Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles .25-06 users.....

Great thread but please post your load data.

This has been a good topic sure has got me thinking about buying one what would be safe max range for deer/antelope?

The "limits" will be with the individual shooter more than the cartridge, 500yds for lope and deer would still be reasonable.

In the past a guy could buy the 120 gr Remington Corelokt in bulk. I used alot of them in my M70 Winchester PF they work well,these days you can only get them in factory ammo. 25-06 sure works well on antelope and in antelope country for coyotes and deer as well. Magnum Man

As per always,boolits matter more than headstamps. When boolits were not as good,the 25-06 was a better choice...simply because case capacity hedges a bet,if/when forced to sling Ping Pong Ball B.C.'s. Sadly,there has been some great leaps in projectile performance and their aerodynamics,but not in .257". That is a shame,because I've shot more .257" than anyone else I've known,seen or heard of. Given the current state of projectiles available over the counter,I'd do something different than .257" in both a build or an over the counter rifle.

I'm always loathe to go long action,as a means of simply replicating short action performance and I'd not go L/A .257" unless it were either a 25-06AI or 257Wby. In S/A it's 25-284 all the way for me,if only because I've suffered both a Bob and a Better Bob.

That being said,the "lowly" 243Win brings much to the table and replete with a trite case length that does many COAL favors in regards to nice bullets and OEM throats/mags. Very easy to arrange a .500+ BC at 3000fps+ and that culmination wrought with very modest recoil and miserly propellant appetite,is assuredly not a bad thing. The 115 Berger in .257" is about the best mainstream pitch offered and it's a sub .470 G1 BC,though their 105 .243" wears a .532 BC,if only for conversation.

For cursory extrapolation,here's a smattering of wares that'll mebbe lend an inkling to how my Quarterbore LOVE has waned,due simply to boolits. L to R: .257" 80TTSX,.257" 100TSX,.257" 100XLC,.243" 105 'Max,.284" 162 'Max.




Think boolits first. With an extry .473" L/A laying about,the 280AI is tough to trump and again...simply due to boolits.


Hint.

My pair of 25-06ais have been gathering dust once I figured out I could shoot a .5 BC 105 out of my 243ai with just 48gr of powder. The 105s are wicked..

But some still like pissing up a rope, befuddles me.

I just picked up a 84L Montana that's getting the Ackley treatment.
I look at it as a flat-line rifle with 100 grain Swifts taking the lead.

Calvin
What twist and length barrel are you running?

8 twist, 24" Pacnor 3 Groove.

It's a very basic blueprint. SA 700, PN Barrel in above mentioned length and twist, contoured in Mountain Rifle. McM Edge stock in Mountain Rifle. Bedded by yours truly. Rifle Basix trigger, Talley Lwts, and 6x42 with fine reticle. I need to toss it in the mail for the Cerecoat, as I was fighting rust on the CM action all season.

Shoots 105 amax at .75 and the 105 Scenar at sub .5.

the 270 used to be my favorite cartridge

i got rid of it to fund my 1st ar

now ive got a tack driving winchester 25 06 and i don't miss the 270 at all

the 25 06 is faster with less recoil

it'll kill deer and antelope quite nicely

a 117 grain hunting bullet should take care of hogs too

I have a 25-06 that now collects dust. Very nice shooting rifle and plenty flat shooting out to 300 yards. My 243 wssm outperforms it now though simply due to the high BC bullets available in 6mm, that and it's chambered in an AR that shoots .2" groups.

I didn't hunt with the 105 amax this season, but the boys knocked down a handful with the 105 scenar from a variety of ranges. Based on what I saw, I'd not hesitate to use the 105 scenar on any deer/black bear hunt. The scenar penetrated, exited, and straight up wrecked [bleep] in the process.

Yeah Berger recommends the 8 twist also on their website.
I watched a video on the longrange forum,a girl shot a cow elk with the 105 berger in 243 @ 684yds. one shot,dead elk,pretty impressive!

105 Scenar exit pic that I snapped as I was hacking one up on the mountain.

I'd say it did it's job!

Interesting Calvin.

Calvin,

What did it do the the innards? Was it like a straight drill though the inside similar to a tsx or was it more akin to a ballistic tip in wound profile with some wide tissue destruction?

Lots of fine deer cartridges in the .25 to .28 range - the best shoot flat (ballistic efficiency) and are tidy (powder efficiency). Seem to keep finding that the .25:06 is at its overall best with bullet near 120 grs. Lighter = faster, but normally not better performance on game.

The fellows who like the old .243 usually will horn in on these threads to try to convince about their favorite, but it is getting past its peak at 100 grains, even with the better bullets. Something in physics tells the story about 120 grains vs, 100 at generally same velocity. Story continues upward.

For deer and similar, 25:06 has been my first choice for 30 years.

On that particular deer, it smashed through a shoulder and exited through rib. It wrecked tissue, but didn't have the NBT, SGK, or SST explosiveness I've seen. I'd put it somewhere between a NBT and a TSX.

So not alot of meat wasted