I was recently talking with a friend about the 25-06 and the 308 and the recoil with both shooting mild loads.
308 shooting 125 gr bullets and 25-06 shooting 87 gr loads
I don’t have the exact loads in front of me (we are packing up to move so alot is in boxes) but will find and post them
How comparable is the recoil of the 25-06 to the 308 ?
I know one is short action and one long action, I was wondering if the 25-06 would be to much for my wife and daughter with out having them shoot it and being scared of the recoil. They both shoot the 308 with out issues but if they go hunting the same time they both want to have a gun.
The guns are both Tikka T3 lites 308 is a compact, 25-06 is regular length that I have compact and regular stock for.
Thanks in advance
Dan

2506 wins easily. Can load it down slightly and still have a lot of punch for your target. 308 to me seems to snap no matter what

Another vote for the 25-06. Its a great round, and I’d have no reservations about a youth or lady using one.

Real close in bullet weights and velocity it's going to be a wash but it should be easier to find lighter bullets for the 25-06 and load it light than for the 308. The 308 can be specialty loaded I know since I've read of folks using pistol powder in them to lower velocity. I'm just saying the 25-06 should get you to low recoil without jumping through hoops.

The 25-06 is a pussy cat, shooting a 25-06 in summer clothes would not even be an issue for women or kids.

Hodgdon has mapped some general rules for H4895 and reduced loads:

https://www.hodgdon.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/h4895-reduced-rifle-loads.pdf

You can choose the round, leave it open to all bullet weights, narrow the powder down to Hodgdon, then 4895 and run the 60% formula on the max loads and work up from there. Gives you options to explore either round.

A rifle weight, bullet weight, powder charge, and velocity (or close estimate) can give you a rough idea how the two compare recoil wise:

http://www.shooterscalculator.com/recoil-calculator.php

I have both, go with the 25-06

Using starting loads in a 7.5 lb rifle calculated here http://www.handloads.com/calc/recoil.asp

25-06 87gr bullet+53 gr powder @ 3200 fps = 10 ft lbs recoil
308 125 gr bullet +45 gr powder @ 3000 fps = 13 ft lbs recoil

^^^^^^This^^^^^^ I have been shooting a 25/06 since 1980. 1st one was a Ruger 77 and the one I now shoot is a little Marlin XL7. I have killed a lot of deer with baby '06 and have watched everyone of their reactions in my scope. Light recoil, IMO, whether on the bench or in the field, even with the lighter weight Marlin. I have never understood when someone whines about the recoil of the 25. Get it and go forth and shoot and kill animals with it. I have no doubt your wife and daughter will enjoy it. And, it kills deer and crows quickly! Haven't shot anything else with it...lol. Good luck whatever you get, but my vote would be the 25/06.

Not a .25-06, but my .257 Roberts with +P loads is my favorite rifle and has been since I acquired it back in 2004. Recoil will be about the same for a .25-06.

Last one that I would own again is a 25-06. Many more bullets available for the 308 from 110 up. You can down load it for low recoil. It is also much more accurate than the 25-06.

Recoil is far more an issue when shooting from a bench during sight in....it's almost never an issue when hunting.....further, noise can be a far more critical issue than recoil.....and many folks can confuse them.....that said....if one thinks the gun hurts.....it'll show in the field....it's simply human nature.

It's just plain smart to never let anyone (including yourself) target practice without good hearing protection.

I'm an old die hard .25-06 lover....it a great cartridge! and actually can develop less recoil than the .308. However for a hunting rifle, the .308 with 125 grain monometal bullets is also a fairly light recoiling round and with a slightly heavier bullet can double for elk. For a deer only rifle, the .25-06 is truly hard to beat.

No need to download for the 25-06. It is simply a beautiful hunting cartridge. And I have more .308s than I do 25-06s, but I don't own a sporter more accurate than my Redneck built Model 70 Featherweight 25-06.

I think that anyone that can handle one can manage the other with the right bullet weight. .308 Win with 168 or 180 gr bullets has a little “snap” but not horrific. Happy Trails

Since you already have both, why not let them shoot both? They'll find out which they like better quite quickly that way.

recoil can be a factor for recoil shy people men or ladies, my adult daughter can be recoil shy at the range but I have seen her killed deer with no fear at 200 yards with a 7 mm mag. and never remember if gun had recoil.

