Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles 25-06 vs. 270 for whitetail

I have use both in the past but right now am happy hunting whitetails with my 25-06 and 100 gr TSX.

Neither.... they both bounce off deer. I hear a 30-378 is fairly effective for a low recoil alternative on deer tho.

Soapy, my 25-06 experience was good, the deer I hit with it dropped quickly and recoil is surprisingly light.

Most whitetail hunting is less than 300 yards. But you will need to be aware that .25 caliber bullets are not as high in B.C. as say a .270 140 or 150 bullet and would not be as good in high winds or extreme range.

The 25.06 has my vote. For deer with a 115 ballistic tip it drops them in short order. Light recoil and accurate are two characteristics I use to sum up the 25.06. I would suggest that you reload for this cartridge since I noticed it is not as readily found as the 270 (at least in my area).

A question is does velocity past a certain minimum continue to contribute to lethality? I don't know the answer but if it is "yes" then the .25-06 should be better as the lighter bullet behind the same amount of powder will be driven faster. And, in that case, the .24-06 should be even better.

If the answer is "no" then the .270 wins out and the .35 Whelen should be even better, if properly constructed bullets are used.

The few reports I've heard is that the Whelen *does not* kill particularly well compared to the smaller diameter variations of the '-06', but I'm not sure those using the Whelen were using optimal bullets for light big game like whitetails.

Things don't quite work out that way.

There is just something sexy about a 25-06 . For a deer rifle it gets my vote.

I prefer the 25-06 Improved, also known as the .257 Weatherby.

I have both,and have been impressed with each. Really a toss up. I will say this though. My daughter and I just put money down on limited Antelope in WY for next fall. She has been using her Mom's old M700 270 for deer here locally. With good results I might add. I will however,put her in the 25Otter for the Lope hunt. The reason being it will be more pleasant to shoot prone,should the need arise. It's also a M700,her grandpap's old rifle. The transition should be a smooth one.

That old M700 wood stocked 80s vintage rig shoots 1/2 MOA out to 400 yds yet. I occasionally take it to 400 yd deer target shoots just for the fun of it. Heavy enough to soak up what little recoil there is too. Her Grandpap wanted to take a lope with it but never realized that dream. I figure his "Punkin" can carry the torch in his honor.

Chicken and egg argument for sure. Dead is dead and both will give you dead on whitetails. I've shot a lot of antelope and some deer with the 25-06 it works ,If you like to eat your game stick with 115-120 gr bullets in cup and core designs. The 270 W is never wrong and that is why it is immensely popular and has a better bullet selection for your choice. If you can't get it done with the 270 spend more time practicing ,failing that stay at home and perform honeydos. Magnum Man

Either one will work fine on deer.

If you are planning to hunt in strange, exotic locales opt for the .270 just in case your ammo gets lost because .270 ammo will be easier to acquire.

I choose the .270W. Only because I've never owned a .25-06.

AKA 25-06 on steroids!

I only shot 2 deer this year. One with a .270, it went 30 feet.
The other with .257 Wby. It went 3 feet... backwards.

Used them both. They both kill but I can only carry one at a time. So I'd take a 270.

I'm a fan of all things .270 so it's a no brainer for me!

If forced to slum a .25-06 I'm sure the deer would die just as dead.

Mike

The 25/06 is just a 270 that is lite in the loafers.

Shod

If you reload use the lighter 6.8 bullets in the 270 and you'll have the 25-06 for what it's worth.

If you want a quarterbore get the Bob and call it day.

No whitetail will know the difference if you shoot them through the lungs with a properly constructed bullet. I shoot 115 thru 120 grain bullets in my 25-06s and 130 and 140 grain bullets in my 270s. I think that out to a quarter-mile or so, the trajectories of the 115/117/120 .257" bullets fired from a 25-06 are all within a couple of inches of the 130 grain .277" bullets fired from a 270, assuming that all variables are equal.

If you shoot factory ammo, most standard grade 270 ammo from Fed/Rem/Win is easier to find and less expensive than 25-06 ammo from the big three. Hornady's American Whitetail ammo is excellent and about the same price in both 25-06 and 270, but it is less common anywhere that I have been when compared to Fed/Rem/Win ammo.

I have not been shooting either the 25-06 or 270 for very long, as I had always considered them to be "too common" and uninteresting when compared to the 257 Roberts, 257AI, 25-284, 6.5x55, 6.5-284, 256 Newton, and 7x57, but I have come to like them and think that either would be a particularly good choice for the person who doesn't reload.

Is one more effective or is it more "half a dozen of one, 6 of the other" [/quote]

U. S.
You got the answer correct. However ... Since you can not always bet on the suicidal cooperation of game animals I prefer to error on the side of Sectional Density rather than Ballistic Coefficient so I generally would go with the .270 of the two choices you have provided. Whitetails have a nasty habit of being nervous and "flighty" so as to make perfect anatomical presentation problematic. Whitetails also have a reputation for wearing a form of Kevlar at times, or so I'm told. I would prefer the added weight and SD of the 140 grain .270 over the 117 grain .257 regardless of the BC. If I'm loading the ammo I stay under the 3000 fps level or whatever your rifle shoots the best. Enjoy your hunt; 6 of one, half dozen of the other.

I'd take the 270 myself.

Can I prove that it's better? No.
Would anyone postulate though that it is worse? No.