Hi, greetings from Scotland,

I've just bought a Remington 700 BDL in .25/06 for shooting medium to large deer.

Unfortunatly my trusty .22/250 Winchester mod 70 HV has had to be returned to the Importers for repair of a serious manufacturing fault.

This means that I will have to contol my foxes,crows and rabbits with the .25/06
I load all my own ammunition for the .22/250 and am now going to attempt the .25/06 ammo.

Has anyone used this calibre in a light weight rifle for long range pest control successfully ?

Can anyone recommend a good load to get me started ?

I would be very grateful for any advice on this subject as my knowledge on this calibre is very limited.

Thanks for any replies in advance,

Cheers,

A friend of mine happened to drop in while I was on the forum and saw your post. He is a big fan of the 25'06 and has had extensive experience with the round. He recommends bullets in the 117-120gr range in front of 51-52grs of any of the 4831 type powders. Good luck. Are you anywhere near Port Patrick? My Family Tree has it roots in Scotland. Clan Colquohuon(Cowan).

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there's a fine line between hobby and mental illnes

Yea, I have tried many different loads for varmints in my 25-06 but my favorite is the Speer TNT 87 gr. I chrony'ed an average of 3475 fps out of my Sako witha 22" barrel. I tried various loads but 56 grains of IMR 4831 was the most accurate for me. Off the bench, this load consitantly groups 3/8". It turns 'yotes inside out. I hope you aren't planning on saving the pelts!

The 25-06 is my favorite of my rifles. It's perfect for the wide open spaces here in Kansas. For deer I use 117 gr. Sierra with IMR 4350 or IMR 7828, both work equally well in my Ruger with bullets seated out just shy of the lands. For coyotes I use the 87 gr. Hornady with IMR 4350, the round shoots great and you don't have to go look for the coyote. My father-in-Law liked my 25-06 so well he bought one for himself in a Rem. BDL. If yours is like his, it will shoot anything very well. His is a lot less picky than mine (providing he keeps his thumb off the barrel when shooting) Smile. Good shooting, Mike

100gr Nosler Ballistic Tip
52gr IMR-4350(Max load in my rifle)
Winchester large rifle primer

I have shot woodchucks at 400+yds with this load in my custom 25-06.

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Walk softly and carry a big bore!

I use a very stiff load of RL22 with 100 gr. Nosler Ballistic Tips. Moly coated (I got caught up in it when it came along) But this rascal will do 3490 plus. Seating is with the bullets right up there on the lands, it shoots bug hole groups.

for varmints I shoot 100 grain ballistic tips with 56.0 IMR4831. (max load) Very devasting and spectacular acrobatics on groundhogs. Shooting a Ruger #1 with 26" barrel.

for deer, 100 grain partitions, same powder charge, although deer don't really require a partition bullet.

In part, it depends on the twist of your
barrel. Someone gave me a suggestion of 51.5
grains of RE-15 if I wanted to use 75gr
bullets. I started out with 49gr of RE-15
with both VMax and Hornady 75gr HP's. This
load works GREAT in my Encore barrel, with
sub-MOA. No other load even comes close to
date.

Thanks for the great advice guys,

Craigster I live in South East Scotland about 130 miles from Port Patrick.

I've just been looking through the nosler manual and seen 85gr Ballistic Tips, anyone had any luck with these ?

Thanks again guys,

Cheers,

Hey V-Max.

I have a Rem Sendero that loves the Horn 75 VMax. Federal Nickle case - weighed, neck turned, flash holes and primer pockets are uniformed and trimmed to 2.48", 57.5 gr of HODGDON 4350, CCI BR4 primers, seated into the lands 0.005". I use a Stoney gauge to measure with.

I fired 5 - 3 shot groups and quit wasting bullets because all 5 groups were overlapping clover leafs, right at 0.125". I haven't chrono'd yet but it doesn't matter to me what the velocity is because the accuracy does it all. No pressure signs in this rifle. I started at 56.5 and increased at 0.5 gr per change. the 56.5 and 57 gr loads were 1.2" and 1" respectively. I might go up a bit on the powder as soon as I get around to it, but for now I'm saving the components for live game.

Haven't found and critters out far enough to give it a good test yet but the snow is just about gone so the test subjects will be showing up soon.

Hi V.max
try 75gn v.max and rel 19.
absolutely devastating on crows and foxes,and deadly accurate. tried the 85gn nosler b.t's too explosive on deer and to expensive to shoot crows with!!!
you can buy a 100 box of v.max for 1/2 the price of nosler b.t's
good luck!

Griff

Red Label,

That's the same load I use in my .25-06 for everything from big muleys to antelope to groundhogs. I used to play around with 75 and 85 grainers, but now, for under 400 yard work I use the .22-250 and get out the .25 when the range gets LOOOOONG!

"Kills like chain lightnin'"

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Politically correct isn't!

My 25-06 is the only rifle I use for varminting. Last year I used Nosler ballistic tips 100gr with 56gr H4350 extreme which chronographed 3450fps. However, I shot the barrel out(that was too hot) and decided to push the long range issue. Now with the 30" Krieger barrel, I get just shy of 3400fps with 115gr Berger VLD(BC=.522) bullets with 57gr N560. That is with peak strain measurements so I have a good idea of the pressure, its about 65000psi(max). On my first outing I have a laser range finder confirmed kill of 402 yds. It makes it easy.