Home Forums Hunting & Shooting General Big Game 25-06 Large Game

The .25 is one of my three favorites.. If I were hunting elk or moose seriously, I would probably opt for a bit bigger caliber, but this winter I am not serious about killing an elk, so the .25 is my first choice.. We will see how things turn out.. A wonderful caliber.. I have used it since its wildcat days..

With my son home from college Thanksgiving week, we were able to hunt together opening day, the Saturday after Thanksgiving. Saturday evening my son shot his first doe at 345 yards and a second at 272 yards ( lasered afterward) with my 25-06. This was his first deer shooting a long-range.....he now thinks the 25-06 is the Holy Grail. Smart Kid...I think

For those inquiring minds, the bullets used were the Hornady 100 gr interlock in front of 51.0 of H-4350. Neither deer traveled more than 10 yards.

I have a McMillan-stocked Sako AV lefty in .25-06...it wears a Zeiss scope in Leupold rings. Only thing I wish it had was a 24" barrel (Sako uses 22.5" on their standard calibers). It's a great deer/antelope/pig killer with Barnes 100 grain factory TTSX. I guess the animals don't notice the slightly less velocity from the shorter tube. Probably the best candidate for a one-rifle dude.
Bob

It has often been said that the development of the Nosler Partition bullet was a primary reason for the success of the 25.06 in its use on big game. Super high velocities ask a lot from a bullet and the NP performs the same way virtually every time. This, and the Hornady Interlock Round Nose were my go-to loads when I was going through my 25.06 phase. The Hornady for deer sized game and the Partition on anything larger or when super close shots were possible. I've never had a NP act like a grenade up on ridiculously close shots at high velocity.

Here is mine. Tikka T3 Talley lows and a V X 3, 3.5-10-40MM

Although the 257 Weatherby is my favorite .25, I'll always have an affinity for the 25-06. I shot my biggest Whitetail buck with a 25-06 and also my made longest shot on a Whitetail with a 25-06. This of course was back in the day before you needed a .600 BC bullet to kill anything.

I would be interested to know what velocities other people are getting from Vortex Factory Ammo with the 100gn TTSX as the batch Barnes sent me chronographs at only 3090fps in my match grade 26 inch barrel where my 100gn handloads achieve 3400-3500fps. The Barnes Vortex loads are however extremely accurate in my rifle and shoot to same POI with everything else regardless of the lower velocity.
John

One of my cowboys down on the ranch shot his .25-06 at everything from coyotes to elk, and I never heard of any kills that weren't one shot. Of course, he carried that rifle every day, on horseback or in the pickup, and he shot a LOT of coyotes with it as well as other assorted "varmints". He used only factory ammo, except for a couple of years when we were field testing bullets made with various alloys of tungsten, tin and bismuth.

I have been shooting the 25 caliber for over 20 years now,its a great caliber, it is also the closest caliber to the accurate .264 or .26 caliber on all charts 25 caliber is .257 and the 26 caliber is .264 that difference is only 7 thousands I don`t think a animal will ever know the difference at any distance.in many magazines they brag about the new koolaid 6.5 creedmore,and yes its a good cartridge but its not going change the world of hunting with a rifle. I use a custom Ruger no.1 in a 257 weatherby mag,bonx 27 in barrel,built by a famous machinist who builds many 1,000 yard national guns and yes some have won national titles with his machinist work.i use a large niteforce scope,custom picatinny rail and rings,and with 100 grain swift a-frame at a speed of 3800 fps and a small moa off a good bench. no one is ever going to tell me the new koolaid will out shoot the 25 caliber out hunting deer.and you can bet the 25-06 shoots fast too !

That's good to know-thanks! I called Barnes about actual velocities in their Vortex TTSX factory and didn't get much of an answer. I would imagine, based on your data, that I have a hot .257 Roberts with my 22.5" barrel length.
Bob

I have a first year production Rem 700 ADL. I had it re-stocked in a maple stock and bedded the action. I also swapped the trigger out for a Canjar trigger. All done back in the 80's. That rifle has around 3500 rounds through it. First reloading I did for a centerfire was for that rifle. I found the 120 gr Speer BTSP very accurate with (I believe) 53 gr of IMR4831.
When I went on my very first elk hunt, that was the only 'big game' rifle I owned. So, that's what I elk hunted with. I couldn't get the partitions to be very accurate(best group was about 2") but was told a 'long' shot where we were hunting in NE Oregon was 100 yards. I hunted with 2nd and 3rd cousins up there and they all referred to it as a South Texas Rabbit gun. At the end of the hunt, there was ONE elk taken - mine. Hiking out at the end, a cousin made the comment that 'it's a shame when the 'locals' have to import someone from 2000 miles away just so they can have some elk steaks'.
The following year, I had purchased a Sako 7mag. I brought it and the 25-06 with the left-over 120 gr partitions from the previous year. When I got there, the cousin that was the leader of the group, told me to leave the 7 in the case. His statement was ' I KNOW you can shoot that 25 and I'll never make fun of a man that shoots like that!'.
I've been chasing the lands now for several years. Eventually, i'll give up the chase and screw another barrel on it. But until it quits shooting itty-bitty groups or I can no longer seat a bullet long enough to stay in the case, I'll keep shooting deer and whatever with it.

In 1980, I bought my first 25/06 in a Ruger 77. I read all that I could on the cartridge and everything said that it had to be a 24" bbl for the bullet to be effective. Because of the way I loved to hunt in those pre-lease days, which was carrying an old Amacker climbing stand as far away from everyone as I could, I traded a Rem 700 in 270 for a Ruger Ultra Light in a 270. As it was shorter and lighter, it made my hikes a lot easier. I always wanted a lighter 25/06 with a shorter bbl, and then I saw where Marlin made one. After doing a lot of research, I put down 300 for a new one and I have been very pleased with it as I have shot near 20 deer with the little thing.

My point is this...I don't have a chronograph, don't know how fast those cheap 120 gr. CL's are going. But from a practical standpoint, they kill just as effectively from a short barrel as from the longer bbl that the Ruger had on it. And since everyone now knows that the .25 caliber bullets are lacking in the BC dept. and can't be shot effectively at long distances, why worry about how long the bbl or how fast the bullet is traveling? Just grab your favorite hunting bullet in reloads or factory and go kill something with it, whether it is out of a long or short bbl.

Why is it so many here on the campfire call the .270 "Gay" along with other derogatory comments yet nary a bad word on the 25-06?

No idea. I really like the 270. But prefer the 25-06.

270 is just another fine bullet designed in America ,I have always like all bullet sizes they all kill deer. this new koolaid thing with the 6.5 creedmore I don`t understand, creedmore is no super cartridge. myself I have just always liked the 1/4 bullet or 25 caliber.the first 25 caliber cartridge I ever seen was a 257 Roberts and I own a couple of 257 Robert rifles in Ruger no.1`s both shoot excellent. I wished gun manufacture`s made it easier to buy order what caliber cartridge each person wants maybe some kind of a option for a $100.00 on just certain models that are the better rifle they produce ? a 25-284 would be neat rifle,i have a couple 6.5-284 and this cartridge will for sure out run all 6.5 creedmore`s,i bet 25-284 would too. just what I need another 25 caliber rifle 25-284 ? dang it that will be in my head now ,I would love a ruger no.1 in a 25-284 .

Maybe they a little Queer. The .270 win is one of the best and so is the 25/06. They belong in everyone's battery. The 25/06 Is underrated imo, I have killed bull elk nd bull moose with it and the Nosler partition. I have a pile of confidence in my ( 1970) model 700.