[4895]

I've wanted one good "do all" rifle for target shooting and hunting coyote to mule deer. A friend suggested a .25-06 caliber. I found that I like the Tikka T3 stainless lite rifle and have a question for y'all reloaders. Does anyone here reload for it? Does anybody here really like that caliber for target and hunting? Any suggestions for a different caliber? I don't think I want a .243 but I am not opposed to a .270. I guess .257 bullets are limited in selection but quite effective. Any help, discussion, advice is very helpful. Thanks.

[rg1]

The 25-06 while not a do-all caliber should be fine for varmints to mule deer using 85-87 grain loads for coyotes and a heavy 117-120 grain bullets constructed for large game such as the Nosler Partition. A lot of 25-06 fans shoot 100 grain bullets entirely. I'd only take shots at heavy game with good broadside targets. I like mine for coyotes to whitetails, plus targets. There's a lot of good bullets and weights for the 25-06.

[4895]

Do you think I would be better served with a .270 or .280 Remington?

[ArchAngelCD]

IMO the only real do-all caliber out there is the good-old 30-06. It's the only caliber that can shoot such a wide range of bullet weights, from 110gr to 220gr. You can build 125gr varmint loads and 165gr/180gr bigger game loads. If you want a real varmint rifle buy a .223 or a 22-250 and then another rifle for bigger game.

My frist rifle was a 30-06 and it will be the last rifle in my hands if I had to sell everything else. There's a good reason why the old 06 is over 100 years old...

[Redneckly33]

It won't "knock em down" like a 30/06, but it will turn their insides to Jello. I shot one for years. I have killed Whitetails with 87grn to 117grn Hornady. I gaurantee they will not travel over 30 steps. and will collapse. Shoots flat and can be reloaded to shoot even flatter. Like the man said, it ain't a do all, but it only kills from one end. That's the reason I went to it. I got tired of having the snott kicked out of me. The Whitetail is the largest game animal where I live, I shot a 30/06 for many years and went to 25/06 because of less recoil. I love mine.

[cheeze]

Are you wanting the smaller caliber for a certain reason? If you chose a .308 or 30-06, it would widen the availability of components for reloading, brass for reloading, a wide amount of loading data, and store shelf ammo availability. It would take care of what you want to do and leave a little extra room for bigger game. For a smaller bore, I like the .243. It's also widely available, although mule deer is probably as large as I would go for hunting with it. The 25-06 takes much more powder, a longer case, and only offers maybe 300 fps advantage over the .243 with a 100 gr bullet. If it were me, I think I'd take a .308. It has a shorter cartridge than the '06 (a pocketful of rounds won't take up as much room, reloads will take less powder, and the stroke of the bolt will be shorter), less recoil than the '06, but will pretty much do everything the '06 will do up to 180 grain bullets, but you can also load 110 grain bullets for the yotes. You probably know the 25-06 and .270 are necked down versions of the 30-06.

I'm no big expert but that's my opinion for what it's worth. If you are considering the .280, you are just one step away from the 30-06 or 308. It falls in the narrow gap between the 30-06 and .270.

[4895]

I have nothing against a .30-06 or .270. Those calibers are so common that I just want something different with less recoil and flatter shooting than .30 caliber bullets. I have a .22-250 and plan to sell it to finance the new rifle. I like the .22-250, it just seems that the .25-06 will do almost everything the .22 does with more knockdown power and capability for large game hunting. I have heard of guys taking cow elk at 300 yards or so with the quarter bore. I have never shot one before. The lighter recoil, to me, is a huge benefit. Perhaps one day my sons will grow into hunting and shooting like me and a lighter recoil would be beneficial. I'm not too concerned about powder costs. I only need one shot while hunting so case length doesn't matter to me. I want something that I can really develop loads and hits like the hammer of Thor. I have thought about 7mm-08 and that intrigues me as well. I want to stay away from .30 caliber bullets (tons of selection tho) and go with .257, .264, .284 size pills. I was thinking that .257 bullet is more than sufficient for 250 lb. mulies. I saw some load data for 100 grain Nosler ballistic tip flying almost 3400 fps. and dropping only 25" at 500 yards. That sounds good to me.

[ArchAngelCD]

It sounds like you have your mind set on a 25-06, i say go for it. There's nothing wrong with a 25-06 and if I were looking for a varmint gun and a little more I would consider buying a 25-06. I just happen to have 2 Howa 1500 rifles for hunting, one in 30-06 and the other in .223. They cover everything I need to stop...

