As you probably know I'm fiddling around with the accuracy in my 243w and it will probably become better after several Forrest bore foam cures.
Still thinking about the 25-06, but how is the inherent accuracy in this calibre compared to the 243w?

I don't have a 25-06 but every 243 I've ever shot is a tack driver. Even the Savage 99 shoots great.

This passed weekend my buddy took his 243 out to the range. He had it built in the 1970's by Flaigs. Hasn't fired it in over 15 years.

FN action and douglas varminter barrel, Herters laminated stock. Best group was 1 hole .4" with 38gr 4064 and 75gr SP bullets, BR primers.

The scope is an $80 BSA.

Rich

Well depends of course,,, but if you get the same quality barrel in 25 -06 as you have in a 243 you are going to be really hard pressed to decide which is more accurate.
Perhaps in a bull barelled paper puncher you might, in a sporter weight rifle you will struggle trying to determine a difference.

Blaser: Your English is very good, and my capacity in any other language is almost non-existent, so don't take offense: The word you are wanting to use is "inherent" accuracy, which means something like "built-in" or "naturally occuring". "Inherited" means received from another, such as "your blonde hair is inherited from your mother", or "he inherited a beautiful '98 Mauser from his uncle's estate".

Back to your question (which everyone fully understands): Generally, a shorter cartridge of less powder capacity and smaller bore can more readily be made accurate than one that is longer and larger. Despite this, the variables in any two guns outweigh any potential for accuracy differences between the two cartridges you mention. One can be as accurate as the other, but you will likely find slightly better average accuracy in 100 rifles chambered for .243 than in 100 rifles chambered for .25-06.

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The word you are wanting to use is "inherent" accuracy, which means something like "built-in" or "naturally occuring". "Inherited" means received from another, such as "your blonde hair is inherited from your mother", or "he inherited a beautiful '98 Mauser from his uncle's estate".

Sorry about that, I just trusted the spellchecker too much

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One can be as accurate as the other, but you will likely find slightly better average accuracy in 100 rifles chambered for .243 than in 100 rifles chambered for .25-06.

It would be nice if someone would make such a test

The .243 is a better design for accuracy with the shorter powder column. Also ALOT more 6mm quality bullets available. There is a much better selection of quality brass for the .243. That being said if you are not shooting bench rest or long range high power, the group size, all being equal is not going to be much larger. I think the .243 is also easier to work up a good load for.

I have owned many cal .243 rifles and one .25-06.
In my case the .25-06 is just as accurate as any of the .243s even though it shoots much flatter.

The primary difference is based on trajectories actually checked a the range is the .25-06 shoots much flatter than the .243.
The .243 velocities just do not live up to the advertised speed even with loads that expand the primer pocket after 4 or 5 loadings.

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inherent accuracy

Those two words put together in one sentence can start some real good fights on this forum.

Been there done that.

I have owned several of both and shot even more owned by other people. I have never found one to be more accurate than the other. The 25/06 is a bit more particular about what it eats, but I will take it every time over the 243, even for varmits.

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Originally posted by MickinColo:

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inherent accuracy

Those two words put together in one sentence can start some real good fights on this forum. :

Absolutely,because people believe the written word in gun rags and the expertise expounded by shooters guided by imaturity and tunnel vision. Now it starts? roger

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Originally posted by bartsche:

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Originally posted by MickinColo:

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inherent accuracy

Those two words put together in one sentence can start some real good fights on this forum. :

Absolutely,because people believe the written word in gun rags and the expertise expounded by shooters guided by imaturity and tunnel vision. Now it starts? roger

