Just curious what you guys use in your quarter bores for deer. I bought some 120 gr Hornady interlock hp.

What your opinions?

I'll be using the 115 Ballistic Tip and 120 Partitions in my Roberts this year.

Depends, 25/20 or 257 Weatherby or something betwixt?

I'm a fan of small bullets going fast when it comes to deer, so I tend to run lots of lighter weight Barnes.

I used 115 grain Nosler Ballistic Tips last year for an antelope and a couple of whitetail does. I am very satisfied with their accuracy and performance. That bullet would not be my choice for close range deer, but at 100 yds and further it worked great. The Ballistic Tips have been improved and perform better than the old ones. The old ones were too soft.

100 grain Interlocks and Ballistic tips.

I have used the 100 gr. Barnes orig. X, 115 TSX and the 100 gr Hornady SP IL., all in a 25-06. All were loaded to book max. Of all of them I have more DRT's w/the Hornady interlock and the longest runs after w/the 115 TSX and all shots through the lungs. I just got an old 25 Ackley magnum (7 R. Mag., shoulder set back necked to 25 and case left full length) and have 2 boxes of 120 gr Nosler PT's, should be adequate! -Muddy

Hornady 100gr Interlock. Never found it wanting in killing any deer or pronghorn that I shot with 'em.
Let us know how the 120gr IL's work.

Forgot to put in the orignal post it's for a 25-06 h&r ultra hunter

I've used 100gr TTSXs in my 257Wby and 110gr NABs in my 25-06. DRTs with both. Plan to use 115 NBTs this year in my 25-06AI. Several of my friends have used them for years with great results.

Lemme see. I've killed deer with the .250 Savage, .257 Roberts, .25-06 Remington and .257 Weatherby using 100-grain Barnes TSX's, Hornady Interlocks, Nosler Ballistic Tips, Nosler Partitions, and Speer Hot-Cors; 115-grain Berger VLD's, Nosler Ballistic Tips and Partitions; 117-grain Remington Core-Lokts and Hornady Interlocks; and 120-grain Nosler Partitions and Speer Hot-Cors. All of them killed the deer pretty much pronto if the bullets landed in the right place, and they usually did.

It's hard to beat good ole NPT performance. That said,there are many .257 pills suitable for deer sized critters.

My choice for the coming fall will probably be 100TTSX or 100S2s.

My choice for the .257 Wby is the 100 gr. Barnes TSX.
For the .257 Roberts, it's the 100 gr. Nosler Ballistic Tip.

For my .25-06, I use 115 gr Nosler Ballistic Tips. The newer Ballistic Tips are better than the old ones. The old ones were too soft and blew up on impact.

I don't have experience with the IL's so I can't comment on them but I'm sure they will do a nice job. I use the 100gr NBT in my 25-06. It is extremely fast, flat shooting and kills like lightning. Most any hunting bullet from the reputable manufacturers will get the job done and they don't have to be premium. Shot placement is the most important thing.

I am looking at the 110gr. Accubond for my next.25-06 load..

My 25-06 loved the 120 core-locks. Never had to chase one down using it.

For the 25-06 anything from 100 to 120 will work well.

So will some of the lighter ones but it all depends on what weight your rifle likes.

I use the 115 BT out of the 25.06.

That would be my choice as well.

I have killed several coues deer with the 100 TTSX, all but one have dropped at the shot. Only reason the one didnt drop was I didnt hit him well.

I shot one last year with a 110 Accubond, smoked the deer, he ran 15 yards and fell over dead.

120 Hornady HP has worked perfectly for me for many deer in 25/06 and 257AI. Second choice is the 120 Hot core...similar terminal effects, not quite as consistently accurate.

120gr SierraHPBT is good, too.

I got some factory 117gr interlocks sp

Just got the rifle at Xmas time so just starting to play with it now getting ready for deer season.
Just gotta get a set of dies and I'll be reloading for it!

Bergers and partitions

Hornady 117 has been perfict in 257 Roberts and 25/308. For whitetail..

Sierra 120gr bthp game king.Rick.