[41 Mag]

Personally after having a 25 for close to 20yrs, I would say go for it.

I have shot just about every available bullet weight available, plus some custom made heavies and all shot very well, to excellent. My choices however ran with the 110gr up to 117gr weights the most however. In all honesty I only started with the 110's when I passed the rifle over to my daughter. Up until then, I shot the 115gr Partition almost exclusively.

I found that the 100gr bullets were a bit much on the whitetails, not quite enough for the feral hogs, but devastating on yotes and squirrels. From the factory 24" barrel it was pretty easily done to hit 3350fps with them, but anything shot within 100yds was usually a mes to clean.

Bumping up to the 115gr Partition's gave me the best of both worlds. It was just as accurate, running almost as fast at 3150fps, and did plenty of damage, without blowing things to shreds. I shot literally hundreds of them through the years at vermin, hogs, and deer with no issues what so ever. The nice part was, no matter the angle, or the range, within reason, they did the same thing with boring regularity, usually a bang flop.

The year I passed it over to my daughter was when the Accubond hit the market. I picked up one box simply to tet them out, and when I shot the initial 5 rounds I did nothing other than simply swap out the 115gr bullet for the 110. The first three shots we actually had to drive out to the 200yd target to tell if they all hit paper, as all three more or less went through the same hole simply enlarging it. Since then both the daughter and I have shot a couple of boxes of them at both paper and game. I have had a couple of bigger hogs tote them off after being hit good and hard, but the deer, smaller hogs, and yotes have all piled up just like the ones did with the 115's. To be honest if they made it in a 115gr version I believe it would be about the perfect bullet for this round, but until then, if I were to still be shooting that rifle I would stick with the 115's, and the daughter has already asked for a box to try out this coming season. Not that she has had any issues, but we're getting some bigger hogs roaming around the area of our farm and she REALLY likes to put them in the freezer.

[joed]

I've owned a .25-06 for 35 years, nothing like it. And it was my only center fire rifle for 25 years. Those that knock it should own one, it would change their mine.

As said, low recoil, flat trajectory and accurate. Light bullets for varmint hunting and the heavy stuff for deer or even elk.

35 years ago components were scarce but today you can find loaded ammo in Walmart. I'm happy to say it has become more popular. It's a great cartridge.

[critter]

That 25-06 will do all the tasks you say you want to do with it and do them well. Even better if you reload. Not to worry. It's accuracy will make you very capable and confident with it.

[4895]

Thanks everybody for the advice and stories. I have been hunting with a .30-30 long enough to know that 200-250 yard shots are "short range" here in the SW mountains. I don't have a range finder yet, but canyon to canyon and hill to valley I would guess many shots in excess of 300 yards. I went Javelina hunting (first hunt in 18-20 years) this spring and flushed out a lot of deer that were 200 yards plus when a clear shot could be made. Some of the deer are very small. Coues deer are maybe 75 lbs. and whitetail are a slim 125 lbs. The mule deer get very large, around 200 lbs. I need to make a decision soon and get a start before deer season is here and my rifle isn't.

[sage5907]

4895, the way I would describe a 25-06 is that it is a pleasure to shoot. It is one of the easiest calibers to hit with because recoil is low and trajectory is flat. I have been shoot them for over 45 years and own two today. It's a great caliber for target shooting, coyotes and deer and it won't break your bank account to buy ammo. BW

[oldgold]

When i needed something with more wind bucking for South Dakota p-dogs, I got a 25-06.

87 grain bullets really did the trick. 100 grain Serria Match Kings are superb paper loads but at longer ranges, don't expand, at least on p-dogs.

I'm also a 30-06 fan but they just are not as pleasant to shoot a whole bunch.

[Nappers]

My brother in law shoots a 25-06 for deer, 115gr Nosler bullets. He loves it. It is after all a 30-06 necked down for 25 caliber.

[Zeke/PA]

One of my Ruger #1's is a .25-'06 Varminter ,very accurate with reloads and I've killed deer out to about 250 yards with it.
I like the 117 grain Sierra Gameking for deer hunting .

[JHUTCH]

Hope I don't offend anyone here, but I had a Tika 25-06 stainless just like the one you are asking about and I hated it. Not as accurate as they claimed.
I have a Winchester .270 and a Remington .280 that will shoot circles around the Tika I had and I had a high dollar scope on it, that same scope is now on the .270 and it's a tack driver! just saying...

