Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles 243 vs, 25-06

Mn deer woods is nothing farther than 200 yards and that would be shooting across a swamp. Most shots are 100 and less. For antelope it would be longer ranges. Ha Ha Steelhead but my "old school" hunting buddies would toss me out of camp if I showed up with my AR! dhg.. I had a 260 and sold it recently. I got offered good money so I let it go. A 257 Rob would be nice but hard to find one in my $$$ range that I want to spend. My choices ar still gonna be the 243 or 25-06 because I haven't had one of them before.

If you already have a 270 and 22-250, i can't see a hole!

Why get either? Get a AR in 6.8 and rock on.

I vote 25-06 if you don't decide to stand pat with what you have already. Personally, I don't see anything wrong with using the 270 for coyotes, antelope and deer.

I didn't have any qualms using a .308 to take out a pit bull while deer hunting.

Some of you guys are missing the point. Whether there's a legitimate hole in the collection or not is irrelevant.

Repeat after me: More is ALWAYS better...

I tried a 25/06 one year back in michigan but couldn't find it any more effective on deer than my .243 so quickly sent it down the road. It wasn't nearly as accurate as my .243 either but I doubt that had anything to do with the chambering.

I can't really see that much difference between the 25/06 and the 270 so I would opt for the 243 because you can run 55s faster than your 22/250 and 100gr for whitetails.

Thanks Josh, thats the kind of info I am looking for.

OK, if you guys are going to get all logical about it (emotional rifles decisions are far more fun) here's the basic difference:

Load both rifles with similar 100 grain factory loads and you'll find the 25-06, zeroed at 200 yards, hits about 5.4 in. low at 300 yards with nearly 1500 ft. lbs of energy.

The .243, identically zeroed, hits about 7.5 in. low at 300 yards with roughly 1100 ft. lbs of energy.

With pronghorn in the equation, given just those two choices, my nod goes to the 25-06 -- but I'd still try to talk you into a .257 Wby. death ray.

Yeah but how does the 6mm rem do???

The 25-06 is going to be flatter shooting with the same bullet weights at ranges out to 500 yards. I see the 25-06 as a more versatile caliber being a capable light elk caliber as well as a heavy varmint rig. The 243 shines more as a deer/varmint caliber and can sling the high BC bullets that are available for it at longer range than the 25-06. Past 500 yards the 243 becomes more viable than the 25-06 simply because of those sleek 105 bullets. For most hunters that is not an important factor, however.

I own both. I can not say I notice any difference in killing power between the two. My 25-06 kicks noticably more, but is still very mild. It is very accurate and seems to prefer 100gr bullets. My 243 is set up as a long range rig. I now almost exclusively hunt with it because I like poking holes in critters at 600 yards. I also appreciate it's low recoil.

For short range stuff (-500yards) the 25-06 is more universal, but kind of overlaps the 270.

I think your will have overlap with your 270 if you go 25-06. If you are going long range, you will have to master the turrents, so the balistic advantage or disadvantage become foder for debate and personal preference.

Unless you have a fast twist 22-250, I would suggest that the 243 using good bullets will fit the bill nicely. A 243/80 gr. Barnes Bullet at 3300 fps is an awesome combo.

GB

The numbers you quote for the 25-06 pretty much mirror what his 270 will already do. The 270 with a 130 gr. bullet is 30 gr. heavier, has a higher B.C, and is only 200 fps slower at the muzzel. I would go 243 as a fill-in-the-gap rifle.

The .25-06 is all anyone ever really needs for deer, whether they admit it or not.

Prior to WWII, a 30-30 was all one needed for ELK. But, I'll avoid the can of worms.

260 Rem.... for all your hunting needs.

I have owned or still own and used a 243, 6mm rem 257 Roberts 25/06 and 257 weatherby
the 25/06 is probably the best compromise of all with the 257 Roberts being a very close second choice,I can,t think of a single time when using any of that range of calibers that having a 25/06 in hand would not have served me very well

Get a 6-06. Then AI it.

Best of boaf a 'dem.

With the OP already owning a 22-250 and a 270, it would easily be the 243 in this case.

The 243 will do things that the 22-250 can't (starting with 55 gr bullets and going up to 100 even without "special" twists, i.e. using a factory tube), and the 270 can take over where the 243 leaves off (starting with 110 bullets and up to 150), leaving no gaps.

The same can't be said about the 25-06. The 25-06 is just too close to the 270, and pretty much redundant. The 243 isn't really close or overlapping either a 22-250 or a 270. In other words, the 25-06 doesn't set itself far enough apart to be meaningful, or to fill a role that the 270 can't. The 243, on the other hand, fills a gap, without overlap on either end.

Personally, for the game and distances talked about, I'd set up with a good 55 gr bullet in the 22-250, a 70 or 80 gr in the 243, and a good 130 gr in the 270. Not much that you couldn't do, and not have to worry about different loads, changing zeroes, etc.

My 243 is one of the most fun guns I have, out of a stable of 204, 223, 270 and 30/06. It's cheap to shoot, light recoil, very very accurate and easy to shoot.
The 25/06 is a fantastic round and it's only fault, if you can call it a fault, is that it very nearly duplicates 270 performance on deer size animals.

My .02 cents is that if you reload get the .25-06 and if you don't get the .243. .243 ammo is cheaper and more readily available. I have both and my .25-06 is a death ray on deer. The .243 is more of a predator cartridge for me.