For all you 25 caliber shooters, 250 savage/257 roberts/.25-06/ .257 WM-which bullet weight do you prefer for mule deer hunting? 117-120g class are used most often but the 100g TSX or 90g LRT J36, etc-the trajectory is hard to beat. Any input would be appreciated.

I prefer 120 NP's....my Sako 25-06 prefers 110 AB's. What my particular rifle desires to shoot always trumps my personal desires. Any of those weights with a well constructed bullet will do the job, when we do ours......

I have never went on a Mule Deer hunt, but am planning one for this fall in WY. I will be using a 300 RUM as primary and my 25-06 as backup. The 25 will be stoked with either AB or TSX, whichever shoots the best. I have always used 100 NBT for Whitetail with good results, but for what I am paying to go out West, the cost of a premium bullet is a non issue.

CK

No go.. don't have any post-1960 250 Savages, and the twist in the early ones aren't good with longer bullets. Picked up some 87gr Speer Hot-Cor's to try and wouldn't be afraid to use them, but NP's are my choice in any other rifles.

I haven't hunted Mule deer, but I have taken 2 whitetail with 110 gr accubonds from my 25-06. Neither deer took a step as both dropped in thier tracks. 1 weighed 180#, the other weighed 132#. Good luck on the hunt.

Can't go wrong with a 100 gr TSX,provided your rifle likes 'um.

+1, or the 100 grain Nosler Partition, in my 257 Roberts.

Don

Used a 117 grain Hornady roundnose on a couple of moose when I was younger.They work pretty good.....

Never had a lick of trouble puttin' the smack down on big whitetails with a 115 NP delivered via 25-06...

Planning on trying the 100 TSX though, just for fun.

Pretty much anything you'd use on a descent sized whitetail will work on a mulie. I've seen them taken with plain jane bullets as well as premiums. The last trip I went on where we got one with a 25-06 was shot with a 120 Rem Core-Loct, One shot and lights out.

This year I shot mine with a 7rm 160 ABs (DRT) and saw another that was taken with a .284 140 NPT (DRT as well). Mulies are just like shooting a whitetail from my limited experiences with them.

I wouldn't hesitate a bit shooting one w/ a 115NBT or 120SP.

Good Luck

Reloader7RM

100gr. TSX's all the way.

Mulies from 90 to 424 yds TSX have been perfect. Also have had great luck with 115NBTs but on our small coues deer. I like the deep penetration of Barnes for the big bodies in case something ever goes wrong and a less than desireable shot is needed.

In .250, .257, and 25-06 I've used 120 NP's mostly, but also 100 nosler BT's, 100 win Silvertips, 120 speer, 120 hornady hp, 100 rem psp,120 rem psp, 117 win RN, 117 hornady RN. all worked, no problems if you shoot straight. Deer aren't armour plated!

Nice buck! Suprised you recovered that TSX,give us the details of where you hit it and how far of a shot.

Try the 100gr. TSX, the 100gr. and 115gr. Partition, and the 100gr. Interlock. Use whichever shoots best in your rifle.
RS

When I was young I thought I needed a Nosler partition bullet for everything I shot, and I only hunted mule deer. Then I tried Nosler 120gr Solid Bases in my 25-06 at chronographed muzzle velocities in excess of 3000 fps. Their performance is outstanding and they were much cheaper than the partitions. I've shot at least 5 mule deer with this bullet. All but one were one shot kills (that deer was hit too far back and needed a second shot) and I don't recall ever recovering any bullets. Now I hear the Solid Base bullets are discontinued. Luckily, I have several boxes left. When they are all gone I'll have to find another good bullet. For mule deer I'll probably always stick with 120gr bullets in the 25-06.

rumbum: I agree! The 257 120gr Solid Base was (is, if you still have some) a great bullet. It was a sad day when Nosler discontinued them. Same can be said for the 120gr 264 Solid Base. I still have about a half box of the 257's and they are deadly in a 25/06 or 257AI.

I have used 100NPT's in .25-06 and 100X's with great results. My current fav is the 100 Hornady Interlock from my .257 Bob at 3100 fps. This rifle also likes the 100 TSX and 110AB. ANy of those will kill a mulie with aplomb.

I have had awful good luck with the 100 grain Hornady out of a 'Bob, but if I were travelling long distances and paying piles of money to hunt, I would take my time and find out which one of the following three bullets shot best out of my rifles.

110 grain Accubond
100 grain TSX
100 grain partition

any one of the three will make a deer of any stripe, bad sick.

Never had a lick of trouble with the 100gr TSX or 100gr Partition. You can move them out quick enough to get flat trajectory and good impact speed at pretty impressive distances.

