The 25-06 Remington

Buckmastr

Buckmastr

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A cartridge you don’t hear much about. I built one recently and I’m liking the low recoil and flat trajectory. A Remington Model 700 Classic with a 23” Shilen barrel. Shoots good.

Tell me about your experience with the 25-06 Remington

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I have an H&R Handi-rifle in 25-06 that is quite nice and is one of the most accurate handi-rifle's I have. I have only taken one white-tail with it and the shot was really close so I haven't used it to it's full potential yet when hunting but I wouldn't hesitate to take a reasonable long-shot with it.
I like the 25-06, I think it's a great cartridge but your right you don't hear much about it.
 
the 25 06 is popular in the USA .not so much up here in Canada . I like mine in the tikka stainless version.
 
The "commercial" and/or "mainstream" 25's are pretty great overall.

.250 Savage: mild-mannered deer and predator cartridge with low recoil.
.257 Roberts: another one that is fairly mild but can also reach out on deer, probably the smallest thing I'd use on a black bear.
.25-06 Remington: picking up some serious speed now, kills like lighting on deer-sized game but can send the heavier 110+ bullets at good velocities.
.257 Weatherby Magnum: my favorite of the Weatherby lineup and one of my favourites, period. Stick a 120gr Partition over a case full of 7828 and it'll flatten anything with hooves.

Love the 25's. They might not be fashionable in the fast-twist, high BC era we find ourselves but they still deliver.

EDIT: my '06 was a Remington 700 Mountain Rifle, which I stupidly traded for the same in .280 Rem, which I sold and funded a Model 70 Featherweight in 6.5x55, which I then sold to buy an engagement ring.
 
Nice rifle, Buckmastr! Built on the 700 Classic? No, never owned or shot one, three (3) of the 257 Wby., though. I believe it is one of the underestimated cartridge for deer and antelope. It may also be my next build or the 280 AI, and probably on the 700 action as well. I would enjoy the journey to surpass 3,500 fps with the 100 Nosler BT, of course with my favorite barrel length, 27".
 
I traded my 25-06 in order to get my Grandfathers 257 Robert’s
I’ll never regret the trade but still on the hunt for a minty Ruger R to replace my trade off.
That Ruger took 4 deer and one bull elk.
Love that round and a joy to hand load. Bit of a 25 cal fanboy.
 
A number of years back I was out in Alberta for a Mule Deer hunt on draw with my Daughter and Son In Law. On the return trip back to their farm on the south side of Edmonton, we stopped in at Bashaw Sports. I ended up getting a Savage 112 BVSS in 25-06. For glass I went with a Leupold VX-III, 6.5-20 Long Range with Varmint reticle. Long story short ;) , reloads using the 117gr Sierra Spitzer BT and pushed with a top end load of IMR 4350, it prints dime size three shot groups at 185 yds. :d I'm happy.
 
I have a Stevens 200 with a pretty Boyds stock. It has a Nikon 3-9 on it. I have shot 2 wolves with it on the ice road up to the diamond mines last winter. Both wolves dropped with 1 shot each at 120yds and 200yds (2nd one took off running and 1 bullet hit it on the second shot)
I dropped a 700lb cow moose at 500yds with a 100gr Xbullet in the neck/skull base while resting the rifle on my skidoo seat ( 2nd shot hit as it was on a frozen lake about to make it into the trees)
I use either 100gr X bullets or 120gr partition bullets. Never needed a 2nd shot as the first bullet to connect always dropped them.
Super underrated round IMHO
 
I have owned a couple of 25-06 rifles over the years, but never really warmed up to the chambering.

It always did what was asked of it, but I had a very nice 257 Roberts in a 700 "Classic", and I just
preferred it. These days, my only .25 chambering is a Vanguard II SS with a laminated Boyd's on it, it
is chambered 257 Weatherby.

Very accurate, and persuasive, driving the 110 Accubond to 3500, and the 120 Partition to 3400. Almost
Laser-flat, deer within 500 meters are in grave danger, lol. Dave.
 
Having owned a few rifles chamberd in 25-06 the only part of that cartridge I find as a short fall is the longer barrel barrel needed to get it to it's potential.As a hunting cartridge using bullets from 100 gr to 120 gr it just plain works and works very well . Using 100 gr & 120 gr bullets I have never recovered a bullet in 5 animals out to 260 yards and golf ball size exits up close so far 1 shot kills .I will be getting some big hi BC bullets on order to have some fun at Long range with a fast twist barrel in the near future but hunting will always be done under 400 yards just my ethical limit I see no reason for a 6 mm anything or a 6.5 anything. The 2506 may not have a big following but I have went threw life not hanging with the Kool kid's I see no need to change in my 50s .
 
Around 2001 I was on course at College Of The Rockies in Cranbrook for 7 weeks living out of my camper. I would spend my weekends in Creston as my father in law lived there. While I was there I came across a used Sako AV 25-06 in the sporting goods store. It had a beautifully grained stock but who ever owned it previously removed the sights and buggered up the threads at the muzzle end of the barrel. They were asking $750 for it so I bought it anyway. Anyhow, I've tried almost everything through that rifle and never found anything that would shoot tight groups consistently :(. I also had it professionally bedded with no change in accuracy. My interest has since waned and it sits in the back of my gun safe. I think you sparked my interest, I might have to dig it out again lol.
 
I have a Sako AV hunter that is my mule deer and pronghorn rifle. Don't really use it much other than that, but it is perfect for those jobs. Open country, light to medium game and fine accuracy with 100-120 grain bullets. Lately I've been hunting whitetails more from permanent box blinds built on the edges of large open fields. It would be a perfect rig for that application too. It kills coyotes "too dead" for my taste, I like to keep the furs.
 
todbartell said:
It burns the same amount of powder as a 6.5 PRC but gives downrange performance more similar to a 243
Click to expand...

Lol and the 6.5 PRC eats as much powder as some of the 7 mags. One can play this game all day long right up to the 50BMG. The 25-06 is an overbore so obviously not as efficient. Yet what it does, it does very well.

SCG.
 
I would have a 25-06 if I didn't get a 257 Why Vanguard for peanuts new. I like the cal for hunting, does the job just fine.
 
todbartell said:
It burns the same amount of powder as a 6.5 PRC but gives downrange performance more similar to a 243
Click to expand...

I wanted to follow up on this more as my daughters wanted to go hunting so I was short before.

Since you compare the 6.5 PRC and 25-06 let’s look at them with similar bullets. I haven’t loaded any of these yet so am relying on online published data.

The 25-06 with 131 black jacket ACE bullets is doing 3200+ FPS with a G7 BC of .330

The 6.5 PRC with 130 gr ELD-M bullets are at 3200+ FPS with a G7 BC of .279

So we get basically the same gr bullets doing almost the same speeds with close to the same BC’s is going to have virtually identical downrange performances. Twins, so to speak.

As companies come out with better and better bullets these smaller calibers are packing quite a punch.

SCG
 
I had a Sako Finnlight in 2506, took 50 head of game, deer, pigs, Thar, all straight down right on the spot, till the last two, too far and too hard bullet, and three shots each, to kill two bull Thar, (450)m. Found an accubond, against the bluff, with just tip deformed, so lacked expansion, this soured me a bit,
Liked the rifle, bit lacking in a short barel "22" at long distance,
Given that my other two rifles, 7x57 and .264 perform, well at these distance, I sold it, for a finnlight in 708, now (chopped and surpressed). My NZ bush rifle.
 
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