000 once fired old style AA 12 ga empties which I want to get..and 30,000 large and small rifle primers at 15 per M so gotta get them. No powder that I want..and another 50 lbs of 38 once fired cases another rifle I want to get is a Browning 78 single shot in 6mm Rem..Looks new but he wants 800 for it..I wanna pay 700..we'll see has a 6x Redfield on it. As far as the Ackleys and the Gibbs and others.. Most people didn't and don't want to have to make their ammo from scratch..and with those cartridges you have to..so that suffered. The reason most ammo companies didn't go with the improved cases was because they were hard to make from scratch..with straight no tapered cases and sharp shoulders..and as Jack pointed out..their results were to put it bluntly a bit on the enthusiastic side. Some did well like the 250-3000 AI..worked great..the 257 AI did really well..the others..not so much and nowhere near as touted. The AI 06 gained 50 fps on average..why do that?? Not enough gain for the work.. I have a 257 Roberts AI..and in equal rifles it almost equals the 25-06. To each his own I guess. As Adam wouldn't bid on a Gibbs..I won't really look twice at old military stuff....but that is what makes the world go round. The 25 Gibbs has loading data with it using the old WWII surplus 4831(I have a bit of that) using 3 to 4 grains more than a 25-06...There are newer powders that will probably work even better than what was available back then.. There are 7 or 8 pages of mimeographed papers with loading data..with notations made by Rocky Gibbs that go with the rifle.. LOL.. They quit doing mimeographing just after I left high school