Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters 25-06 ? for Mule Deer.

With the bullet shortage in my area, and all I can find
is Sierra bullets. What would be a good Sierra bullet should I get for whitetail deer? In my area
most are 100- 150 pounds and ranges are under 150 yards.


Thanks,
jr1968.

The pro hunter in the 117gr flat base

117 grain Pro Hunter bullets already recommend are a good choice. I'd not hesitate to use any Sierra hunting bullet 100 grain on the size of deer mentioned. Aim for the boiler room and not the shoulders just to not ruin so much meat, though the bullets wiil punch through a shoulder if needed.

I have had success with the 117 Sierra BT with Mule Deer. Most accurate in my Model 700.

Mid South Shooters supply has the Hornady 100 gr inter-lock,
the 120 gr HP and the 117 gr SST and 117 boat tail in stock.

Hornady is discontinuing the 100 gr interlock and the 120 gr HP bullets. I ordered a lifetime supply this weekend for two rifles. Hornady just shipped the "LAST" run of .25 120 HP to it suppliers.

Doc

jr1968,

I'd suggest the 117 ProHunter as well, especially at the ranges you typically shoot. I wouldn't worry about getting the absolute most velocity out of it possible, either, having had my best results from Sierras at muzzle velocities not more than 3000 fps at shorter ranges.

+1 on that Sierra 117 gr. Pro-Hunter... My .25-06 is so fond of that bullet that it's the only .25 cal. bullet I use in it anymore. Along with a healthy dose of RL-22 it has become my standard go-to 25-06 load. Shoots so well I figured on sticking with that one load so I could be more familiar with that gun and its trajectory. Never shot a whitetail with it but I know for a fact that its great on pronghorn.

MD,ever use the 100 gr Sierra Pro-Hunter on deer?

Midway has 117 grain Hornady Interlock boattail blemished bullets on sale right now.

I took a mule deer with a 100gr bullet out of a 25-06. My buddy's wife has taken 2 elk with her 25-06. Modern bullets are well-constructed. Shoot one designed for big game and you're good to go. Whichever bullet shoots best out of your gun is the one to use. Here's a pic of me with my 25-06:

That's an interesting buck you killed Waders. Going to have it mounted?

Yeah, it's pretty goofy! I did a European mount.

Doesn't take a lot to kill a deer sized critter. 25-06 is a pretty damned powerful round. My personal favorite flavor was the Speer 120 grain Hot-Cor. Lots of folks post about 100 gr. this or that. If your typical range is 150 yds or less, I'd recommend a heavy for caliber bullet. If in real doubt try a Partition or Barnes X of any flavor.

Have not tried the heavier bullets in my .25/06. Just gonna use the 100 gr Sierra for deer,coyotes and rabbits,with,maybe,an antelope thrown in.

I like the 90gr HPBT Gameking never had a deer walk away from being hit with that bullet, and I killed alot of deer with it.

Send prairie dog shooter a PM. He has used 25 cal 100 grain Sierras on a pile of deer.

I'm sure he has, but he lives in Texas, where deer are usually considerably smaller than they are in southern New York. And they can get considerably larger in New York than the "average" 100-150 pounds mentioned in the OP's post.

So,for a deer in the 100-150+ lb range a 100 gr Sierra would be just fine?

Well, yeah. I've killed plenty of deer from Texas to Montana with 100-grain cup-and-core bullets from both 6mm and .25 caliber rifles.

But my point (which I thought was plainly made in my first post), is that velocity is more important that bullet weight with cup-and-core bullets. A 100-grain bullet can easily be driven at 3300+ from a .25-06. I would NOT recommend one at that velocity for 150+ pound deer at ranges under 150 yards.