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| One of Us |
I would think with the right bullet it would do the job just fine but a friend of mine disagrees. .... I was hoping i could a little more input here  "Those who hammer their guns into plows will plow for those who don't" -Thomas Jefferson Semper Fidelis | ||
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The short answer is...No. Will a 25-06 kill an elk, sure...and I am sure lots of elk have been killed with a 25-06 but why push your luck and take the risk of losing an animal. .264 would be my personal absolute minimum with minimum .277 being even better. Mike Never under estimate the internet community's ability to reply to your post with their personal rant about their tangentially related, single occurrence issue.  What I have learned on AR, since 2001: 1. The proper answer to: Where is the best place in town to get a steak dinner? is…You should go to Mel's Diner and get the fried chicken. 2. Big game animals can tell the difference between .015 of an inch in diameter, 15 grains of bullet weight, and 150 fps. 3. There is a difference in the performance of two identical projectiles launched at the same velocity if they came from different cartridges. 4. While a double rifle is the perfect DGR, every 375HH bolt gun needs to be modified to carry at least 5 down. 5. While a floor plate and detachable box magazine both use a mechanical latch, only the floor plate latch is reliable. Disregard the fact that every modern military rifle uses a detachable box magazine. 6. The Remington 700 is unreliable regardless of the fact it is the basis of the USMC M40 sniper rifle for 40+ years with no changes to the receiver or extractor and is the choice of more military and law enforcement sniper units than any other rifle. 7. PF actions are not suitable for a DGR and it is irrelevant that the M1, M14, M16, & AK47 which were designed for hunting men that can shoot back are all PF actions. 8. 95 deg F in Africa is different than 95 deg F in TX or CA and that is why you must worry about ammunition temperature in Africa (even though most safaris take place in winter) but not in TX or in CA. 9. The size of a ding in a gun's finish doesn't matter, what matters is whether it’s a safe ding or not. 10. 1 in a row is a trend, 2 in a row is statistically significant, and 3 in a row is an irrefutable fact. 11. Never buy a WSM or RCM cartridge for a safari rifle or your go to rifle in the USA because if they lose your ammo you can't find replacement ammo but don't worry 280 Rem, 338-06, 35 Whelen, and all Weatherby cartridges abound in Africa and back country stores. 12. A well hit animal can run 75 yds. in the open and suddenly drop with no initial blood trail, but the one I shot from 200 yds. away that ran 10 yds. and disappeared into a thicket and was not found was lost because the bullet penciled thru. I am 100% certain of this even though I have no physical evidence. 13. A 300 Win Mag is a 500 yard elk cartridge but a 308 Win is not a 300 yard elk cartridge even though the same bullet is travelling at the same velocity at those respective distances. | |||
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You might search the topic, sounds like one that was good for 2-3 pages awhile back. I'm sure a 25-06 will kill one, infact, a friends wife shot a decent 5x5 with one a couple years ago. That said, wouldn't be my pick. I just happen to think there are better suited calibers for elk. Just out of curiousity, why do you want use this specific caliber for elk? Do you have another option? | |||
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I'm with the rest. If that is the only weapon you have access to, and you are both very good with it, and willing to stalk close for an undisturbed animal, I would say go for it. On the other hand, if you can get your hands on a .270 Win or .30 caliber weapon, why do you want to potentially make a mess of it? I have a 25.06 Rem. and love it, but it's my pronghorn, whitetail, mule deer, aoudad gun, not my elk rifle. For elk I use a 308 Win or 300 WSM. I also have a 375H&H, but don't care to use it on elk. If you can afford it, buy a 300 WSM, or step up to what I think is the ideal elk round, the .338 Win. | |||
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as long as you understand the capabilitys of the 25-06 and use it within those limits the 25-06 can be considered for hunting elk. case in point: last year i took a small framed 12 yr old elk hunting,he shot a 25-06 and had practiced w/ it all summer,he shot it well. when it came time,shot a 6 pt bull,with 1 shot thru "both" lungs at 105 yds and joined the ranks of "elk hunters" it only happened when the set up and range and perfect broadside positioning all lined up and i judged that he had control of his "fever" and was calm enough to deliever a killing shot. he will use the same rifle this yr and i trust, kill his 2nd elk. | |||
