I have been planning for months to by a quality rifle to fill the cap between my .223 rem. and my .308 win and can’t decide between 25-06 or 6.5 x 55 as my deer/caribou and occasional varmint rifle. Which one of these two great calibres should I pick? This dilemma is driving me crazy!! Which one would you choose?
Thanks,
Ingvar Johann

Sorry, can't help. Both fit your intended role very nicely. Have reasonable recoil and shoot plenty flat and far.

I currently own the 6.5 and have owned the 25-06. Loved both and will probably own both again at some time. The 6.5 has been used here on white tail deer and in Africa on plains game up to impala, blesbok and wart hogs. I also use it coyote hunting in open country. Great all around small bore round.

My buddy used his 6.5x55 recently on prairie dogs WAY out there. I was impressed. Something for me to try next year.

Good dilemma to have!!

Good luck.

Mike

The 25-06 has been my main caliber of choice for hunting in Texas for the last 20 years plus. Started out with a Ruger and now shoot a stainless fluted Sendero. Nothing but praise for such a fine medium sized game caliber.

Own one of each ... my 2 pennies for your consideration. the 25-06 is a Browning 78, the 6.5x55 is a Win 70 FWT. Yesterday they were quite similar is grouping ... .94 100 TSX in the 25, .98 140 Hornady Interlocks in the 6.5. Both will do dandy on Deer/Bou (Well, Deer ... I've never shot a Bou, but I hear tell they dont live too long when hit and can be seen where they go afterwards) ... The real difference between the two is on the varmit end.

My 6.5 has a horrible long throat, tried 100 gr Partitions with thoughts of being a cooler 257 Bob dancing in my head. Bullets would go to a max OAL of about 2.94 while leaving .18 in the neck. My 140 Hornady's hit lands at 3.13 OAL. Too much jump for short bullets to shoot particularly well. I'd imagine similar doings with the 95 gr VMax and the like in the 6.5. Long throats take the 6.5 out of serious varmit category.

In my safe the 25-06 lives as the multipurpose "great plains gun".

Owning both a 6.5x55 and having owned a couple 25-06's
(I just got another 25-06) I've gotta say that if varmints are on the target list stick with the 25-06, it's simply better at tossing the light bullets accurately.

Not to mention that there's a better selection of .257Dia varmint projectiles than there is of .264 varmint bullets....

the other issue with the 6.5x55 is the long throat that is normal on the military rifles is slavishly copied on all the sporting rifles, varmint bullets don't like much jump...

AllanD

As you already know,
both rounds are cool ! But i would opt for the 25,06. My 25,06 is a custom with a 26 inch barrel and laminated thumbhloe stock.
Its a little light for a serious varminter and a little heavy for packing all day , but that makes it extreemly versital. I puts 117 grain sierras into about a half inch and it moves tham a 3200 Fps, great for and deer or caribu.
I don't shoot varmints but If I wanted too i bet I cold get tremendous velocity with a varmint weight pill.
I am thinking of getting another 25,06. I know of a used sako that would be lighter than my custom and probably at least as accurate.
But my smith has 6.5 swede on a husky action waiting to be stocked, that would be great too. Come to think of it he just put out a .257 roberts on a FN action with a darn nice piece of walnut, that I could AI and mabye fall in love with ...tj3006

quote:

Originally posted by Ingvar J. Kristjansson:
I have been planning for months to by a quality rifle to fill the cap between my .223 rem. and my .308 win and can’t decide between 25-06 or 6.5 x 55 as my deer/caribou and occasional varmint rifle. Which one of these two great calibres should I pick? This dilemma is driving me crazy!! Which one would you choose?
Thanks,
Ingvar Johann

.25-06! The 6.5x55 is a great round, but it is pretty close to your current .308 Win. The .25-06 will add some long range capability to your rifle lineup.

Personally, I'd choose a .270 Win over a .25-06 for caribou (and deer), but I'm sure the .25-06 would also do the job.

One last consideration: if you are a handloader, what can you get components for?? Or if you rely factory ammo, what ammo can you source locally?? Here in Central Europe, .257 caliber bullets are few and far between, and .25-06 factory ammo falls into the "oddball" category as well. So make sure you can feed whatever rifle you choose!