I just didn’t want the 25-06 to be too much for them, they way it sounds it shouldn’t be much different form the 308.

.25-06.

My daughter weighs 100 pounds and has a custom 257 Roberts and a custom .25-06 to choose from for deer hunting. She annually takes the .25-06. Says she doesn't feel much difference in recoil when shooting either one of them.

.25-06.. Have used it just before it was factory round... Great caliber..

25-06 by a mile.



Travis

The 257 Bob is excellent and the 257 Wby is spectacular. In between those two is the 25-06 and it is one hell of a cartridge. IMO it is the lightest recoiling, hardest hitting cartridge out there. The 25-06 is capable of killing both small and very large animals at extreme distances. The 308 Win is very capable and versatile as well, but the 25-06 is much flatter shooting out to 400 yards having light recoil in a 7 lbs rifle. I would only caution the use of a 25-06 with 22-inch barrel as the muzzle blast is much greater than the 308 Win with 22-inch barrel. The 25-06 is well suited to 24 and 26 inch barrels giving reduced muzzle blast. As others have stated sometimes muzzle blast can cause a shooter to fear the trigger.

Butch,

Really!! So many of you Texans had us convinced the 25-06 was the Texas State Flower...or should be

Both are classics, but me I would go 25-06 with the only thought it might be slightly louder than a 308. I started out with a 308 at about ten years old down loaded to what I called a super 30-30 and it was with150s for the 30-30. But a 25-06 is such a great deer round and now with improved bullets not out of the question for Elk and other game. With ear plugs I don't notice much difference between a 25-06 with 85 grainers and a 243 with 100 grainers. Some may argue the 308 is more versatile and they would be right but for anything from Cow Elk and less the 25-06 is hard to beat. For anything larger there are other cartridges that should perform better but not by a whole lot until your are talking about large medium game or dangerous game. Stick with a 22" + barrel and it will keep the noise level away from tender ears and always use plugs and muffs.

? ?

How many 25-06s have you had that were less accurate than the 308 ?

Many guys here, even in this thread, have accurate 25-06s.

Jerry

Out of the two, I've only had the 308 (in a carbine length/weight). But I'd have to deduce that a 25-06 would kick a bit less.

243 is easy shootin with just regular loads. Doesn't save anything on muzzle blast that I can tell though. I recon if I wanted less less noise, a Swede at around 2600 might be less blasty.

jerry, Ask Muledeer about one of them. I have a couple 257 Bobs that shoot great. No need for another 25 cal.

Another vote for the .25/06. The only .308 that hasn't bothered me is my Savage 10FCP-K. Heavy, muzzle braked, and padded. To my shoulder, the .30/06 recoils with much less snap. And you can shoot the .25 year 'round without the recoil bothering anything.

My first centerfire rifle was a Remington Model 742 in 308. After shooting a few NY State bucks, I decided to branch out to hunting woodchucks. That was in the early 1980s. I found a nearly-new Remington 700 BDL Sporter in 25-06 at my local sporting goods store and bought it. That rifle accounted for quite a few woodchucks and deer until I replace it with a 243 in 1995. It would have been easy to load it down to 257 Roberts levels. I'm something of a 25 caliber fan and presently own two 250 Savage rifles and a 257 Roberts. I say go for the 25-06 and milder loads. How about the 80 grain Barnes TTSX for a deer killer?

If you are worried about either for recoil, then you are training the shooter badly. They are both easy to shoot. The 25-06 will shoot a bit flatter but not enough to care out to 300 yards. The 25-06 is a long action and I think that the length of the rifle is a bigger factor than the recoil, for a new shooter. The short action will come in a more compact rifle and be easier to handle.

I can see no reason for a 25-06, but that is a personal preference. If you want to help a new shooter, buy them a Creedmoor and be done with it. They are one of the best every devised for new shooters, in my opinion.

It would seem to me that this answers the question - "They both shoot the 308 with out issues but if they go hunting the same time they both want to have a gun" - to me that this answers the question.
If they are both comfortable shooting the 308 then why try to steer them to a different cartridge? Just buy another 308 like the one they like. After all they will be the one using it, not your friend or you, - well, unless this is a ploy for you to get a different caliber for yourself.

drover

Drover
This is actually a ploy to try not to buy another gun, (I can’t believe I just said that)
I have a 25-06 and the 308 already

ok..........

