AckleymanII
Gold $$ Contributor
500 with the proper set up. Scope with knobs, range finder. You may consider the 115g Berger vld hunting, heck of a bullet as My nephews and brother found out this year!
25-06.... Why?
- Thread starter joshb
- Start date
Thanks for the info!
I personally think 25-06 is a little light for elk. As a general rule, you want about 1500 ft/lbs of energy at point of impact. If you go with 25-06, stay within 250 yards.
Yep I had 2, .25-06s in 1973. Traded the thin barrel for a heavy barreld varmint model 700. Shot one deer with it, mostly used for coyotes and rock chucks. I just took the barrel off a few months back and used the old 25-06 Remington long action to make a .308 on a long action to feed really long bullets out of the magazine. Don't miss the 25-06. Still have 25 cal bullets, dies, and a bunch of new brass for that caliber. Only one of my rifles or handguns has ever fired a factory round, and that was one 300RUM to get brass case head expansion data to hand load the cartridge with RL 25 the other 19 cartridges are still in tbe box. Never even fired a factory 9mm or 223/ 5.56 rd. Everything was hand loaded...so I have no ammo shortage, and never forgot to take my ammo on a hunting trip. There is always 308 ammo everywhere and it will do all the hunting needs in the lower 48. I even find live 9mm, 223, 22 lr and 308 rds out in the woods where people are shooting and drop a few rounds on the ground.
25-06 SpongeBob.
Say hello to my little friend.... Specs. I ordered from Ric. This thing weighs 2 oz. more than the last two I bought several years ago.. I didnt wait ...
dave
Adam in WI
Practically lives here
Hodgdon's data says 4451 should get them flirting with 3800
Last edited:
nmkid
Gold $$ Contributor
That's what I shoot in my 25.06 for coyotes. When they hit...Oh my goodness!!
It is all in the eye of the beholder. The old 25-06 is one very fine cartridge, with the proper bullet and placement it will do for any big game animal, up to around Elk size. Big bears, others would be better, for black bear it is fine.
I and many others have shot one for years and it is still a good cartridge to use and have.
Some newer ones do work as well, with less powder, as you mention. And some will have less recoil, for someone with a bum shoulder, etc.
But there is nothing wrong with still using the grand old 25-06, it ranks right up there with the fine 30-06 and 270 for game and varmints.
I and many others have shot one for years and it is still a good cartridge to use and have.
Some newer ones do work as well, with less powder, as you mention. And some will have less recoil, for someone with a bum shoulder, etc.
But there is nothing wrong with still using the grand old 25-06, it ranks right up there with the fine 30-06 and 270 for game and varmints.
timeout
Silver $$ Contributor
Guess I will have to disagree. I certainly don't feel that a 25-06 is under powered for deer.
Adam in WI
Practically lives here
Second that. I think if 25-06 was under powered, a 6.5-06 wouldn't be a meaningful improvement
timeout
Silver $$ Contributor
Then again I have killed them with 20 & 12 gauge shotguns, 30-30, 223, 243, & 6 Dasher. My wife uses .223 exclusively. I think 360 yards is my longest shot. With my 25-06 I could stretch it considerably further should the opportunity present itself.
You have to keep in mind when it was brought to market. You have to think about bullet selection.
Most of us wanted faster twist barrels and heavier longer ELD bullets since the 1980's for the 25-06 with out needing to build a custom rifle.
In the days before cheap range finders and nice turrets on optics a flat shooting cartridge was all the rage. You have to break that paridgm(sp) when looking at old cartridges like 25-06. Once you had bullets like the Nosler Partition it was a game changer. Today though we can do even better and we can go lighter than we want in a solid copper controlled expansion bullet and gain as much velocity as we want in an old cartridge if we are not worried about how flat it shots because we can range and dial to our load.
So between frangible cup and core, partitions and copper solids you can make something like the 25-06 punch way above it's weight class. If you add in a faster twist barrel and AI version even better.
That said I always liked the 6.5/06 and given bullet choices today in the 6.5 arena something like a 6.5/06AI makes even more sense if you have a long action sitting around!
Most of us wanted faster twist barrels and heavier longer ELD bullets since the 1980's for the 25-06 with out needing to build a custom rifle.
In the days before cheap range finders and nice turrets on optics a flat shooting cartridge was all the rage. You have to break that paridgm(sp) when looking at old cartridges like 25-06. Once you had bullets like the Nosler Partition it was a game changer. Today though we can do even better and we can go lighter than we want in a solid copper controlled expansion bullet and gain as much velocity as we want in an old cartridge if we are not worried about how flat it shots because we can range and dial to our load.
So between frangible cup and core, partitions and copper solids you can make something like the 25-06 punch way above it's weight class. If you add in a faster twist barrel and AI version even better.
That said I always liked the 6.5/06 and given bullet choices today in the 6.5 arena something like a 6.5/06AI makes even more sense if you have a long action sitting around!
243 Win is the best Coyote medicine invented! Not that the 25-06 wont get the job done. 22-250 is a great Coyote round on a calm day. 223 Rem is good Coyote medicine on a calm day as well!
That said the 243Win decended from the heavans purpose made to dispatch game white tail sized downward at any range a hunter would actual want to take a shot at. The Winchester 109gr. soft point White/Silver/Gray box is a white tail light switch turning them off like an Edison Bulb! It is a good thing the West was won before this cartridge came out or they would have been dropping Buffalo with it by the thousands! That was a joke.
My father in-law was a big fan of the 257 Roberts and 25-06 as am I.
DShortt
Gold $$ Contributor
An off the rack rifle in a short action will have trouble staying above 3000 fps with a 120 grain bullet. Not saying it can't be done, but it would be a custom with handloads probably.
Drop 30 grains off the bullet weight and things change considerably.
Absolutely but if one blows the shoulder forward at 40 degrees on the 243 oh my it will light a fire under the 115 gr. DTACs and push them @ 3200 fps.
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