I have 22-.250, .243, .270, and 30-06. I'd like to fill in the hole between the .243 and the .270. I need a 25 caliber something. A 25-06 or a Bob, or what? Pros and cons on reloading, ammo cost and availability, etc., would be appreciated.

The only real pro I see to the .25-06 is if you don't reload. Factory ammunition is usually easier to find than the .257 ammo. Other than that they both cover the same game animals quite well and I don't think you will ever see a difference. However that said when I went looking for a quarter bore I chose the .25-06 Rem. As for the "or what?", how about a .250-3000 Savage?

Don't forget the 6.5X55 fills the gap quite nicely as well! JFFT

Definitely the 250-3000 or the Roberts in bolt action. roger

Wymples,

why don't you follow Roger's lead here and get yourself a Savage you like, and do the barrel swap thing...

Roger here can advise you well.. as he has a nice collection of that sort of stuff...

I am waiting on 3 Savage barrels now for a 116 action...It is a long action, but I have 3 short action barrels on order... in 2 calibers.. 260 Rem and 7/08... two different contours on the 260.. one in sporter contour, the other in 26 inch bull barrel contour...

I also picked up a heavy barreled take off in Stainless off the classifieds here for about $60.00, chambered in 25/06...I'll probably turn that down to be chambered for the 257 Akley instead or 250 Ackley instead...

the only reason I am going with the Ackley version is the shoulder of the 25/06 it has ready...

I like to keep it mixed up a little. I have a Savage, a Remington, a Stevens, and a Mossberg. I don't go for expensive stuff. I haven't a Ruger or a Tikka, or a Sako, etc., yet. I like the 250-3000 idea,.

You want DRUGS....???

Then sell the 243 and 270 and buy a 375

Its not a real Big Bore, but a natural step up from the 30/06. Once you try it, you'll be "hooked".

30-06 is bigger than anything I'll ever need, in fact, .270 is aplenty. I'm not into recoil, anyway. I'm most likely to end up with a 25-06 just because I don't want to leave anything for my boys that requires searching for ammo. And everybody seems to chamber it, so shopping will be more fun. I like the history of the .257 and the 25-3000, but only a passing interest in history on cartridges. I don't care much for military stuff, such as the Mausers, etc. I don't even look twice at an AR-15. I'm really impressed with the Henry lever gun I got my grandson, so I might go that route. Trouble is, I'm a slut of sorts, I like all of them.

The 25-06 has been my GO-TO rifle even before it was commercially available. I have killed LOTS of antelope, deer and hogs with it. You can always load it down to 250-3000 velocity or all the way up for a nice long range, moderate recoil rifle.

My not so distant second choice would be a 260 Remington. The best deer killer on the planet.

quote:

Originally posted by 30378:
My not so distant second choice would be a 260 Remington. The best deer killer on the planet.

Now there you go! Gollleee, learn something every day. roger

Well, my vote is for the .257 Roberts. It is my standard gun for everything below elk. Very accurate, little recoil and low noise. Yeah, the 25-06 is faster and noisy as hell. The .257 Roberts with Federal Premium 120 grain Nosler Partitions is a great piece of machinery, particularly if the rifle is the Ultra Light Arms Model 20.

My shooting partner uses a .25 Souper (.308 Winchester necked down to .257). I use a 25 wssm.

All wssm's are fabulous. I partial neck size and have a dozen reloads on my cases. Box stock factory wssm's are MOA.

Since it's your money I recommend a Kimber 84 Classic 22/250 rebarreled as a 250 Savage with a 1:10 twist so you can spin up all practical bullet weights.

I would vote for a 257 Roberts in:
A Kimber Montana or Select model
The Remington 2009 special run stainless fluted
Ruger Hawkeye

Whichever rifle floats your boat.

257 Roberts or 260 Rem. A 25-06 is too much like your 270 Win

I'm noticing Ruger has a couple models in 257 Roberts. That's something to think about. Not too expensive, look good, and I don't have a Ruger. American made the kicker.

quote:

Originally posted by wymple:
I'm noticing Ruger has a couple models in 257 Roberts. That's something to think about. Not too expensive, look good, and I don't have a Ruger. American made the kicker.

I have a Ruger Model 77 in 257 Roberts and I ain't sellin' it.. It shoots 100 grain Nosler Partitions very well, like three shots at 100 yards in a 1/2" group using a 4x scope.
Also have a Rem 700 Classic in 250-3000 that's gonna stay at my house. It is a dream to shoot, no recoil and accurate.
Below is a target I shot with it. The rifle is a keeper.

