25 - 06

D

DiAdogger

New member
EE Expired
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Hi, I am thinking of trying to find a hunting rifle in the 25 - 06 cal, probably using it for deer and coyote.
Any opinions on the 25 - 06?
Thanks.

dogger
 
With the 120 Partition, good for anything in Canada. Best if you reload, as factory ammo can be limited.
 
I been looking for one as well - so far Prophet River has the Weatherby Vanguard, guy on EE had a Savage Axis for sale that he won - unless you can inspect the throat/barrel with a borescope it's would be better buying new. Unless, you really like the rifle/action then a re-barrel may be necessary if it's been shot out.
 
.25 has long been one of the most practical and useful bores, and it’s positioned in what I think of as the goldilocks zone of hunting calibres. That being 100-130gr bullets at speed, same reason the .270 is such an enduring success. There’s paper and then there’s meat, and speed kills, and 100-130grs is more than enough.

Trajectories are fantastic making reliable hits easier, recoil is bare minimum for big game, there’s little not to love. I personally find the .25-06 a bit too overbore and prefer the .257 Roberts, but there’s no arguing with any of them .250 Savage up to .257 Wby if you want impressive kills and real world useful trajectories with light recoil.
 
I had one built on a Stainless A-Bolt action years ago. Never hunted with it as I went from open country to this thick eastern foolishness. I'd bet it hasn't got 40 rounds through it in load development. Wish I had more opportunity to use it.
 
25 cal is about perfect for deer in my opinion. My deer rifle is a 257 Weatherby but I sometimes wonder if a 25-06 would have been a better choice. Slightly less speed but factory ammo is less expensive and more common. And likely a wider selection of rifles available. I do reload my own but for rifles I don’t put a lot of rounds through sometimes it’s easier to just buy off the shelf.
 
Quarter Bore Talk. The .25-06 is just a bit more of the same goldilocks zone (150fps average). I will be intrigued by the 25 Creed though it won’t replace the Roberts for me, .25 is ideal for that case size.

Dave Kiff said:
When I asked Dave Kiff of Pacific Tool & Gauge to name his favorite whitetail cartridge, he didn’t hesitate. “The .257 Roberts. It’s a perfect all-around gun,” Kiff said.

Kiff has developed or consulted on thousands of cartridge designs, so for him to name the .257 without second thought is no small potatoes.
Click to expand...

Frank Barnes said:
Frank C. Barnes, author of the classic “Cartridges of the World,” agrees that the .257 Roberts is one of “the most useful rifle cartridges ever developed.”
Click to expand...
 
Hunted with a Husqvarna 1900 in 25-06 for twenty years. Many incredible memories shooting that rifle and that caliber. Drops deer in their tracks. Amazingly accurate to 375 yards or better, just ensure you have a quality glass aboard. Practice practice...it is a wonderful caliber.
 
The standard 10" twist limits your bullet length so 120 Speer BTSP with a bc of .480 is about as good as you can go, Mine with RL 25 takes that bullet to almost 3100fps with a 24" barrel and some of the best accuracy I have ever seen in any rifle I have ever used. That is Jack O'Conner 270 territory with 10 grains less bullet weight. Not too shabby.

I have my 25-06 housed in a 5 3/4 pound Forbes 24b and it puts a hurt on caribou at 400 yards and under with very low recoil. I can get to 3300+ with a 101 grain Barnes LRX and the point blank range becomes over 300 yards. No dialing or reticle figuring for 90% of your hunting. It's only past 400 yards that the slowish twist and moderate bc becomes an issue and that is really longer away than most of us should be shooting. I wouldn't use it for moose but do have some 115 TSX bullets loaded for bear defence when sheep hunting and I honestly don't feel that well armed with such a small bullet when a grizzly gets close. I have a matching Forbes 24b in 30-06 that gets more use because of this. It shoots almost as well, These were good rifles!

I don't shoot varmints with mine as barrel life could be an issue and I want to preserve the ridiculous accuracy for caribou. I can't make the 120 Partitions shoot very well in mine but the 115 TSX which says it should have a 9" twist goes into sub-moa out to 400 on a still day when loaded to 3150 fps.
 
Last edited:
Although I favor the 257 Weatherby, I think the 25-06 is an awesome cartridge, it's a flatliner for open and semi-open country. One day I'll have one built!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom