what are your favorite 25 caliber rifles? right now i only have the little 25-20 in a Marlin 1895 CL and i really like it a lot and i need to get some reloading dies for it. but i have wanted a 25-06 for a very long time and after i get a couple of other rifles built i'm planning on finally getting my 25-06 in a custom made rifle with the 26'' barrel that i always wanted for it. back when i was looking around i only found one company that amde the 25-06 with a 26'' barrel and that was Savage. nothing against Savage as i barely have any experience with their guns but i passed on the Savage in favor of buying Remington model 700s in other calibers. looking back i wished i would've got that Savage because it was basically a target rifle and that's mainly what i want a 25-06 for. but at the same time it will be even better to get the 25-06 custom made the way i want it. i also like the .257 Weatherby but i want to shoot my 25 caliber rifle a lot as my main target rifle and i worry the .257 wby would burn the barrel out very fast using it like that. anyhow what do you think about the subject of 25 caliber rfiles and which ones are your favorites and who do you think would make the best 25 caliber custom rifle? i've got a couple of places in mind to build my 25-06 but i'm always open to new ideas. thanks.

ER Shaw barreled my .257AI and I got the stock from Richards Microfit. It is a 26 inch varmint weight barrel and heavy target style Claro Walnut stock. I did the rest of the bedding and in letting myself. Very happy with it.

.257 Bob is my Fav. But I have a beater in .25-06 with a nice scope I use a lot. My Dad has a .25 WSSM that he seems impressed with.

I think the quarter bore is one of the most underrated there is. Nate

I have two...
Mauser 98 (VZ-24) with 24" Magnum contour barrel in 25-06.

Short Action Savage (Stevens 200) with 24" Savage factory contour barrel chambered in 250 Savage.

First one is for Antelope and long range whitetail, second is for my wife / kids for the same game out to about 300 yards.

I'd much rather have a 25 cal than anything in 6mm...

Jeremy

Oops, didn't actually answer your question, did I...

On a 25-06, if I was going to buy one new, I'd look for a Rem 700 with a 24-26" barrel, or I would put one together on a Savage 110 platform, with a 26" barrel.

Maybe it's just me, but I like Savage rifles...

My Marlin 25-20 is over 100 years old. I've put a couple thousand rounds of cast bullets through it. It's a really fun rifle.
My favorites though are the 250 Savage and 257 Roberts. Both are capable beyond what most would believe.

Only one. My Bob!

Alan

I would look for one of the new Win Model 70's in 25-06, either a Sporter or Featherweight. I hope they will make it in the Supergrade this next year. Remington has the 25-06 in the 700CDL which is nice and I believe Ruger is still making the 25 Roberts and the 25-06 in the Model 77. Lots of choices.

Aaron

Savage 99 in 250/3000.
The rifle I have was built in 1941. Dad bought it for Mom that year with the idea that it would be her "deer rifle" so she could hunt with him.
Those deer hunting trips never happened....Dad was a Chief in the Navy,in the Pacific Fleet at that time and the whole World War II thing got in the way.

I love my 257 Roberts A.I., and thank you can not go wrong with any of the 25 cals. but I'm really interested in the wildcat 25 Souper.

quote:

it was basically a target rifle and that's mainly what i want a 25-06 for

quote:

also like the .257 Weatherby but i want to shoot my 25 caliber rifle a lot as my main target rifle and i worry the .257 wby would burn the barrel out very fast using it like that.

I have a 25-06 Remington and my Buddy a 257 Witherbee; both standard weight barrel contours. Fine rifles for their intended purpose and outstanding shoe-string trajectory at distance targets.

The 25-06 in a standard contour barrel will get right Hot after a less-than rapid fire string of 5 shots and the .257 Wetherby is a too hot to touch finger-scorcher after 3 evenly spaced shots. A Varmint/Target barrel contour may afford a couple more shots prior to going critical when it comes to barrel heat. That's just the Nature of the Beast with both the 25-06 Rem. & 257 Witherbee.

A Heavy Barrel Savage Tactical/Varmint rifle isn't a slouch in either the accuracy or velocity arena either with their longer tube - just my $0.02 worth (you're getting your money's worth).

A Remington 700 Varminter makes into a fine rifle, too.

Just note you'll be cooking the barrel alot sooner than later if long strings at the bench will be the norm with either cartridge.

25's are my thing.
2-25/06 (1 Savage varmint weight)
1-250/3000 Savage 10
2- 250/3000 Ackley (1 Stevens 200 sporter)
1- 257 Roberts (Stevens 200)
You can do much worse than Savage/Stevens.
I have found that the Stevens 200 is the quickest way to a "poorboy's custom".
GOOD LUCK and GOOD SHOOTING!!!

Well I only have experience with two of them both in 25-06 configurations. the first I purchased off the shelf some 18 - 20 years ago, as a standard 700 BDL. It stayed that way until the stock started to warp upwards and I switched it out with a Fajen laminate. It has served me well and has been passed along to my daughter and grandson, who have both used it to take some really nice deer off our property.

