Thinking about 25-06

Probably not a better deer rig out there. I love my .25-06 and so does my wife, in fact, she calls it "her" 25-06. We are pushing 115gr Bergers at 3248 out of a 26" Criterion barrel on a Savage that shoots sub half MOA. She took a small Coues deer a couple years ago at 824 yards across a big canyon and the rifle and bullet performed phenomenally. Bullet entered just behind the shoulder on the front side and punched through the off side shoulder and left a nice half dollar sized exit. The deer piled right up. This rifle has killed a few deer now from about 60 yards to over 800 and all of them have dropped dead. I don't think people give the 25-06 the credit it deserves. It seems to kill extremely well for its size. It's even going elk hunting if my wife can ever pull a tag.

MudRunner2005 said:

Absolutely. I have a .25-06 AI 40º, and love it. Shoots Berger 115 VLD's around 3,300-3,350 with a 26" barrel.

Both of your other calibers will work fine for your needs, but there is nothing wrong with wanting/buying another gun. You will enjoy the .25-06 if you get one. It will compliment your other 2 rifles nicely.

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Same here. .25-06AI pushing a 115 HVLD @ 3400 from a 28" 1:10 twist. I have taken deer cleanly out to 488 pushing a 100 TTSX @ 3580fps too. Quartering on, entered neck/shoulder juction, took out both lungs, and exited offside hip. I don't think he knew he was hit. Stood for about 3 seconds, the reared up and fell over backwards without a twitch.

The fastest time between 2 points for me...My 27" 25.06 with 75 gr Vmax's!

Catahoula said:

If I could only have one rifle, it would be the 25-06. I have killed a bunch of elk using the 100 grain Nosler Partition & skinned a couple hundred coyotes using the 100 Sierra MatchKing. My favorite powder is IMR 4831.
Excellent cartridge.
Thanks, Kirk

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OMGoodness , you called a cartridge a "" cartridge "" ??

I have used a 25-06 for about 30 years on eastern NC white tail deer and have killed hundreds of them doing crop damage control for 15 years. I have regularly shot them out to 500ish yards mainly using 117 Sierra Pro Hunter averaging 3000 fps and can probably count on both hands with a couple fingers left over of deer that moved out of their tracks and those did not go far. Between my hunting buddy and I we have shot deer with most calibers between a sharp stick and a 45-70 and it is hard to beat the 25-06 for in their tracks kills. Get the 25-06, you will not regret it.

Joelb58 said:

Hello-

I recently shot a 25-06 and really liked the light recoil and capabilities.

Is this a good caliber choice for a lighter recoil long range (talking 400 yards, possible to 600 yards) for deer sized game?

Or phrased differently, do you think there are any better calibers to use? in case it matters I currently have a 7mm-08 and 30-06. Thanks

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Joelb58 said:

Hello-

I recently shot a 25-06 and really liked the light recoil and capabilities.

Is this a good caliber choice for a lighter recoil long range (talking 400 yards, possible to 600 yards) for deer sized game?

Or phrased differently, do you think there are any better calibers to use? in case it matters I currently have a 7mm-08 and 30-06. Thanks

Click to expand...

The first rifle I purchased was a Weatherby Fibermark in .257 weatherby. I started reloading for it day 1 since weatherby ammo was so expensive. Ballistically the gun is amazing. Flat shooter, lots of velocity and capable of taking Elk. It's a great all around gun. My main complaint, is the lack of bullet selection for reloading. For some reason the bullet manufacturers have decided to skip over the .257 bullets. There is much better bullet selection in the 6.5mm (.264) or 6mm (.243) than the 25s. The 115g bergers are about the highest BC bullet you can get, but they don't really come close to the great selection of 6.5mm offerings that are out there. I own:257 weatherby, 6.5 creed, 7mm-08, 7rem mag and other smaller calibers. You can't beat the ballistics of the .284 bullets. If you're wanting another gun (and who doesn't), I would look at the 6.5mm's since you already have the 7-08.

Great cartridge, stop thinking and start acting! 117grain Sierras around 3000 makes an awesome deer sized round, much better than the 22/24's in my opinion..great round!

I agree with Frank. I used .243 for many years until I tried a 25-06 3 years ago. The .243 has been a safe queen ever since.

I shot a 25-06 for many years from their inception in about 1970 and it is a great cartridge. I still have that action! Having said that, i switched to the 6.5 bore which is only .007" larger but FAR more versatile with the high b.c. bullets available! With the 6.5, you are not limited to 500-600 yards but are good to 1000 or more with the right launching platform. I have killed over 25 bull elk with a 6.5 and LOTS of other game including moose. If you get something with an 8 twist that will launch a 140 or heavier bullet at over 3000', you are in good shape. You can shoot lighter bullets like a 25-06 if you want to but you lose nothing with a 6.5 and gain a lot. Just my thoughts.....Rich

I would never go with a 25-06 when a 6.5-284 Norma will do everything better and has Lapua brass, better bullet selection, and the bore life will be marginally better over a .25 too.

I'd say 400 on game weather it be deer, bear or elk. I wouldn't hesitate to use mine at those ranges. It's a very capable cartridge. I've killed 6 mule deer and a black bear with mine. Furthest shot was 327 yards and it took down the animal no problem with one shot. I shoot 117gr interlocks and they perform very well at around 3000 fps.

If your going after long range too 400 and even thinking of Deer size critters out to 600 yards, why not use your 30/06.

It has enough Wack out at that distance shooting ELD-X 178's.

At least they buck the winds better, and sends the ft-lbs of energy down there.

Yes there might be a few more ft-lbs recoil over a 25/06,,, but it wouldn't be that much more one would think.

What are those 2 other rifles you have that are in 7mm-08 & 30/06.

Don

My dad built his 25-06 back in the late 60's he he hunted with it exclusively until he stopped hunting. We were talking about it a week sor so back that he was always disappointed with its stopping power.

I must say thought he never pushed his hand loads. They were always below max. And he has not hunted in with a rifle in over 15 years.

Now...I'm infected with the 6.5 virus. So my nod has been going that way. My latest build and my next are/will be...6.5-06.

Built one on a Colombian 98 mauser acton for my wife. But I'm digging the heck out of it.

I have a Savage LA that will be getting a barrel in time for deer season so I will see if the 6.5 kills like all the Creedmoor crowd claim it can.

I have had a 25-06 for 30 years, same rifle. Easy to shoot and accurate. I used it on a mule deer buck when I was 18, 300 yards, and I ended up putting 5 rounds into him before he went down, all were in a 3 inch group in his chest. After that, I never shot a muley with it again and used only my 264. I have used it on hogs and whitetail in the south, but I will never use it on anything bigger than that again. Bad experience. I always shoot the 117gr hornady out of it. Very accurate but again, bad experience. It is a Ruger M77. Fun rifle but, yea...