25-06, what makes it so good?

[M700]

Congrats!

 

[2506]

I have told people that if I took them out and let them shoot a deer with my 25-06 they would get rid of their so called deer rifle quickly and go get them a 25-06. It is the killing-est caliber that I have ever shot.

 

[snoog37]

Funny how history jades us differently. The first two deer I saw shot with a 25-06, one muley and one whitetail, both hit well, were never recovered. Made me eliminate the round from my consideration.

 

[Kenny474]

Bullet selection often has a lot to do with how a round performs. A poor bullet can flaw even the best rounds. On the other hand, a superb bullet can work wonders with even an underpowered round.

Kenny

 

[olehunter]

one theory that i have heard is that the hydrostatic shock bursts vessels in the deers brain if the impact occurs at a pulse . blood pressure is not a steady state. i also agree that a btsp is a very destructive bullet at long range 250+ yds . however the bullet at close range does not open .but iv still used them for 30+ years. accuracy and confidence counts for a lot .

 

[roninflag]

i wonder if the 6.5-284 can do as well??

 

[quickone]

i love a 25-06, but mine was stolen a few yrs. back. i have 3 win 70's in 25wssm they shoot well; but 5/8-1/2in in my coyote and stealth2 arent satisfied . any body got some loads.

 

[bozo699]

quickone,
If your getting 1/2" groups out of a hunting rifle you better leave it alone!
Wayne.

 

[zcrackshot]

+1 for what bozo said! I'd be tickled as a pig in fresh poop if every one of my hunting rifles shot 1/2" groups! Hey Wayne, I've picked up a couple more Tikkas since I last posted in your T3 thread! Got a LH 223 with an 8 twist barrel and a 243. I put a 20x conquest on the 223 with a 20 moa base. It will put (5) 70 gr VLD's inside of .3" over 25 grains of Varget in Lapua brass! Haven't played much with the 243 yet but since it's a slow 10 twist I'll likely put 70 or 75's through it. Chalk one more up for the Happy Tikka Owners Club!
Zac M.

 

[AckleymanII]

bullet choice is critical.......

the 117g Sierra flat base, with R#25 will get you in the 3150-3200 fps with win brass and Fed 215 primers...whole new ball game!

100g Hornady Flat base with R#25, Win brass, fed 215 will get you 3450+.

Best accuracy will be close to a max load for that particular rifle.

 

[bozo699]

+1 for what bozo said! I'd be tickled as a pig in fresh poop if every one of my hunting rifles shot 1/2" groups! Hey Wayne, I've picked up a couple more Tikkas since I last posted in your T3 thread! Got a LH 223 with an 8 twist barrel and a 243. I put a 20x conquest on the 223 with a 20 moa base. It will put (5) 70 gr VLD's inside of .3" over 25 grains of Varget in Lapua brass! Haven't played much with the 243 yet but since it's a slow 10 twist I'll likely put 70 or 75's through it. Chalk one more up for the Happy Tikka Owners Club!
Zac M.

Zac,
Thant's awesome, unless its a deal you couldn't refuse I don't think I will ever buy another totally factory rifle with no intentions of heavy modifications unless it says Tikka oe Sako on the Barrel. Every time I grab mine and squeeze the trigger I am amazed @ its almost BR accuracy. I shot a coyote a month or so ago 547 yds 30+ mph cross wind, (Bang Flop) I would have gotten his buddy also because the wind was so severe he never heard my shot, he just kept looking @ his partner like why don't you get up?? but he never would give me a broadside You say oh you were just lucky, I might tend to agree with you except I have made too many of those LUCKY shots with the little Tikka I am goind to purchase a couple of more, one in 25-06 and if I could ever find one a 6.5 swede. I think you have a 6.5 don't you Zac? where did you buy it @ was it new or used? I can't wait for you report on the .243 (another great great cartridge) I know the OP would disagree with me and I wish he would, Has anybody seen or heard from my buddy Kenny474? I have looked high and low for him??? Zac, please let me know how the .243 shot.
Wayne.