[4895]

Hope I don't offend anyone here, but I had a Tika 25-06 stainless just like the one you are asking about and I hated it. Not as accurate as they claimed.

Wow. I didn't know that. I heard great things about them. Now you have me thinking if I should get the REM 700 BDL instead. What kind of accuracy should I expect with that Tikka rifle? Did you shoot it on a rest, bench, standing, etc.? Factory ammo, handloads, etc.? Please elaborate.

[THe Dove]

That's one post 4895 and one gun...... Don't jump ship just yet

The Dove

[GooseGestapo]

When you get a .25/06, don't get one with a 22"bbl.
You are really hobbling the cartridge. It needs a 24" bbl minimum and a 26" is even better. With RL25 powder and a 26"bbl, it'll match the speed of a .257wby with a 24"bbl.
(btw, my Wby.Vanguard in .257wby has a 24"bbl which hobbles it....it needs a 26",or better a 27-28"bbl....).

I've shot a couple of hundred deer with .257Roberts and .257wby. It'll do for anything in N.America save the great bears with proper bullet and placement... I rate it with the .270 and 7mm-08 and near the .30/06 for all-around use.
And YES, it DOES kick less than the above "others".....

With a Nosler or Swift 115-120gr bullet, you won't "need" anything else.... for just "deer" however, the Hornady 100gr "Interlok" gets the nod.... I killed the largest deer I've ever taken with one from a .257Roberts at 220yds with 3,050fps m/v. Bang-flop..... It also does the same thing from the .257wby at 3,600fps m/v...... only penetrates less....

[JHUTCH]

4895, To answer your questions, When I read the article about the the Tika t-3 rifle, I said I have got to have one,(25-06) they claimed it was extremely accurate. I must have bought a lemon! I fired it at a 100yard indoor range using sandbags with a Nikon Monarch 5.5 - 16.5 AO scope. would not print well at all and I tried every brand of factory ammo and various wts and it was not impressive at all. I didn't reload for it at the time, I did'nt consider it worth the expense to buy the components at the time. I do not remember the bbl. lgth. on it, I sold it shortly afterwards. I'm close to 70 yrs old and been shooting firearms since I was 12 yrs old and i'm sorry to offend any one that has one and I hope it shoots better than mine did, but I will stay with the .270 or the "OLD" Rem. 280. The old Win. 270 using standard Rem corelok 130gr. ammo is still very impressive on the target for it's age and I have taken down a lot of animals at long ranges with it.!!

[joed]

After 35 years with a .25-06 I have to say there is a good selection of components out there. You can find quite a few bullets from manufacturers in weights from 75 gr to 120 gr. I've never shot a wide range of bullets in any of my guns as I tend to pick 1 or 2 bullets and stay with those. But I can't imagine I'd need any other bullet in the .25 for hunting.

Barrel length? Mine is 24" which I feel is the best all around length. I prefer it over any of my 26" rifles. Sure it gives up a little velocity but I can live with it.

[41 Mag]

Hutch,

I doubt seriously you offended anyone with your comment. If so they simply haven't been around firearms enough to know they don't all shoot bug holes right out of the box.

I have a couple that took close to a year of carefully working through different components to find a load I felt was OK, and then quite a bit more tweaking to get them down to what I actually expected. With all of the different things that can and do effect the bullets from the time the trigger is pulled until it reaches the target, sometimes it's almost enough to drive a fellow nuts.

[amflyer]

I had the t3 stainless with walnut stock. I have shot some one-hole groups with it. The trigger was fantastic. I had trouble reaching velocities towards the upper end of what the 25-06 should do The tikkas have a 22.5 inch barrel, as I remember. If you are after flat trajectories, this may be of interest to you. The 25-06 is fairly overbore, and I would have preferred a 24to 25 inch tube.

