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25-06, what makes it so good?

Shoot the sierra 100 gr hollow point for deer and elk. Got to put it in the kill zone just like any bullet. Might be a match bullet but it kills as good as any and better than most. Haven’t found the caliber that you can shoot them in the ass and drive the deer’s head into a tree and break it’s neck yet. But this is the next best thing. And don’t think that it’s a match bullet and will just pin hole through, it don’t. Use it and believe it.
 
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The Accu-bond 110 gr. Nosler is a good performer in the 25-06 but I also love the 100 gr. B T as well. I agree the thing just kills better than it seems like it should.
 
It's all about the diameter, weight, bullet profile, and speed of the bullet that causes enough shock to exhaust the deer's internal organs.

I've dropped many a deer with a 22 cal, 80 gr Amax, bullet traveling at 3500 fps.

And have seen many one shot kills from 243, 100 gr bullets on Youth Hunts.

A high speed 100 gr bullet from a 25/06 just has to be a killer for sure.
 
I will never forget my first white tail buck,at the shot he dropped instantly it was 100 yards through the trees in upstate New York.Not a far shot by western standards but I was duly impressed with the 25-06 ever since and can only think it is something to due with sectional density and the confidence of placing your shot where you want it to go after a summer of whacking ground hogs with it.I will always love that ole 700 Varmint Special in 25-06 and as a matter of fact when I saw a nice used Ruger 1V in 25-06 at a LGS recently I could not resist bringing it home.I think 25 caliber is awesome and I bet if this thread started out with the same question in regards to the 257 Roberts a lot of guys would agree that 25 caliber is awesome no matter the case.I can recall an old article printed in the late 60’s or early 70’s in Guns and Ammo that mentioned the 25-06 for varmint use and deer hunting that really got me thinking about getting one when I was old enough,funny how quick time goes by.I’m sure glad I bought that rifle,Life to short to hunt with something you don’t like:)
Matt
 
Four pages in and I can't believe this is the first time I have seen this thread. I too am a fan of the .25-06 as well as my wife. She refers to it as her .25-06. I have built her a few rifles over the years and this is the only one she refers to as hers and the one she grabs 90% of the time. She has had nothing but bang flop performance with it even taking her first Coues Deer at 824 yards with it. We are pushing the 115 Berger VLD out of a 26" Criterion barrel at 3248 fps. This is a very devastating combo and has proven to be an excellent bullet at all ranges. I also have a handful of .250 Savages that have stacked fur or filled the freezer whenever called upon. Like said before the .25 caliber is just one of those that offers just the right combination of everything to be very effective at delivering all the energy of the caliber into the animal.
 
Some of us heard that the 25/06 is one of those under rated cartridges on the market today... It happens to be its 100th birthday this year as well... Ha...

Happy Birthday Mr 1/4" bore...

The nice thing about the cartridge is it shoots flat like a 22-250,,, in a mid weigth classy the felt recoil is similar to a 243,,, and using the right bullets it delivers """ok""" knock down power with in its shooting distance much like my 6.5 A-square...

Those little 100gr bullets make a mess of the insides of Deer,,, Antelope,,, Wolves,,, Coyotes,,, Elk or Moose so long as we close the distance on them...

It seems that more shooters jumped on the 270 Winchester band wagon since Jack O'Connor spent more of his time promoting it then the little engine that could...

The 25/06 got left out of alot of debates over the years,,, 30/06 had its foot in door from the get-go,,, the 270 was in the spot light,,, 308 Winchester showed up,,, 280 Remington,,, the 284 and lots of other cartridges were the talk of the town in most hunters minds,,, the magnum craize was on the go to...

We have to give credit to the Antelope hunting folks that kept it going,,, the Western Flat plains hunters... The 1/4" bore cartridge became known as a great Deer hunting rifle as well...

It deffinatly didn't become the Northern Moose cartridge since it was considered to small,,, the tuff big game bullets weren't there,,, not like today's offerings...