Well my .257 bob does like the 100TSX .78" at 100 for 3, and the 110 AB .84" for 3 at 100, it does not care as much for the 100 partition at 1.2" for 3 and all 3 cost 75% to 100% more than the 100 interlock for the same or slightly better/worse accuracy. The 100 Hornady has taken my last 3 deer from 100 to 190 lbs at ranges from 45 to 175 yards without problems, failures, extended tracking or a recovered slug. I'd say that's dependable, affordable and nothing to sneeze at.

The 100 grain Hornady is what I load for my son to shoot whitetails with out of his .257 Roberts. So far it has performed extremely well.

115gr Nosler partion

115g TSX and 120g A-Frame, .257 Bob, +P loads

My 25-06 likes 100 gr Barnes X. I still have a hundred or so from a far sighted purchase I made some 15 years ago. I cannot attest to its effectiveness on Mulies, but it has hammered a couple of rather large Upper Michigan whitetails. I have yet to recover a bullet. The only downside is the amount of copper fouling is much greater from the X bullet compared to the Nosler.

If I were you I would try a box or two of each and let your rifle decide for you.

yoop, switch to the TSX and your copper fouling problems will cease.

george,

You're probably right. I am just too tight to pitch some of the best terminal performing bullets I have ever used. I have learned to let the chemicals do the work over time. I still use good old No. 9. I like the way it smells. It will get the copper, in a month or so. One wet, two dry until clean, run a wet and leave it. Repeat tommorrows..... until clean.

I really don't mind cleaning rifles. I usually get them good and clean in the winter. Besides this 25 of mine likes a little barrel fouling to settle in.

I hate cleaning rifles. Took nine of them out with a couple of revolvers thrown in a couple of days ago and hammered them for a few hours before cleaning the lot and back into the safe.

I always envied the hunters that only used a couple of rifles to cover different sized game. Those blokes were always a lot smarter than me.

AGW

Oh yeah, I also like the 100 grain Hornady, but also had a good run with the 87 grainer which was Roy Weatherby's favorite in the .257 Roy. Today, I use the 100gn TSX and 115gn TSX but I have tried a lot of others including the 115 Nosler BT and Partition which worked well. I have mates that like the 100gn Nosler BT as well, but I never took to it.

AGW

Guys,
I am asking a question to those who have experience with the 100 grain TSX and Partitions.

Do they usually punch all the way through on say 300 lb. deer or not?

This is a different question than if they died right there, I don't care about that.

I used to shoot a 25-06 but it liked 120 Hornady Hollow Point flat base interlocks. So that is what I used and I never recovered one, even when they hit bone or went through at a long angle.
But I have been in camps on two separate occasions when deer shot with 25 calibers did not have an exit. This makes me nervous, granted some fall in their tracks but I am just one of those guys that feel more confident using something that goes THROUGH.

SD: Glad to hear of your good results with the 120gr Hornady HP. My 257AI likes them a lot. Took a couple of deer this year and have no complaints but didn't really stress the bullet, either.

May I ask why, if you have had success with the Hornady, you are considering the 100gr TSX or Partition?

All the way thru,and then some!

I no longer have that rifle, but am getting the itch for another .25 and have noticed a lot of talk about the 100's and they do shoot a lot faster and flatter.
With the TSX supposedly not shedding much weight, it is prompting my curiosity.

X2

Having harvested over a 2dozen deer, 3 moose and 1 bull elk with 100's from my 25'06, and only recovering 3 bullets, one from a mulie buck(partition) (shoulder shot) and the other from a cow moose at 300yds, quartering away(partition)(found in the last bit of meat on the off side shoulder)And lastly one from this years buck (see pic early on in this thread) It was found up along the neck after going from the last ribs on his left side and transversing the front part of the body (3.5feet of travel)

I cannot imagine the TSX out penetrating the X. I believe they made the triple to lessen pressure and copper fouling. I have taken three whitetails in excess of 200 pounds, dressed, with the X and no bullet to show. They work for me.

You really need to figure out which bullet exhibits the best accuracy in your rifle. From previous posts it is obvious that both bullets will do the job.

TSX,will get you the same results less the copper fouling.Most find the TSX more accurate to boot.

The TSX is supposed to have a re-designed hollow point that will open up with less resistence, and wider than the original X, so it may not penetrate further. It does seem to be universally accuracte in many rifles much more so than the original X, with a lot less copper fouling and less pressure. Almost the perfect bullet, damn close to it

You boys got some pretty pictures of those fancy bullets you recovered.
I'd love to show you some pictures of Ballistic Tips and Sierras but they exit and I've never recovered one.

Yea, them BIG Texas deer are prone to stop a bullet.........grin

Yep, and so are big old boar hogs.