25-06 Big Game.

WildNature

WildNature

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25-06 for ungulates (ie. Mule Deer, White Tail Deer, Elk)?,

I first started hunting using .270 win... at the time I love it... now... not so much

I recently began shooting the 25-06 and fell in love with the flat, fast, round...BUT... is the 117-120gr bullet carry enough "umph" to the target?
:confused::confused::confused:

any ideas?
 
There are better choices for animals bigger than mule deer, such as your 270 with heavy bullets.
There's really not a great deal of difference in performance btw the 25-06 and 270. The former does better with light bullets, the latter with heavy bullets.

My opinion is that elk guns should be 30 cal and up, though no doubt someone will chime in who has a second cousins brother-in-law that's shot dozens of elk with a 223......
 
Use a good bullet (Barnes TSX, etc) and quality ammo (unless you handload). Make sure your shot placement is bang on. Should be adequate for anything you can find in North America short of Grizzly Bear. Many elk have been taken with less powerful calibres

However, I would probably jump up to a bigger calibre for elk and moose. More hitting power means a deader animal. I consider myself a good shot, but lets face it, sometimes stuff happens.
 
25-06 for big game

Great choice for open country shooting. With proper bullets it will work fine. Light recoil, flat trajectory, and long range accuracy make it a winner. A poorly placed bullet with a 338 Mag is equal to a poorly placed 25 caliber bullet.
 
A 120 grain Barnes will retain 99-100% of its weight after hitting hide and double in size.
A 180 grain bullet lead,bonded,partition,etc will lose up to 50% mass after hittng hide leaving you with a 90-100 grain bullet. A 25-06 with a barnes TSX will out preform any larger caliber using lead/copper jacketed bullets. A member did a great bullet comparison here ,I will post it when I find it again.
 
I've taken my share of whitetail and muleys with a 25.06, most of 'em DRT, mostly using Federal Premium Sierra Gameking 117 gr, which my Rem. 700 Varminter easily stuffs into 3/4" groups. As a deer rifle, it doesn't get much better than this caliber, and once you use one it's tough to go back.

Would I recommend it for elk?

No.

Certainly, given ideal situations, skilled shooting and premium bullets, it will kill elk efficiently enough.

But why push the envelope?

I've come to the conclusion (and I don't own one myself) that the best of all worlds for N.A. game, 'cept for griz, and given the quality of ammo available these days, is the .270. And in a WSM it's just that much better.

FWIW.
 
bearkilr said:
My opinion is that elk guns should be 30 cal and up, though no doubt someone will chime in who has a second cousins brother-in-law that's shot dozens of elk with a 223......
Click to expand...

Thats awesome!


I'm a 270 Win guy, but the 25-06 has been on my must have list since forever. If your going to chase large critters, definitely investigate a premium bullet. If you reload, tailor one around a Barnes TSX or similar.
 
istarmike1 said:
A 120 grain Barnes will retain 99-100% of its weight after hitting hide and double in size.
A 180 grain bullet lead,bonded,partition,etc will lose up to 50% mass after hittng hide leaving you with a 90-100 grain bullet. A 25-06 with a barnes TSX will out preform any larger caliber using lead/copper jacketed bullets. A member did a great bullet comparison here ,I will post it when I find it again.
Click to expand...

Seriously? :confused:

You're saying that my 300WinMag using 180 gr. Nosler Part. will be outperformed by my 25-06 with 100 gr. TSX? I have actually shot elk with both bullets and caliber combos, and the 300 puts them down faster. Real world experience, not paper data.
Some calibers aslo just perform better, no matter what the numbers say. My 9.3x62 ,for example, seems to have incredible knockdown power and effect on large animals, even though the numbers on paper aren't overly "impressive".

I would always suggest to pick heavy, large diameter bullets over light, fast ones for bigger game like elk and moose. Many hunters seem to be obsessed with lightning speed and flat trajectory, sacrificing bullet weight and energy.
 
bearkilr said:
Seriously? :confused:

You're saying that my 300WinMag using 180 gr. Nosler Part. will be outperformed by my 25-06 with 100 gr. TSX? I have actually shot elk with both bullets and caliber combos, and the 300 puts them down faster. Real world experience, not paper data.
Some calibers aslo just perform better, no matter what the numbers say. My 9.3x62 ,for example, seems to have incredible knockdown power and effect on large animals, even though the numbers on paper aren't overly "impressive".

