What's the deal with the 25-06?

To get top velocities in 25-06 it does require at least a 26" barrel. My 24" barreled Rem 700 seems to match velocities in some manuals and I don't load maximum or above. I too see some reported velocity numbers that seem high. Depends on what you want to do with a long range rifle as to whether the 25-06 would be the best choice.

rg1 has it right. 26" is the way to go. My Sendero is a 26 and when my 24" Ruger #1 burns out I will actually go for a 28".

I am torn between just getting a 257 Weatherby or 257 STW and really burning the barrel quick.

25/06 fans are a cult like, but we find the quarter bores are more fun to shoot and don't beat you up as much as the 7mm's or 30 cal magnums can.

My 28 inch custom 25-06 chrono.s 3502 fps with 100 gr. sierra flatbase bullets. IMR 4831 powder. No pressure sighns and will shoot faster. But why. Shot 30 deer with 28 shots. None took a step. H&R makes a stainless heavy barrel 26 inch 25-06. Should be a shooter and cheap to try out. have fun and bangaway.

kachok, a rifle with a 25-06 Remington chamber is great for hunting anything up to and including deer. I have been shooting them since 1965 and I currently own two of them. I went down the list of things such as improved chambers and longer barrels but have found that a 24 inch barrel is the most practical length for a hunter. They make a great lighweight scouting rifle. It is true that a handloader can get some fantastic velocities by loading to the top of the chart but I don't do that anymore. One problem with extreme velocities is that bullet performance is unpredictable. Some bullets open to fast and blow up on impact and some don't open at all and shoot a small hole through the intended target. Some of the worst performing bullets come from the most reputable companies. I finally settled on 100 grain bullets at about 3400 fps from my 24 inch barrels. Actually, the best all around load for a 25-06 is a 120 grain bullets at about 2900 fps. My 2 cents. BW

I had a Sendero and it shot great.I had several mule deer kills at 400yrds+ in Wyoming using 85gr Barnes. Switched to 270WSM for elk also,I can't go back to that looooong action anymore though. Ever look into the .25WSSM ?

Kachok said:

one is a near dead (6.5 rem mag)

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If you're a reloader, this is meaningless... get one if you like the caliber.

the other is amongst the worlds worst barrel burners ever (264 win mag)

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Says who? With what powder loaded to what pressure in what barrel with what kind of maintenance/cleaning? Control the variables and you will find no statistical difference among similar cartridges.

but of the two calibers in 6.5s that can keep up with the WSM in trajectory

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Umm... what about the two flavors of 6.5x284? The many variations of 6.5-06?

I don't know how much variation from 270 WSM you are allowing for (or which bullet/load in particular), but if you're being reasonable add:

260 Rem
6.5x47
6.5 Creedmoor

And many others I'm sure exist.

It's just not "that" hard.

Case design on 25-06 is old and dated. Go with a short and fat case design for long range accuracy. The WSM's are the ticket or the 6.5x47, 6/6.5x284 etc.

the only other solution would be to get a gun that you like with a 26"barrel that comes chambered in a caliber that would allow you to rechamber it in say 25WSSM,or one of the others.Even if you have to cut an inch or two(preferably not if it is 24") you could then have the calib er of your choice but not be into a "custom" gun territory,though I don't know exactly how much it costs to rechaber such a gun.
Or find a good used gun and buy a replacement barrel made by Shilen or any of the other barrel makers.They would be more able to chamber it in whatever caliber desired plus length.

I've owned a .25-06 for 34 years, great caliber in my opinion. Mine has the 24" barrel which I feel is more practical for hunting. I use mine for varmint hunting shooting 85 gr bullets but have also used it for deer and even bear in Canada. If you like the lack of recoil in the .6.5 you'll love the .257 bore.

Some will say the .25 is to small for Elk. I never tried mine on anything that large. But if Bob Milek were still around I'm sure he'd disagree, he was a very big fan of the .25-06 for Elk.

The .25-06 is a dual purpose cartridge which can be used for varmints and medium sized game. Once you get one you start to see how versatile it really is.

Doesn't bother me that it's a long action. I own several rifles in short and long action, and I prefer the long action over short. Seems like any short action cartridges I own there is always a problem with length when using long bullets. I'll also disagree that the .25-06 case is old and dated, it's been around long enough that you have to say it has proven itself. If the WSM cartridges are still around in 90 years then I'll say they've proven themselves too. The WSM cartridges came out in 2001 I believe, a mere 11 years ago.

Using a chronograph I can tell you what I get for velocity from my 24" barrel. I've never pushed the 100 gr or 120 gr bullets to see how high a velocity I can get but do on the 85 gr.

85 gr 3600 fps
100 gr 3350 fps
120 gr 3100 fps

I looked at the 6.5mm years ago and am glad I went with the .257 bore instead. In fact 5 years ago I had the rifle rebarreled with a Krieger. When I was told I could get the new barrel in any chambering I wanted I thought about it for 2 seconds. Yep, the new barrel is .25-06.

Isn't there an Ackley Improved for the 25-06? they usually up the potential from the parent case.

115 Combined Technologies BT are the jimmy-jam for the .25-06

Fire forming brass isn't bad in this case,you just load em a little light and fire normal,with the AI it is just pushing the shoulder out a bit.I believe one of the bigger things that bumps up the performance with AI cartridges is the better shoulder angle not the case volume.the shoulder creates a "swirl" in the flame and makes the powder burn more efficient, If I know what I'm talking about.
For load data,well,you just make your own Thats the fun of reloading. In rifle, I'm not as worried about getting into dangerous territory without seeing pressure signs first.Pistols are easier to go to far without good reliable signs.
It takes prudent and sloooooowww workup.

the shoulder creates a "swirl" in the flame and makes the powder burn more efficient

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one of the bigger things that bumps up the performance with AI cartridges is the better shoulder angle

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the principle of a swirl in a combustion chamber, same thing applies to an internal combustion engine

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Puh-leaze.

How are you measuring (or seeing any effect of) this "swirl" in 60KPSI gas? What kind of relationship does the "swirl" have with regards to shoulder angle? What about the boundary conditions of 0 degrees (straight wall case) and 90 degrees (either a funny looking case with very sharp shoulders or imagine a straight wall case with a saboted bullet)?

Come to think of it, what about a shoulder angle >90 degrees? Maybe some gas will get trapped and you will have to shake it out before you tumble the fired cases?

In an ICE you need to mix fuel and air (not so, obviously, in a cartridge), and the gas velocities are WAY lower than in our example.

The "improved" performance from the AI wildcats is:

Maybe 10% from the larger capacity, blown out case.

The rest is from the "I don't have a strain gauge to measure pressure and there is no factory ammo to compare it to*, so I load it to the gunwales or until it blows up, whichever comes first" syndrome.

Kachok, if you spend 10% of the time you are spending agonizing over this rifle choice practicing with whatever you actually end up with you are going to be a freaking ninja assassin in the field

I know, it's all good fun.

*Not 100% correct as Nosler is loading 280 AI and I'm sure there are others I am not aware of.