[dab102999]

where I hunt (and most areas of the U.P.) 2-300 yrd shots are on the rare side so as far as long distance I wont be able to help you much but as far as the rifle I might. I am lucky enough that my great uncle left me and my brothers lots of rifles, some of the ones I have are 250-3000, .300 sav., .303 sav., 25-06, and a 7 X 57 (7mm mauser). Now I can get some 400 yard shots off at my dads for target practice but as I said hunting wise does not really come into play with me. I have other rifles too but those are the ones I can think of off hand that would have about the same or less kick then the 06. Now as far as gun, ya I think you are on the right track with the 25-06. I like shooting all my guns but any one of the above I like to take out if I am planning on tossen more then 20 rounds down range. But gun for gun I am really partial to my 7 X 57. I don't think long range you are gunna get the same out of it but under 400 yards I wouldn't be scared to use it. And it kicks a bit less then the 06. But from a reloading standpoint it is a lot cheaper. Don't have my book in front of me but seems like off memory I am around high 30's grain count on the 7 X 57 and around low 50's on grain count on the 25-06. So with the 7 I can reload roughly 175 rounds on a lbs and with he 06 I get about 140 or less. Dont know if that helped any or not but on a side note, don't know where you are financially but unless you have to I wouldn't sell that 22-250....man I sure love to play with my 250-3000 too. And I am lucky enough to see first hand how much these guns have grown in value. Most of the guns I have inheareted from him came with original reciepts and most are in the $25-$40 original purchase price. And one thing I know about guns is you will never replace the gun for what you sell it for.

[Dthunter]

I shoot the Berger 115 grain VLD. It is very accrurate and fast!
The 120gr. Nosler partition has killed me many moose, elk,whitetail,mule deer, bears etc.
Low recoil, and accurate.

I would seriously reccomend a 24"+ barrel. Otherwise you wont get full ballistic advantage from the cartridge.

[flashhole]

Mine is a Ruger #1V.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v69/GuideGun/1Right.jpg

Shoots pretty good with my handloads. This was 150 yards off the hood of my pickup.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v69/GuideGun/5-ShotGroup1.jpg

Nosler makes an excellet 115 grain ballistic tip bullet for whitetail. I'm still looking for this guy. My wife took the picture 5 minutes after I left for work. He was 60 yards from the house in the orchard knocking apples out of the trees with his antlers. She is not gun savy. She has snice learned how to shoot the 25-06 and likes it.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v69/GuideGun/buckzillaresized.jpg

[jfremder]

Mine is a Ruger #1V.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v69/GuideGun/1Right.jpg

Shoots pretty good with my handloads. This was 150 yards off the hood of my pickup.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v69/GuideGun/5-ShotGroup1.jpg

Nosler makes an excellet 115 grain ballistic tip bullet for whitetail. I'm still looking for this guy. My wife took the picture 5 minutes after I left for work. He was 60 yards from the house in the orchard knocking apples out of the trees with his antlers. She is not gun savy. She has snice learned how to shoot the 25-06 and likes it.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v69/GuideGun/buckzillaresized.jpg
Nice group. Have the exact same Ruger. Been chasing results like that. Any loads to share?

[Peter M. Eick]

Nice shooting. My #1 25/06 looks identical. I also shoot a Sendero 25/06 which gave me this target.

http://eickpm.com/picts/25-06target.jpg

A nice 5 shot group but I misread the wind on the one shot and blew the group.

The 25/06 is a great round. It has plenty of power but does not beat you up like a 30/06 can do to you. I think nothing of shooting 200 to 300 25/06's in a day but 300 30/06's and I start flinching toward the end.

Looking back on it, if I had bought a 25/06 first, I would not have bought a 7/08 for hunting. With decent bullets I just don't need something with more power on tap.

[flashhole]

jfremder - I use a near max charge of Retumbo powder for 100 - 120 grain bullets with a strong preference for the Nosler 115 grain ballistic tips. The performance is boring. Always making one ragged hole. 100 grain bullets are shown in the photo. I also use reformed HXP headstamp 30-06 brass.

You might also be interested in this link.

http://shootersforum.com/showthread.htm?t=17533&highlight=Ruger+approach



Nice shooting Peter. I love it when people post pictures of 5 shot groups - or more. I've shot mine enought to know my gun's POI drifts to the right as it warms up.

[Peter M. Eick]

Well, if you like more shots on the target.....

http://eickpm.com/picts/2506_200yds_target3.jpg

25/06 Sendero, 200 yrds, 50 shots, off the bench.

http://eickpm.com/picts/2506_200yds_target2.jpg

25/06 Sendero, 200 yrds, 50 shots, off the bench.

[flashhole]

Not trying to hijack the thread but the OP was asking about target and hunting capabilties in the same gun. That was my original reason for buying the 25-06 but soon got away from the dual purpose and just use it for hunting now.