I would always suggest to pick heavy, large diameter bullets over light, fast ones for bigger game like elk and moose. Many hunters seem to be obsessed with lightning speed and flat trajectory, sacrificing bullet weight and energy.
Click to expand...

I've taken 2 bull elk so far, using a 300 WM. Granted, not a lot of basis for conclusions, but...

First one with Federal 200 gr Sierra Gamekings at about 50 yds, rated at about 2900 fps. Through the lungs. Didn't even flinch. Stood there for about 20 seconds, during which I put a second shot in its neck, to which it also didn't visibly react. Then it finally fell over and quickly died.

Second one with Federal 130 Barnes TTSX at about 100 yds, rated at 3500 fps. Through top of shoulder and both lungs about 6" below the spine. Lurched real hard, ran about 30 yds and dropped dead. Damage to the lungs was absolute!

The advantages of the 130 TTSX are...

1) Superior construction, virtually no weight loss...save for the odd petal that might break off.

2) Considerably flatter shooting out to 300 - 350 yds.

3) Considerably less recoil from my Vanguard 300 WM, which definitely takes the edge off of going a dozen or so practice rounds at the range.

Personally, I'm no longer a believer in heavy for caliber bullets, given the quality of ammo now available. A number of articles I've read in the last couple years, notably regarding lightweight Barnes bullets at relatively hyper-velocities, have convinced me that bullet construction, accuracy, and shot placement are much more important than ft lbs/sq in.

And, if I'm going to consider 300 - 350 yd shots now and again, then a flat shooting bullet that still has lots of whack left when it arrives on target, and gets there accurately, has its merits.
 
bearkilr said:
Seriously? :confused:

You're saying that my 300WinMag using 180 gr. Nosler Part. will be outperformed by my 25-06 with 100 gr. TSX? I have actually shot elk with both bullets and caliber combos, and the 300 puts them down faster. Real world experience, not paper data.
Some calibers aslo just perform better, no matter what the numbers say. My 9.3x62 ,for example, seems to have incredible knockdown power and effect on large animals, even though the numbers on paper aren't overly "impressive".

I would always suggest to pick heavy, large diameter bullets over light, fast ones for bigger game like elk and moose. Many hunters seem to be obsessed with lightning speed and flat trajectory, sacrificing bullet weight and energy.
Click to expand...

I totally agree. It's like the 7.62x54r for some reason they hit really hard. The .303 is very similar. (I normally hunt with a Tikka M695 .300 Win Mag)
 
Woodbeef said:
It goes: Dying,then Dead,Deader,and finally Kilt Dead.
Click to expand...

Or "DRT"...dead right there!

What really strikes me about the 25.06 for deer hunting...

I've also taken deer with a 30-30, 30.06, and 300 WM.

I don't know why it is, but for some reason the 25.06 has consistently produced more DRT kills, often stunningly so, than any of the others...even out to ranges of 250 yards and beyond! I've watched deer...pretty much all bucks of the 4 point variety, muleys included...hit by these 117 gr pills drop like they were hit by lightning, some don't even seem to twitch!

The one thing the 25.06 has over the others mentioned, more or less, is speed. I really wonder about the physics involved. Seems once a bullet passes that 3000 fps barrier, things change.

The 25.06 just seems to somehow strike that almost perfect balance between bullet weight (100 to 120 gr), critter size, and velocity that makes it a remarkably efficient caliber for deer hunting.
 
.... I was aware elk was a stretch... was just curious... no a 25-06 is NOT a .300WM... I dont understand the comparison.... everyone I have talked to has burst out in the same conversation... "well your tiny 25-06 doesnt hit as hard as my .300Mag or 7mmMag..." No S**T
that said... I can responsibly hunt deer with my 25-06...?
 
I like the .25-06 and would use it on both elk and moose. I'd use Barnes TSX, Swift A-Frame or Nosler Partitions.
 
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