Hey bartshe and vapodog, Ya'll both know my affinity for the 25-06 and I've killed a lot of vermin with .243. BUT if REMINGTON had marketed their .244 Remington with a little more R&D and not a 1-12 twist and had marketed it as the 6mm REMINGTON with the proper twist, the .243Winchester would be an obsolete cartridge!! BUT Remington cannot learn from past mistakes! Therefore the SAUM's will be relegated to obscurity while the WSM's will languish in the spotlight!! SAUM is a better case design!! If they'd done one in .257 or .264 everybody would want one!! Come to think of it, if Winchester/Browning had done the WSM's in .257 or .264 folks might give them a second look too!! ..............But Remington did it right, they just didn't follow through!! GHD

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Originally posted by groundhog devastation:
Hey bartshe and vapodog, Ya'll both know my affinity for the 25-06 and I've killed a lot of vermin with .243. BUT if REMINGTON had marketed their .244 Remington with a little more R&D and not a 1-12 twist and had marketed it as the 6mm REMINGTON with the proper twist, the .243Winchester would be an obsolete cartridge!! GHD

100% right. The X 57mm in all the caibers are just well designed cartridges but sadly don't get much ink in the gun rags. roger

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Originally posted by groundhog devastation:
Hey bartshe and vapodog, Ya'll both know my affinity for the 25-06 and I've killed a lot of vermin with .243. BUT if REMINGTON had marketed their .244 Remington with a little more R&D and not a 1-12 twist and had marketed it as the 6mm REMINGTON with the proper twist, the .243Winchester would be an obsolete cartridge!! BUT Remington cannot learn from past mistakes! Therefore the SAUM's will be relegated to obscurity while the WSM's will languish in the spotlight!! SAUM is a better case design!! If they'd done one in .257 or .264 everybody would want one!! Come to think of it, if Winchester/Browning had done the WSM's in .257 or .264 folks might give them a second look too!! ..............But Remington did it right, they just didn't follow through!! GHD

That's the stuff campfires and deer hunts were made for......and a little beer in some cases.

On this much I can agree.....had the .244 originally been a 1-10" twist, we'd have had one helluva horse race.
But let's twist it one more....had Remington come out with their M-700 in a .257 Roberts +P that was as light and pretty as the M-70 then the Roberts would have won!

The Roberts is better than either of the 6MMs

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Originally posted by vapodog:
The Roberts is better than either of the 6MMs

On this I can agree!!!

the question I have is with the 25-06, .243 and .257 which one has the longest barrel lifetime? I am thinking the .257 Roberts. The only strike I can see against the Roberts is that if chambered in a short action rifle the magazine length may not match the leade in the rifle so every bullet has to jump a bit. In this case I think the .243 would be more accurate most of the time.

The second most accurate rifle I ever owned was a mod. 77 Ruger varmint in .257 Roberts circa 1972. Only now after perhaps 13000 rounds is it starting to open up a little bit. No inherent accuracy here just a sweet rifle. roger

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The word you are wanting to use is "inherent" accuracy, which means something like "built-in" or "naturally occuring". "Inherited" means received from another, such as "your blonde hair is inherited from your mother", or "he inherited a beautiful '98 Mauser from his uncle's estate".

Sorry about that, I just trusted the spellchecker too much

Thanks for taking no offense. My administrative assistant is a native of Germany and I marvel at how effortlessly she masters English -- even down to the idiom and slang. We Americans are so insular that we are barely aware that there are other languages, so I am always hesitant to comment when the use of a word may be not quite right. (Incidentally and regretably, I'm losing my assistant next month when she and her husband move to his new job in the South of France. I'm sure she will adapt just as readily to French.)

All of my rifles, in many different chamberings, are inherently accurate. But, I usually need to so some tweaking for them to achieve their inherentness...

The .25-06 is an absolute tack driver. Devastating 500 yd varmint rifle.

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Originally posted by vapodog:
BUT if REMINGTON had marketed their .244 Remington with a little more R&D and not a 1-12 twist and had marketed it as the 6mm REMINGTON with the proper twist, the .243Winchester would be an obsolete cartridge!! BUT Remington cannot learn from past mistakes!
...On this much I can agree.....had the .244 originally been a 1-10" twist, we'd have had one helluva horse race.
But let's twist it one more....had Remington come out with their M-700 in a .257 Roberts +P that was as light and pretty as the M-70 then the Roberts would have won!