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If you are proficient with your 25-06 then by all means use it. You can't shoulder shoot a bull from 200+ yards, nor can you shoot him from behind. But any lung shot out will be fine. I'd recommend using Nosler Partitions, 115 gr I believe. I know some will get on here and bash me up and down for the previous remark. That is their opinion. My Father shot a 25-06 on elk for years, never lost one. Shot herd bulls many times. Farthest shot was 442 yards. He knew his gun and he knew a bullet in an elk's lungs would kill it. Now I have a friend with a 300 Weatherby Mag. His gut shot elk run as far as anyones' gut shot elk. The only wounded elk I have dealt with (other hunting friends) were from 7mmSTW, 300 Win Mag, 300 Weatherby Mag, 30-378, and 338 Mag. The point, don't go buy/use a gun you do not have confidence in or are afraid of. You must be more selective with a smaller caliber, but that also means you are taking a sure shot. I shoot a 280 with 150 gr Nosler Parts. Never lost an elk I shot. | |||
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I love the 25-06 and have been using one for 35 yrs. I'll admit that it is one the light side for elk. If you are going to use it, DO NOT shoot an elk w/ anything but a premium bullet. I prefer the 120 NP, but the swift or barnes x would also be good choices. NO sierras, ballistic tips or other "standard" cup & core bullets. Shoot heart/lungs and it will work. | |||
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Will it kill an elk, YES. Will you find him, maybe. As a responsible hunter one might think there are simply better choices. Free men should not be subjected to permits, paperwork and taxation in order to carry any firearm. NRA Benefactor | |||
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| one of us |
Perhaps you and your friend can hunt together and he will volunteer to allow you to shoot a 375 point 6x6 first with your .25-06 since he's confident you won't kill it, leaving it for him to take. The .243 Winchester is probably used on elk more often than most people think, primarily by local "meat" hunters. No more elk are lost to it than to .300 magnums. I wouldn't hesitate to use a .25-06 with good, heavy bullets for elk (although like most, I prefer a larger gun, having done most of my elk hunting with a .338.) | |||
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I would definitely prefer a .30 cartridge with X bullets. Elk, especially bulls, are really damn big animals. | |||
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I'll agree that it is on the light side, and wouldn't be my first choice, but when you think that the 6.5x55 is routinely used to kill moose across the pond, I think the 25-06, with proper bullet choice and shot placement is a reasonable choice for elk. I'd rather see a well practiced and patient person hunting with a 25-06 than someone with a 340 Weatherby Mag who is scared of it and thinks he's good out to 800 yds. | |||
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Plus one for what Daniel stated. The outfitter I hunt elk with in Colorado, routinely uses a 25-06 for elk. I don't believe it is a 400 yard elk gun, but with good bullets and accurate placement, it will certainly do the job. Even the rocks don't last forever. | |||
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I curious where you got your information?? Aim for the exit hole | |||
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I agree. Strike out that second sentence and you have a good post. I would bet my money that the opposite is true in regard to lost elk. Having said that, the last elk hunt I was on had three .338 Wins and one .308 Win; mine. We had one and two-shot kills on three 6x6 and 5x6. The one that didn't work out was a .338 Win. on a bull that the guide said was hit well, but we couldn't find him after we all got together and searched for four hours. Unfortunately he was shot right at sunset and most of the search was with flashlights. We did find plenty of bone and blood. I left camp the next morning but they were pretty sure the birds would lead them to him. The comment the guide made that was pretty important, was that they were admiring the first shot, when the bull hit the deck. When he jumped-up and ran into the tree-line they were caught with their pants down, and a hurried second shot made contact, but they weren't sure where. If I was to use my 25.06 on elk, I wouldn't drop my guard until I was standing beside the body. | |||
