The Accurate Reloading Forums THE ACCURATE RELOADING.COM FORUMS Rifles Small Calibers Thoughts on the .25-06?Go | New | Find | Notify | Tools | Reply | |
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Currently this is the leading contender to be the new barrel on a Mark X .30-06 that is slightly redundant and never has shot the way I'd like. Who likes it? Who doesn't? Why or why not? If you like it, what game do you like it for and with what bullet? Finally, what barrel contour would you use? The 24" .30-06 barrel I have is probably a #1 (it's under .600" at the muzzle, as best I recall) and balances well for me. John | ||
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With the number of cartridges available today it really comes down to a matter of personal preference. Personally I have never owned a 25/06 and every time I look at the cartridge and its ballistics I think it is 'almost as good as a .270.' But that same reasoning can be applied to most every cartridge. If I were getting a new rifle in .25 cal I would prefer the 257 Roberts or the .250 Savage. But again that is my preference. If you want the 25/06 for whatever reason you should get one. I am sure it will do what you want and you will be 'happy'. And that is what it is all about. Plateau Hunter | |||
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I've owned .25-06s for the last 25 years and one .257 AI which is about a ballistic twin. One was a pure varminter which I occasionally used to hunt deer on power lines as well. The others were just general hunting rifles, although quite accurate ones. IMHO, they are about the best general purpose rifles a man can own. They do as well killing crows as they do killing deer. The only drawbacks I found is that they are quite noisy and a little hard on barrel life. These days I am more likely to pick my .257 Roberts or .250-3000, but that is for recreational shooting as I rarely hunt any more. | |||
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Hello from Scotland~ Recently looked at a .25-06 25" heavy stainless barrel based on a voere action. Before i laid down my hard earned cash thourght i better try one. Seen them at the range, so i made a point of borrowing every .25-06 i could find. Well i currently shoot .22LR .308 .444 shoot deer 200 yard MAX fox to 250 yards. My veiws on a Ruger heavy .25-06 were a noisy bugger ! ![[Eek!]](images/icons/shocked.gif){kind=icon} Sounded just like my mates .270 ! Recoil ? Well although it must kick less than my light .308 sporter, i felt the recoil more !!! ![[Confused]](images/icons/confused.gif){kind=icon} Basically could see no difference with a .270 so figure why not get a .270 and have a rifle that could do every thing the .25-06 can do plus more ! ![[Smile]](images/icons/smile.gif){kind=icon} To conclude: Do not like the noise ! Do not like the kick ! ![[Roll Eyes]](images/icons/rolleyes.gif){kind=icon} Do not like all that powder i would have to put in the case ! ![[Wink]](images/icons/wink.gif){kind=icon} Dont think im a long action fan !For my personal needs i see no bennifit over my .308..............Englander ![[Big Grin]](images/icons/grin.gif){kind=icon} | |||
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quote:so i guess then that you wouldn't be a fan of dumping 110 grains of powder into a 7mm Dakota case? | |||
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John - I've found the 25-06 to be so very, very versatile. Reloads can go from 75gr bullets to 120gr (at least with Hornady). I had a Rem700 which loved the 75gr HP's at 3300fps and 100gr SP's at 3100fps, both using IMR4895. Interestingly, at those velocities, both bullets had the same trajectory out to 400 yards. The 75gr was my p-dog round and the 100gr was my deer round. By today's standards, those velocities are SLOW, but they were dead accurate in that rifle, far less recoil, and less noise. I now have a T/C Encore 25-06 that likes nothing less than 3700fps with 75gr bullets, so the noticeable recoil and noise are both there, but I still LIKE it!!!! | |||
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| <mike elmer> |
I love my 25/06, one fine cartridge that just plain works. Sure it makes noise! Sure it has a little kick! And it sure does put 3 bullets under less than a dime at 100 yards if I do my part. What more could I ask for? | ||
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I love my 25/06. It shoots 100gr bt like second nature. Used it two years ago on a plains game safari in RSA, two speedgoats this year, and lots and lots of whitetails. | |||
