There is a thread running in the medium bore section about the biggest game taken with a non magnum 7mm. I was wondering, what is the biggest game animal you have take with your .25 caliber? Give us some details, bullet type, distance, etc. I am interested because I have a .257 Roberts on the way.

I have shot some hogs with my 257AI with a 100 grain Accubond.So far the 2 largest were 135 yards away,they both weighted about 350 pounds.
It seems that every time I carry this rifle I wind up with no deer but coyotes and hogs seem to come out of the woodwork.

spike elk at 240 yards...

120 grain Rem corlokt....25/06

I was mule deer hunting eastern Washington and also had a spike elk only tag.

I was set up glassing a large canyon with water in the bottom and several draws feeding from a larger spine that leads to the Cascade mountains.

It was a blue bird day with a cold front exiting the night before and another front expected the next day. There were all sorts of animals moving around, coyotes, mule deer, and elk. It was around 10 am and I had already passed on a small 3x3 and was enjoying the warm morning sun, and a dry mat to sit on.

I had heard some elk whistling and could see a few cows 400-500 yards down in the canyon. I was really interested in a mulie buck I thought was in the area, and had seen the year before while chukar hunting the same area.

It was one of those really cool moments when you know you are in the right place at the right time.

Anyway, I was watching these cow elk way the heck out there, when this spike popped up about 70 yards away out of a little draw, I saw him about the same second he rounded the hill and winded me. He came up short, wheelied around and headed back up the draw he just came out of, I got a look through the scope, but did not shoot as he was trotting and heading away.

I guess he was curious, because about 2 minutes later I see him standing in this big clump of sagebrush on the next rise on my side of the canyon, about 240 yards out, a little above, wind is at my back and 5-10mph. I put the first one just over his heart, and the second one in the liver. He went 40 yards up hill and rolled almost to the bottom. Worked out well for me, the truck was less than a mile away

I've confined my .257 and .25-06 to deer sized animals but have run the distance to a full 400 yards........seems to kill them just fine at that range.

I use the 120 HP from Hornady mostly but have used the 90 grain HP from Sierra as well.

I reloaded 250 Savage rounds for an old boy for many years, 100 rounds every 5-6 years...100 gr Rem Core-Lokt standard factory velocity ~2800fs.

He used an open sighted Savage 99 and killed everything from squirrels to moose...no bears of any kind that I know of.

One shot usually, 100 yds or less, something young, tender and tasty usually, he didn't think to highly of horns or blood shot meat...I have to agree with him.

Everytime I showed up in camp with my latest superblaster lazergun he spit on my boots if I wasn't watching. The last time I hunted with him I showed up with a Win 94 30-30. He grinned a little and said "smartened up finally". I missed the next hunting season and he died a couple months after that.

I have a 10" 256 Win T/C Contender(SN 11XXX, Oldie), 250 SavAI(3 250's over the years) and a 25-06(my latest is #5-6?) and someday will probably do a Roberts swap barrel...I find nothing wrong with using any of them for what they are capable of, BUT...I usually shoot something in the 35 and larger cal nowdays for anything edible...the animals seem to go down quicker and have less meat loss...but I won't argue with anyone about what caliber or shooter they use...what shooter/caliber you use is YOUR PERSONAL decision and no one elses.

I've used the 25-06 to take all the deer family in the States, 120 gr Horn and Nosler BT's, excellent for Antelope out past 350 yds, (two moose at less than 75 yds), but the '06's were more varminters than hunters...rockchucks WAY out there with 100 and 120 gr bullets.

Luck

a mountain of pigs and deer --
117 RN does the job.. but 100gr TSX would be the bee's knees

Hogs, deer, coyotes and other smaller game. For Elk I've simply made my minimum a 7mm of some type.

257Roberts, 117grn hornady interlock, RL19, 300yrds.

Mule Deer currently is the largest thing I've shot with my 257 Roberts. I use 117 Sierra's going 2800 fps and it seems to work fantastic.
This buck took one shot from 200 yards entered behind shoulder at a pretty fair angle and exited his neck, went down so fast I thought he vaporized.
I will eventually have to shoot an elk with this rifle one day, it works so well on Deer and Antelope and just because I want to.

Snellstrom,

Everyone knows Sierra bullets are too frangible for big game. You better check him again and make sure he's dead.

I took a Scimitar Oryx..probably close to 400 lbs, in Texas some time ago with one shot at 180 yards using a 257 Wby.

250+ pound pig with 257 roberts, 120 partation, 45.0 H4350. Killed a bunch of deer & pigs with the same load.

390 pound hog at 170 yds with a 120gr Nosler Partition from at 25-06 Remington Sendero.

Mule deer, a couple with the with .257 Roberts and two more with a 25-06 IMP. roger

As reported on another thread, I watched another guy take a nilgai antelope in South Texas with a .25-06 and factory Corelocts (weight unknown). A bull nilgai will probably weigh around 500 lbs on the hoof.

I've never taken anything other than whitetails with a .25 caliber, but I wouldn't feel too uncomfortable hunting elk with a .25-06 and 120 grain Partitions. Not my first choice, but I wouldn't sit at home and stew if that's all I had available to shoot.

the biggest and heavy trophy taken wiht the 257 roberts

100grs partition , imr-4350 and fed 210m

mexican sonora desert mule deer


By mexicanhunter at 2010-09-02


By mexicanhunter at 2010-09-02

best regards

That is one hell of a nice Muley.

my wife killed a nine foot Polar bear with my 25-06 using 100 nosler BT.
The bear was about 200 yard and I had a 300WM as a back up gun. she shot the bears once in the heart/lung area and it did not need another shot.
We waited for the perfect broadside shot;I knew that if the bullet hit the any of the bears large bone I would have to use the 300WM.
When the bear was shot it ran for a short while and then laid down on the sea ice. We could see the bear and after about ten minutes approched the bear and it had died.
My wife used a 25-06 because that was the most recoil she was able to take and still shoot the gun well. When Polar bear hunting in our area some shots are long and the 25-06 filled that need
joe

Joe
Great story did you guys take any pictures of the bear, I love Polar Bear hunt pictures.