I stuck with the 115gr Partitions over a goodly load of RL-22 for most of the hunting I did with it. THe load was accurate enough for head shots on fox squirrels out to over 300yds and between the eye shots on coyotes out past 350.

I decided to give it to my daughter about the time the 110gr AB came onto the market and just for kicks I loaded up some while sighting in her new scope. After getting doen with the 115gr's I slid three of the 110's through it just to see how they compared. We had to drive out to the target at 200yds to see the edges of the three holes amidst the one. So her new rifle also came with the new load and it shoots just as well as it ever did.

At 250yds, one fouler (low) and two for effect,


The daughters buck last fall,


The grandsons first buck two days later,


After giving up my main rifle I built me an AI version which sports a 28" Broughton 5C 1-9 barrel. I like the heavier bullets and had some 125 and 130gr customs I anted to make use of at longer ranges. After some initial load development it was painfully obvious that the 120 - 130g bullet would be the mainstay for this rifle grouping them at 300yds like the above one does at 200. I managed to find some 120gr Rem CL's to run through it for general hog and target shooting. They work VERY well and still stay inside of 2" at 300yds. I managed to drop two hogs with it shortly after developing the loads for it, one with the 125gr Wildcat, and another with the 120gr CL, both loads are pushing the upper side of 3350fps with ease from the long barrel with a decent charge of Ramshot Magnum.

Here is the first to bite the dust, a 30'ish pound shoat which got an ear full of the 125gr Wildcat at just over 275yds.


THen the next morning a nice 250'ish pound boar hog which caught one of the 120gr CL's upside the onside shoulder from about 110yds. He hit the ground so fast I actually thought I missed him,


The amazing thing is the CL held together and bored a hole through both shoulders and stopped just shy of getting through the offside gristle shield. I have to say I was pretty impressed with the integrity of it after hitting such a substantial target at that speed.

My one and only .25 caliber rifle is a .25-06, I'll own some more after playing with this one. I'm looking hard at a .250 Savage.

hey guys, thanks very much for all the good info! all of the pics posted showed very nice looking rifles, ALL of them looked like extremely nice rifles. i can't wait til i can get my 25-06 built and then i know i'll be wanting even more 25 caliber rifles. from what all iv'e heard and read the 25s are just an extremely good caliber and i don't i've ever heard a bad thing about their effectiveness on game. i think the power of the .257 Weatherby is impressive and i might get one some day but i'm also thinking about rounds like the .257 Roberts and the 250-3000.

Here is my 257. It's on a fully blueprinted Mdl 70 classic with a rather heavy 22" Lilja 3 groove barrel. First group after 20 shot breakin was around 3/8". Very pleased with it. Rather heavy with the big Zeiss but a pleasure to shoot.

I am not sure I would ever build anything I can buy off the rack. There are too many things to build that you cannot buy.
I have one of the first Rem 700s in 25-06. I have always been astounded it did not put the .243 out of business. It is a far better hunting round. As in on a different planet.

I have long ben a quarter bore fan.

Savage 99 in 250 Savage

Ruger M77 in 250 Savage

Dan Dowling built M700 in 257 AI

ND MY MOST ACCRUATE FIREARM

A CUSTOM xp 100 IN 250-3000.

quote:

Originally posted by the jigger:

You can do much worse than Savage/Stevens.
I have found that the Stevens 200 is the quickest way to a "poorboy's custom".

I have to agree 100% with this...

My first two elk and deer rifles were a 25-35 Win. mod 94 Saddle Ring Carbine was my first and I shot about 5 elk with it and a lot of deer. Then as I got a little age I got a Savage 99F in 250-3000 and shot a number of elk and deer with it. My dad killed somewhere around 50 elk with his 250.

In fact I shot a whitetail buck, a Javalina and a Mule Deer last year with the 25-35..If I draw a tag in the So. Hills behind my house I have 2 weeks to kill a buck, so I usually take the 25-35 and hunt with it..I enjoy it, it brings back memories of years gone by, and it tests my skill now just like it did then, and yes I have to pass on some really nice bucks and that freaks me out, but then I realize that I have shot more than my share of really nice bucks and maybe some kid will get that big one because I couldn't shoot that far. I limit the range to about 200 yards with irons and that light caliber..It kills very well at that range and I can hit with irons up to about that same range.

I guess that is why bow hunters and muzzle loader hunters use primitive weapons.

quote:

what are your favorite 25 caliber rifles?

My M-70 featherweight in .257 Roberts.

250-3000, gary goudy stocked.

.25's are alive a well here.
.25-20 Marlin 1894CL (my Rem M25's headspace kept growing)
.250 Savage Ruger M77
.257 Roberts Browning BLR '81 (my favorite)
.25-06 Remington M700 BDL c1969

Think I have on hand around 1000 25 cal bullets to feed my 3 257roberts and lone 25-06. Needless to say, I enjoy shooting them at range.

quote:

Originally posted by huffmanite:
Think I have on hand around 1000 25 cal bullets to feed my 3 257roberts and lone 25-06. Needless to say, I enjoy shooting them at range.