The Roberts is better than either of the 6MMs

The Roberts MAY be better than the 6mm, BUT and it's a big BUT, the 6mm is one helluvan accurate round.
(is that a word?)

The .257 may have a little more poop on the short end, but my 6mm is an absolute freakin' tack driver.

vapodog, The Roberts is not a 25-06! If you "+P" the Roberts, then "Ackleyrize" the 25-06! Then compare. If ol man Ackley was here to join in the conversation, he'd say his "Ackleyrizing" of the 257 Roberts was about his best work. The Roberts is fun to shoot, an easy caliber to get kids and ladies shooting with and darn potent on deer and such but it is not a 25-06!! Wanta open another can of worms? The .260 Remington is as much a versatile cartridge as either of these two..........killing power and long range accuracy............another case of Remington dropping the ball when they had something to sell from!! Is it as "flat shooting" as a 25-06? NO! But it has extended range using the 140 AMAXs or 142 Sierras over the 25-06's 117 and 120 grain offerings. And as a "small person friendly" chambering, the 260 is a dream to load 100 grain BT's or 95 grain VMaxs for the slight of frame and stature folks...........and a .264 bullet is more forgiving than a .243 bullet on bigger stuff!! (I expect an argument here with the reasoning that a .308 is more forgiving than a .264............FELT RECOIL folks!) The 260 Remington is rifledoms unsung hero. The 7mm-08 before somebody chimes in with that is a significant piece of work also for a lot of the same reasons. Charlie (GHD........pastor at the church of the 25-06 and GODS chosen caliber..........deacons are the 22-250, .260 Remington and various others!)

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vapodog, The Roberts is not a 25-06!

GHD.....I've owned three .257 Roberts.....three .25-06s and several 6MM Remingtons and .243 Winchesters......I also own a custom 6.5 X 55 and a M-70 featherweight in .260 Remington.....I've used them on prairie dogs and deer.....and to my delight, each and every one of them has a place in my cabinet......but if I was forced to have only one the Roberts will win out......and easily! It's that good!

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If ol man Ackley was here to join in the conversation,

Such a thought!.....Can't you see him and Hot Core going at it?

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......but if I was forced to have only one the Roberts will win out......and easily! It's that good!

That's very interesting - that someone has them all and uses them would make that choice. I have a leaning to the 257 Roberts only because it looks good on paper (and I have a 303-25 and love it! It is just so sweet shooting).

True, the 25-06 was God's chosen caliber but he switched to the 25 wssm a couple of years ago

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Originally posted by BlaserGun:
As you probably know I'm fiddling around with the accuracy in my 243w and it will probably become better after several Forrest bore foam cures.
Still thinking about the 25-06, but how is the inherent accuracy in this calibre compared to the 243w?

Since it is a bit over bore capacity, it would be more difficult to derive guilt-edge accuracy from the .25/'06. The one I had was barely capable of MOA shooting, and that for the first three shots only. After three shots, it opened up to 1.5 MOA.....

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Originally posted by 303Guy:

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......but if I was forced to have only one the Roberts will win out......and easily! It's that good!

That's very interesting - that someone has them all and uses them would make that choice. I have a leaning to the 257 Roberts only because it looks good on paper (and I have a 303-25 and love it! It is just so sweet shooting).

Having used the 25-06 IMP and the .257 my choice also would be the the Roberts. The Roberts is not quite as finicky with bullet construction as the 25-06 especially under 100 yds.The 25 -06 IMP is not that much faster than the std 25-06. Mine wasn't! roger

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Originally posted by vapodog:

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If ol man Ackley was here to join in the conversation,

Such a thought!.....Can't you see him and Hot Core going at it?