25-06

[blackbeard]

How far out are you comfortable trying to kill a moose/elk with this cartridge? 300yds,or less? I shot a 300 ultra mag yesterday that the owner has set up for elk at up to 900 yds.I am not comfortable shooting at animals that far away.His terrain dictates that happens more often then it should. I guess i should ask, what hunting everday cartridges that you use would u feel confident shooting at extreme ranges while hunting? it does not have to be a once in a lifetime trophy animal either.

 

[hometownhero]

I shoot the father to the 25-06 and have no issues out to 350 at all. I would say 400 is as far as I am willing to take with the 30-06 right now. After next summer we shall see if I can stretch that out a little bit as practicing time is over until after december 7th.

 

[blackbeard]

if i hunt locally, the terain is fairly hilly, so I can reach out to 500yd quite often, but if the animal is hit poorly or a strong will to live,it can easily find bush to lay down in or travel thru. This means alot of time to find an animal. So I normally keep my shots inside of 300yd to be on the safe side

 

[snoopycda]

I have killed two moose with the 25-06 and to be quite honest if I was using one again for moose, i would limit range to 100 yards and be prepared to shoot more than once.
It is a capable cartridge, but there is just not enough penetration on heavy game.
On deer, it would be hard to find one better. And coyotes are in real danger, it is the best coyote slayer. The 243 is amazing as well and available in more platforms.
.

 

[1899]

His terrain dictates that happens more often then it should.

His hunting skills, not the terrain, dictates that it happens more often than not.

And I would hunt Elk with a .25-06 and 120gr Partitions. Or step up to a .270 with 150 Partitions, which will give a little more recoil and a little more jam.

 

[1899]

I have killed two moose with the 25-06 and to be quite honest if I was using one again for moose, i would limit range to 100 yards and be prepared to shoot more than once.
It is a capable cartridge, but there is just not enough penetration on heavy game. On deer, it would be hard to find one better.

What bullets are you using that didn't have enough penetration? To me a 120gr Partition out of a .25-06 is very similar to a 130gr Partition out of a .270 Win. Same goes for the 115gr TSX.

I have seen moose hit with much heavier chamberings that still needed more than one hit - they just stood there or ran a few yards and stopped even though the first shot would have been quickly fatal. Sometimes they seem to not know that they are dead.

 

[a j cave]

At one time the 25-06 was my favorite round. With the new solid copper bullets it is even more capable. Deer & coyotes have fallen at 500 yds. but moose would be 200 or if rested in good conditions 300. If hit once I keep shooting till moose go down. I don't like packing out of the heavy stuff they head for. I now use a 280, just a little more energy. Like any caliber, bullet placement is paramount. Gut shot with anything less than a 105 is lost game. Location, location,location.

 

[norskie]

I have killed a couple of Moose and Elk with a 25-06.
I would likely not shoot beyond 225-250 yards if I could help it.

I used 120 grain partitions. Worked well.

 

[WhelanLad]

If you have to use a 25-06 for moose just slip one behind the front shoulder an go something like this. shoot reload shoot reload...waiiit .

I'd say a hard bullet like partitions or ttsx though, avoid the standards , just going off the 270win an 130gr SPs, bit light proberly.

wl

 

[dthunter]

I have shot a few moose and a couple of elk with my 25-06. Absolutely no issues here.
Is it adequate? I would say "just adequate" at normal distances.
After 300yds, most bullets made in this caliber suck in the B.C category. Bleeds off energy fast!
The 25-06 is capable of hits allot further, but, the energy is minimal for the bigger animals.

The 120grain nosler partition has killed everything I have shot with it. Desisively. A great bullet!

If I am going to be hunting in areas where I can encounter elk or moose at longer distances, I will take a larger caliber rifle. If the 25-06 was the only rifle I owned, I would limit myself to distances I can get near 100% kill shots.

Its a great, easy shooting caliber!

 

[snoopycda]

What bullets are you using that didn't have enough penetration? To me a 120gr Partition out of a .25-06 is very similar to a 130gr Partition out of a .270 Win. Same goes for the 115gr TSX.

I have seen moose hit with much heavier chamberings that still needed more than one hit - they just stood there or ran a few yards and stopped even though the first shot would have been quickly fatal. Sometimes they seem to not know that they are dead.

When i owned that rifle we didn't have the selection of bullets we do now. So maybe things have changed a bit. I was using 120g Hornady and it was twenty five years ago.
I have shot whitetails at 40yds with a 300 win mag and 150g powerpoints that didn't exit, so obviously one experience does not necessarily make it fact.
I figure a boat with a hole in it will sink, but a boat with a bigger hole will sink faster. Moose just don't seem to die right away regardless of what you hit them with.
I shot a cow with my 338 and she just looked at me. I thought I had missed so I reloaded and shot her in the head, which dropped her instantly(range was about 70 yds). Post mortem showed i couldn't have centered her heart better if it was marked with an X.

 

[Win 38-55]

Two factors would influence me as to how far I am comfortable with a particular rifle and cartridge. The first is how far I can consistently put my rounds into a five inch circle in a real life hunting situation. Second, the velocity of the bullet at different ranges. Will the bullet do the job at X feet/sec at Y yards with such-and-such animal? Ballistics tables can be very informative.

 

[bjmurata]

Two factors would influence me as to how far I am comfortable with a particular rifle and cartridge. The first is how far I can consistently put my rounds into a five inch circle in a real life hunting situation. Second, the velocity of the bullet at different ranges. Will the bullet do the job at X feet/sec at Y yards with such-and-such animal? Ballistics tables can be very informative.

I like your take on things,good old common sense displayed,especially on the ability to put bullets on target accurately,and hopefully in the vitals.

 

[1899]

Two factors would influence me as to how far I am comfortable with a particular rifle and cartridge. The first is how far I can consistently put my rounds into a five inch circle in a real life hunting situation. Second, the velocity of the bullet at different ranges. Will the bullet do the job at X feet/sec at Y yards with such-and-such animal? Ballistics tables can be very informative.

Folks need to be cautious about ballistics tables. You will often find that "real life" is very different than ballistics charts. I will give two examples. The first was with a 7mm RM and 175gr Partition load. According to the book the load should have given 2950 fps out of a 24" barrel. According to the book the bullet has a .519, when in reality it is more like .450

My load chronographed at 2750 fps - a full 200 fps lower than expected. Let's say you sight in 2" high and think you are zero at 225 yards. You will actually be 6.3" lower than expected and at 400 yards and 11.6" lower than expected at 500.

Second example is some IVI 180gr KKSP .30-06 ammo I chronographed the other day. It averaged around 2400fps.

Oh, and another pops into mind - max book load of H4831SC + 250gr Partition in a .338 Win Mag @ 2450fps when it should have been +2700fps.

The point of all of this is you really need to see what your rifle is doing at the ranges you intend to hunt. It is good practice and will give you the skills, confidence and ability that you need to make good, clean shots in the field.

 

[quarterman]

I have shot deer close to 450 yards with my 25-06, I use a 120gr sierra hpbt game king at 2940fps. If I were using the same load on elk or moose I would limit my self to around 300 yards. If I was using my 270 with a 150gr. I would stretch that limit to about 450 yards