Elk, estimated 280yds, 257 AI, 120gr Norma over 49.4 MRP, 210GM

Similar to low-tech's scenario--hunting mulies with an elk tag in the pocket and the elk ambled into my path

Duggaboye,

What 25 cal Norma bullet? I'm guessing they no longer manufacture it?

Alan

I have taken one mule deer just a tad lighter than Snellstrom's in CO at 40yds max using my 25-06 and a 115gr Partition.

I like most here in Texas have shot plenty of feral hogs up to around 275-300# being the biggest ones.

Longest shot on a whitetail was 400+ yards, he simply dropped to his knees and rolled over.

With my 25-06 AI I took this nice 250'ish pound boar at our family farm at 110 or so yards pushing a 120gr CL to 3350 from the muzzle.


I initially figured it simply destroyed his onside shoulder but when we skinned him out, I was very impressed with what little damage there actually was. Considering it blew through the 1" plus thick gristle shield, then the shoulder blade, this was the extent of real mess that I found.


I found the bullet lodged just under the muscle on the offside shoulder, in the classic CL form.



My advice would be to match your bullets to your impact velocity, don't sweat the higher dollar stuff, it's not needed 90% of the time. If your loading full tilt then they might come in a bit handier depending on meat damage, but I would base that decision on field test and not what everyone else is shooting.

I have shot plenty of Barnes, and Partitions, from several fast 25's, but the more I shot them the less advantage I really saw. There is a wide variety of standard C&C bullets out there perfectly suited to what you will get for a max velocity in the mid ranged weights, don't overlook them simply to gain a hundred or so fps. What you might give up in velocity will be covered in penetration and weight retention when your trophy walk out.

quote:

Originally posted by GSSP:
Duggaboye,

What 25 cal Norma bullet? I'm guessing they no longer manufacture it?

Alan

Alan,
I am certain it is no longer made, (I have looked for them many times.)

I have about 115 left.

Bought them many years ago, they have been great in this case and numerous others.

The box says "Norma Match Grade Bullets" on the front (faux woodgrain box with red lower band)
the right side says "100 Rifle Bullets, .250 cal",then smaller print ".257 Diameter",
then large again "120 Gr." , then smaller print" Soft Point Jacketed".

A small bull elk here in Colorado. He was about 180 yds away. Used my .25-06 with Nosler partition.
Caribou on a Quebec hunt. Buddy and I both used .25-06s on that hunt, each taking two bulls. Again using Nosler partitions.
Too many mule deer and antelope to remember.

Hi Snellstrom
I do have picture of the bear but they are not digital. I was using a disposable camera on this hunting trip
joe

Joe
Scan that picture and post it up I love seeing Polar Bear and Musk ox hunt pictures.

O hell here I am going to get f

25-06 120 GR Nosler Partitions

Giraffe
Bluewildebeest
Kudu
Gemsbok'
Impalas
Warthogs
A truckload of Blesbuck (over 1000)in 1 year
Springbuck
Craphouse full of Jackal, a couple of heyenas

Get the idea !!!! I LOVE MY 25-06
And will shoot anything with it, onle because I can

These questions are easy to answer factually, but I think the question is more along the lines of: "what game do you consider can be reliably taken with a .25?"

Then the usual shot placement and bullet choice dilemma kicks in. It's a fun discussion, but potentially misleading. But no flame intended, I think most of us know this and allow for it in what we take from the replies.

Anyhow, a friend has hunted several large gemsbuck with a 25-06 and 100gr SMK's. Not all worked out that well, but all were recovered.

Many of the fragile bullets / or high velocity bullets put in behind the shoulder through the lungs can get you a lot further with smaller calibers than you would ever think.

That said, in African terms, Black Wildebeest, Nyala, Hartebeest type size is the largest I'd want to go with a .25. Of course that wasn't the question

I have shot lots of UK Red Deer with my .25-06 and 115gr Nosler Ballistic Tips / Combined Tech Ballistic Tips and would not hesitate to recommend it to anyone. Biggest Red Stag was 397lbs Dressed.

I have shot a good number of Pere Davids with the same combo too, the Stags typically weigh 5-600lbs.

I have shot both of the above frequently with my 243 and 70gr Ballistic tips shot placement is alot more critical though.

quote:

Originally posted by Dave Bush:
There is a thread running in the medium bore section about the biggest game taken with a non magnum 7mm.

Yup - at the same time I posted this question here:
Biggest taken with 6,5mm

Glad to see this being brought up again!

What initially induced me to ask the question was my own pondering as to a suitable low-recoiling caliber with as wide a range of use as possible. This is due to me disliking recoil and also preferring fairly light guns.
Effectively, I was thinking what might be the smallest caliber that in real terms can be taken against moose and african PG; perhaps excluding Eland.

In summary I daresay that the 6,5mm would fit the bill especially with the new premium bullets.
What somewhat surprised me was people's experiences using the 6,5mm with lightish bullets.
I was quite certain the recommendation would be 156grs (read: "norma Oryx in the 6,5x55"), but 140grs and even lighter seem to rule the roost today.

- Lars/Finland