Got it but if your wife takes one of the rifles for hunting and your daughter takes the other one then you still need another gun. This is not going to end up well unless you buy another gun, in which case you may as well make it a 308 which they both are familiar with then you can use the 25-06.

There, you are now enabled to buy another gun.

drover

Yep. The .25/06 can be kinda loud with full loads so make sure that everybody has good ear protection.


We load winter varmint loads wit 45 grains of 4895 and either Hornady or Sierra 75 grain HP bullets. almost like shooting a .223 ......

Reckon I'll say sell them both and go 20" Tikka in 6.5 CM, since nobody's done it yet. Best of both worlds, as far as I can tell.

You are correct that there are more bullets available for a .308. My question is, "So what?"

There are plenty of excellent bullets available in .25 caliber. and that state of affairs will continue due to the popularity of various .25s, In my .257 Roberts I use 75g V-MAX, 100g TTSX, 110g AB and 120g A-Frame. No need for anything more.

I forgot, I have a 250 Savage also. It is accurate though.

Step 1: Stop analyzing.
Step 2: Buy 3 matching Creedmores.
Step 3: Go hunting share the ammo
Step 4: Done.

I have both and I like the .308 but I love the 25.06. I have a Remington .308 LTR that I mostly punch paper with but I taken some deer with it as well. The .308 is a great caliber no doubt and the LTR is a fun gun to shoot. I've had several 25.06's over the years and I've never had one that wasn't accurate. I currently have a Remington CDL 25.06 that I've had since they came out and it's my baby and my main deer rifle. It's very accurate, mild recoil, flat shooting, and hits the target hard. I don't know what it is about the 25.06 but when I shoot a deer with it and do my part it's like the ground just gets snatched out from under them. It's pure deer poison around here and kills them like lighting. Mike

Mike-that has been my experience as well...can't explain it, I just know that a greater % of deer I have shot with a 25/06 have acted like they were pole-axed. A guy that works at the LGS and I were talking the other day. He knows that is what I mostly hunt with and was asking me about it. I told him about the same thing you have stated here. He was shocked, but then he said that he had killed 1 deer with a baby 06 and that is how the deer had reacted...dead on the spot. He just thought it was an anomaly. But I assured him it wasn't. And for the record, I rarely shoot the high shoulder area. I shoot behind the shoulder.

The idea that a .308 is "much more accurate than the .25-06" is nonsense.

You need to compare specific rifles - some of each won't shoot for crap, others will be OK, still others of each will be exceptionally accurate. Tightest 3-shot group I've ever shot was .232" @ 100 using my .257 Roberts. Second best was .262" with my 7mm RM. I had a Remington .308 that shot exceptionally well but I've seen others that could never earn a spot in my safe because they shot so poorly with a variety of ammo types.

You also need to compare specific loads for the same reason - every rifle will have loads it prefers over others. My Ruger MKII .223 loves 40g BT and V-MAX bullets, but is twisted too slowly (1-12) for heavy for caliber bullets. No problem, I shoot the heavies out of my 1-8 twist AR. Last weekend I had my .308 AR at the range. I shot 150g Winchester Deerfield and accuracy was horrible - on the order of 3" at 100. Than I shot some 150g BT handloads and the group was under an inch, in spite of the wind.

While it may (or may not) be true that the .308 cartridge design lends itself to achieving accurate loads more easily than a .25-06, people don't shoot generalities - they shoot specific rifles with specific loads.

When you get down to this level of comparison, you're getting into a realm where something other than the chambering is going to influence how recoil is felt. I own and shoot both 25-06 and 308 WIN at whitetails. Both can be made to shoot very gently. However, at these levels, I would be more concerned with:

1) Weight of the rifle
2) Stock fit
3) Muzzle blast.
4) Powder choice

My choice would be 308. I would go with a 223/5.56mm in an AR for the 25 cal range. Both calibers will give you many options and the possibility of a better return investment.
MM879

Sounds like you already have the 25-06 with two stocks. If the compact stock fits your wife and daughter, no need to purchase a compact 308. I learned how to hunt using a 25-06, and would recommend it to new shooters if the stock fits them correctly.