[LATex79]

My daughter recently gave me a Weatherby Vanguard .25-06 as a gift. Since it was a gift from my daughter I feel obligated to keep it and use it. I am hunting in east texas for deer where long shots are 250 yards (pipeline or powerline) and the average shot is probably about 80 - 100 yards. There is the ocassional 25-30 yard shot as well. I need help selecting some factory ammo. I do not reload and have no interest in reloading at this point. The factory shot target that came with the rifle indicates that it was shot using a 100 gr. s.p. and the entire 3 shot group can be covered with a penny. My local store has remington corelokt 100 gr. p.s.p., Hornady Interlokt 117 gr., winchester ballistic silver tip ? gr., and federal vital shock 115 gr. sp ammo. Is the remington 100 gr. ammo enough gun for this type of deer hunting? Should I consider one of the alternatives at the local store, or should I totally consider something else and perhaps travel to get it or order online?

Thanks for your advice in advance.

[salthouse]

If your not happy with what you can find available from the ammo vendors, Conley Precision is an option. I was very happy with the ammo I got from them, but the order did take a while to fill so you should ask if it would be ready when you need it. The website is http://www.cpcartridge.com/25-06P.htm

[LATex79]

Thanks for the reply salthouse. I guess my main question is if the remington corelokt 100 gr. psp will kill 150# deer humanely or if I need to use a heavier bullet. I have no experience with this caliber. For the last 10 years I have hunted exclusively with a .270 using 150 gr. core lokt soft points.

[achildofthesky]

You will be just fine with the Remington 100gr. Or the hornady, winchester or federal for that matter. I will be using the Winchester 115gr this year, if that matters

Be safe and good luck on the hunt.

patty

[PawDaddy]

I like the Hornady 117 grain ammo. I have taken a few deer with my H&R Ultra rifle in .25-06 using this round.

The neck is the best place for a one-shot, drop-in-the-tracks kill.

[Shawnee]

Any of the ammo you listed will be absolutely fine.

Good luck !

:cool:

[salthouse]

Sorry, I misunderstood. 100gr corelokt, well placed, is more than enough. Congratulations on the great gift you got (not the rifle, but a daughter thoughtful enough to get you the rifle!).

[NCsmitty]

I would buy the Remington and the Hornady and try them to see what shoots best in your rifle. Great caliber in a great rifle from a real sweet daughter.

NCsmitty

[Pumpkinheaver]

Buy as many loads as you can find then use what shoots the best.

[25wssmisgood]

Winchester Supreme 115gr Ballistic Silvertip. Yes its expensive, It is however absolutly devastating "instant death" on Whitetail or mule deer. I've seen one deer take (stagger) several steps despite the fact that both lungs & heart had been shredded. All others simply dropped where they stood.

[Ridgerunner665]

I always shot Hornady 117 grain spire points in mine...that was long before the Hornady "Light Magnum" loads came to be, so I have not tried those.

The plain old 117 grain loads have filled my freezer with deer meat many times over.

[dakotasin]

There is the ocassional 25-30 yard shot as well.


as a 25-06 owner myself (multiple examples, in fact), this part of your statement would be my biggest concern. the 25-06 is a high velocity cartridge. i have busted deer w/ mine long (more than 400 yards) and short (less than 5 yards). the long performance will be there w/ about anything you pick. the short performance will be problematic w/ certain bullets.

my best advice on bullets, and what i use and my brother uses exclusively, is 120 grain bullets. my preference is sierra gamekings, but about any 117+ bullet will handle everything you want. w/ long shots topping out at 250-ish yards, you will not sacrifice any long range performance, and you have a margin of safety for short range.

get a couple flavors of 117's and 120's, find one that shoots to your liking, zero the rifle at +1.5" at 100, and be confident.

good luck, and what a daughter!

[PotatoJudge]

I'll second the concern about close shots, which is why the Ballistic Tip may not be the best choice (though within their velocity range they're real killers). The difference between 100 and 120 grain bullets on deer probably won't be significant if you choose the right bullet. The Core-Lokt should be fine but I'd look for something loaded with a 110 grain Accubond as added insurance.

That should be a heck of a gun for your needs.

[Art Eatman]

Those up-close shots inside 100 yards is why God put a white spot on a deer's neck! "Point it and pull, Hell ain't half-full."

Inside of 300 yards, there ain't a deer in Texas that's gonna survive any .25-'06 bullet of whatever size, if you hit a vital spot. As usual, it's hitting the vital spot that counts.

[Dr. Tad Hussein Winslow]

I'd run with a 100 grainer of some flavor, as that's what the rifle was tested with. The 1 in 10 of the Vanguard *may* not shoot the 117/120s well. And what Art said.

Weatherby tests the Vanguard in .257 Wby mag with 100 gr spire point ammo made by Weatherby, but my chart here does not show what specific ammo is used for .25-'06 for some reason.