Joyce Hornady developed this bullet for elk. It will work very well on deer on any size.
John

I have had excellent results for accuracy and deer killing with the Sierra Pro Hunter in 117 grain spitzer in a 250 Savage 1 in 10 twist.

100 grain Sierras out of .25-06. Works well on deer, and even on elk - last 2 cows bang-flopped after taking the sierra pill. Boss boiler room pass thrus - no recovery.

Have used the 100 gr TTSX's in a 25-06 AI for several years on deer with excellent results, will be using same this fall in a 257 Roberts.

For many decades I used the 120 gr Hornady hollow points, it's a tough sombitch on deer sized game fired from a standard 25-06, it penetrates much better than I expected from a stand cup and core projectile.

the thread is the " best " while many will work well the best IMO is 100gr ttsx

110 gr AB at 3250 fps with RL 25 25-06

The 117gr Hornady spire point and 117 grain Sierra GK are excellent bullets. I've killed game with both. I've also had very good luck with 120gr Nosler PT.

25-06
.257WBY
.257 Roberts

110 gr NAB @ 3450 fps with R-22 in a .257 Roy. Still working on a larger sample size of kills, but so far I see no reason to ever change. Kill ranges so far are from 60 yards to 300 yards.

The 110 gr AB was gonna be my second choice if my rifles didnt like the 100 gr TTSX's, have always thought it would be an excellent bullet for caribou, 'lope, deer and pig sized game animals with a slightly better BC to boot.

Hornady 120 HP in 25 wssm, very accurate and devastating on whitetails.

I prefer the 100 TTSX but also love the 100 Gr. Interlock. For the 250 Savage, 250 AI, and 25-204, I use the lighter 80 Gr.TTSX.

Have killed deer with the TTSX and the Interlock and both work fine.

My WSSM doesn't like that bullet...

But 25/06 and 257AI sure do!

I've shot Blacktail deer with my .25x2 which is a wildcat based on the .308, like the .25 Souper, but with a longer neck.
I usually use a Sierra 90gr hollowpoint, and they are DRT. The first time I used them, I was surprised to find the destruction wasn't more, so I continue to use them.
Have fun,
Gene

I did a lot of culling with that bullet in a couple of .257 Weatherby's and was also surprised at how well it held together and dumped animals where they stood.

John

John: that's interesting. Since Sierra says that bullet was really designed for varmints, despite its GameKing moniker.

I'm running a 110gr AB @ 3350fps this year in my .25-284. I'll let you know how it goes, but I'm pretty sure it will kill.

ttt

Interesting thread. I am surprised to see that the Partition of any weight was not mentioned more even though I know it is not needed for deer and surprised to see the old 120 HP Interlock mentioned several times. Getting ready to load some Hornady of both 100 and 117 grain variety, Partition 100/115, and Sierra 100/117 ProHunters. Going with which ever shoots the best as I know they will all work if placed in a buck's airbags.

I will add the 100g partition and 100g ballistic tips Many of them SPS seconds from 250AI's

When I used a Roberts, I found the 100 grain Interlock and 115 Partition to be my favorites on deer.

I use 120 Nosler PT with 55 gr of Retumbo in a 25-06. Deadly accurate and 3200+ fps from my cooper custom classic with a 26" barrel.

Retumbo is awesome with 110 grain and heavier in 25-06

LOTS of good choices available. I've found the 117 grain btsp from Hornady or Sierra to be reliable killers and accurate as well.

Using the 110 Accubond in my wife's .25-06. Not close to max, but very accurate load and have had great results with it. Load development is done with that rifle...

My experience on deer with the 'bob and the 25-06 have mostly been with 100 gr. pills... And mostly partitions at that. The velocity/bullet combo is excellent on deer.

The 'bob has been the standard deer killer in the family 'kids, wife, me' for 20 odd years now. The 25-06 is a little newer addition but with two deer very cleanly kilt with it this fall with 100 partitions @3300 fps.