I have around 600 on hand at the moment...I'm a little behind the total number of bullets you have in stock, but I only have 2 rifles in 25 cal (250 Sav and 25-06), so I'd say we have about the same "problem" overall.

You just have to love shooting these small caliber (25 cal) rifles. Plenty of accuracy, plenty of killing power for mid-sized big game (mule deer, etc) and down, far more versatile as big game (again, Mule Deer and down) rifles than the 6mm's (in my opinion), and eeeeaaaassssyyy on the shoulder. What's not to love?

I shoot a 25 WSSM (Browning A-Bolt with 4.5 X 14 Ziess Conquest) and a .257 Wby (Weatherby Accumark with Burris 6 X 24 Signature) and love them both. With 100 grain Nosler TTip bullet and 115 and 120 grain Nosler Partitions they are deadly. Good shooting.

My custom 257 AI comes very close to Weatherby velocities. It has Sako action, Lilja barrel, very nice wood, etc. I think the AI has a little accuracy edge over the 25-06. Be sure of the barrel twist required if you want to use bullets over 100 grains.

I have shot the same Rem. 700 25-06 varmint. A good trigger job when new. Benn a great shooter for over 30 years. My favorite, go to rifle. I tried the 300 RUM, and was impressed with accuracy and distance for shooting. But I have went back to the quarter bore. The best coyote and deer gun around.

I have two, a Ruger #1A in 257 Roberts that was a limited production run from Lipseys, and a custom 25-284 on a 700 short action.

25-06............117grain Sierra SBT or 120 grain Hornady............49.0 grains of IMR 4350 or 53.1 of H4831sc............choose your poison!!! If you've got a 25-06 that won't shoot these loads to your satisfaction trade it off!! Killing effects..............no better bullets known to whitetaildom than that 117 Sierra Spitzer Boat Tail!!! BTDT for over 30 years. Performs the same everytime unlike some of the "premium bullets" we have available. Have shot bigger bullets and smaller bullets......but nothing else can equate the killing effect with efficiency (efficiency equals not having to track wounded animals over have the county!!) of the 25-06!!GOD'S gift to rifledom!! 25-06!! Charlie (GHD) PS: Pastor at the church of GHD and the 25-06

quote:

Originally posted by groundhog devastation:
25-06............117grain Sierra SBT or 120 grain Hornady............49.0 grains of IMR 4350 or 53.1 of H4831sc............choose your poison!!! If you've got a 25-06 that won't shoot these loads to your satisfaction trade it off!! Killing effects..............no better bullets known to whitetaildom than that 117 Sierra Spitzer Boat Tail!!! BTDT for over 30 years. Performs the same everytime unlike some of the "premium bullets" we have available. Have shot bigger bullets and smaller bullets......but nothing else can equate the killing effect with efficiency (efficiency equals not having to track wounded animals over have the county!!) of the 25-06!!GOD'S gift to rifledom!! 25-06!! Charlie (GHD) PS: Pastor at the church of GHD and the 25-06

Charlie,

how can you say all of that, when you also own both a 260 and a 6mm Remington???

Both reasons I have never seen the need to own a 25/06...

of course that is even moreso for me, that I also own a long barreled, 6.5 x 57 on a long action...which is a logical man's 6.5/06...

I have a 25 WSSM in a Browning A-bolt sporter with a bull barrel and Leupold 4.5-14x varmint reticle that shoots sub-MOA with almost any round you put in it. It is a little top-heavy with a bipod on it but is my dedicated pronghorn rifle with 30+ pronghorn kills with almost all 400+ yds. I love this rifle and caliber!!

Remington Model 7 MS in .250 Savage, German guild double rifle in .250 Savage, Martini Cadet in .25-20. I particularly like the Model 7, which is the closest I'm aver going to get to a Mannlicher Schoenauer 6.5x54.

My one and only, a Ruger rebarrel to 250 AI. My three son's all used it. Youngest here.

My Sako 75 in 25-06 is absolutely great, very accurate and easy to shoot. Here is a 3 shot group at 150 metres (165 yards) with 100 gr. Speer Sp.



And the rifle:

quote:

Originally posted by GSSP:
Only one. My Bob!

Alan

Congratulations Alan, that is one of the most beautiful rifles I have ever seen.

quote:

Originally posted by SR4759:
I am not sure I would ever build anything I can buy off the rack. There are too many things to build that you cannot buy.
I have one of the first Rem 700s in 25-06. I have always been astounded it did not put the .243 out of business. It is a far better hunting round. As in on a different planet.

i'm getting it custom made because i want a 26'' barrel and don't have many choices with factory rifles and also want it to have a maple stock. i kind of agree with your way of thinking though, i just can't get a factory rifle made the way i want this one to be.

I love my 25-06 single shot varmint rifle. It is the best windy day rifle in my line up.

Oh ya! it can kill deer pretty good too.

Anyone have or use a 25 TCU. ??

Here is one of my favorite rifles, just happens to be a 257 Roberts.