does the .25-06 or .257Wby got any real advantages over a high-velocity 6mm, for roedeer hunting?



(if i were allowed to use the .257 on bigger animals such as reindeer, i wouldn't write this post.
i would just have bought a .257Wby and been happy).

It comes down to the shooter. I have both a .25/06 and a 6mm Rem, and both will kill like lightning with the right placement. The .25 shines with the heavier bullet (120 grain) but when comparing 100 grain bullets the 6mm has a slight ballistic advantage. If you can hit what you aim at, shoot what you like best; the little deer will never know the difference.
Walt

The .25-06 is vastly superior to the 6MM at ranges past 250 yards.

thats easy compare all 3 shells with the same bullet weight, in a good reload manual, case volume= more speed and energy on target, plus flatter shooting. their all great rounds shop n compare.
regards

I hardly think 2 to 4 inches trajectory difference with 100 grain bullets at 400 and 500 yards is properly termed "vastly superior".

From the Remington website, 6mm first, .25/06 second.

Cartridge Information
Index Number Cartridge Type Weight (grs.) Bullet Style Primer No. Ballistic Coefficient
R6MM4 Remington® Express® 100 Pointed Soft Point Core-Lokt® 9 1/2 0.356
R25062 Remington® Express® 100 Pointed Soft Point Core-Lokt® 9 1/2 0.292


Velocity (ft/sec)
Cartridge Type Bullet Muzzle 100 200 300 400 500
Remington® Express® 100 PSP CL 3100 2829 2573 2332 2104 1889
Remington® Express® 100 PSP CL 3230 2893 2580 2287 2014 1762


Energy (ft-lbs)
Cartridge Type Bullet Muzzle 100 200 300 400 500
Remington® Express® 100 PSP CL 2133 1777 1470 1207 983 792
Remington® Express® 100 PSP CL 2316 1858 1478 1161 901 689


Short-Range Trajectory
Cartridge Type Bullet 50 100 150 200 250 300
Remington® Express® 100 PSP CL 0.0 0.6 zero -1.8 -4.8 -9.3
Remington® Express® 100 PSP CL 0.0 0.5 zero -1.7 -4.6 -9.1


Long-Range Trajectory
Cartridge Type Bullet 100 150 200 250 300 400 500
Remington® Express® 100 PSP CL 1.4 1.3 zero -2.6 -6.7 -19.8 -40.8
Remington® Express® 100 PSP CL 1.3 1.3 zero -2.6 -6.6 -19.8 -41.7

The 6mm starts slower and has less energy at the muzzle, but by 300 yards has equalled the .25/06 and surpasses it beyond that distance, due to the higher BC of the 100 grain 6mm bullet over the 100 grain .25 caliber bullet.
Both are great cartridges, but ballistically speaking, the 6mm is superior with 100 grain bullets. It is only when the 120 grain is used in the .25/06 that it really shows what it can do at long range. A 100 grain partition-type bullet in the 6mm will not disappoint the deer hunter that can shoot accurately.
Walt

.243 Win w/100gr Partition has all the trajectory i need.

i have never hunted roe before, so i just wondered if the .25calibers will offer any real advantage in terms of killing power inside 200yd?

There have been some that say the 250 savage did better on game than the 243. Nothing wrong with it, they make some good looking 'BLUE' tipped bullets for 25 cal, look cool. Hear they put deer down fast.

IMHO, I think those Remington factory balistics on the 6mm are a bit optimistic, while the 25-06 numbers are more realistic. My experience with the 6mm Rem 100gr loads (and reloads) has shown that 3000 fps is relistic.

In addition, my experience with the 25-06 shows that a 117 gr load (and reload) can easily be pushed to 3050 fps. I have not messed around with 100 gr loads in the 25-06.

It will be fun to run a comparison of these realistic numbers when I get home tonight.

I just picked up a 257 Wby Mag, sounds like the 100gr Barnes TSX pushed to 3500 fps is realistic and is the go to bullet/load combo most guys are writting about. I think I am going to go with the Nosler 110gr AB and settle for 3400 fps or so.

quote:

Originally posted by ireload2:
The .25-06 is vastly superior to the 6MM at ranges past 250 yards.

I have a couple of 6mm Remingtons on long actions with fast twists...

I'd have to challenge that opinion...

I also will be more than happy to challenge the superiority of a long action 25/06 to my short action 260 Remingtons...

heck, I'd take a 257 Roberts on a long action and not sacrifice much to a 25/06 if anything... if I had to feel the need to equal it, I'd just go with a 257 AI....

The best thing I can highlight a 25/06 if the efficiency it has over a 257 Roy....

quote:

I have a couple of 6mm Remingtons on long actions with fast twists...

