Intresting observation about 25-06

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Kachok

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I spend alot of time talking caliber and cartrage of choice with deer hunters and I made an interesting observation about the 25-06 I have yet to meet a hunter who has hunted with it in the past that does not currently use one. Plenty of people who used to hunt with 30-06, 270, 7mm Rem Mag, 300 Mags and darn near any other cartrage you can think of but 25-06 fanatics seem to be hooked for life. Technicaly speaking the 25-06 is ballisticly inferior to it's 280 cousin and others but people who use it swear by them. I have also noticed that 25-06 users are many times as likely to be handlaoders vs the more popular 270 and 30-06. Has anyone else noticed this?
BTW in the interest of full disclosure I have never owned or even shot a quarter bore rifle, but they do fascinate me.
 
I've owned my .257 Roberts since my grandpa gave it to me at age 16. I don't use that old gun enough, always got some new toy or twist I wanna do, but that old gun is more deadly than ever now that I discovered H4831. :D Grandpa used to use IMR4350 in it and I always just followed his wisdom until about 25 years ago when I read an article in "American Rifleman" and tried H4831. Velocity improved a smidge, but accuracy got even better. :D

I won a 25-06 in a gun show door prize drawing, a Remington 700 BDL. Beautiful gun, but I'd been pining for a Remington M7 and traded it right after picking it up for a stainless M7 in .308 Winchester. Now, I really like that gun and caliber, but that BDL sure was purdy. :D I just couldn't see getting it, though, as I already had a quarter bore that is a great performer and given my sentiment for the gun, shot my first deer with it at age 11, well, THAT gun will be passed on after I'm gone. It's killed a couple dozen deer for me. It shoots where I look. :D

Quarter bores are overlooked, but they're great deer/antelope guns, can knock 'em down WAY out there. Just that, well, so can the .270...:D But, they are quite easy on the shoulder, but then, so is the .270......
 
RE: 25-06....and the Roberts.

Have fun with 25-06. It can do alot. I have never shot one or used one on game but i do know what a .243 WCF and a 6.5 x55 will do on deer. And since the .25 is in the middle with good velocity and plenty of good bullets out there it should be a winner...

In the title I mention the Roberts or .257 Roberts. I never had one but a couple of friends had them and loved them. One got passed around the family to every new hunter and the other sold. The one that was sold was deemed inferior to its replacement even though it was a favorite. Lots of deer and ground hogs fell to those rifles.

Have fun and be safe.
 
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I've taken 3 bucks this year with my 25-06. It's a pleasure to shoot due to the mild recoil. I'll never sell the gun and the only time I use something else is when it's likely I'll have a shot over 200 yards.
 
The 25-06 is my favorite take along rifle. It is a great Antelope and Mule deer rifle. The old 25 can hammer coyotes and Grey Wolves at 500 yds. My old Sako 25-06 lives in my truck and rides along in miles of back country.;)
 
My two favorite deer rifles. I reload for both

Remington Sendero 25-06 light end is a 75 gr. bullet over 51 grs of 4064. Top end is 120 grainers it loves the original Barnes "X" 115 gr bullet.

Remington Mountain Rifle in 280. I'm commfy with it from dogs up to Elk.
 
I know of very few people who use the 25-06 as their primary hunting rifle here in Alabama. One of my neighbors keeps one in his ranch truck 24-7 because he can reach out and touch a coyote at long distances. It is a sweet shooting gun and I am on the lookout for a good deal on one as I have never owned one.
30-06 is still far and away the preferred rifle around here. I would say probably 80% of the hunters use a 30-06 with 270 and 243 being next in line. The occasional 30-30 for younger hunters, a few 308s with the ex-military crowd and that's about it. I personally hunt with all of the above from time to time but I go back to the 30-06 every year because that is what I grew up with.

I don't know of anyone who has dropped the 30-06 because of inferior ballistics or any reason other than the recoil as they get older. Of course most of these people are hunting white tailed deer in the hardwood bottoms and pines of Alabama so there are not a lot of 250 yard shots in this area. None of my good friends reload so I can't speak to that.
 
jrdolall I live in Daphne AL, all but two of my co-workers hunt with 270 win, the two exceptions hunt with 25-06 and 30-06. I am the REAL odd bird with my 6.5x55, they never heard of such round these parts LOL To date I have met two people here that even know what that is and one of them runs a gun store :D
Went to Basspro a while back wanting to order some brass (yeah right) and the guy behind the gun counter asked me if that was some kind of 270 :banghead:
 
I have a Swede that is a great gun and I am really getting to like the rifle. I don't hink I know anyone that has a clue what a 6.5x55 is. Now we can discourse on the merits of OO buck and OOO buck all day long or the advantage of 165 grain 30-06 vs 180 grain but don't bring up them thar furin guns. I probably have 2-3 friends that can tell you what caliber an AK 47 uses. 357 magnum and 38 special are still the preferred handguns round these parts.

PS. None of us play the banjo though I tried a few years back. Geetars are pretty common and one of the womenfolk plays a mean fiddle. She CALLS it a violin but we all know what it really is.
 
Went to Basspro a while back wanting to order some brass (yeah right) and the guy behind the gun counter asked me if that was some kind of 270
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By this time next year I will have at least 100 6.5 casings as I try to save all my brass and I don't reload. If you want them I can get them to you when I have enough. I have not shot it enough to date but I plan to work it into my normal rotation so I will start shooting a box or so every month once deer season is over. I live just north of Eufaula.
 
I have a 25-06 made on a M98 action with a Shilin barrel (26") It is scary accurate, very easy on the shoulder and is a good 'killing machine'. What's not to like!