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I really enjoy shooting my 25-06. I put together some pretty long days at the range with it this summer and had a blast. That really helped my confidence level with that gun and for me, that goes an awful long way! | |||
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I have a 25.06 in a Ruger #1V. I've had the gun for about three years and finally started shooting it last year. I shot over a hundred coyotes with it last year out to 380 yds. I now use a 223 for coyotes. The 25.06 is not fur friendly, it is however an absolutely killing cartridge. I liked it so much I retired the 7mm.rem mag that I have hunted with for 30 years. I shot a mule deer a week ago at 196 yds. through the head. I shot 2 last year. One at 155 and one at 170.. both head shots. I don't mind the noise or recoil, My 14 year old son shoots coyotes with it this year. | |||
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| <Eric J> |
There are some things that kill deer better...but most of them can be described as "an act of God". I have owned three .25-06's and will never be without one! And just for the record, as reloader that has owned BOTH will tell you, the .270 WILL NOT DO WHAT THE .25-06 CAN! Perfomance wise. Both are proficent killers, but my pref is the .25 and always will be. | ||
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I've had several 25/06's all were accurate. Works good on deer. I still prefer the .270,better bullet selection and you can still shoot light bullets if you want. Neither is a real varmint rifle,if subjected to prairie dogs,the barrel heats up and recoil is a problem.Not to mention barrel life is bad. I've just never been able to figure out why the 100gr bullet in a 25/06 is so deadly on deer,yet a 100gr bullet in a .243 is considered marginal by some. | |||
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John The 25-06 is a great caliber,generally accurate,easy to reload for & more powerful than given credit for,however its muzzle blast & flash can be considerable. I used to do a lot of night shooting with a spotlight,the muzzle flash would sometimes blind you making follow up shots hard & the blast could certainly be heard at great distance,stepping up from a 23 to a 26 inch barrel certainly helped with the flash problem & i feel this caliber definately performed better in a longer barrel. Eventually I changed to a 7mm-08,it would do anything the 25-06 would do with lighter bullets (100-120 grains)with a lot less muzzel blast & flash & in a shorter barrel to. Dont get me wrong the 25-06 is a great caliber,the muzzle flash just used to annoy me at night thats all. | |||
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| <Ben H> |
John; I've been shooting a 700 ADL in 25-06 since 1975 and have lost count of the number of deer and antelope I have taken with it. I have also wanted to take it after elk but reach for my .338 instead. I have had phenomenal accuracy with IMR 4831 and Federal primers in Winchester brass. My bullet of choice now is the 100 grain Barnes "X" for deer and antelope. Choose your deer/antelope bullet carefully as I did not do many years ago. I was using Speer 100 grain BT Spire-Points that performed well on coyotes, crows, prarie dogs, etc. With this bullet I made the mistake of shooting an average sized mulie buck on the shoulder at 125 yds and the result was complete disintegration with no penetration. This is still an outstanding cartridge and will always be one of my all-time favorites. Good Shooting, Ben H | ||
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| new member |
I have a Browning A-bolt stainless Stalker in 25-06 that has taken about 35 deer in the last 11 years . It has been the gun that I reach for when I wanted to put meat on the table . For several years I shot nothing but Sierra 90 gr HPBT at 3400 fps. I only started with that combination because the uncle that I hunted with had killed more than a hundred deer with that load without ever losing a deer . After I had a bullet to explode on a shoulder joint I switched to 100gr Nosler partitions and have never looked back . Accuracy is about half an inch for 3 shots at 100 yards at 3400 fps . I have supreme confidence in this rifle / ammo combination . My only complaint is that there is always a lot of bloodshot meat . Goat | |||
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I don't think you can do anything with a 25-06 that can't be done with a .270, every .270 I've had would shoot 90 to 150gr bullets well. I think both are too big for varmit rifles, both are just about perfect for deer and antelope, and the .270 is the better rifle for elk, and bear. That would make the .270 more versatile. | |||