- mike

Hello, I have a Tikka T3, 25:06 and love it, I load 75gr up to 120gr.

Don't have any first hand experience with 6.5 x 55

Ingvar !
If those are the only calibers you can think of, then the 6.5x55 is automatically the choice.
Bullets in .25 are nowhere to be found in Iceland unless you import yourself or order them, ammo is nowhere to be found either.

If you really want a powerful medium non-magnum caliber then consider the 6.5x65RWS or simply as MHO points out, the 270Win. Both are available in guns in Iceland and ammo is readily available as well.

the 25-06 offers nothing that the other two cannot but the other two offer lots that the 25-06 cannot.

regards

The issues with available ammo or getting components is a very valid consideration. For a dual purpose role, the .25-06 beats the 6.5mm easily.

There aren't many "deer" that wouldn't fall to a properly loaded .25-06. It gets used here on elk, and given their size, reindeer, caribou, ect. are well within it's range.

If availability is an issue, I'd look for something smaller. Nate

I've owned three 25-06 rifles (all m98 mausers) for deer and pronghorns and can say they have been excellent!

They will be sold at auction next month and I will continue life with a M-70 featherweight in .257 Roberts and a M98 in 6.5 X 55...and might rechamber that to 6.5-06.

When asked the ideal caliber for 200 pound animals I say the 6.5.

I would go 6.5x55. I have been shooting a .260ai for about a year now & could see having a 6.5x55 as my deer/antelope, sometime varmint rig. If you are having a rifle made, just make sure you don't get the looong throat the 6.5 is famous for. My .260ai is 1-8 twist, throated for the 142grSMK. It handles the 85gr Sierra w/ one hole accuracy on my good days, & speads along at 3400fps. Plenty for any varmint I know of. 120gr heads will hit right at 3000fps, good deer medicine. 140gr @ 2800fps for bou. You should expect sim. perf. from the 6.5x55.

FWIW, my CZ in 6.5x55 does not have a long throat. I have not loaded any varmint bullets for it, so can't comment on accuracy. My main gun since the early 70's has been a .25/06. When I look at ballistics, and check drop charts, I find that the 6.5 holds right with the .25. If I was buying one gun today, I believe I would go with the 6.5 over the .25 simply because of the heavier bullets available (I am not much of a varmint hunter, so this probably doesn't help you).

My 6.5 has the deep throat and I love it. For varmints the .222, .223 or 243 is what is used. The 6.5 is like using a 30-06 for varmints: can do, have done ,but why? Only because you are carrying it and happen accross a Jack rabbit or two. To select any 6.5 as the varmint cartridge of choice is beyond my understanding. sorry roger

bartsche, there are many shooters that like the .25-06. .257bob for varmints. I see little diff. in a .260 or 6.5x55, especially if you are reaching out past the 400yd mark, a bit of wind, yeah I can see it.

Well, for deer/caribou, I would opt for the 6.5x55 over the 25/06. But for varmints, I would choose the 25/06 over the 6.5x55. If you are serious about both varmints and deer I guess you could consider the .243 Winchester, which I prefer to the 25/06 for varmints. It is a bit light for deer and probably too light for caribou, but it is very nice for rock chucks and coyotes. Once I shoot the barrel out, I plan to rebarrel mine with a .260 Remington barrel. Then, it will be ready for varmints, deer and caribou and still be easy on the shoulder. If I had to choose one mild recoiling cartridge for varmints thru big deer, I really think the .260 Remington would be the one.

quote:

Originally posted by fredj338:
bartsche, there are many shooters that like the .25-06. .257bob for varmiont. I see little diff. in a .260 or 6.5x55, especially if you are reaching out past the 400yd mark, a bit of wind, yeah I can see it.

Comparing the 260Rem to the 6.5x55?

Factory loadings for the 260Rem are significantly hotter....

Handloaded they can be identical, but the factory loads for the swede are held back.