I have found with the 100 gr. partition with 3000 fps and up, a LOT of bang/flops happen, no matter who is doing the shooting. Low recoil, ease of shot placement, very dramatic and deep terminal bullet action seems to work very well.

Thought about that 100 Partition as well.

John,

I selected the Hornady 120 HP for my 25-06 based on your recommendation a few years back. Using 54.0 of H-4831sc velocity is 3080 with 4 shots under .75. What's not to like!

Doc

Looks like that Ol' boy got a little dirt on his snoot somehow, must've done a nose stand!!

Killed a truckload with 117 RN.

I have used the Sierra 117 grain flat base Pro Hunter in my 257 Wby in front of 70 grains of 7828. This was the first load IMR listed when 7828 became available. Shot good then and still shoots good now. I'm still using the 20 lb keg I purchased in 1984. Great Cartridge, Great bullet, and great powder.

That sounds like a good load. My 26" barrel consumes 57gn of Retumbo and only gets 3080fps.
John

Doc,
I used it a lot in my .257 Weatherby but haven't used it in my .25/06 yet. Glad it works for you.
John

I run a 115 gr Ballistic Tip out of one and a 100 gr Sierra Gameking out of another.


Both kill deer if you put them where they live.

Burt2506

that caliber is big enough that you'd have to test bullets for a lifetime to get an answer to your question. Any accurate 100-115 grain pill should do what you want.

Not sure if the best, but have been using a 117 Interlock Hornady American Whitetail loads in 25-06 this year. They have been great with excellent penetration, including on a really old, heavy body mule deer.

Heaviest deer I ever shot, the 257 115 Nos Bal Tip 3050 fps muzzle ..broke the shoulder at 100 yards.

I used to swear by Sierra 117 grain Pro Hunter. But on the last two deer that I killed I had one completely come apart on a large neck vertabrae, no exit wound, I found only the cup and some tiny fragements of lead. Then on a frontal chest shot, it passed through the deer and broke the right rear femur. Bullet was completely intact with just a slight dent on the side. It looked like it did not open up at all. Only two 25 caliber bullets I ever recovered. And I have killed many deer with that bullet out of a 250-3000 Savage with a 1 in 10 twist. I have switched over to Speer Hot Core 100 grains bullets to check accuracy and performance on whitetails next fall.

I have a couple .250 chambered guns, a 110 bolt with 1-10" twist and a 99 with the old 1-14" twist. For the bolt, I use Hornady 117-gr RN at 2700 fps. The 99 gets Speer 87-gr HotCor spitzers at 2900 fps. Ranges here in Virginia aren't that great, so I don't feel handicapped.

Dan

117 hornady interlock btsp, or the 115 ballistic tip have been excellent for me in my Roberts.

I originally used the 117 hornady because they were ridiculously accurate and I've always had good luck with an interlock, but switched to the BT when I was setting up for longer shots, hoping for more dramatic expansion. From what I can tell, they act the exact same on game from 6-350+ yards. Both are very accurate bullets and sturdy enough to leave an exit.

Well guys I never ended up getting anything loaded for my 25-06 till now. ( baby came) made my year busy lol. But I got some 120 hornady hp loaded and 100 gr nosler bt and gonna pick up some 100 gr barns and 117 rn to try also


On a good note I killed my first deer with the new 25-06 this year with 120 federal fusions. Worked awesome jumped once and dead. Right threw the boiler room

Four of us use the Berger 115 VLD from our 257 weatherby chambered semi customs. To date 16 coues wt, 4 mule deer, 6 elk, 1 antelope and 1 javelina not to mention a few jackrabbits. Another friend has his 257 Roberts shooting this bullet but hasn't hunted with it yet.

I witnessed many of the coues wt being shot including my own. The many of the deaths were instant with the deer not even twitching. No deer made it more than a few yards before dying.

The 115 Berger VLD would be an excellent choice for your 25-06.

High BC with outstanding performance on game.

JB used this bullet in New Zealand shot from a 257 Roberts at 2900 fps with excellent results. Link:

http://www.bergerbullets.com/articles/john-barsness-berger-bullets.pdf