I'd have to challenge that opinion...

Tell me about having a fast twist 378 Weatherby on a 2XXL action with a 36" barrel while you are at it.

quote:

Originally posted by BUCKMT:
From the Remington website, 6mm first, .25/06 second.

Cartridge Information
Index Number Cartridge Type Weight (grs.) Bullet Style Primer No. Ballistic Coefficient
R6MM4 Remington® Express® 100 Pointed Soft Point Core-Lokt® 9 1/2 0.356
R25062 Remington® Express® 100 Pointed Soft Point Core-Lokt® 9 1/2 0.292


Velocity (ft/sec)
Cartridge Type Bullet Muzzle 100 200 300 400 500
Remington® Express® 100 PSP CL 3100 2829 2573 2332 2104 1889
Remington® Express® 100 PSP CL 3230 2893 2580 2287 2014 1762


Energy (ft-lbs)
Cartridge Type Bullet Muzzle 100 200 300 400 500
Remington® Express® 100 PSP CL 2133 1777 1470 1207 983 792
Remington® Express® 100 PSP CL 2316 1858 1478 1161 901 689


Short-Range Trajectory
Cartridge Type Bullet 50 100 150 200 250 300
Remington® Express® 100 PSP CL 0.0 0.6 zero -1.8 -4.8 -9.3
Remington® Express® 100 PSP CL 0.0 0.5 zero -1.7 -4.6 -9.1


Long-Range Trajectory
Cartridge Type Bullet 100 150 200 250 300 400 500
Remington® Express® 100 PSP CL 1.4 1.3 zero -2.6 -6.7 -19.8 -40.8
Remington® Express® 100 PSP CL 1.3 1.3 zero -2.6 -6.6 -19.8 -41.7

Sorry if you believe all those numbers nor have experience with both calibers past 250 yards. You are really lucky if you can get a 6MM much past 3000 with a 100 grain bullet. It is relatively easy to get a 25-06 past 3250 with a 100 grain bullet. I like both rounds but the 25-06 is a way better deer cartridge at long range.
For most of my use (meaning varmints too) I would prefer the 6MM but it does not come close to killing deer at long range with the effectiveness of a 25-06.

I'd have to plump for the 25-06 or the 257WBY.

Then again a 264WM with 100BT's is a better thing for thumping roos at long range, 400-800 yards, in my limited experience

Hi!

I have shot about 6 whitetail deer with the .243 and about 9 with the .25-06 from ranges of about 50 yards to 300 yards. Just based upon my own personal experiences with these two calibers, I believe the .25-06 is a much more consistent performer on deer. It just seems like the 100 grain .243 bullets don't have the same explosive effect and large wound channel that the .25-06 bullets do.

I am assuming that roe deer are probably a little bit smaller than whitetails, so the .243 might do very well on them, but I would think about using an 85-95 grain bullet in it instead of the 100s. Also, the 117 grain Seirra boattail in the Federal premium loading is an excellent loading in the .25-06. It is really a "bang-flop" load.

Just my opinion. Hope it helps.

All good stuff, if we can stay on thread and away from sanctimonious statements. I have had extensive experience with both the 6mm and the .25/06, somewhere on the order of 50 whitetails each, and have never been disappointed with either round, the majority of these deer killed under 300 yards, but a few past 400. With 100 grain bullets I still like the 6, but if I knew that my shots were going to be over 300 every time I'd go with the heavier bullet in the .25 or some other cartridge. We chronograph our loads and in the 6mm with two rifles (both we built, a 95 Mauser with a Shilen barrel and a #1 Ruger action with Douglas barrel) we consistently get 3150 to 3200 fps with 100 grain NP and IMR 7828 from the 26" barrel of the Ruger action gun and 3150 from the Mauser. Hornady's light magnum 100 grain load has chronographed 3225-3250 in the Ruger. Under 300 yards I see no difference in killing power between the two cartridges with like bullet placement. Over 300 I'll want to be shooting my .300 Win or 6.5-284.

Can't say much about the 25-06 or Weatherby, but I can tell you that my 257 Roberts, when paired with a Sierra or Hornady 117 grain bullet, kills like no 243 or 6m/m I've ever seen. I own, like and use the 6m/m's, but varminting isn't deer hunting.

If the Roberts is a good thing, I'd imagine that the 25-06 and 257 WBY are much more gooder...

i have never disagreed the fact that a .25-06 probably kills better than a 6mm.

but on animals up to 80lb, i'm worried a .25 will just burn more powder, give more recoil, without any significant increase in killing power.

i could always hunt Bambi with my .300wby, but you can't kill a animal deader than dead.

quote:

Originally posted by Steffen-9.3:
does the .25-06 or .257Wby got any real advantages over a high-velocity 6mm, for roedeer hunting?