This is from another gun but it is a game we play at the range. First shot has to be in the 10 ring to allow you to keep shooting. Each shooter goes in succession one shot at a time. After a 10-ring entry the object is to put as many shots in the 1.5" target as you can without two holes touching. Again, each shooter goes in succession one shot at a time. This was a winning target. Two holes touching is a looser. A shot not cleanly inside the target is a looser. Each shot makes a smaller target than the shot before. Sounds easy but it's pretty challenging.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v69/GuideGun/223_7shots.jpg

[4895]

That's a heck of a target. Perhaps my original question is better off in the RIFLE section, but I thought fellow reloaders would have better experience regarding the Tikka T3 Stainless Lite rifle. I understand now that a 24" barrel is better for target and long range hunting. I have spent quite a few hours hiking, tracking, scouting, hunting in some pretty rough wilderness in the Southern Arizona mountains. I was hoping the 6 lb. 3 oz. rifle would pay dividends after a long hike even if the barrel is about 22.5". Anyone have a suggestion on rifle make/model that would suit me well?

[MachIVshooter]

No Tikka here, but my '99 production 700 BDL is quite accurate, and I've managed to work up some impressive handloads in it's 24" tube.

The 25-06 takes much more powder, a longer case, and only offers maybe 300 fps advantage over the .243 with a 100 gr bullet.

Ummm, no. I run 100 gr. TSX-BT at 3,585 FPS from my 24" .25-06. 117 gr. Sierras are clocking 3,195 FPS avg. Yes, these loads are a touch over max (about 7%), but show no pressure signs. Overload the .243 by the same margin, you still can't get within 500 FPS of the 100 gr. velocity.

[flashhole]

A 24" or 26" barrel will not be more or less accurate than a 20" or 22" barrel. The advantage of the longer barrel is higher velocity which translates to flatter trajectory over longer distances. I refer to the 25-06 as the reach-out-and-touch-something gun. I run my loads at max or very near max because that's where I get the best performance.

[Peter M. Eick]

That is my one complaint with my Ruger. The short 24" barrel. With an action like the #1, I don't know why they did not at least put a 26" on it. When I burn this barrel out, I will probably go a 27 or 28" just because it would fit in the safe still get some more velocity out of the gun. It would still be shorter or about the length of my sendero with a 26" tube.

[LeadDownRange]

I have a Ruger M77 MKII in 25-06, very accurate but the ammo is expensive compared to 30-06 or 308. Does anyone have a source for better priced 25-06?

Also, I have a Remington 7600 in 30-06 but am looking for a bolt-action. I'd like to find a rifle that shoots the easiest obtainable and least expensive ammo so should I go for .308?

[Mykey]

The 25.06 is an awesome caliber! I've had several different rifles chambered in the 25.06 over the past 25yrs and currently own a Rem 700 CDL in this caliber. It's not a hard caliber to load for and like already mentioned there's lots of components out there for it. My favorite powder for the 25 is RE22 but i've had great results with others as well. The 25.06 is a fast flat shooting caliber with mild recoil that hits the target hard and kills like lighting. The only regret you'll have if you decide to purchase one is that you didn't get one sooner.

[gkc1111]

I have a friend who loads nothing but Barnes TTSX or TSX for his hunting loads and will shoot nothing else. I recently purchased a 25-06 and like the reviews on the Barnes bullet but I'm wondering if anyone can say for sure how good they are. I'm looking at using the TSX 115gr FB. The largest game I'm hunting is Whitetail.

[Pit4Brains]

I'm looking at using the TSX 115gr FB. The largest game I'm hunting is Whitetail.

I have dropped three cow elk with 100 gr Barnes Triple Shock bullets. The first was about 430 yards as best as I could measure and the others were between 200 and 300 yards. I got into the solid copper bullets when they introduced the California Condors into the Grand Canyon ( I hunt just south of there in Az game unit 10). The solids not only leave the gut pile lead free, but open up to a flower of razor-like pedals and pass clear thru the animal. I haven't hit a bone other than ribs yet, but I would imagine it would do even more damage.
I have a 30-06 Savage bolt and a single-shot H&R 25-o6 with the heavy barrel. I prefer to hunt with the single-shot.

You may want to stay with the lower weight bullet, like 100 and below. The higher weight bullets tend to shoot a wider group (in my experience) . I am slowly working on different loads to try and tighten up bigger weights at 200 yds.

You can load 87 gr bullets and shoot very fast and therefore very flat at varmints and yotes and such.

I highly recommend the 25-06 for a wide variety of game at all ethical distances.