25-06 or the 243win

gth

gth

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I'm going to pick up anoter rifle shortly and I'm kinda undecided on what might make a better rifle for me the 25-06rem or the 243win. Its gonna be a stevens 200 or an SPS mainly because this gun will see limited use. (If remington/savage would chamber the SPS/200 in .260rem I wouldnt be asking this question because I think it would fit my requirements nicely)

The main uses for this rifle will be
1. Back up whitetail gun
2. Coyote gun (only rarely becaue we have more fox than coyote here and I have better suited calibers for this job)
3. Couple times a year wolf hunt.
4. paper punching/plinking out to 300m
5.The odd day plugging Grounghogs

I know its kinda appples and oranges here but.........

In terms of taking deer sized game with the heavier bullets and coyote sized game with lighter flatter shooting bullets which would you choose?

In terms of barrel life with accuracy loads (not usually max loads but you never know) and ballistics with both lighter and heavier bullets which would you choose?

If you were going after coyotes with a 243/25-06 what bullet would you use?

If you were going after Ontario Whitetails with a 243/25-06 what bullet would you use?

As a crossover deer-coyote-wolf rifle which one do you thnk has the advantage?

Recoil??? I'm not a big fan of recoil but I would be willing to put up with a bit in this case just because the rifle wont see a lot of use. I have shot lots with a 243 and find it easily tolerable but I have never shot a 25-06???


I'm not looking for a 30-06vs270 style debate, but I'll probably get one anyways......:)

(Calibers other than those chambered in the Stevens or the SPS need not apply.)
 
I've had both and found the 25-06 a little more to my liking. Use Hornady's 75 gr. V-Max and H-4831 for for Varmints & Nosler 115 Ballistic tips with either H4831 or RL-22 for whiteys. Works for me.
 
I have a Remington 700 in 243 winchester and I love it. I use Hornady 100 grain BTSPs for the big stuff and 87 grain Hornady Vmax for everything else. It will shoot either of these handloaded in well under an inch at 100 yards.

I do believe that the 25-06 would work very well too, and in fact I have a buddy that just loves his. I think it will come down to what is available at what price. I personally would go for the 243, but that is just me. Good luck, I wish I had your problems!:)
 
as a 300 meter plinker/wolf gun which would see rare use on deer, it would be hard to find any real choice to go 25-06 over the 243

kicks more, burns more powder, recoils more, and shoots no better ;)
​
 
25-06.

Bought a Browning SS Composite Stalker about 15 years ago in that caliber. Bullet selection opens up to 120 grainers in the 250s, that's a serious deer/ wolf round out to 350 if you're inclined to practice punching paper at those distances. Handloaded groups down to sub 1/2 MOA at 100 yds.with Nosler Partitions.

Have Fun!
 
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If you are handloading, you can easily load a 25-06 down to what a .243 will do. I use 120gr Hornadys over 53 gr of RL22 in my .25, works great on deer, seen nothing but one shot kills, and seldom inflicts serious damage on the coyotes when they pop up either. .25-06 all the way, just my .02 cents tho.
 
Go with the .25-06...................... the .243 is OK, but I have had several of each and the .25-06 wins hands down.

This is another circle ji...........uh, debate...........it will just go round and round. It must be late winter.
 
Anything in the following numbers that would turn you off one or the other.


The Stevens 25-06rem---22" tube---1:10...........................243win---22" tube----1:9.25

The Rem SPS 243win 24" tube 1:9.125 twist (no 25-06rem listed)
 
BigUglyMan said:
The 243 has always seemed a bit on the light side to me.
Click to expand...

I've was under that impression too,but not since I hunted deer in a gang of 12 guys and 10 of them carried a .243. (from blr's to 742's)

Having seen first hand how a .243 handles deer was one of the reasons I cant give the 25-06 a hands down win on the deer performance. (not having seen a 25-06 in action but I cant imagine a deer being anymore dead than the 243 killed them)


Plus I think that a 243win with a 60g vmax would be a coyote laser. (as would a 25-06 and a 75g NBT)

Round and round we go.:)
 
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todbartell said:
as a 300 meter plinker/wolf gun which would see rare use on deer, it would be hard to find any real choice to go 25-06 over the 243

kicks more, burns more powder, recoils more, and shoots no better ;)
​
Click to expand...


I have both, and have to agree with Tod. I wouldnt part with either, but in making the desision of which one I'd rather, it would have to be the 243.
My 25-06 screams out the 75 gr Vmax's, but my 243 shoots the 55's faster. I shoot a 95 gr ballistic tip exclusively out of my 243 now, and havent found my magic bullet out of the 25 yet. The recoil difference alone sets the 243 apart from the 25-06, and is a true dual purpose varmint round. IMHO
The 25-06 IMHO is a big game round that doubles as a varmint cartridge.
I cant see bullet strikes out of my 10 lb 25-06, but can out of a 7.5 lb 243, and its not the scope, the scope on the 25-06 is better.
If your planning on plinking all day long, the 243 will serve you better, even if your a handloader.
With a difference of 10-15 gr's per shell in powder, a keg will last longer out of the 243, and so will your shoulder on extended range sessions.
 
And, don't forget with the Stevens you actually get the choice of a proper short action or a long action. As opposed to a long action and a long action converted to short action....
 
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