i'm planning on getting a custom made 25-06 bolt action rifle. what are some of the best action for conderation for a custom 25-06? i'm getting a 26'' barrel on it because i've read that 26'' barrels are the best choice for a 25-06. i wonder barely any factory 25-06s have 26'' barrels? i can't understand taking such a high velocity cartridge and putting 22'' barrels etc on them. who makes your favorite 25-06 rifle? what's the highest velocity you get from a 25-06 loaded with a 100gr bullet and whats the highest velocity you can get with 120gr bullets? how do you feel about the 25-06 vs. the .257Wby, which do you think is best and why? i like the .257Wby but like the 25-06 more. how often do you use the 25-06 for hunting and what do hunt most with it? the 25-06 is one of my absolute favorite cartridges and i'll probably get more than just one rifle for it. however i do like the 25-35 and .257 Roberts among other 25 caliber cartridges, heck even the 25 caliber Lazzeroni cartridge is kind of interesting to me even though i don't like Lazzeroni stuff for the most part. the only 25 caliber i currently own is a Marlin 1894CL in 25-20, the rifle has a Ducks Unlimited medallion in the stock which i don't really understand but i love the rifle. thanks very much for any help with my questions because i do have a lot of questions about the 25-06!

I have owned and done extensive load development for 2 rifles in .25-06. The Ruger No.1B had a 26" barrel and the Remington 700 had a 24". They both balanced well but the Ruger was much heavier. Higher velocity with similar loads usually came from the Remington in spite of the shorter tube. It's not always as simple as it appears.

You got me thinking. Maybe it's time to buy another 25-06. I have been without one long enough.

IMO the two best actions for a custom 25-06 are the Remington 700 and the Winchester M-70 push feed.

That said I've owned three .25-06 rifles and all were M-98 Mausers.....a 1909 Argie, a 1908 Brazilion and an Interarms Zastava......and all have worked well.

As to the 26" barrel.....There is no magic in this length....all of mine have been 22" and have served me quite nicely.

I had a ruger 77,Rem.700,and now I have a Sako 85 in 25-06 all have had 24in.barrels.
I like the Sako best of these guns.
I hunt caribou with the 25-06 using 100gr bullets and it works.
I live in a treeless part of Canada so a flat shooting gun is what is needed for long shots at caribou and the 25-06 with its moderate recoil is right on
joe

quote:

Originally posted by vapodog:
IMO the two best actions for a custom 25-06 are the Remington 700 and the Winchester M-70 push feed.

That said I've owned three .25-06 rifles and all were M-98 Mausers.....a 1909 Argie, a 1908 Brazilion and an Interarms Zastava......and all have worked well.

i haven't owned a Winchester model 70 yet but i own 2 Remington model 700s and i really like them a lot. so a model 700 action is a definate consideration. however i'd love to have some kind of rifle with a Mauser 98 action, it's kind of a goal of mine to get a Mauser. i mentioned considering the Mauser 98 for the 25-06 on another forum and one person said they wouldn't because of the Mauser's slow lock time and hearing that has kind of confused me a bit now about using an M98 for my 25-06. but like i said i would love to have some kind of rifle/cartridge combo with a Mauser action. i have a lot of questions and am a bit confused because i always try to get things as perfect as i can, especially when spending a lot of money on them.

quote:

Originally posted by Joe-S:
I had a ruger 77,Rem.700,and now I have a Sako 85 in 25-06 all have had 24in.barrels.
I like the Sako best of these guns.
I hunt caribou with the 25-06 using 100gr bullets and it works.
I live in a treeless part of Canada so a flat shooting gun is what is needed for long shots at caribou and the 25-06 with its moderate recoil is right on
joe

i've been checking the Sako website a lot the past few days.

quote:

the tuscaloosa

PM sent

I have a Win M70 pushfeed with I believe a 24" barrel. Mine has a Luepold 4.5x14 and it's still in the cheap flexable stock. Mine shoots!

Yes I know it's a three shot group. In the feild I've never shot more than two.
The pictured group was with Hornady SSTs @ 100yds, prone. I have bedded the plastic stock and cleaned up the trigger a good bit but the trigger isn't as clean as some of my other rifles.
It's a great round. From 350 yard ground hogs to Big Mulies. I wouldn't be afraid to shoot elk with it with the right combo of bullet and situation.

quote:

Originally posted by BigNate:
I have a Win M70 pushfeed with I believe a 24" barrel. Mine has a Luepold 4.5x14 and it's still in the cheap flexable stock. Mine shoots!