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It will work within reason. I myself consider a quality 140 grn bullet at about 3000+ fps the low end for me.  ________________________________________________ Maker of The Frankenstud Sling Keeper Proudly made in the USA Acepting all forms of payment | |||
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| One of Us |
I use 30-06 or .338 myself, but with my wifes little 5' 3" frame the 25-06 is about as much as she will shoot. I plan to use barnes (120 gr. or so). And i think if she shoots under 200 yds and hits the lungs, heart or even in the neck it wont go far. She is a good shot and waits to place it well "Those who hammer their guns into plows will plow for those who don't" -Thomas Jefferson Semper Fidelis | |||
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On my first elk hunt back in 1992, the outfitter I used and still use, told me that if I got a shot and hit an elk, he wanted me to keep shooting till it was on the ground and not moving. From my experience, that is the only way to fly when hunting elk. JMO, it is better to ruin a little more meat with anchoring shots than lose the whole critter. Even the rocks don't last forever. | |||
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Last year I stood about 3 feet from a friends daughter and watched her pop a 5 pointer with a 243. That elk went down like it was hit by lightening. Distance was about 90 yards. I wonder if something larger would have killed it deader? Regards, Keith | |||
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You gotta love these examples of one. And you never hear about the miserable failures. And yes, before some doodoo posts it: a gut shot animal is a gut shot animal. Aim for the exit hole | |||
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my story of one, is one of 3 dozen i've seen fall to calibers such as the 243 and the 25-06. shot placement! shot placement! shot placement! all the magic bullets and thunder guns won't do you a damn bit of good if you don't hit them where they live. and that IS the secret to elk hunting. using a smaller caliber clearly defines the boundrys of the hunt. you HAVE to be close you HAVE to wait for a broadside shot you HAVE to put the bullet in the x ring you HAVE to have a big freezer S&W, i would reconcider 200 yd neck shots with a 25-06 | |||
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As an Easterner who never so much as even shot at an elk ,I, nonetheless, would urge MC's advice about shooting at a big animal with a relatively light bullet. I'm comforted to read that Western hunters (with their enormous peoblems of shooting at long distances at pretty big animals do seem to go with the "big bullet" idea. (I'm something of a hypocrite right now on this thread because I used a 7mm Mauser (7x57)in Ontario bear hunting routinely (154 gr. Hornady)-and my guide told me the first time around that I was practically carrying a BB gun! He was impressed by the penetration of the 7mm -and so, I don't dare take a position against a 25 cal,HV bullet -and not just because I never saw what a 25-06 could do. (As someone who was practically weaned on the '06 (the 30-06 in Rem.721 and the M1) I like to support all offspring of that cartridge!  | |||
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The 25-06 should work fine for elk with a good bullet, full-power load, and hits in the heart/lung region. I know of very competent and successful elk hunters who've used the 25-06 successfully for year. I suggest using the 110 gr. Accubond or 120 gr. Nosler partition, but other premium bullets should work just as well. For elk, the big mags don't always work well - that is, if the elk is not hit correctly. Last year I shot a bull with a 375 Ackley Improved (375 Weatherby) loaded with 300 gr. SBTs @ 2925 fps (~5600 ft# of energy at the muzzle). It took 3 shots to get him on the ground, because I was hitting him right at the diaphragm, mid body region. The bullets shot clear through and caught in the hide on the opposite side. He was at 350 yds. and there was a 20 mph cross wind, which I didn't compensate well for. I got him, but I think a single shot thru the heart/lung area from a 25-06 would have killed him sooner. Regards, AIU | |||
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If the animal isn't hit correctly, NOTHING works well but once again, the heavier calibre and the heavier bullets give you more room for error. My little story, that I wasn't gonna include until we got into hearing all those DRT stories. My story was told by a game warden in Kaycee, Wy. He had checked a cow elk that had been shot SIXTEEN times. With that famed, lightning in a bottle, .243. I'm sure by the time old dead eyed dick got what was salvaged in his freezer, it became another DRT story and he opines sagely in cyberspace that "it's where you stick 'em that counts."  Aim for the exit hole | |||