I'm going to price a 257 Ruger this afternoon when my dealer gets in the shop.

I don't think many have mentioned the .257 Wby Mag as an option. I would consider it and the .25-06. You'll need to reload to afford to shoot the .257 Wby Mag, but it is an extremely good .25 caliber.

I called my gun dealer and told him I was down to a choice between the Ruger Standard or the Ultralight in .257 Roberts, but was having a tough time choosing. He shot me a nice price on either one, but could not tell me offhand which would be the easiest to get hold of real soon. (I'm not very patient). So, I told him to get one, I'll look forward to the surprise. I'm easy. I'm topping it with a Nikon.

Like your style roger

.25-06, because if you do reload, your .30-06 brass and .270 brass can be used for your .25-06 and then when you move up to a .338-06 you still won't need different brass.

I'm pretty sure I'll never see anything bigger than my 30-06.

quote:

Like your style roger

Wishy-washy indecisiveness is in style?

in the quarter bores, it's pretty hard to beat the roberts in terms of performance for the amounts of powder burned, in other words, it's one of those almost perfectly balanced cartridges. the only place you have to look real hard is exactly how you will use it. unless you reload, factory ammo( even the rem.+P stuff) doesn't do the heavier bullets as good as the 25-06 does, so deer and such size critters at moderate ranges are pretty much at it's upper limit. now, that said, it also depends on where you hunt, in my neck of the woods it's fine and i really like the roberts for my kind of deer hunting. a 100 yd. shot is long and very rare unless you purposely structure your hunting towards longer shots....where the .270 would be the better choice anyway...so you've got that petty well covered.
if you do reload and/or the gun's not necessarily only for deer hunting (Iowa's great coyote country, isn't it?), then there's no reason not to go with the roberts over the '06 based round. with the lighter bullets it's every bit as good as the 25-06, unless of course, you want a gun to use only when you want to reach way out there. in that case, the 25-06 is better and if you don't reload, factory ammo will do the heavier stuff justice.

I'm with Buliwyf!

25 wssm!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I have an unexplainable urge for a Mossberg 4x4. I just like it. I've been putting it off hoping they would bring it out in a .223. I went with the .257 Roberts in a Ruger because I may later have to give up and buy the Mossberg in 25-06 anyway.

257AI and never look back!

Just a fractionally bigger bullet than the 270, but my favorite is the old 7x57 Mauser cartridge. Very mild to shoot plus in a moder gun it can be safely loaded a bit hotter. It gives an excellent balance of power, flat trajectory and recoil.

Well you have some of the most popular "normal" rounds covered, so I say time for something different. .257 Weatherby Magnum is a total hot rod and a lot less "boring" than the rest of the .25's - not to say their bad, but they won't really do anything you can't do with any of the other rounds. Not even the .270 will come close to the 100gr TTSX at 3600fps in terms of flat trajectory for deer/sheep/antelope. If that's not up your alley due to ammo cost and the need to reload, then I'd suggest the .257 Roberts or 6.5x55mm as they are a little more "in between" the .243 and .270.

Forget the 25s. You want a nice go between the 243 and 270, get a 6.5x284. It trumps all the 25s. Read

The 25x284 check it out I remember the 25-06 to be finiky to make shoot well. and like Doc said 6.5x284 is also between 243 & 270

For a mild drug but very addictive i would suggest a 6.5 X 55 or a 7 X 57

Along with the others above, a 257 Roberts is a great round! Stepping up would be a 257 Whby. What a screamer! The Whby doesn't have a bunch of recoil and will reach out and touch whatever you can see!

in .25 cal I would go with a .25-06 or a .257 Roy, but I'm a speed freak. I could also see where a good .338 or .375 would fill another hole!

wymple -

i'm getting in on this a little late, but have you considered anything in .264? everything i have heard, seen read etc. about it sayis that it can't be beat on paper or in the field.

my own needs and preferences for montana would be a .264/06, but in your area it might be just as good to consider the 6.5x55mm.

as for the .25 cartridges, hard to beat a .250-3000 savage.

where actions are concerned, i prefer mauser actions. have you ever messed around with a good czech or yugoslavian mauser commercial action? pretty hard to go back to savage or howa after that....