Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Am I missing something? (.25-06)

Very nice of photos, obviously your .25-06 has served you well. I totally agree that if I already had a .270 I wouldn�t have needed the .25-06 (too much overlap and duplication) and vice versa, but at the time I purchased my .25-06 I was trying to fill the gap between a .30-30 and a .338.

My primary game species was large bodied Alaska-Yukon moose which the .338 covered so the heavier bullet weights and whatever increase in game size the .270 offered was a moot point.

Even when I hunted Sitka black tailed deer (which are relatively small bodied) I still used the .338 (even though it seems like it is the very definition of overkill) because the brown bear density on the island I hunted was one bear per square mile and standard procedure was to quarter and bone out the deer stick it in a backpack and march 60-100 pounds of bloody meat past the bears in thick coastal rain forest. Once again the .25-06 would have been a perfect choice for Sitka black tails, but it didn�t fit into the overall picture.

Thanks again for the photos,
Dennis

Over a number of seasons, I ran a string of 8 one shot kills on both mulies and whitetails with my 25.06, pretty much all DRT. Used Federal Premium 117 gr. Sierra Gameking BTSPs. For deer...of any size...just doesn't get any better. For elk, a .270 is better.

That said, if one is hunting in areas where one might have to defend against nasty big critters packin' attitude, as is the case around here, then there are better calibers to be carrying in the woods for deer, such as 7mm Mag, 30.06 or 300 WM.

It happens, too. A couple years back, maybe 30 miles from here in Cranbrook, BC...and I'm not talking way back up in some remote basin, either...a hunter stumbled onto a grizzly killed elk, and immediately was charged by a very irate bear. Apparently it took 5 of the quickest shots he ever made in his life to settle the matter, and with little room left to spare. Not the kind of situation one wants to be in with just a 25.06, or the like.

FWIW.

Yes, only a few years ago a buddy and I were hunting mule deer in Wyoming. We were in the lowlands at first, but not seeing deer, so we moved up higher. Hiking out, three miles to the trailhead, with a boned out mule deer in our packs - which we did twice - was a little dicey as we were walking on grizzly sow & cub tracks. My .25-06 had done a fine job on the mulie, but seemed a trifle small for grizzly defense!

Guy

When I first moved to the Kootenays, my hunting partner and I hiked up past the tree line back up the Bull River. I was packin' my trusty 25.06. I came across a patch of ground, probably 30' x 30', looked it had been very freshly plowed up. Tracks indicated it was a griz, likely poking around for marmots. It was a long hike back to the truck, as I remember it.

Not long thereafter I snapped up a deal on a Vangard 300 WM, which has been my go to rifle ever since.

Ignoring the quarter bores is like ignoring racy redheads and blondes in favor of homely brunettes.

Mike; My Grandfather and Great Uncle shot some pretty hefty WT's with the diminutive 250-3000 Savage back in the 40's and 50's with the 87grain bullets of the day.These deer were weighed on mine scales at the Calumet-Heckela copper mines in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. The deer would routinely dress at well over 200 lbs one going 231 dressed. If a 250-3000 M99 can flatten those size critters with cnc bullets from the 40's I think you'll do alright running a 25-06 with some partitions or Barnes X with the slow burners like RL25,Retumbo, 7828 etc. If it aint for you I think you could re-tube it,sell it or trade it in a big hurry.

I pretty much agree, at least with the redhead part...grin

Dober

That is blasphemy.. They all take a back seat to a brunettes.

I have never been without at least one rifle chambered in 25-06 since 1973. I currently use the Hornady 117 BTSP over H4831. It flattens everything and has accounted for Many whitetail deer, mule deer, antelope and caribou. A few coyotes, fox, bobcats and head shots on jacks and bunnies have also fallen to my rifles. Accuracy in all of my rifles has been very pleasing.

Good you threw "homely" in there as a qualifier because all else being equal I've never felt brunettes take a back seat to blondes or redheads.

He lives in a place where the deer are lucky to hit 125lbs.

Please NOTE: I did NOT mention 'deer', I said 'game'.

Please note smiley -

Sorry, I missed that. U R right, it's there all 3 Xs before you mentioned it.

Must get my glasses CLEANED.

I have a .25-06 and it is truly a fine cartridge, but what keeps it from truly realizing its true potential as a big game cartridge is that in order to maintain it as a dual purpose varmint / big game they have standardized the rate of twist to 1: 10 inches. This dooms it to a maximum sectional density 0.238 to 0.260 depending on the bullet configuration (0.230 to 0.250 has traditionally been considered desirable for deer sized game). If they would increase the rate of twist to stabilize 130 or 140 grain bullets it would greatly increase the effectiveness of the .25-06 on larger game.

If you have a 270 and 30-06 why would you want a 25-06? It really is not going to do anything that a 270 can't do. Just as a 270 ain't going to do anything a 30-06 can't do. I have several 7MM-08'S, 25-06, 270, 280 AND 30-06 and it is not necessary to have all of them as there is just hardly any difference if any if you look at either end. I mean in factory rounds a 120 grain 7mm-08 vs 25-06 there is only 20fps difference. Compare a 130 grain 270 and 120 grain 25-06 ain't much difference. I just like rifles and enjoy hunting with different rounds. But I as most folks that hunt in this country unless they hunt the big bears could get by with just one caliber or two max.

A 25-06 loaded with 100gr. TTSX's and a 300WSM loaded with 180gr. TSX's would be my 2-gun choice and loads for NA game. 'Course, I don't prefer to live that way, but if I had to make that choice, those 2 offerings would more than suffice.

Of all the cartridges I've ever hunted with, the 25-06 truly exhibits the 'little big man image' with convincing results.

I always thought the 25-06 and 30-06 would make a great combo for the lower 48. They are different enough where you are more likely to use one over the other in a given situation (which justifies having both). But, they aren't so different that they couldn't play understudy to each other as a backup.

Im too lazy to read whole thread but will add my 2 cents.
I shot out the throat of my first 25-6 in about 600 rounds. Bought a 2nd 25-06, a Remington 700 , and although not as fast as the first one, this was exceedingly accurate, giving about 5/8 inch groups. Used it for six years. I found bullet performance to be very poor, until I started using 115 gr Nosler partitions, then it became very good.. However I needed an excuse to buy another gun and I bought a 270 in order to use standard bullets, which performed very well on game.. It is my opinion that the 270 is a little better on game than the 25-06 though not a lot if you use nosler partitions. If you dont the 270 is quite a bit better.

Though not often commented on, I like the 87gn Hornady for deer sized game if I know I can have reasonable expectation for a chest shot. It would be great on antelope as well.

The 100gn is the do "most" anything bullet with the Hornady and Barnes X formats as the ideal but if you like heavy for caliber bullets, there are several from Nosler, Solid Base Ballistic Tip and Partition and I have used them in 115gn 117gn and 120gn.

I have also used the 120gn Hornady HPBT, 120gn Barnes X and Partition and these bullets blur the difference between it, and the .270 though the .257 recoils less and blast is usually perceived as a little less as many .25/06's have a longer barrel that most of the .270's we see today.

The other plus, is that a great range of powders work in this cartridge so if you already have a .270 and .30/06, all you really "need" to buy is bullets for the caliber.

John