Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters 25-06 Obsolete?

The main things I find going obsolete these days are... the GunWriters. We really don’t need their advice or opinions to make good decisions concerning what rifle/caliber/bullet to shoot anymore. Just my 2 cents.
peak98

25-06, so easy to handload. Good velocity. Light recoil. Excellent accuracy & flat trajectory. Quick kills...





It might be going out of style, but it sure seems like a lot of us here on the Fire still like and use it.

Guy

Cascade is that the 100 or 115 gr Ballistic tip?

GreggH

That's the 115 Nosler Ballistic Tip. It's done real well for me. Typically I load it with Retumbo for about 3150 fps from the 24" barrel.

Regards, Guy

Bears repeating atleast one more time, no truer words ever spoken...mb

All this.

I know it's hard for most to relate here, but many of these sorts of discussions and articles are centered around and driven by availability of FACTORY AMMO.
And if the company that put the 25.06 into the world no longer deems it worthwhile, that ought to be a smoke signal that all can see from about any distance.

Fully capable/useful? Heck yes.
Supported? No.

I have a 25-06 that I'm fond of, but it really doesn't do anything that the other rounds in the safe can't accomplish. I shoot the 115 NBT from my Kimber Montana and it's performed well. No magic, just kills about like everything else I use. In all honesty, I can't tell a difference between it and anything from .223 on up for deer. Most of my shots are within 200 yards and I bust lungs. They all have a short death dash then it's over. With all that being said, I still think the 270 is a better cartridge in a long action.

As far as being obsolete, it's not there yet for me. I have more components for it than I'll ever use. If I had it to do all over again, I would have picked a two or three centerfire cartridges and piled up supplies for those chamberings. Instead I have mixture of stuff that doesn't get used much....and the 25-06 wouldn't have been in that line up. I still like it though. I bought it because of the rifle, not the round.

I killed a buck and a doe this year with my 25-06 Montana. Buck was about 70 yards across a powerline. The blood spot in the picture below was the exit. The 115 NBT entered a couple inches back from the crease and left a small exit hole. Insides were trashed. Ran about 30 yards and rolled.

Nice buck!

Cascade,
I use the CT version of the same bullet (for aesthetics) in my 25-284 and agree completely with your assessment. It has been very impressive for such a small bullet. Like through shoulder and 3/4 of the remainder of 250 +lb hogs. Deer don’t stop them.


SA’
Real nice!

GreggH

Useful but sales lagging...I've had one ever since Remington made it a factory cartridge.

Another under that category is the 204 Ruger.

After Hornady stopped making my favorite 120 gr open point bullet I rebarreled mine. But one thing I've noticed is regardless of bullet weights, lots of people like the quick kills associated with this caliber. There must be something going on, it rocks!!

I've found them at 2 different shops here, so I snagged them..

Sadly, the 204R is a short lived cartridge. Not that I'm going to say that about the 25-06, because it's been around for quite a while now. I know some guys that love that 204, but it is one that falls on its face after 300 yards. I've found the 22-250 to be a much better cartridge. But I digress...

That company actually no longer exists except in name, which I’m sure you know, and are likely having trouble keeping the wolf from the door, leaving little spare change for supporting marginal “earners” as they say in the mob shows. Maybe later they can crank out a “Classic” version and get the ammo company to make a run or two.

These threads always pique my curiosity and I just checked and found ammo, some under $30, and brass, too dear for me I’m afraid. Better to buy some boxes of Prvi and reload the empties. Anyway, there’s enough available that fans can take charge of their situations.

Yep its been around 104+ years. Neidner in 1920 but some sources say that Springfield Armory developed a 25.06 during WW1 and thats where Neidner and a bunch of other gunsmiths got the dies and other tooling. Niedner also built the first 257 Roberts rifle for Ned Roberts. The problem for the 25 Niedner and a boon for the Roberts was the powder selection was to fast for the 25 Niedner but worked fine in the Roberts. IMR powders in the 30’s cured both.

I believe you should. What do you need for it?

That hasn't been my experience, but I mostly use the .204 for prairie dogs. In general it's my 300-500 yard PD round--after the closer dogs have been killed or spooked by .17s. Beyond 500 I use either a 1-8 twist .223, or a 13-pound 6XC. (Oh, and while we still have a couple .22-250s, they have 1-8 twists and get used for deer and pronghorns these days.)

While the latest iteration of Remington has apparently dropped the .204 in their rifles, Ruger still chambers it.

Just saying the Lebel was one of the oldest and most obsolete cartridges on the planet. If I can do a quick search and find it available I don’t see the 25-06 going anywhere. In fact today at the local Family Farm and Home I found four different varieties of 25-06 on the shelf.

Sam
Same sort of deal in the local stores here, even in a relatively small Montana town of less than 2000 people. The two stores that regularly stock ammo are both ranch/hardware type stores.

Also one of my friends who's long been one the most successful local elk hunters has been using it for years now. Like a lot of elk hunters who started in the 1960s and 70s, he jumped on the magnum trend and used 7mms and .300s, then grew weary of the recoil. One of his first "downsizing" rounds was the .257 Weatherby, but had been using the .25-06 for a while now, taking a 6-point in the Missouri Breaks when he drew a bull tag a couple years ago. (Oh, and he doesn't use "premium" bullets.)