(if i were allowed to use the .257 on bigger animals such as reindeer, i wouldn't write this post.
i would just have bought a .257Wby and been happy).

In your case the answer is, well, probably not. Excluding the 25-06 and 257 Weatherby, 25 calibre offers little to you except bullet weight(something not necessary for an animal of less than 100#) What the 257 Roberts offers is nostalgia, but in fact it is almost the ballistic twin of the 6m/m Remington.

Having said that, what the big 25s offer is range and the forgiveness of a flat trajectory. When all is said and done, we're probably only talking an additional 150 yards...

First, I am not anti 6mm or 243. The 6mm’s have a long history in my family’s hunting camp and we hold them in very high regard. But at the same time, I have learned to be leery of the marketing & sales types trying to best their competition’s products.

My Ruger #1 (26" bbl) in 6mm Rem crono's a hair over 3000 fps with my 100gr load. With #1’s you have to settle for accuracy first do to the forearm hanger to barrel harmonics issue. So when you find a ½ moa sweet spot load in a #1, you stop there.

My old Rem M788 (22†bbl) in 6mm Rem crono'd at 3065 fps with its sweet spot load. (I regret selling that rifle to this very day.)

My brother has an old Rem Model 600 Mohawk (18.5" bbl) in 6mm Rem, it crono's at about 2850 fps with Remington's 100gr PSPCL factory load. These particular factory loads shoot so well in his rifle that he does not bother reloading for it.

His twin daughters use that 6mm and have taken a dozen or so mulies with it. One of the girls did a 280 yd bang-flop on a nice 4x4 a couple yrs back using that old Mohawk. They love and trust that 6mm and so does he, he will never sell it.

Bottom line, I think the 6mm's are great cartridges and are perfectly capable of doing the deed whenever called into service.

With regard to the 25’s, the same applies. I think what it comes down to is, “what do you like – apples or oranges?â€

I find the ballistics of a 25 cal 110gr Nosler AB pushed to 3400 fps very intriguing and I do not give a hoot about efficiency and how much powder I go thru. My brother and I have taken on this 257 Wby Mag as project to see if it is a worthy 500 to 600 yd bang-flopper. His youngest son has come of age and he wants to start young Zack out with the Mohawk, so we are setting up the older girls with the 257 Wby Mag.

Regards, Chopaka

I don't know anything about roe deer but I have a 243 and a 25-06. I reload a 117 grain hornady in the 25-06 and it has better velocity and ballistics and shoots a heavier bullet than the 100 grain hornady 243 I use. So I'd go with a .257 for deer.

Given that roe deer are a good bit smaller than whitetails, I'd say no, a .25-06 or .257 Wby doesn't offer any significant advantage.

Avoid the confusion, go with the .257 Wby.

i have decided to go for a practical cartridge.

here at home i will use the rifle on ptarmigan(bird 1lb) to roe(deer up to 80lb).
but i also expect to do a fair bit of hunting worldwide, so ammo availability is something to consider.

and i already have a .300Wby for medium-to-big game.
so i was hoping some of you international hunters know what calibers are available in continental Europe, north America, Africa, etc

In 2002 I got access to much much more roe stalking on farm fields which allowed me to shoot about 90 or so roe a year.

For a year I used my 6.5x55 with 100gr bullets. Plenty flat enough for my sub 250yard shooting I found that it did leave quite large holes in the deer at times. Seeing as expansion at 250yards is fairly low even with a ballistic tip I can see why closer range performance has to be a bit more violent.

I moved to a 6mm remington shooting 90gr ballistic tips at 3,200fps - very flat shooting, no recoil and devastating without leaving such big holes. For 3 years it was all I used on just about anything doing very well on fallow too.

The rifle was a little heavy and didn't like a bipod so I rebarreled a sako to 243 ending up with a 26" sporter that weighed just over 8lbs and took a bipod (quite useful for roe stalking in fields)using federal factory 85gr BTHP at 3,300fps I absolutely love it and have made shots at just under 300yards on stubble.

When I made the decision to go for 6mm rem it was in the light of comparisons I made against the 25-06. I felt at the time that the 6mm could do with 90gr what the 25-06 could do with 100gr. I felt I was proved right in the field.

If you take into consideration the need for factory ammunition abroad I feel 243 is a logical choice. There are about 3-4 factory loads with 85-90gr bullets and any number of 100gr factory loads (which are rather slow).

If you PM me your email I'll happily fill in any detail.