Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters 25-06 vs 6.5-06 vs 280AI

If the wife gets distracted I might get me one of these.

I read a Varmint Hunter mag article by Steve Timm about 12 years ago or so and the only thing in the world I thought about for several months was the 280AI.

But I think I might maybe get a 6.5-06 built.

Can you spot your own shots with the right load?

The claims of spotting yer own shots with the 25-06 intrigue my mind greatly.

How come the 25 cal bullets cannot get the same super high B'C's of the 6.5 clan?

I can't spot my shots with my 25-06AI, but it's not a super heavyweight.

That has been off my side mirror at Prairie dogs though.

Might be different on a steadier rest.

Better wait for a gunwriter!

As far as bc's, I guess there isn't much interest in making the high bc bullets. No reason why they couldn't though.

RW, if you don't have a .280AI you might oughta give it some serious though. Nothing better off the 30.06 case. Just say'n

One of each please.

traditional 1 in 10" standard twist is the limiting factor on the quarter bore for LR

6.5 bore has been traditionally twisted 1 in 8" for 160 grain RN, hence the new longer higher BC bullets will stabilize.

6.5 x 64 Brenneke = 6.5 -.270Win ( Longer Neck than 6.5'06 )

If you are playing with a long action with sufficient magazine length, the 6.5x280AI is very tempting, with nearly same same capacity as the 6.5 SAUM

Would the 25 caliber bullets have enough energy at the distance that the BC would be beneficial on animals larger than varmints?

FWIW, I love my 7 SAUM and 25-06.

Define longer shots. I've shot an antelope at much greater than 400 yards (probably close to 600 yards) with a 25-06. It had plenty of energy. It dropped in it's tracks. OK, it was a lucky shot.

I didn't have a range finder and I base my distance estimation on walking to the antelope and the number of fence posts between me and the antelope.

That was when I was much younger. I no longer consider that a great thing, only poor hunting skills. I have not shot anything near that distance since.

PM inc

I have a 6.5-06 AI and it can't hang with the SAUM, mainly because the primer pockets start to go above 3050 fps with a 140, which is less than what guys are getting out of the SAUM.

You might get more using 280 AI brass but that'll cost you.

Spotting your own hits would be possible with just about any
cartridge. But would require the proper backdrop as in no weeds or
brush to hide them from your view. A second person acting as a
spotter can be very helpful, and sometimes essential.
All the cartridges mentioned would be good ones, but bullet selection choices would be better with the 6.5 and .284 for the longer shooting.

I can't spot hits with my 6.5 and 140s. It weighs 9 lbs.

"Spotting hits" involved a bunch of factors: how hard the rifle recoils, the stock design, how much weight is out front in the barrel, whether the rifle has a muzzle brake, how firmly the rifle's being held, the magnification of the scope, the range to the target, etc. etc. But I've hunted with all three rounds and at "normal" hunting ranges, say out to 300-400 yards, I can't spot hits with any of them when using scopes around 6x. (In fact, I can't actually spot all my shots at 100 yards with any rifle that kicks much harder than a .22 Hornet, and at 150-200 yards with anything larger than a sporter weight .204 Ruger or heavy-barreled .223 Remington.)

In my experience all three cartridges kill big game well at ranges out to 400 yards when the nut behind the bolt places bullets correctly. Can't say about longer ranges because I haven't used them beyond 400.

If you do the .280 AI first it will be hard to justify the other two. The 6.5-06AI would split the difference nicely.
Depends on the use and range but no fly's on the 25-06 for Deer and Antelope at reasonable ranges. Only if game larger than deer and/or extreme ranges are involved would the other two show a marked improvement over the 25.

The practical choice would be a .270. I can't spot shots on anything bigger than a .22 either but don't shoot true heavy weight target rifles.

another vote for all three

I vote for 6.5-06. Cause I don't have one.

I have both ends of the three but not the middle. I like the .25-06 best because I trust it. It has dropped antelope, whitetail and mule deer, and a few coyotes in their tracks so many times that I take it for granted that it will. Recoil is mild and reloading for it is easy.

In truth any one of them is great.

I've had all 3 and kept the 6.5-06.Unless you have some kind of love affair with the 25-06 the other 2 offer enough advantages in good quality high BC bullets to shelve any thoughts of a 25-06.If I didn't own 7mm-08's and 7mm Rem Mag's I'd probably pick the 280 AI over the 6.5-06.I really enjoy my 6.5-06 good performance and light recoil however if you don't build one with a 26" barrel you might as well just buy a 7mm-08. I cannot spot hits with any of them all sporter weight rifles.

"if you don't build one with a 26" barrel you might as well just buy a 7mm-08."

Really? You gotta go 26 to burn the powder? I never thought of that.

To get a good 25-06 you gotta go custom to get a fast twist anyhow. I think you are probably right on all counts. Those super super high 6.5 B/C's are always hard to ignore when comparing these things.

Hardly.

IME with a 24" barrel the 6.5-06 really wont do anything velocity wise with 120 and 140 gr bullets that the 7-08 won't. If you have had different results I'd like to hear them.