lighter deer/goat caliber 243 vs 25-06?

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juby

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Hi there,

Because I already have a 30/0/06 that is capable of taking anything (inherited from my grandpa). I wanted to get a shorter action lighter calibre rifle for Vancouver Island deer and I was curious to know if anyone has handled the 243 or 25-06 calibres. Given that they are lighter loads bullet quality and shot placement will be key (like any rifle or hunting situation). How are they for recoil and which one would you go for. I realize that personal opinions on rifle calibre are like #######s, everyone has one but I am looking for a broad perspective here!

Cheers and thanks.

Juby
 
Well the .25-06 is no shorter then a .30-06 as far as action goes. But it is an absolutely fantastic cartridge for deer and antelope sized game with reasonable recoil. It benefits from a longer barrel 24 inches or more to get its true potential and this makes it less then ideal for thick brush and quick handling.
The .243 is also pretty good although not really among my personal favorites but that has more to do with my provinces game laws then the cartridges lack of performance. It is very mild recoiling and often accurate. It also gives you a shorter action and can achieve more of its velocity potential from a 20-22 inch barrel than the .25-06 would.
I don't know what your price range is, if you reload or your ultimate goal but I am in similar position and am looking into either a semi custom .250 Savage or .257 Roberts or my original plan was a Remington model 7 in 7mm-08 or .260.
 
Juby,

I'm on Vancouver Island as well. And I asked myself the same question a while back. After a lot of deliberation, I chose .243
For the conditions here (e.g. small deer, almost always under 300 yds),
there is little to no difference in game-taking ability or recoil (both very mild) between .243 [100 gr] and .25-06 [120 gr]

I'm not into loading my own ammunition, so ammunition availability and cost is a factor.
.243 ammunition is available everywhere, and priced at about $1/round.
.25-06 ammunition is very difficult to acquire anywhere and, if you can find it, expect to pay double.
So, for me, the choice was easy.

Having said that, another factor that is not so easy to quantify is .. what do you want?
For example, I just recently bought a rifle chambered in 7x57mm Mauser
7x57mm is VERY difficult to buy anywhere .. BUT .. I just wanted it.

I hope this helps .. lol.

-Dennis
 
JamesM said:
Well the .25-06 is no shorter then a .30-06 as far as action goes. But it is an absolutely fantastic cartridge for deer and antelope sized game with reasonable recoil. It benefits from a longer barrel 24 inches or more to get its true potential and this makes it less then ideal for thick brush and quick handling.
The .243 is also pretty good although not really among my personal favorites but that has more to do with my provinces game laws then the cartridges lack of performance. It is very mild recoiling and often accurate. It also gives you a shorter action and can achieve more of its velocity potential from a 20-22 inch barrel than the .25-06 would.
I don't know what your price range is, if you reload or your ultimate goal but I am in similar position and am looking into either a semi custom .250 Savage or .257 Roberts or my original plan was a Remington model 7 in 7mm-08 or .260.
Click to expand...

an excellent post.:)
 
JamesM said:
Well the .25-06 is no shorter then a .30-06 as far as action goes. But it is an absolutely fantastic cartridge for deer and antelope sized game with reasonable recoil. It benefits from a longer barrel 24 inches or more to get its true potential and this makes it less then ideal for thick brush and quick handling.
The .243 is also pretty good although not really among my personal favorites but that has more to do with my provinces game laws then the cartridges lack of performance. It is very mild recoiling and often accurate. It also gives you a shorter action and can achieve more of its velocity potential from a 20-22 inch barrel than the .25-06 would.
I don't know what your price range is, if you reload or your ultimate goal but I am in similar position and am looking into either a semi custom .250 Savage or .257 Roberts or my original plan was a Remington model 7 in 7mm-08 or .260.
Click to expand...

The bolded part is nonsense - the 25-06 will outshoot the 243 by a considerable margin (150-200 fps), regardless of barrel length.
 
I really love the 25-06.... but I sold mine and picked up a 243 based on ammo price as I dont reload... Being able to aquire more rounds for less allows me to shoot more and get to know my rifle....

If you reload get the 25 and enjoy the little extra oomph with no recoil difference noticeable.... if you dont get a 243... either way you have a nice flat shooter good for medium game out to 300....
 
Andy said:
... the 25-06 will outshoot the 243 by a considerable margin (150-200 fps), regardless of barrel length.
Click to expand...