[John4me05]

They sell the gun with the target shot with ammo they know shoots best with it... I would venture to say they have their groups shot with handloads made by an employee... I would do as others suggested and try different brands of ammo at the same time.. See what gives the best overall performance... You need penetration, expansion, and accuracy... A core lock would be a good choice but i personally would go for a heavier bullet than a 100...

[Shawnee]

"Inside of 300 yards, there ain't a deer in Texas that's gonna survive any .25-'06 bullet of whatever size, if you hit a vital spot. As usual, it's hitting the vital spot that counts."

Make that 500 yards.

:cool:

[skinewmexico]

I'd use the 100g Corelokt, unless I could find an 87g. Really no reason to use a premium bullet on a Texas deer.

[critter]

All of the ones you listed are good. I shoot reloads in mine using 100 gr Nosler Ballistic Tips. In my gun, they shoot like a laser and are death incarnate on the whitetails I have shot with it. All of them have been in the 130-150 lb range however.

[Shawnee]

I would be perfectly confident in the Federal Premium V-Shok 85gr. Nosler Ballistic Tip ammo.

Winchester makes 85gr. ballistic tip and 90gr. Silvertip premium ammo for the 25/06 too.

:cool:

[LATex79]

Thanks for the great feedback guys. I was amazed that the .25-06 is such a really light recoiling round. It is like shooting a .22lr with a little more muzzle blast. I tried the 120 gr. and 100 gr. corelokts. The gun did not care for the core lokts. I am a hunter, not a target shooter by any means, but I can usually shoot about a 1.25" - 1.75" group at 100 yards with my .270 using 150 gr. corelokts. The best I could do with the 100 gr and 120 gr corelokts today was about 2.25" - 2.75" with the rifle preferring the 120 gr slightly. I am going to try some of the hornady sst interlocks tomorrow or Sunday. Would the SST interloks be OK for the ocassional close shot?

[PotatoJudge]

Would the SST interloks be OK for the ocassional close shot?

Yep, should work fine.

[GooseGestapo]

I've got three .25's.
Two are .257Roberts and one a .257WbyMag.

My oldest .257Bob is a custom M98 with a "3" chamber (long throated chamber) hence it behaves very similarily to a friends .25/06 as regards velocity. Bullet performance from the "Roberts" essentially duplicates the .25/06 as my handloads have essentially equal performance to the factory loaded .25/06.

I had trouble with the first Nosler 100gr BallisticTips in the mid '80's. Later lot#'s were/are better by a little bit. Not enough that I can recommend using them. The single mule deer I shot with an 85gr Nosler BallisticTip dropped dead in it's tracks, but it was at 385yds, so not a real test of the bullet. I've had numerous blow-ups at short range when using the Nosler Ballistic Tips in .25caliber. Last year I shot a doe at ~75yds with a Nosler 115gr ballistic tip from my .257wby (muzzle velocity 3,350fps). It failed on a shoulder shot. Deer was knocked down, got up and ran while I was trying to get the crosshairs on another and got away. There were 1"x5" strips of deer meat hanging from bunch grass in front of where the deer was standing as well as the side of a dogwood tree above and behind where the deer was standing (clear open broadside shot).
So, I can't recommend any .25cal. Nosler BT for close in shooting.
(.30 and .338" BT's are a different story. Avoid using the .30's in the large magnums,however- ask me how I know!).

The Hornady 100gr PtSpt is another story. I've recovered several through the years that were classic mushrooms from just under the hide after heart/lung and spine shots. Likewise from the 117gr BTSP and RoundNose. The single most accurate bullet from my Vangard .257mag is the 117gr RN seated to 3.180" over 60gr of H4350. At 3,200fps it shoots monotonous 0.5" groups at 100yds. Nearly as accurate over 76.0gr of WC860 at 3,300fps.

The Sierra's are most accurate (usually), and perform similar to the Hornady's. Nothing wrong with the Sierra's (as usual). I've shot a LOT of deer with the 100gr flat base and boat-tails. Likewise the 120gr BTHP, which holds together very well and has never shown any tendency to slip the core. I've never used many of the 117gr Sierra's however; just haven't gotten around to them.

The Remington 100gr Corlokt does about as well as the Hornady InterLok, but expands a little more slowly. I've never recovered on fired from either of my .257Roberts from over 2 dozen deer shot with them. Never required a second shot either. However, as you noted, they aren't always very accurate. I had one box of 100 of the 120gr Corelokts before Remington ceased selling them in component. A sad day! The few deer I shot with them appeared to have been shot with something quite a bit bigger than a .25. Accuracy was decent, but nothing to rave about.

