Why 25-06 for Long Range?

[Chadster73]

Why 25-06 for long range hunting and not .270 or 30-06? Savage's new Long Range hunter is offered in 25-06 but not .270 0r 30-06. Guys like Best of the West and Graybull use to offer setups in 25-06...??? Why is it "better" than .270 or 30-06??? -thanks!

 

[jeffro]

I would take a 30-06 with a high BC berger or amax any day over a 25-06.

 

[mike33]

Probably because the 25 kills everything in sight and the 30-06 is good at crippling.

 

[Miller Outdoors]

They sell it because it's one of the most popuilar 25 cal's and a lot of people like the 25 cal. It's a very good long range killer. They sell the .300 wsm to cover 30 cal, which is obviously better than the '06.

 

[johnnyk]

chadster,
I don't think Savage is trying to say that the .25-06 is better for long range than either the .270 or .30-06. They know the merits of both of these cartridges and are probably only trying to market what their research shows to sell the best. JohnnyK.

 

[trebark]

chadster,
I don't think Savage is trying to say that the .25-06 is better for long range than either the .270 or .30-06. They know the merits of both of these cartridges and are probably only trying to market what their research shows to sell the best. JohnnyK.

+1....

I would not choose any of the three calibers for a long range rig. The 6.5mm and 7mm calibers are much better and for the 30calibers, there are far better cartridges than the '06

 

[sniperjwt]

Although the 25-06 does not have that many good high BC bullets it does have less recoil and some people need to have a gun that does not recoil too much for them. Like the two other people said its mostly about sales but they do have in their LRH models the .308, .300 WSM, 6.5x284, 7mm, 300 Win Mag. What other caliber would you like to see besides the 25-06?

 

[ol mike]

Probably because the 25 kills everything in sight and the 30-06 is good at crippling.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Yep -i've seen it a thousand times !

 

[Chadster73]

Since this is a long range hunting forum, I'd just like know if there are some inherent qualities about the 25-06 that make it better for long range kills versus the .270 and 30-06 which are probably the most prolific "big game" calibers in North America? I personally have a .270 in a sporter configuration, but am thinink of stepping up to either a used sendero in 25-06 or savage long range hunter in 25-06 or 6.5X284 Norma... how much less is the recoil in a 25-06?

 

[sniperjwt]

Let me try to expalin this to you with some numbers to help back it up. I crunched the numbers in a ballistic program of 3 bullets. The 115 Berger for the 25-06, the 140 Berger for the 270, and the 168 Berger for the 30-06. The reason i used these three bullets is because they are all close to the same BC. here is how the chart looks

115 Berger 140 Berger 168 Berger
BC .466 .487 .473
zero 100yards 100 100
300y 9.5 inches drop 10.3 11.4
500y 41.3 44.1 48.4
700y 103.4 109.4 120
850y 176.6 185.8 205
1000y 280 293 324

So to sum that up the ballistics are better on the 25-06 than the other two. The 25 is going to have less recoil because it is shooting a lighter bullet. I cant really tell you how much because that depends on the gun but the rule of thumb is the heavier the bullet the more it kicks. Hope this helps you, if not ask any more questions and ill try to help.

 

[jeffro]

You need to look at the heavier bullets with better BCs to really start to see where they out shine the 25-06. Im not looking at 500yrds. Im looking at 800-1000yrds. Take the 30-06 and use a 208 Amax at 2750fps. Then look at the energy, and the wind drift. The wind drift is the most important factor. PS- im not a 30-06 lover. I dont have a 30-06, but I have a 25-06. Im just posting what I have seen.


drop drift vel energy
800 -162.4 -19.4 36.6 4.4 1798.3 1493.4 30-06 208amax @ 2750
drop drift vel energy
800 -139.9 - 16.7 44.5 5 .3 1767.7 797.8 25-06 115 berger @3100

This is @ 800 yrds. It only gets better from here.

 

[Guy M]

Chadster - I don't think the .25-06 is "better" at long range, but it's a viable choice and with the very light recoil, it's a peach to shoot. I've taken five mulies in the past five years with the .25-06, and for me it's pretty much a perfect mule deer cartridge. The last three have been with the 115 gr Berger launched at about 3200 fps. Great combo!

For me, the Berger VLD and slow burning Retumbo powder made the .25-06 a good choice for longish range shooting/hunting. Mine is a simple 700 CDL, all factory, a sporter rifle. But it has been very effective on coyotes & mule deer.

Nothing wrong with the bigger cartridges for long range, and they'll deliver a heavier bullet. My favorite for longer ranges is the 7mm, particularly with 160 - 175 grain bullets launched at 2900 - 3100 fps... A well-loaded 7mm Rem mag will do that easily. I also do a fair bit of longish range shooting with the good old .308 Win, which on paper doesn't necessarily look real good for the job, but it just seems very easy to get great accuracy out of it out at 600 yards.

Regards, Guy

 

[trueblue]

25-06 is a good cartidge, the 6.5-06 is even better.

 

[Guy M]

It's sure got more bullets for long-range shooting!

Know a fellow who shoots the 6.5-06 in F-class competition, and uses the very same rifle for mule deer hunting. He gets his deer.