Handloaded the 260Rem is a ballistic twin of the 25-06 with identical bullet weights
there is no 75gr 6.5 bullet, but the 6.5 gets the capability of tossing the 140's at more than 3000fps...

the discussion of 260Rem Vs 25-06 is a VERY DIFFERENT discussion than 6.5x55 Vs 25-06

As I said in another discussion the main reason
I'd choose a 25-06 over a 260Rem is that I already have the dies and other tooling (dedicated trimmer, case forming dies) and a supply of brass for the 25-06, for the 260Rem I'd have to start from scratch and besides I already have a 6.5x55, making the choice acedemic...

If I had none of the three I might go with
a 260 if I didn't want to shoot woodchucks with it...

AllanD

quote:

Originally posted by fredj338:
bartsche, there are many shooters that like the .25-06. .257bob for varmiont. I see little diff. in a .260 or 6.5x55, especially if you are reaching out past the 400yd mark, a bit of wind, yeah I can see it.

Fred, are you actually saying that a .260 or a 6.5x55 makes as good a 400 yd. flat shooting varmint round as the 25-06?
We know a 6.5 X .284 would do it.

I've owned 2ea. .257 Roberts varmint rifles and a 25-06 IMP that were exellent, but never felt comfortable with taking shoots over 300 yds. and seldom that far. I do agree,however, that there are people with greater shooting ability than I have and some small number of those may be, I'm sure , expert enough to connect at 400 yds. plus with a 6.5 x 55.IMHO I feel ,however that we are talking exception rather than the rule. roger

quote:

They will be sold at auction next month and I will continue life with a M-70 featherweight in .257 Roberts and a M98 in 6.5 X 55...and might rechamber that to 6.5-06.

Up above you some fellow mentioned the 6.5x65RWS. I'm thinking that would be the same as the 6.5x270. I have a 6.5x06 and I love it but were I to do it again, I think I'd do the 6.5x270 just to have that factory ammo around somewhere. I also am on my 3rd 6.5x06 and my 2nd 25-06.

In the question starting this thred, I'd go with the 6.5x55. Either of the cartridges asked about is really to violent for a lot of varmit shooting so while both will work, neither is all that great. That said, the selection of hunting bullets for the 6.5 is far better than the 25.

Don,
the 6.5x65RWS is not the same as a 6.5-270 wildcat. the shoulder is considerably farther forward on the RWS case than the 270Win and some other differences can be seen if you compare them.

The RWS case was seemingly designed to clear up the chamber of 6.5x57 rifles according to a gentleman by the name of Lutz Möller:
http://home.snafu.de/l.moeller/Englisch/6,5x57-vs-6,5x65.htm

There is however probably not much of a difference in ballistics between a 6.5-06 and the 6.5x65RWS. The main difference in the field may be the availability of ammunition.

Regards

Allen, I wasn't comparing my .260ai to anything, just relating personal exp. w/ a round that I have. You need to be a handloader for either cart. to get the best out of them.

Bartsche, the 6.5x55, loaded in a modern action or the .260 will get pretty close to a .25-06. Out to 400yds, there would be little diff. The 25-06 will push a 87gr bullet @ 3400fps & the .260/6.5x5 will hit 3300fps w/ a 95grV-max. all w/o bending anything. The diff. in drop is @ 400yds is only 1.5" & @ 500yds 3", so yes I would say they both are eqully good 500yd varmint rigs. In fact if using the 95gr V-max over say an 87gr SPeer, the 6.5 will be flatter @ both distances.

Fed, I wasn't arguing with you just pointing out where the FACTORY 260Rem fits in regards to the 25-06 and the 6.5x55.

IMO there is no material difference between the 6.5x55 and the 260Rem if both are being handloaded.
If sticking to factory fodder there is a small advantage
to the 260.

If the rifle is going to be used to shoot varmints at longer ranges more often than shot at deer I'd recommend the 25-06, however since the gentleman who posted the original question is from Iceland ammo availability may be an issue for either the 260Rem or the 25-06.

Bullet availability for the 25cal could be an issue as could brass for the 260rem...

I wouldn't know as I've never been to Iceland...

AllanD