100gr Nosler Partions,,, Triple Shock,,, Accunounds and now the Black-jacks... There are more 25 caliber bullets on the horizon...

Who knows,,, maybe the 25 Creedmoor is in the works... LOL...

So I'm in the middle of the 25/06 and 270,,, I just built a 6.5 A-square,,, it has the felt recoil like a Feather weigth 243 since my package came in at 11.9 lbs all in,,, its like a small twin to the 270 Winchester...

I get to be part of both of those cartrages...

Yuppers,,, the old school 25-Ought-6 might see its re-birth in the years to come... It was said that it was soon to come to its end 40+++ years ago,,, it seems to be holding its own...

I know one thing,,, when my 6.5 A-square barrel is toast,,, the next pipe will be a 25 or 270,,, only time will tell since I'm not saying that other cartridges based off the 30/06 parent case aren't options either...

Cheers from the North
 
This is a Great thread... which needs to stay alive.... and it makes me wonder what my 7 rem mag would do with 110 gr bullets traveling around 3500 fps or 120 grs at 3400 area....????

or my 6.5 creedmoor with 100 ttsx at 3200 fps...?
 
I have also shot many a deer and hogs with bigger calibers like 30-30, 30-06, 50 cal blackpowder, 12 gr shotgun slugs.... and yes they do kill critters, but MOST of the time, they ALL run off a ways before being recovered. With the 243, I have had 3/4 flop, and 1/4 trailed. But with my long range coyote rifle, 22-243AI with 80 gr Amaxes at 3500... all the deer flop. I only use it for deer on long range clear cut fields or power lines here in the East... but it LOVES to go West for longer range coyotes...which don't have a chance once hit.

I don't own a 25/06 yet... shame on me....LOL.... but it does make me wonder if using lighter grain bullets with higher speeds in my 7mm or 6.5, might turn them into a knock down killers like the 25/06.
 
When I only owned one rifle for everything it was a 25-06.
I now have a couple 25-20s, three 250 Savages, a 25 Creedmoor & a 257 Bee.
I now prefer the 25 Creedmoor but all 25 calibers are very effective.
 
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Kenny474 said:
This is something I have pondered for a long time, and I have never been able to figure out exactly what the real answer is. I have seen many rifles used on deer in many calibers, from small bores to big bore. I have seen many deer killed in my life, and there is one caliber that has stood out in my mind ever since the first time I saw it take a deer. It seems to have killing power completely out of proportion to it's bore diameter and bullet weight. I have witnessed it just make a deer's legs go limp and collapse, like someone just unplugged it. I have seen running deer hit by it, and just crumple up into a rolling ball, instantly dead. The things I have witnessed from this round just don't make sense to me, as I have seen rounds with larger bullets traveling just as fast fail to have the same effect on deer, even when hit perfectly.

The round is the 25-06, and I have wondered what makes it work so well on deer since I was a young boy, maybe 12 years old and I got to tag along on a hunting trip and witnessed it's power for the first time. The bullet seemed very small compared to the others that were used, yet it killed the deer almost instantly.

Now, a good bit older and with much more knowledge, I am still left wondering, how can a bullet that small be so devastating on deer?

So if anyone has any theories or information on why this round is so darn effective on the large New England whitetails that I have seen it take for nearly 20 years now, just put 'em down here so I can better understand what makes this round work so darn well.

Thanks to anyone that can help me with something that has made me wonder for so long.

Kenny
Click to expand...

A bullet in flight it doesn’t know what the name of a cartridge it was fired from and the deer don’t know cartridge names. Must be a lot of good 25 cal bullets with the proper bullet expansion. Good bullet placement is a big factor.
 
Couldn’t stand it anymore, broke down and ordered a new Winchester model 70 sporter in 25-06 yesterday. Hopefully all you guys are right about it being able to roll deer like a shotgun rolls rabbits:D
 
I can't believe I've missed this thread either. I have multiple 25-06's and a 257 wby, but haven't used them for hunting yet. This will be the year they make their appearance though.
 
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