Yes I know it's a three shot group. In the feild I've never shot more than two.
The pictured group was with Hornady SSTs @ 100yds, prone. I have bedded the plastic stock and cleaned up the trigger a good bit but the trigger isn't as clean as some of my other rifles.
It's a great round. From 350 yard ground hogs to Big Mulies. I wouldn't be afraid to shoot elk with it with the right combo of bullet and situation.

nice group! i've always thought the 25-06 would work well on Elk with the right load.

My 25-06 started out as a Remington 700 Classic.
It had a 24 inch barrel and I used it for everything from ground squirrels to prairie dogs to mule deer to antelope and on LOTS of wild hogs.

I finally shot that barrel out and rebarreled with a 24 inch Lilja chrome moly barrrel that just shoots great. I think a 24 inch barrel is just about ideal for the 25-06.

I don't shoot many varmints with it anymore, but still hunt coyotes, antelope, deer, and hogs with it.

As to velocity, my current loads are an 80 grain Tipped TSX at 3600, a 100 grain TSX or Nosler Patition at close to 3400, or a 115 grain Ballistic Tip at 3150 fps. I intend to take that 80 grain load to New Mexico for another antelope this fall. (It really puts them on the ground.)

Several of my buddies have .257 Weatherby Mags and they are a great gun. They will shoot a good deal faster than the 25-06 but at the cost of higher priced cases, more powder usage, and more muzzle blast. However, you cannot get something for nothing. That cartridge, however, needs a 26 inch barrel in my opinion.

My recommendation would be a Remington 700 action, a good quality barrel, a good trigger (I prefer Jewell's), and a good glass stock.

Being a lefty, and no .25-06 available to me years ago, I bought a used Rem 700 in .270, rebarreled with a top Douglas 26" barrel, put a custom fiberglass stock on it, and a Leupold 4.5-14x scope on it (may install a 3-12x). I've hunted antelope, deer, and caribou with it. No problem with any of these. The barrel did get cut to 24" for aesthetics and handling purposes, but still is extremely accurate. Oh, killed a huge 5x5 mule deer on the Air Force Academy this past year with it.
Max

PEZ. My 25-06 is a left hand Carl Gustoff (not a Mauser action) and I love it. You said you want a custom rifle. You can get a Montana Arms model 1999 barreled with any contour and length you want. I have two in different calibers and they really shoot. One came with a 3/8 test target in 300WSM. On one I sent them dummy rounds with my favorite bullet and ask them to cut the chamber for that bullet. I think they will stock it with an Accurate Inovations stock. Want to spend more money? Try the Kiliminjaro web site for an all out custom rifle.

You might check out Sakos and Coopers before you go the custom route. Both can be had in fine used condition, at good value.

Here is a Cooper Model 52. Its a repeater, 26" fluted barrel and a decent stick of wood. It shoots pretty good too.



Best

GWB

quote:

Originally posted by Geedubya:
You might check out Sakos and Coopers before you go the custom route. Both can be had in fine used condition, at good value.

Here is a Cooper Model 52. Its a repeater, 26" fluted barrel and a decent stick of wood. It shoots pretty good too.



Best

GWB

very nice looking rifle!

Don't get hung up on the lock time BS of a Mauser 98. A 25-06 built on a Mauser will be more than accurate enough for a hunting rifle. The only place the difference in lock time between a 98 and say a 700 might/could/will show up is in an off hand match or smallest possible group shooting. The faster the lock time the less time the shooter has to screw things up.

Barrel lenght is a crapshoot. Some shorter tubes will give nearly the same velocity as a longer tube or close enough for the extra weight to be a factor more than velocity. One of the real advantages to a longer tube is to get the muzzle blast farther away from the shooter, especially when using a brake.
Unless of course that's not a factor...

i think i've settled on an Mauser 98 or Remington model 700 as an action. i also need to figureout who i want to build the rifle. at the moment i'm considering Montana Rifle Company, Shurley Brothers Custom Rifles, Occoquan Customs, Dakota Arms, and Jarrett Rifles among others. i need someone that can do great work with Maple for a stock. i want the stock to be a very light colored Maple with rosewood or ebony forend and gripcap. considering Fiddleback maple as the kind of maple to use.

If it were mine it would be a Montana barreled action. I wouldn't even consider Jarrett even if he is fairly close.

If you go the M700 route you could get one of the benchrest gunsmiths to blue print your action and install the barrel.