Works on deer & varmnits both. No experience on other game.
 
I did a lot of research on quarter bores when I sought to bridge my .223 to 7Mag gap, and I very nearly bought a 25-06. The reasons I went for a .257 Bob instead were purely non-ballistic: I liked the idea of shooting at least one comparatively rare cartridge (everything else I have is ubiquitous), and in the end I wanted my quarter bore in a short action.

Any of the .257 cartridges would have covered the 80-ish to 120-ish bullet weights, perhaps the 25-06 best in pure ballistics terms. I still might buy one some day, but I'm pleased as punch with the Bob.
 
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357 magnum and 38 special are still the preferred handguns round these parts.
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Hmm, well THERE'S some common ground....:D

Any of the .257 cartridges would have covered the 80-ish to 120-ish bullet weights, perhaps the 25-06 best in pure ballistics terms. I sill might buy one some day, but I'm pleased as punch with the Bob.
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I get 3150 fps from my 100 grain load, 3050 from a 117 Interlock. The .25 naught six can better that by a few hundred FPS handloaded, but it's pretty close to factory .25-06 ballistics. OH, edit, BTW, my rifle has a 24" barrel which helps. I think it's plenty enough, put it that way, and it's 1/2 MOA accurate with the 100 grain Game King and deadly on deer sized game with that bullet. I've got the exterior ballistics documented in my reloading notes, but it's all in storage right now or I'd impress you with some down range numbers. :D It IS a shooter, but it's sort of a reloaders caliber, which is fine by me. I like exclusivity. :D Like you, my other guns are ubiquitous...which for our hillbilly friends means "common". laughing-smiley-018.gif Mine are 7 mag and .308 and I do load for 7.62x39 if I want to, though the ammo is so cheap, why bother? Hard to believe folks in Alabama haven't heard of THAT one. I mean, it's EVERYwhere and cheap! But, I guess it is a commie round for commie guns, probably not approved by the John Birch Society.... laughing-smiley-018.gif
 
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- shoots flatter than 7mm MAG
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I could contest that one. 7mm bullets are generally a good bit higher in BC and THAT spells flatter shooting. I have the numbers, somewhere in a box in Corpus in one of five storage buildings. :D My 150 game king loads in 7 mag have a BC of .535 and come out of the barrel at 3200 fps. I don't know that there is a .25 caliber bullet who's BC breaks .400. I think the 100 grain game king, IIRC, is around .385 or something.

.25-06 shoots flat enough, though, I'll grant you that. :D I'm just nit pickin' there.
 
I have yet to meet a hunter who has hunted with it in the past that does not currently use one
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It has enough oomph for any game in the lower 48, shoots very flat, and is easy on the shoulder, which is conducive to accuracy.

The very first gun I bought on my 18th birthday was a 700 BDL .25-06, which I topped with a Leupold Vari-X III 4.5-14x. It has taken a lot of game animals, and though I've carried other rifles at times, it has always accompanied me on big game hunts. I have an 8mm Rem Mag that I'll carry if strictly in pursuit of Bull elk, but very often, I have a deer tag and a cow tag, so the .25-06 is more appropriate. I don't need the .323" 200 gr. bullet at 3,150 FPS for a mule deer or 400 lb cow elk. Bottom line, I shoot the .25-06 better without having to think about it. Get in a wonky position with my 8 mag, and I may be doctoring my eyebrow before gutting the animal.

I don't know that there is a .25 caliber bullet who's BC breaks .400.
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Most of the 115+ boat tails are in the .400s. 117 gr. Gamking is my preferred bullet in the .25-06, .428 adjusted BC @ 3,100 FPS. I run them closer to 3,200. The Berger VLD 115 is .466 unadjusted.

No, it won't beat out the 7mm Rem Mag for trajectory or energy, but it also won't beat up your shoulder like the 7 will. That's the beauty of it. Take a guy with a .25-06 and a guy with a 7 mag, most likely only one can enjoy shooting a couple boxes off the bench in a sporting weight rifle.
 
25-06 is my caliber of choice. I've hunted with it since 1970. Its fast flat and with proper bullet choice it hits like blue lightening. Some mmodels can be a bit finicky when developing a load for it but once done there is no reason to stray from that recipe.

My bullet choice is the 115grain nosler Partition.
 
No, it won't beat out the 7mm Rem Mag for trajectory or energy, but it also won't beat up your shoulder like the 7 will. That's the beauty of it. Take a guy with a .25-06 and a guy with a 7 mag, most likely only one can enjoy shooting a couple boxes off the bench in a sporting weight rifle.
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I like the .25-06, mind you, but just for the sake of argument because I like to argue...:D...I don't find the 7 that punishing in my Savage 110. It's certainly no worse than a .30-06 that so many people think is the end all. I do use a past shoulder pad for benching it just so I won't be sore later, but it's no .338 on the shooters end, might not be for girls......:D J/K

I do have a sweet spot for the .25s. They're all anyone needs for deer and probably one of the best choices for pronghorn, not that I've ever hunted pronghorn. Not too many in coastal Texas.
 
25/06 since 1969 ... I have own two different rifles in it ... a Winchester Model 70 and currently a Browning A-Bolt ...

I blame the GA DNR for my first 25/06 ... .25 caliber was the largest caliber legal for small game in GA at that time ... wild hogs were considered small game! The second one was because a thief took the first one. I have other deer/hog guns, but the 25/06 is my favorite. Yes I am a reloader, since 1965, I bought my own reloading setup in early 1970.
 
[QUOTEI have yet to meet a hunter who has hunted with it in the past that does not currently use one.][/QUOTE]I guess that means we haven't met. :)
 
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