The OP wants something suitable for "Vancouver Island deer"... Sitka black-tails. These are small animals, usually taken at relatively short ranges.
Yes, the .25-06 will "outshoot" a .243 by a small margin (just like a .257 Weatherby magnum will outshoot either) - but that's not relevant to the OP's question.

Hunters in Alberta have been successfully using .243's to shoot pronghorn antelope at long ranges for decades, and Sitka black-tails are about the same size as pronghorns.
So I suggest that a .243 is completely adequate for the OP's target game. Moreover it is cheap, available everywhere, and has very low recoil.
 
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Well i own both dogs in the fight. Firstly there is no loss here, both are excellent. Personally i would favor the 25-06, here are my reasons.

Longer action vs shorter rifle is a non issue. If this is a great concern, i know of two hunters on the island ...one of whom has a gun room not a safe...that use Model 94 30/30 because of the lush bush. If saving 2" and 2 ounces is a issue, use a 30/30. Further many recent manufacture "short action" calibers like the 243 use a long action with a bolt stop, so the rifles are the same length and weight.

Vancouver Island has no Moose or Grizzly, but have Limited Entry Elk. i would prefer the extra ooompf of a 120 25-06 on Elk should one be fortunate and get a draw.

I took my first Moose with the 243, and it never leaves the safe. The 25-06 is a real shooter, even better than the 243. A bit predisposed to it as a dual purpose Varmit/Deer rifle. No loser here though, either are excellent for the purpose. Cost of ammo is only a issue if one doesnt reload or shoots hundreds of rounds. A box of 20 is going to start about $25 for 243, and $30 for 25-06; however, the 243 is easier to find. If that cost is a issue, the reality is you probably cant afford either.
 
I shoot both also... and I'm going to come down on the .243 wagon here, given the OP's parameters... good bonded or mono bullets of 85-100 grains will do everything that you need it to... if you were on the prairies, I would be on the other wagon... but might suggest a .260 or Bob also. Short of reloading the .243 is your best choice IMO.
 
I've had a 243 and a 25/06... shot a large bodied Mule Deer(200yds) and a nice 4x4 big bodied Whitetail (50yds) with the 243 and 100 gr Partitions. Shot 5 whitetails with the 25/06 and 120 gr Partitions (from 50-250 yds). I didn't see much of a difference in the holes in and OUT of the deer. All good shots, all exited. I now have a 6MM Rem shooting 100gr Partitions @3200. I have always shot heavy for caliber Nosler Partitions in my smaller bore guns for game. Nothing wrong with the 243 with a Partition.
 
-Savage- said:
The OP wants something suitable for "Vancouver Island deer"... Sitka black-tails. These are small animals, usually taken at relatively short ranges.
Yes, the .25-06 will "outshoot" a .243 by a small margin (just like a .257 Weatherby magnum will outshoot either) - but that's not relevant to the OP's question.

Hunters in Alberta have been successfully using .243's to shoot pronghorn antelope at long ranges for decades, and Sitka black-tails are about the same size as pronghorns.
So I suggest that a .243 is completely adequate for the OP's target game. Moreover it is cheap, available everywhere, and has very low recoil.
Click to expand...

:agree:
Ammo cost and availability was also a huge factor in my choosing a .243 over the others.

It will work well for probably everything one could hunt on this island.
 
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Go up to 260 or 264
goats are tuff animals 243 might be a little small
260 just a little better than the 25-06
 
A white box of plane jane winchester super-x power points in .243 = 18$ the same box of 25-06 is 35$. You can buy a box of premium partition/barnes .243 ammo for that price! The choice is obvious in my opinion.
 
JamesM said:
Well the .25-06 is no shorter then a .30-06 as far as action goes. But it is an absolutely fantastic cartridge for deer and antelope sized game with reasonable recoil. It benefits from a longer barrel 24 inches or more to get its true potential and this makes it less then ideal for thick brush and quick handling.
The .243 ... gives you a shorter action and can achieve more of its velocity potential from a 20-22 inch barrel than the .25-06 would.
... .
Click to expand...


Andy said:
The bolded part is nonsense - the 25-06 will outshoot the 243 by a considerable margin (150-200 fps), regardless of barrel length.
Click to expand...

Andy, I don't think that bolded part says what you seem to think he meant. It was a comment on how much of each cartridge's potential was realised at 20-22 inch barrel length, not a comparison of the absolute performance of the two. The .25-06 may "out shoot" the .243 at that barrel length, but does the .25-06 when given more barrel length out shoot the .243 by even more?
 
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