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| <dave3220> |
I am building a .257 Roberts on an old M-70. I chose the Roberts for a number of reasons over the .25 Neidner. Among them: less recoil, muzzle blast, noise, easier to get an accurate one(just my opinion). You only lose 40 or 50 yds. at the extreme outer edge of range, and I rarely shoot over 200 yds. anyway. | ||
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| <Dale> |
I ue a Remington 700 Classic in .25-06 for varmints, deer, and antelope. For varmints I like the Rem. 87 gr. HP with 56.5 gr. of H-4831, Rem. brass, and Fed. 210 primer. I use this mostly on rockchucks and use the .223 and .22-250 on prairie dogs and ground squirrels. The .25-06 gives great IVG (instant visual gratification) on varmints. For deer and antelope I like the 115 gr. Nosler partition, 54.5 gr. of IMR-7828, Rem. brass, and Fed. 215 primer. I have killed several deer and over a dozen antelope with this load with no problems. Two friends have made one-shot kills on cow elk with this load, but generally I feel it is a little light for elk. I feel the .25-06 is a great rifle for deer, antelope, and the larger varmints. | ||
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This was my first year shooting my 25/06 and this far I'm impressed. I shot 2 mule deer and both died quickly. The first was a small meat buck at 80 yards and he only walked 20 yards and laid down. The second weighed 300 lbs. shot at 175 and never took a step. The only complaint on that shot was there was no exit wound and if he had of walked into the woods what would I trail? This could be blaimed on the factory ammo used. Sierra game kings might be a little whimpy for our big canadian deer. I'm waiting for my dies on order and will be testing partitions and barnes x. I'm sure I'll get the results I'm looking for | |||
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I love my 2506,I've killed 4 Elk and 40 to 50 deer and antelope with it.2 Elk were killed with 100gr Hornadys,lung shots,they both took 2 steps.I've killed lots of prairie dogs with 100gr. Speer hollowpoints.It is accurate and has little recoil.It seems to kill way better than it should.I had a 270 before this and would never go back to one. | |||
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For larger game ,elk, moose a 270 or even better a 280 would be better because of higher sectional density bullets available, when you take those quartering away shots. | |||
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Boilerrom, I have a different philosophy on bullets that exit the animal. To me it indicates that the bullet was not right for the animal dispatched. No exit wounds is a good thing, it indicates that the bullet used up all of its energy in the animal. Exit wounds are good for one thing, leaving blood trails. You definitely want a bullet to penetrate to the vitals, but going through the animal is counter productive. | |||
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Rich R I think alot of people might post a disagreement on that one. If a bullet uses up all of it's energy without penatrating all the tissue than it's a bad bullet choice or the wrong caliber for the job. You can't allways have a exit wound and it doesnt mean the bullet performed poorly. Like a said my big buck fell in his tracks but the bullet was pretty much in pieces when I recovered it. At 175 yards I don't thik I was too close. I read Atkins jr. post, I think it was a couple of days ago and he said that he would not use a bullet/caliber combo that would not travel lenghtways through the animal and he definatly wants a blood trail. I agree. I personally I would like some left over energy because shots may be longer and deer can be bigger than exspected. With that being said I'll stand behind my 25/06 with a cotrolled expansion bullet on the biggest deer out there anyday. | |||
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Rich R, An exit wound is preferred to enable you in any tracking that may have to be done, it does happen even to the best of us. Any entrance wound can and does close up enough to let little if any blood escape to leave a blood trail. Yeah give me a nice exit wound that leaves lots of blood on the ground that way even those of us that are not part indian can find them. Lawdog | |||
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You have pretty much talked me out of the ballistic tips for deer hunting, Lawdog. I too agree that if all things are equal, you want an exit wound for tracking if that is necessary. | |||
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