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

I bet a Montana in 25-06 would be a sweet rifle!

As a youngster I remember reading articles claiming the 30-30 was obsolete.... it isn't and neither is the 25-06
I am 62.... so the 25-06 won't be obsolete for at least another 40 yrs....

I’m afraid my sweet little Browning medallion .243 wssm is no doubt obsolete. But,I love it anyway

Isn't that the truth??

Just when I decide to rebarrel one of my 7mm-08's to over to a 25-06, this "happy" thread comes to light. Oh well, the 25 cal. bullets, 25-06 brass, powder, primers, dies, tikka L.A. bolt stop and L.A. magazine have all been accumulated. The ends we go to just for the love of reloading, shooting and hunting.

Killed a bunch of deer with a 25-06 Montana.

One of my favorite cartridges. Wal-Mart still sold it before the covid.

While I'm quite happy with the two I own, I'd say yes by current case design standards. Most of my firearms are chambered for cartridges matching that description. Finding ammo and components for lots of them is dead easy-they're old standards. Something being, or being labelled, obsolete doesn't mean much to me.

I had a 25-06for a great many years , but nowadays that rifle has a 1-8 " twist 6.5 barrel on it. I am happy

My first experience with the .25-06 took place 20 years ago, on a "cull" hunt in Ireland, of all places. It was hosted by Heym Firearms of Germany on the estate of the last living British earl in Ireland. The head guide was a well-off plumber named Liam Kenehan, who leased the deer-hunting rights from the earl.

I ended up using Liam's straight-pull Heym .25-06, which he'd used to take fallow and red deer out to 600 yards, thanks to the multi-dot Schmidt & Bender on the rifle. I didn't shoot anything that far, but did take one female fallow deer at 450--which ain't all that far these days, but was the longest shot encountered during the cull.

That was using Remington 120-grain Core-Lokt factory ammo, which is what Liam had used to take a big red stag at 600. But as we all know now, that's a totally inappropriate choice of not just cartridge but ammo and bullet. Though will note that central Ireland is less windy than many places, including the Campfire....

Laffin’ I am!

I had a Ruger No.1B 26” barrel in 25-06. It wore an old Leupold 4x16 and I loaded 110 grain Sierra BTSP as fast as I could with RL25. That thing was a frozen rope and if I could see’m I could kill’em. At least on the farm I hunted. I shot many angled across a 40 acre potato field or so. Wish I still had that rifle.

Too bad this Bull didn't get the memo about the cartridge be in my obsolete:( He'd still be alive today

PA has an elk season and draws from applicants for the tags. Been asked a few times why I've never applied. Usually respond that if I can't use one of my 25-06s, ain't interested. If someone suggests that's not "enough gun", point out that it was good enough For Bob Milek. These days that often results in a blank stare.

Originally a 270 minimum caliber for our elk, changed to 6.5 a few years ago. Apparently to make everyone happy? Friend has a M7 in 260 that was once his favorite deer rifle. Now he totes one in 6.5 Creedmore. No idea what that was all about?

Between a buddy and I, well beyond a couple dozen dead whitetails with a 25-06 since the 1970s and mostly with a 100gr bullet. More than a few were dropped where they walked or stood, past 400 yards.

I saw a box of Hornady 135 gr ELD-M .257" bullets yesterday. The label indicated you need to use them with a 1 in 8 twist .624? Bc. Not many 25's out there with 8 twist rifle barrels. 25-06 ammo is scarce but that doesn't.make the ammo or rifles obsolete if you handload. If you don't handload you are the obsolete factor..lol got it?..mb

Edit to add the only surving load in Remington line of ammo for quite sometime has been the 120 gr corelokt. I bought a pile of them as component bullets they did a great job. I found when shot full throttle 100 gr corelokts and the Hornady 100 SP were to explosive on meat. When using the 25-06 I waited for a broadside dbl lung shot thru the ribs or ended up with alot of bloodshot meat..mb

I love the 25-06 and have owned one for over 45 years. I have killed more deer and varmints with it that is unreal. That was my first high power rifle. I have two now, a sporter barrel and my heavy barrel varmint special. I reload for mine and will continue to do so. I have numerous components stocked up. It is NOT OBSOLETE, just like my gunsmith says to me when the 204 come out. He says this is the best caliber going, you need to get you one. I said what will the 204 do that my 22-250 will not do. He got very quiet and then said, not a thing, it will do it all. They keep pushing new calibers hoping you will fall for all the hype.

The 25-06 was my first center fire rifle and it killed the first half dozen deer I shot, plus quite a few other critters. Then my son and a friend used it to kill antelope and deer. I still have that gun and I’m guessing it’s still highly effective for deer size animals.
The trend today, in an effort to sell more rifles, dies etc it long for caliber bullets and fast twist so you get an inch or three less drop at 600 or 800 yards. Nothing wrong with that, but that has zero interest to me.

I guess I didn't get the memo that it was obsolete as I just bought my second one a Browning B78. Then again it wouldn't have mattered to me as some of my favorite calibers are "obsolete or at least threatened with extinction" such as the 250/3000, it's bigger brother the 300 Savage, 38/55, 6MM Rem, 405 Win., 25 WSSM ect.

I own a 25-06 a 25th anniversary gift from my wife 10 years ago that is a great local deer & hopefully an antelope rifle one of these days. I’d rather have had a 257 Weatherby in hindsight but it’s a very useful cartridge for mid sized game & even an OK woman/kid elk gun.

I had a squirrel of a scope on mine to start so thought it fell short of its reputation as very accurate. Once I replaced it my affection for the rifle has increased. But I think the new long bullet craze has likely doomed it to the back of the used gun racks. I don’t miss the 30-40 Krag I sold years ago it was a deer killer but the ugliest rifle I’ve ever owned & not very efficient. The 25-06 has a long way to go before it reaches Krag status but the creedmoor probably has signaled its demise.

Still do here....4 bxs of Remington 100gr on the shelf yesterday