Avoid using the bullets lighter than 90grs. A coworker had to shoot a nice 225lb buck in the bed of his personal truck with his duty issue .357mag. in the parking lot of the Harris Co. Georgia Court House. He'd shot the deer in the neck with the Winchester 87gr PEP load. Deer revived about 2hrs later while he was at a bond hearing on an arrest he'd made the previous day, and had gotten paged to come to court while he was on his way home from hunting. Very Embarrasing ! Bullet hole in the truck was never repaired. Wasn't in a "critical" spot.......... The .25cal bullet had blown up on a vertebrae, left a large exit wound, but didn't lacerate any large blood vessels, so the deer didn't bleed out. Not that is until the 145gr .357 SilverTip broke it's neck.....

I hope you enjoy your .25 as much as I have mine.

[Hk91-762mm]

I have a 25aught six-And I love it , Its built on a 1903a3 action and it shoots 120gr into a nickel size group at 150yds,
try several different ammo brands and gr weights. Deer dont care what GR, bullets you kill them with Any bullet will kill deer easy ceptmaby the varment ones --You can shoot ELK with a 25-06 but is best to step one notch to 6.5mm 06,, If I were building a rifle thats the cal. id build .

[langenc]

Core lokts will do MI deer and will for sure do Texas deer.

Since you dont load buy several boxes and you will be set for a few years. Save the brass and send it to me. Just put it right back into the box from which it came.

[LATex79]

Thanks for the great feedback guys. I will shoot again in the next couple of days with the hornady SST interlock and report back.

[LATex79]

I went back to the range today and shot the 117 gr. Hornady SSt Interlock. Much better performance with these bullets out of the gun. My 5 shot groups averaged 1 inch which is great for me. I am very pleased with the results.

[kmrcstintn]

I have a Savage 111G in .25-06 & lugged along Remington CoreLokt 100gr softpoints last year; with a 1 in 10" twist rate, the softtips were alright out to 100 yards, but the Winchester Positive Expanding Point 90gr load that I bought in bulk is tighter at 100 yards & under 2" MOA at 200 yards (got this stuff for 'groundhogs' & other such lightweight varmints); I didn't see a lick of deer last year, but was thinking along the lines of a 115gr to 120gr penetrating load if I use the .25-06 again this year but I got a .300 wsm that I want to use this year

[stevereno1]

Go to Wal Mart. If they don't already have it, they can special order it. It would arrive in the store in 14 days maximum.

[Water-Man]

I'd go with the heavier bullet in that caliber.

[cottonmouth]

True story, about three years ago me and a friend of mine were seting the scope on my No.1 Ruger in 25-06 and we were joking about a deer walking out while we were shooting. Sure enough, right after we got her set two bucks walked out at about 280 yards. I was putting the ammo in the truck when he says give me a bullet! He had the action open and was looking at the deer in the scope so slaped a factory Remington, 117 soft point I think it was, into the gun and he pulls the trigger. I was looking through the spotting scope and see dirt fly up behind the deer on a dirt bank. "You shot over him" I said, he shot again and the dirt flew again, "Still high" I say, and the deer walks into the woods. Both shots were broad side. Thinking he missed he tried the other buck but it was walking away from us, he tried a shot at the deer's rear end and when the rifle went off the deer never moved. We sat there for a second and it too walked into the woods. I just knew he missed but he wanted to go look for blood so we walked down there looking around and one of the bucks was laying there dead as door nail. When we went to look at him the other one jumped up and ran about 100 yards, I had my S&W 2-1/2'' 66 and went to see where he had ran, I was able to walk within 20 yards of him and put a 125 grain JHP into his front shoulder and put him to rest. After checking him we saw that the walking away shot had totally removed his testicals! This deer NEVER even showed a sign of being hit, he jusy walked away!! The other deer had two holes in his front shoulder no more than an inch apart, he too never showed a sign of being hit. The dirt I saw flying was from the bullets exiting and hitting the bank behind him. I never hunted with those bullets but I did go to a hand loaded 100 grain Speer HP at around 3200 fps and have had good luck with it. I have shot 4 or 5 deer with it and they never go more than 50 yards. The soft point was just punching a little hole straight through. A 25-06 is a good deer round but you need to know you have the right load.

J.B.

[Ridgerunner665]

Funny you should mention that they didn't show any signs of being hit...

Another true story,

I shot at a spike one VERY cold December morning about 18 or 19 years ago with a 25-06...I was so cold I was shivering which caused the "miss"...at the shot the deer jerked its right front leg, kinda like something bit him...other than that he never even raised his head from eating. I chambered another round and used a tree limb to steady myself a little this time...it worked, I put that round right through his heart and he fell right there.

Upon closer inspection I noticed a "nick" in his right front leg, a little above the knee...the bullet barely grazed him, it didn't even break the skin, it just took the hair off.

Now for the weird part...that deer was only about 50 feet away during all that...it was as if he did not hear the first shot.

EDITED TO ADD: The ammo I was using was Hornady factory loads with 117 grain BTSP's.