 

[zcrackshot]

Wayne,
I do have a Swede. By far the most accurate factory rifle I own. It was the first Tikka I ever owned and it was a trade I made for a 270 Win that I hadn't shot for a while. The guy I traded for it claimed to have broken it in and everything looked good with a bore scope so I went ahead with the deal. My landlord got me interested in the caliber when I asked him if he'd watch for a 7-08 or 260 Rem for me as I wanted something a tad bit milder than a 270 on the recoil side for my wife. He brought over an old Mauser for me to shoot and I fell in love with the caliber. Soft on the shoulder even with a stiff charge under a 130 or 140 gr VLD and extremely accurate to boot! I have been watching for a 7mm-08 since you posted such good results about your's. I shot the first coyote with the 223 earlier this morning. I was hoping for a longer shot but he made quick work of the distance between my brother and I and the 70 gr VLD found him at 46 yards! Hopefully next time they'll hang up for long enough to get set up for a longer whack at 'em! I've got some 75 gr V-max's loaded up for the 243. I'm gonna see what it'll do tomorrow morning if the weather is good enough. Check back for a report.

Zac M.

 

[Webster]

Any round that puts 2500 ft. lbs. of energy into an animals chest will kill a deer sized animal. I suspect the high velocity and bullet construction has something to do with expansion rate. 25-05 117 gr bullet goes 3200 fps. Similar to a 270 Winchester.
Much faster than a 308 NATO 150 gr. bullet.

 

[roninflag]

the reason i like it for coyotes is it is decisive, and not fur friendly like the wounder whussy .17 cal rounds

 

[andrews1958]

A great read from a few years back. Have to agree with the originator. Every deer I have shot with the 25-06 just drop. Go down.

 

[ShootDots]

Why is the 25-06 so good? For the same reason the 6.5-06 and 270 Win. are so good. Deer are fragile creatures. They have thin skin (hide), their rib cage bones are really flat and easily broken. Their "boiler room" i.e. width of their chest where the vitals are contained, is narrow and "generally" their weight is under 200 pounds. All this means that a bullet that opens quickly, damaging the heart / lung and vascular system so that bleeding is "beyond profuse" will kill a Deer quickly. However, they can still run a ways whilst they bleed out! So why would they "fall right there"? This is where S-P-E-E-D, coupled with a rapidly expanding bullet comes into play. This rapid expansion not only tears tissue up, it causes an enormous amount of hydrostatic shock to be immediately transmitted into the narrow body of the deer where the vitals are, destroying all the vitals while at the same time, literally "knocking the Deer out" while he bleeds to death in seconds! Heavier bullets that don't open as quickly pass thru without the SAME amount of immediate damage / shock to the deer. Reading and seeing first hand, what Roy Weatherby tested as a very quick killer was all that speed coupled with a good bullet brings a halt to life in a hurry!

 

[Falfan2017]

Speed kills. Even the cheapo core lockt is like a lightning strike on deer.

 

[jmkasza]

In Idaho the 270 advocates outnumber the 25-06 by a mile, but there are some devotees to the round. Although its already been said in prior posts the speedy round with good shot placement and a decent bullet is a lethal combo for deer. I've wanted a 25-06 for a long time and maybe someday I'll end up with one.

 

[maddysdad]

I and several friends have used it for a few years.the only thing is on some of the deer it realy blood shot a lot of the front quarters on at least 2/3 of the deer we have shot.

 

[LonewolfMcquade]

LOVE the25-06! I've got 1 in Encore w/26" stainless barrel from Match Grade Machine, 2 Remington 700 BDL's rebarreled from 30-06 to 25-06(1 Douglas & 1 Shaw). All like my reloads. 57 gr RL19, 85gr nosler ballistic tip, 3400fps. Killed MANY of deer & make groundhogs explode lol. My 25wssm is comparable, but not at farther distances