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I watched a friend shoot a cow elk 8 times with a 30-378. He hit her in the butt, in the front leg, in the back leg, twice through the guts, raked her down the side, shot her in the jaw and then spined her. We had to cut her throat when we got over to her. All that proves is the guy was a horrible shot, just like the previous story of the guy shooting an elk 16 times with a 243. The point is simple-- use the gun you are comfortable with, put the bullet where it needs to be (heart/lungs in my opinion), and don't listen to everyone else. I get a kick out of guys who claim their 220 gr bullet provides for more "room for error". Just put the pill where it needs to be and don't take questionable shots with any caliber. | |||
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Others have posted, and I agree 100% that bullet placement is more important than bullet diameter or bullet weight. When I lived in NW Colorado in the late 60's and early 70's, my hunting partner regularly hunted elk with his .257 Roberts. And I didn't know of anyone who hunted elk with anything larger than a .30-06. Here in SW Montana, one of the guys I used to work with regularly hunts elk with his .25-06. He's not a handloader, and hunts with standard cup and core bullets. He's killed several bulls, including a 5 pt that he shot one day when we were hunting together. Shortly after I moved to SW Montana, I went Bighorn sheep hunting in one of the Unlimited tag sheep areas north of Yellowstone Park. That unit was also open for a early season elk hunt. Shortly after I left my camp on the last morning of my hunt, an elk bugled close by. When I saw those heavy, dark, ivory tipped antlers approaching me, I completely forgot about sheep hunting. I was hunting with my favorite deer, antelope, and sheep rifle, my .257 Ackley. When the bull stopped broadside about 75 yds from me, I put a 117 gr Sierra GameKing bullet tight behind his right shoulder. He dropped where he stood in one of the quickest kills of one of the largest 6 pt bulls that I have ever shot. About 10 years ago, I went to the MacKenzie Mountains in Canada's Northwest Territories on a backpack Dall sheep and mountain caribou hunt. Because it was a sheep hunt, I was hunting with my .257 Ackley. Mountain caribou bulls are about the same body size as a spike or cow elk. I killed my mountain caribou bull with a 250 yd shot where the 117 gr Sierra GameKing bullet went through the bull's chest, and we heard it ricocheting off the rocks on the other side of the caribou. He ran about 30 yds, and fell dead. I have two other friends who have shot a pile of elk with their .22-250's. And I know Scenarshooter could post a bunch of pictures of bulls that he's killed with his .220 Swift. That said, my favorite elk bullet is a .30 caliber 180 gr premium bullet (NP, TSX) shot at 3000+ fps. Smaller calibers and lighter bullets will kill elk, IF they are placed properly. NRA Endowment Life Member | |||
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If shot placement was the only factor----why not use a .22 rimfire ? Hip | |||
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A lot of folks have, you old geezer!   I could be wrong, but the question involves Could A 25-06 be used on Elk, Not Should it be used on Elk.  Even the rocks don't last forever. | |||
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Trust me, I would not be shooting at the neck at 200 yds either but under 200 ....like 75 or less and the rest of the animal hidden I'd have no problem with it. "Those who hammer their guns into plows will plow for those who don't" -Thomas Jefferson Semper Fidelis | |||
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Thank you! "Those who hammer their guns into plows will plow for those who don't" -Thomas Jefferson Semper Fidelis | |||
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Few years back I was hunting whitetails with a cow tag in my pack. Out comes a fat old cow elk right at 180 yds...broadside...with no idea I even exist. I was close to a Ranch road making her all the more attractive. I carefully stuck a 115 gr NP from my .257 Roberts through both lungs. Never found the slug, but it did bloody the off side ribs. She dropped within seconds. That old M-70 is FAR from one of my elk guns, but it surely worked fine. Would I have used it on a mature BULL at that distance..Probably. IF you can place your shots...Know elk anatomy... can pass on less than optimal shots...whats the issue?? They aren't bullet proof. Pop BOTH lungs and they DIE. FN in MT 'I'm tryin' to think, but nothin' happens"! Curly Howard Definitive Stooge | |||