If you are not interested in the Remington I would probably find a Sears or Montgomery Wards FN with factory steel bottom metal for such a project. Less investment yet you can wind up with a decent Mauser.

I would never go for the top of the line anything on one except the barrel and fitting since I would be inclined to haul it around more.

I have an early Remington 700 in 25-06. I have no idea why the 25-06 is not 10 times more popular than what it is.

quote:

Originally posted by SR4759:
If you go the M700 route you could get one of the benchrest gunsmiths to blue print your action and install the barrel.

If you are not interested in the Remington I would probably find a Sears or Montgomery Wards FN with factory steel bottom metal for such a project. Less investment yet you can wind up with a decent Mauser.

I would never go for the top of the line anything on one except the barrel and fitting since I would be inclined to haul it around more.

I have no idea why the 25-06 is not 10 times more popular than what it is.

thanks for the info. i agree with you on the popularity of the 25-06. it is one of my top 5 favorite rifle cartridges.

I picked a Ruger M77 for my 25-06. Very stout 24" barrel, huge claw extractor, controlled feed - shoots really well. Happens to be for sale at the moment.

I looked at the Tikkas at the time, but I don't care for the receiver design, the feel of the bolt, or the 22" barrel, regardless of the accuracy. I would say that a 24" barrel is just right for this cartridge. It is better balanced than a 26" barrel and still long enough to burn all that powder.

quote:

Originally posted by BigNate:
If it were mine it would be a Montana barreled action. I wouldn't even consider Jarrett even if he is fairly close.

Montana Rifles has a maple stocked rifle on their website that almost exactly like the rifle that inspired me to want a rifle with maple stock. one of the reasons i was thinking about Jarrett is how close they are to me. why do you think Jarrett is a bad choice?

Thanks very much

I have owned two 25-06 rifles both Sako 75's

The first was a New Sako75 Hunter 22 7/8" standard factory barrel tried quite a few different types of ammo but settled on Win 120gr Positive Expanding Point, and with reloads 100gr BT's shot well but I preffered the 115gr BT or Combined Tech BST. The Win factory chrono'ed at 3120fps, the 100gr BT's at 3290 and 115gr 3174. I shot several thousand deer with it before having it rebarreled and restocked. The barrel is now a 26" Bartlein 5R and has shot several thousand deer and getting to the stage where it will require another barrel. The replacement barrel will be another Bartlein 5R and either a 26 or 28" tube. I have only ever used reloads through this rifle since the rebarrel I am getting 3240 with 115gr Nosler BT's using 49.0gr IMR4350. I currently use Winchester cases and get 10-12 loadings before disgarding the cases. Although now that Norma are making 25-06 cases I may well try using Norma.

The second 25-06 is also a Sako75 but a stainless synthetic I bought for my wife when she started hunting. It was second hand and has been a great rifle. We have manly used Sako Factory 117gr Soft Point through providing great accuracy and good clean one shot kills on game upto the size of Red Deer. I have just started to reload for it using the Sako cases Seirra 117gr Soft Points and 48.0grs IMR 4350.

I would of bought a 3rd Sako 75 for my eldest son but due to bizzare UK firearms laws 2 rifles of the same calibre are frowned upon and 3 almost impossible to obtain so we got him a 270. If however things were different I would of got him a 25-06.

i looked at a website today for Randy's Custom Guns and it looks like he does some great work with maple for a good price. he had some very nice looking rifles on his website, so i'm thinking he might make a great 25-06 for the money.

In MY OPINION, Kenny Jarrett is living on past reputation. My next door neighbor a few years ago ordered a J rifle in .300 WM and it's fit finish and accuracy were not that impressive for the money. I've seen and own production pieces that were as good.
If you would seperate metal work from stockmaker I'd really say check with Kilua(sp?) Customs for the barreled action. And I'm not sure who I'd have do the stock, but there is a seperate forum for gunsmithing so I'd start there.
You can poll for opinions on those you're considering.

quote:

Originally posted by BigNate:
In MY OPINION, Kenny Jarrett is living on past reputation. My next door neighbor a few years ago ordered a J rifle in .300 WM and it's fit finish and accuracy were not that impressive for the money. I've seen and own production pieces that were as good.
If you would seperate metal work from stockmaker I'd really say check with Kilua(sp?) Customs for the barreled action. And I'm not sure who I'd have do the stock, but there is a seperate forum for gunsmithing so I'd start there.
You can poll for opinions on those you're considering.

OK, thanks very much for the info!