Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles 25 06 VS 7MM 08

Funny,a few months ago I was choosing between these same rounds.There is a brand new 25-06 sitting in my safe waiting for Oct. 1st.

Nothing against the 7mm08,but I don't think there is a much better deer/antelope round than the 270 improved AKA 25-06.YMMV

Me, too! I saw this post when it first came out, and there were maybe only one or two responses at that time. I was thinking seriously about responding myself and asking why not reword the thread title to "270 VS 308" instead, both of which I have. I didn't though because I'll certainly admit that I want a 25-06, just because. I've had a couple of 7mm-08's in the past, too, but don't have them anymore.

If I didn't already have a 270, then I wouldn't buy a 25-06 in place of one. Likewise, the last rifle I bought was a Kimber 84M Montana a little over a year ago. At the time, I was considering either 308 or 7mm-08. The 308 was the easy winner of that particular decision.

I did buy both ... now there's two 7-08's in my safe. The 25-06 went away and a 280Rem took's its place.

Get a 30/06 Improved and you can hunt both places Why mess with anything else? The 25/06 and 7/08 are 270 WANNABES

they are both fine rifles and Id stand proud to use either one,Id probably choose the 7mm08 where walking in rugged country would play a part for the sake of handling the lighter rifle but where the the longer shot potential would exist I believe Id go the 25-06 which in my opinion is more of an open country long range rifle,either round is tuff to beat...........

7-08 is a fav of mine. 120's at 2900+ are pretty flat.

I have both. I like the 7-08.

I use the 7mm08 & would not hesitate to recommend it anyone. It just plain works on whitetails.

I had both, from rifles with 200 yard zeros shot at 400 yard targets, the 25-06 did not drop as much as expected and the 7-08 dropped more than expected from ballistic charts.

I hunted with a .25-06 for years. Sold it in a moment of madness.
I now have a .260 and .270 instead.
All are good. .264 splits the difference.

stumpy

find a rifle that you like... one that fits well, and handles easily... if, in your eyes, it looks totally cool then that's a bonus... purchase that rifle and either buy or load ammo for it to do what you want to do...

with components available today there is a lot of overlap in performance even between cartridges as unlike as the .22.250 and the .300 wby... getting hung up on cartridge selection when choosing a rifle is like selecting a woman to marry for the car she drives...

find the rifle that you really like and buy it...

fwiw, i've extensively shot both the 25-06 and the 7-08...
for myself, i'd choose the 25-06 if all else was equal...
when recommending a deer rifle cartridge for others, the 7-08 is usually on the very short list... immediately below the .308..... john w

Both are favorites of mine, but the truth is the 7-08 is far more versatile. The 25-06 is whipped cleanly at any range in kinetic energy and the difference in trajectory is minimal depending on bullets used. The 100gr in the 25-06 doesn't have a good B.C. for real long-range shooting, and while the trajectory is good because of high velocity, the energy falls off rather dramatically and it can't keep up with the 7-08 in that department.

If I lived in the west and were a dedicated antelope hunter, I might go with the 25-06 but it would be hard to beat the 7-08 for that purpose as well.

Check the manuals.

I knew I liked you 4 a reason Bob...<g>

Dober

That's EXACTLY the way I see it... unless, of course, you're talking a Kimber 84. Then, all bets are off... sometimes a particular rifle is more important than its chambering... the Kimber 84 Montana is one of those rare rifles.

Brad: Yes they are appealing little suckers I'm not a huge 7/08 fan,though I consider it good.If anything pulled me over to the cartridge(again, for about the 5th time ),it would be a Montana 84.

I'm with you... to me, the 7-08 is sort of like kissing your sister

If Kimber ever sees fit to offer one in 223 I'll be all over one.

Would love a 270 Win LA 84 too, but who knows if that'll ever happen! If it did, I think Kimber would rule the lightweight rifle world.

IMHO

"What "Dober" said.

I have both - my two favourite cartridges.

In thicker stuff - the 7mm-08.
Open country - 25-06.

Recoil is almost identical.

25-06 shoots further without worrying about trajectory.
7mm-08 shoots bigger bullets for bigger game.

Own 'em both - they are two GREAT rounds.

I'll go with johnw on this one. Pick the rifle that fits you. Then choose the caliber. 7-08 gives you a heavier bullet and a shorter rifle, .25-06 gives you a flatter trajectory. One is a .308 class, the other a low .30-06 class. If you reload, pick whichever you like. If you don't, pick the one that you can find ammo for in your neck of the woods. In all honesty, the deer will never know the difference if you do your part.

-Mb (who would pick the .25 just because he likes quarter inch bullets)

This is like asking whether Cookies and Cream (25-06) or Mint Chocolate Chip (7-08) is better...and getting the answer that it's really Moo-linium Crunch (270).

I can't argue with any of you, but I ain't complaining about a bowl of any of the above...grin.

I can't add much to the analysis, except to point out that the Montana in 7-08 has a piece of my Mom's chocolate cake under the ice cream.

DJ

THAT sounds like a good setup - the cake under the ice cream!

I'm a bit surprised by the number of Kimber love happening here - for a while it seemed to be lots of bad press. I had the above mentioned 7-08 Montana and it was as close to perfection as I've owned in a factory rifle. Smooth, well finished, light, and extremely accurate with 140TSX's. I could have done anything with that rifle, but sold it due to my own weakness. I simply can't shoot the extreme lightweights as well from field positions so I went back to a bit heavier rifle. That combo (light, CRF, accurate, etc.) is tough to beat if it's your cup of tea.

Still can't argue with the 25-06 or 270 but I had to do the 6-06 to be different Pick what you like and go kill stuff!