.25-06 and moose
- Thread starter lackeyse
- Start date
Johnn Peterson
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Chemainus B.C.
Can be done but there's better choices out there.
Thanks. My go to gun is a 75 Finnlight in .30-06. I only posted this thread because Blargon and I have been doing some load development for my .25 and I have been getting great results with IMR 4350 and 110gr AB out to 300yds. I have no hunting experience with this rifle but I have contemplated using this gun as a back up rifle on moose trips.
Actually the .270 will shoot any specific bullet weight faster than a .25-06, and will shoot bullet weights that the .25 can't manage at all.
I think the .25-06 would definitely not be my first choice. If I was forced to use it, I would, but I would also pick my shots very carefully, and use the heaviest, hardest bullets I could get.
Johnn Peterson
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Chemainus B.C.
Here's some load results with my .25-06.
I have some Barnes 100gr TSX BT to try.
Very nice group! Tight groups build confidence. I often wonder if some of the guys I know try to excuse accuracy with bigger is better. I generally keep to myself but when I witness hunters who group poorly because of heavy recoil I wonder is it worth it. I guess what I question is......is it more effective to shoot a lighter caliber that produces tight groups or a bigger cal that simply is more devastating but not nearly as accurate? I am not trying to create a caliber debate but more so an accuracy debate. I guess I have been around to many hunters that use the rule of use big and hit'em with lots.
You dont need tight groups for hunting. Moose vitals are quite a large target. Tight groups are better, but not a necessity. I`m small statured and shoot a 7mm Rem Mag. My grouping is not nearly as good as above but adequate for hunting but Ive never had to hit`em with lots. I`m comfortable shooting it and it hits where i want it too. As for the 25-06 backup, no problem. Shot placement is key.
Moose aren't hard to kill - most of the time. My family has turfed a number of elk and moose with the .25-06 and plain jane 117 grain bullets. I think a good controlled expansion round will do the job without any problem.
Between calibers it's more useful to compare bullets of similar sectional density than bullets of similar weight. On that basis the smaller one normally shoots a little faster (If they're both essentially neck diameter variations of the same cartridge).
Why would you want "hard" bullets? Ungulates clued in to trauma plates in your neck of the woods?
Here's some load results with my .25-06.
I have some Barnes 100gr TSX BT to try.
Nice groups man
While comparing sectional density is a good idea, there are many other factors to consider when thinking about suitability for game animals. It is true that smaller calibers with a specific SD will often shoot "a little faster" than larger calibers with the same SD from any specific case, but no one would ever argue that a 140 grain .27 cal bullet from a .270 (SD .261 and top velocity in Nosler #5 3018fps) is less effective on moose than a 120 grain .25 cal (SD .260 and top velocity in Nosler #5 3090fps), even though it is going a little slower.
That difference in velocity is less than the differences between rounds of a specific reloaded lot of one caliber. The heavier bullet (momentum) and larger diameter (wound channel) are also factors. It is also true that with a .270 you can shoot 160 grain Noslers with a SD of .298. No .25-06 can do that. There is much more to hunting effectiveness than velocity.
As for "hard" bullets, I used that slang to mean premium bullets that will not fragment on impact like the Nosler Partition as opposed to say the Ballistic Tip. I should have been more precise.
I believe the smaller the caliber in relation to game size, the more important it is that the bullet hold its mass to provide as much penetration as possible. On game animals the size of moose, penetration becomes an important factor.
I know no one who considers the .25-06 as equal to the .270 as a moose round. I actually see the .270 as a kind of "minimum" moose round and prefer larger diameter bullets, with better sectional density than either of those rounds, and at similar velocities, as much better for moose. I use a .300 Win. with 200 grain bullets for moose (SD .301 and velocity at 12 feet of 2940 fps)
So a .25-06 will absolutely kill a moose if the hunter understands its limitations. It is not, however, my idea of a good moose round.
Johnn Peterson
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Chemainus B.C.
Agreed, and I sort of indicated that in post #4. I got my .25-06 with the primary intent of long range use on Varmints and Pred's. If and when I get a Antelope draw in AB I may use it there.
I was successful in getting a Moose draw this year in MU 5 in B.C. and my plan is to go with a newer acquisition and something possibly a little heavier than really needed. A Husqvarna in 358 Norma Magnum. My #1 choice for quite a few years is and has been a Schultz & Larsen in 308 Norma Magnum and I've never found it to be lacking.
After I recently purchased the 358NM I decided to also pick up a Husqvarna in 270 Win. from the same gentleman. The reasons, the years are flying by and I've never had a 270. If/when I get an Antelope draw, if I don't use the .25-06 I'll go with the 270. Also,
when it arrives this week, it will fill a bit of a caliber gap I have. Three boxes of brass are primed and awaiting the arrival of the rifle and bullets.
- Location
- WMU248 near Edmonton
well I use my 25-06 for deer and its great for that.
Moose I would if it were my only choice, a little light in my opinion, I have a 300WM for moose and the backup do everything rifle is a 7mmRM
Moose I would if it were my only choice, a little light in my opinion, I have a 300WM for moose and the backup do everything rifle is a 7mmRM
A fried of mine is an excellent and avid hunter. He uses a 250 Savage on everything, including large moose. A shot in the boiler room is all it takes.
If you can shoot those bullets where you want, they will be as dead as with anything else.
My grandfather shot 2 moose every year for about 50 years with a 30-30 rifle. He could only recall once when he neeed a second shot. At helped eat some of them, and they sure seemed dead to me.....
If you can shoot those bullets where you want, they will be as dead as with anything else.
My grandfather shot 2 moose every year for about 50 years with a 30-30 rifle. He could only recall once when he neeed a second shot. At helped eat some of them, and they sure seemed dead to me.....
