What are the advantages of a .25-06?

[MasonG]

I'm mostly talking about for varmint hunting. I have a .25-06 I used to deer hunt with before I got my Winchester 70 in 300 WSM. I've always heard that the .25-06 shoots flat but what about past 300 yards. Is a .25-06 a good caliber for fox and groundhogs out to 600 yards? Thanks guys!

[filledandfree]

Yes it will do it...But the 300 wsm will do it better. I don't know what rifle your 25-06 is, but the heavier bullets that you can use with the 300 will hold better downrange. Now I am not as experience at shooting those kinds of ranges as some of these people on this forum are, but a good match 30 caliber bullet will take care of any fox out there.

[johnnyk]

MasonG,
Compared to .17, .22 and most of the .24 calibers, yes, it will give you a bit more range depending on the bullet weights you use.
Me, I would use a 115gn Berger to get the most reach from this little jewel. This is based on my varminting experiences with the .243.
The 55, 65 and even 70gn pills do provide for some explosive hits out to 300-350yds, but the lighter bullets tended to drift a bit on me at ranges longer than that. I know most of the misses could have been eliminated had I took the wind into consideration more but I can't control myself, when that ground hog pops up there I gotta try 'em.
I was just shooting my .25-06 @ 700 yds earlier today. Had no problem ringing the 80lb gong. JohnnyK.

[SBruce]

I've always felt the biggest advantage of the 25-06 was the fact that I could shoot 40 or 50 rounds a day every day of the week and never feel beat up or tired or sore from recoil. It's very managable in a rifle that weighs 10 or 11 lbs. and no need for a muzzle break which creates it's own problems IMO.

It's capable (with a 26" barrel) of 3600'/sec with the Nosler 85 Ballistic Tip
3200-3300'/sec with 100 grn bullets and over 3000'/sec with 115-120's IME. I eventually shot the barrel out of my first one using it on prarie dogs on windy days. I am now on my 2nd and not too awfully far off from putting a new custom barrel on it. Both that I've had so far have been factory barrels, but neither one has failed to shoot very very good with some load development.

I've always loved the 25-06 because it's fast and doesn't kick hard. It will easily handle any deer or antelope out to 600 yds maybe even 700 with the 115 Berger or 115 Ballistic Tip or some of the 117-120 grn bullets..........Assuming broadside lung or heart shots of course.

If we've gotta shoot quick at medium ranges (between 200 and 400 yds), there's no need for a rangefinder or to dial the scope with the proper sight in. It's a "hold on hair" deer rifle out to about 400 yds with the heavies and a hold on hair to 400 on coyotes with the varmint weight bullets...........Both cases require a 250-300 yd sight in at my elevation.

IMO, as far as factory rifles with factory twist rates go, it is one of the original LR antelope and varmint cartridges.

[dbrow6272]

I have a Remington Model 700 25-06 I bought at a pawn shop for cheap. It has a BSA Contender Scope on it now which I plan to upgrade. I would like to shoot 1000 yards with it, is this doable? What type of optics would be recommended for this task? I also plan to reload for it in the future so I can kind of dial in a load for long distance. I live in Minnesota so it will just be target shooting, bench rest.
Glad I found this forum, some interesting points here.

[257WTBY]

25-06 is a great round with in it limits. Would i shoot a big critter at 1000 yds with it NO. It smokes medium game tho. I am a huge 25 cal fan i own loads of 25 cal's. My wife hunts with a 25 WSSM my oldest uses a tikka in 25-06 the youngest is shooting a youth 243 to get the short action and smaller rifle for her. I even own a 256 win mag for my contender that i shoot rock chucks with. I shot a antelope in montana about 10 yrs ago with one of my 25-06's at a ranged 598 yds. He dropped like someone cut his legs off and it was with a off the shelf 20+ yr old ruger model 77. After that hunt i started hunting with my 257 WTBY soley and love it i have killed lots of deer with it. I think personally if u work up a load and shoot steel with it i think it will work out to 1000 yds in given conditions u will have way more drift to account for in the wind then u would with a 230gr berger out of a 30 cal. Take ur time enjoy what u have and learn learn learn. Let us know how it works out for u.

[smallbutfierce]

Same as most above. I picked a .25-06 to shoot coyotes and deer without scope adjustment to 300 yards. Wind was its nemesis. 115 sst's shot great, as well as 85 grain ballistic tips. Never tried the Berger's.