Hey folks
My nephew is looking for his first deer rifle and me thinking I love the kid a lot have been looking for a nice rifle for him that I can aford to get him. Today I found at a local dealer a M77II 25-06 with a veriX 3-9 never been fired on concinment for $585.00 I think the price is good.
I love M77s and Leopold scopes, but is the 25-06 a good deer killer like the 270 or 308. I have never used one, but the ballistics look like it would do a fine job on deer. What do you think? Should Mikey be shooting a 25-06 next year?
X-Ring AKA Scooter

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Freedom wasn't free. Today they want our guns. What will they want tommorow?

X-Ring,

The 25-06 would be great for a deer rifle, no questions about it.

I would prefer the 270 if I was hunting bigger animals though.

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saeed@ emirates.net.ae

www.accuratereloading.com

X-Ring,

What Saeed said.

I've killed over 100 whitetails and several BIG mulies with mine using 100gr Nosler Ballistic Tips. I try for a broadside lung shot, but have taken whats available. I have yet to recover a bullet and none have taken more than a few hops. Most dropped in their tracks.

Check the ballistics against the .270 - it don't give up much and is flatter shooting and has almost no recoil.

Ya better buy that Ruger.

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Say what you mean, and mean what you say.

X-Ring, get the .25-06. I've known a good number of .25-06 users, and none ever had a problem on deer that would have been related to caliber. Place that bullet decently, and you've got venison. Place ANY bullet poorly, and you've got a job on your hands. Three buddies in particularly have had great results from it using 100 gr. Nosler Ballistic Tips - a bullet some wouldn't use on anything. Even shoulder shots on 180 lb. whitetails do the job nicely, if with a goodly amount of bloodshot meat. I always soak mine, cut it up, and when I take it out, soak in milk, so that's not a problem in my house.

Some would prefer the 100 or 115 gr. Nosler Partitions, but many get by quite well with any good 100-120 gr. conventional "cup type" bullet. Struck in the heart/lung area up close behind the shoulder and just above the heart, and they go down as if struck by lightning. Even with the similar but smaller 6mm. Rem. with 85 gr. Speer BTSP's, a ballistic twin if sectional density is factored in, the results on deer are amazing.
I don't think any large mule deer hit with a 115 gr. Nos. Part. bullet would go far at all, either.

The light/fast group of cartridges ask only that one places the bullet well, a la' Jack O'Connor. I've never figured out why one would pull the trigger if a well placed shot is NOT as assured as these matters can be, and from what I've seen in the field for 30+ years, no caliber/bullet will make up for bullet placement.

Don't know what his finances are, but young folk usually appreciate a caliber that's cheap to shoot, and the .25-06 certainly qualifies there. He can even pick up '06 and .270 cases, resize and trim, and he's got all the "free" brass he'd want. Cheap bullets and lower recoil usually make for more shooting, too - never a bad thing!

Go for it!

.25-06 makes an excellent deer rifle, but be aware that the standard factory loads are somewhat anemic in it, more so than in the .270. By that, I mean that .270 loads generally come closer to the published velocity than do .25-06 loads.

That said, no self-respecting hunter should stoop to using factory loads anyway, so buy the .25 and load some real ammunition.