For Spanish Ibex and Siberian Roe deer I used 115grs Berger VLD. For the Eland cows and the Kudu bull (in RSA legal) I used a 100grs HDB (very similar to Barnes bullets-it`s a pure Copper bullet that has the absolute same Zero as my VLD. All handloaded.

Oh forgot...specneeds you choose a good wife

.25-06

Once you've hunted with one you'll see no need for several other rifles. It covers everything from the .223 up to and including the .270win and and does it with zeal..

The 0.25" bullet diameter is best for nothing.

Too small for my big game hunting.

Too heavy for my varmint hunting.

It's best for nothing.

99. I'd bet you've not had much experience with the 25/06, or you wouldn't make such a ridiculous statement.

I've taken an untold number of deer with the 25/06, 257AI, Handloaded Roberts, and 270. If there is any real world difference (using similarly constructed bullets) between a 120gr 257 bullet at 3000ish, and a 130gr 270 bullet at similar velocity, I'll eat my hat.

IME the 25/06 or Handloadeded Bob is about perfect for Texas deer hunting, at least where I hunt. Maybe New England deer are different, but I doubt it.

Or perhaps you just enjoy making stupid statements to stir the pot.

quote:

IME the 25/06 or Handloadeded Bob is about perfect for Texas deer hunting, at least where I hunt. Maybe New England deer are different, but I doubt it.

For starters the eastern wooded whitetails can be 3 times the size of those scrawny Texas bucks.

Yes, sir. A 257, 120gr partition will bounce off one of them huge northern deer, but a 277, 130gr will drop 'em right now.

For rifle hunting of game the cartridge is always a compromise of it's effect on the game which is most important.

However the recoil, blast, cost, weight of the rifle, legal issues, accuracy and others matter as well.

Thats why we vary in what we choose for hunting.

I can still shoot more effective rounds than the old 257 Roberts at game and the round is too big in terms of ricochets for some varmints.

Thus I don't use .25" centerfires.

However an old buddy of mine from way back had a 257 R. It was his only centerfire. He was very athletic and a good shot.

He was hunting out of my camp in VT. It's hilly there and was covered with mixed hardwoods and abandoned hill farms then. There were a fair amount of deer around. It was bucks only with at least one 3" antler.

He may have been leaning against a tree freezing in the cold when an older hunter came up the hill towards him.

We always dislike that as it disrupts our 'spot'.

The hunter stopped and asked him if he had seen anything and asked what 'caliber' his scoped 722 was.

When he heard it was a .257 Roberts he went into a lecture on how it was minimal and what to use was a chambering like his 30-06.

Finally he left and then a buck came walking up the hill. Butch shot it with his 257 and the buck fell dead.

The old expert hunter came back down the hill to see what happened.

He watched as my buddy took his knife to the deers belly to gut it.

When the buck's guts spilled out the expert hunter threw up and lost his breakfast!

I have shot the 25-06 and seen the results from the 257 Wby on deer I'm pretty sure it will handle that 320 lb Colorado buck who comes out in the evenings 800 or a 1000 yds on the middle of a private spread I can see from my public hunting spot. But it certainly wouldn't be my choice for an 800 lb bull elk.

I tend to think of it as a pronghorn and long range coyote rifle that works just fine on deer.......but I haven't found my present yet......darn it. Thanks again for the information and opinions.

Here we go again.

My buddies wife used a .243 on everything for years before they got together and had taken a moose, several caribou, several elk, and countless deer with it. Go tell her a bigger gun won't work.

Anyone who says a .25-06 is to small for deer or hogs hasn't used one. Or shoot's poorly, in which case a bigger bullet doesn't do much different.

I've knocked the snot outta coyotes with 75gr Hornadys at just over 300 yards, and one at just under 500 with 100gr ballistic tips. Deer it's ideal, elk with good bullets it's just as effective as a much touted .270 with 130's.

There isn't a hill of beans difference between many.

If my wife suggested this I'd buy a .257 Roberts!

quote:

Originally posted by olarmy:
Yes, sir. A 257, 120gr partition will bounce off one of them huge northern deer, but a 277, 130gr will drop 'em right now.

I like the .257 myself, in fact we're taking a couple of them hunting for bear this very instant.

edit: cancel the bear, it decided to rain.

That doesn't change that the northern and eastern deer are considerably larger than Texas deer.

"That doesn't change that the northern and eastern deer are considerably larger than Texas deer."

No one's disputing that (although 3X might be a slight exaggeration). Mr. Bergmann taught us that about 160 years ago.

One man's "exaggeration" is another man's "rounding up."

As much as I like the .257 Bee, I just don't think that it is best for anything in all conditions. It is very good for open country hunting of deer sized game, but no more so than many others.

I would go with the 25-06. I have had two of these rifles, In Remington 700s and both shot 5/8 inch groups at top velocity. Also in the one I kept you could use it like a 257 roberts by down loading it. Everything shoots into less than an inch at both roberts ( 100 gr at 2900) and 2506 velocities ( 100 gr bullet at 3400 ). Also very accurate with 120s.

A 25-06 was my first big-game rifle... I loved it and took many game animals with it, I will say once I got my 257 Wetherby... I used it a bit more.

Ed

Thanks for all of the suggestions - I ended up fudging on the 25 caliber and got a 250 Savage necked down to 22. So a heavy barrel model 700 is on its way via UPS. I'm thinking of starting with H380 or Reloader 17 with 55 grain bullets but will shoot a couple of boxes of factory to see how it shoots. if you have a favorite recipe for 22-250 and 55 grain I'd love to hear it.

The wife is just happy I finally picked out a gun.

Two pages of discussion "25-06 or 257 Weatherby?" and then you buy a 22-250.

What can I say - if 2 pages can't convince me I need a 25 bore than 22-250 fills the hole between 17 hmr and 243 better than 257 fills between 7 mm and 243.

Dammit Man! That was three years ago!

Oh Well, next year you can get a 6.5 Redding! or Maybe a .264LBC, ... or