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Use enough caliber for the job !!! NOT a WOODA, SHOULDA, COULDA caliber! Those guys (hunters) that had to take so many shots to kill their animals should take up GOLF------YOU ARE ALLOWED ALOT OF SHOTS ON THE GOLF COURSE! Hip P.S. I call tose guys Hunters cause they can hunt game--------But sure as hell can't SHOOT !!!  P.P.S. Hey what's up Randall-----just remember some day you will be as old as me !  | |||
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Yes Sir Bob, I will be,. but you will always be older!  Even the rocks don't last forever. | |||
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Jack Hooker carried a 243, although he was not a typical elk hunter, maybe not a typical guide either... TomP Our country, right or wrong. When right, to be kept right, when wrong to be put right. Carl Schurz (1829 - 1906) | |||
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| one of us |
The 25-06 is approaching the "experts" rifle for elk hunting. If the shots are placed well, it will do fine at modest ranges. Of course, sharp sticks (arrows) kill a lot of elk each year, as well as slow moving round balls from muzzleloaders. Sort of like asking if a .410 shotgun will work for bird hunting. All it takes is one pellet in the brain to kill any bird. The .410 is not a reasonable choice for most bird hunting. The 25-06 is not even close to the best choice for an elk gun. If you accept the limitations, then it will still kill cleanly. Anyone who can shoot a .25-06 capably can also handle a 30.06. Close your eyes and you will never feel the difference in weight or recoil between these two. If you want to use what you have, and understand the limitiations, than use the 25-06. Just don't pretend it is the best choice for an elk gun. Bill | |||
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I guess to keep in the spirit of this thread, I should relate one of my quickest elk kills ever. I shot a spike at 40 yards that dropped at the shot, and was probably dead before he hit the ground. Of course I totally muffed the shot and hit the elk cleanly in the back of the skull with an ARROW! Penetrated the skull and he was one dead elk. I was embarrassed by my lack of skill in placing this shot precisely, and I did NOT take away from this expereince that arrows provide the quickest kills on elk. While I still elk hunt with both rifle and bow, I prefer .30 cal premium bullets for most of my elk hunting. When I pick up the bow I understand its limitations, luck not withstanding. Bill | |||
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 I don't know about that. There is no way my wife would shoot a 30-06 with her little 120lb frame and like it.I have shot both and i noticed a pretty big difference, the S&W I-bolt 25-06 was even lighter than the Rem. 700 and the Semi-auto 742 that I am used to and it still had noticeably less kick. "Those who hammer their guns into plows will plow for those who don't" -Thomas Jefferson Semper Fidelis | |||
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I have been an elk outfitter in New Mexico for umpteen years now and I have two rules. No body hunts elk in my camps with a rifle under .30 calibur and no bow hunter uses less than a #60 pound bow with arrows at least 400 grains and NO expandable broadheads. Everyone who books with me knows these rules up front and they either come prepared to the above or they don't hunt. My outfit, my hunts, my rules, no problem. Those who don't want to play this way, I simply forwared them on to others whose rules are less stringent. Larry Sellers SCI Life Member | |||
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Practice, practice, practice. It's no different than shooting a boomer. You have to shoot them frequently to stay accustom to them. If you're serious and this isn't some one time stunt, why not get her a decent elk rifle and put a brake on it?? Aim for the exit hole | |||
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So you wouldn't allow someone to hunt elk with a 7mm RMag or a 7mm STW? But a .308, 300 Savage, or 30-30 would be OK?  | |||
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Hip Actually, the 22 has killed elephants (there's a soft spot behind the ear and exstremely experienced shooters have killed elephants that way - It is not a recommended way of doing the job -both because of the expertise needed to sneak up on an elephant's side and put the bullet just right but also because the elephant just might turn -ever so slightly and flick an ear -and now where is the 22 shooter? It always is bullet placement under field conditions that rules. MC is giving good advice. | |||
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