I purchased a used 25-06 last year, and am having a hard time getting it to shoot a decent group. The rifle is a Whitworth Mauser Mark X that is in good condition. It has a aftermarket Fajen stock, not sure how old but is a pretty nice piece of wood with glass bedding around the action. I have tried 3 diffrent factory loads in the rifle Remington Cor-loc, Hornady SST, and Federal Prem with Seirra Game King bullets, all weights are 117 or 120 grain. On the very best day in might shoot 1 inch at 100 yards more typically between 1 to 2 inches. I put a Meopta scope mounted in dual dovetail Leoupold rings on the rifle. I have had a gunsmith look it over and there are no bedding problems and the scope mounts are good and tight. I'm really not unhappy with the gun, but I did expect it to shoot a little better than it does. Having never owned a 25-06 in general are they hard to find ammo they like? The only problem I could find with the gun is the barrel was pretty dirty when I purchased it, I have since properly cleaned it. If I can't get it to shoot any better I may at some point put a new barrel on it. Any insight would be greatly appricated.

I am a 25-06 fan and have shot one for over 35 yrs. I do not know your shooting experience or ability but, 1-1 1/2 inch groups w/ factory ammo is pretty good. I demand and get better, but only w/ handloads that I've spent hours researching and developing.
Before rebarreling, I would have the trigger tuned. Best bang for your buck by far. Good luck.

There's a lot of malarcky on the internet forums about "typical" accuracy....one might think 1/2 MOA is typical or normal.....and it's anything but.....

Most guns will give up a few 1" groups after careful bedding and other tricks are tried....also almost always it takes handloads to yield the best accuracy....1/2" groups certainly do happen but far more of them are fired on the internet than at the shooting range.

From your description I'd venture that your barrel is just fine....I sure wouldn't replace it....Check the bedding and tune the trigger....you'll be amazed how good one can get with that rifle and a little work

I would suggest you try some lighter bullets, like 100 grain hornadys, first. I had one 25-06, with a custom barrel, that would not shoot the heavier bullets decently at all. (1-10 twist) I have a friend who had the same issue, with a shilen barreled 257 roberts AI, same twist. I've had a couple other 25-06 with 1/10 twist that shot heavier stuff well, but it's worth trying.

You say the barrel was filthy when you got it and you properly cleaned it. To me that suggests a next step of doing a thorough and sure "de-coppering" of the bore even if you don't see any copper in there on close visual examination.

It is surprising (to me if no one else), how many used rifles I have converted from 1-2" groupers into consistent something better than 1 MOA groupers by doing just that one thing.

It also seems to me that I find that happening more often in higher velocity chambered rifles (3,000 fps and higher) than with the ones which are down closer to the 2,600 fps range or less.

It may not work for you with this rifle, but it is cheap to do and worth the effort to try.

I've owned several 25-06's and currently own 3 25-06's and a 257 Weatherby. I have not had very good luck with the heavier bullets. I have always found a load with the 100gr bullets that they will shoot. I currently load 100gr TSX's and 100gr Sierra Pro Hunters.

I would be happy with 2" groups with factory ammo. If you want smaller groups and have cleaned thoroughly (I'll suggest wipeout for starters) and inspected the stock and bedding I'd suggest investing your money in reloading equipment before a new barrel, but that is just me.

I agree with Ed. I've seen this with friends' rifles. What's the twist?

quote:

It is surprising (to me if no one else), how many used rifles I have converted from 1-2" groupers into consistent something better than 1 MOA groupers by doing just that one thing.

Yep, Some Barnes, CR-10 and a Hoppies Tornado brush can solve alot of problems.

If that doesn't fix things, it's time for Santa to bring you some reloading equipment.

Check the crown. Sometimes, even new rifles, need a little squaring
of the crown.

If you did not already do it, I second the copper removal idea.

Thanks for the replies. Yes I have removed the copper which there was a fair amount of. Groups moved closer to an inch from two after this process. All shooting was done at my range on the bench with a good rest. I will get some 100 grain ammo and try that out, if that does not work I will try some handloads. I like the gun and it's fun to shoot at the range so I will keep playing with ammo and hopefully find something that it likes a little better. I appricate the suggestions, like I said in the first post this is the first .25 caliber rifle for me so I anticapated some trial and error.

Factory ammo ain't much better than bore sighting!!! If you are shooting 1.5 inch groups with factory stuff I'd say the gun shoots pretty good.

Do you have a scope that is "proven" to be accurate on another rifle that you could put on it to verify that it is not the current scope giving you trouble?

Try the Sierra 100 grn flat base with the Sierra load recommendations for IMR 4350. This bullet will shoot much better than the needle long 120s.
If you have to use a heavy bullet use a 117 flat base without the long needle points.

my 25-06 shoots winchester 120gr PEP fact ammo very well. between 3/4 and 1 inch. remington ammo is 2-3 inches. same with federal. my handloads shoot 1/2 to 3/4 inch.

That really is pretty good for factory. I'll bet the gun does fine if you play with some handloads. Some guns do not like boat tails very much, so I would say try some plain old flat base Hornadys or something.

Concur on the flat-based bullets. I've had several rifles in different calibers that shot flat-based bullets much better than boattails. Al;so have had good experience with the 100gr bullets and 4350 powder.

Depending on how old the rifle and if it's factory or a rebarreled job it could be set up for varmint weight bullets.

If it's a slow(er) twist you'll pretty much have to shoot shorter bullets. Lead core flat based and maybe lighter weight to get what works.

I knew a guy through family that bought a used .25-06 at a garage sale for cheap because the barrel was shot out. A thorough cleaning and light bullets and it was shooting 3/4" groups or better. It became his new favorite rifle. Seems to me he settled on 95gr Nosler Partitions. Not quite as accurate, but just the ticket. Nate

What does the target look like?

Does it put two together and one away, and the next time one flyer and two together, and so on? Or is it a loose group more or less round in shape, is it predominantly a random horizontal stringing or does it string vertically? Are the shots walking in a particular direction every time?

All these point to where the problem may be and often one could go straight to the cause, without having to work through a dozen different possible causes.

If you can post targets, that would help.