I have my rifle round choice narrowed down to the .22-250 or .25-06

I actually think you have already answered your own question....22 cals always seem to be in short supply. Once Obama is out if office...if he ever gets out of office, then the supply and cost should stabilize but until then....

Both are excellent chioces, the .25 will kick a lot more. Make sure that the bullet you use on deer is a game bullet. You might also look at a .243. If availability is an issue, most places still have .243 bullets and ammo in stock.

What sort of a round count are we talking about? Because the .22's are so popular, they're going to be less expensive to reload for. And if you're shooting thousands of rounds per year, that definitely adds up.

However, as you mentioned, there are fairly strong arguments against using any of the .22's for deer. If you're going to hunt deer, I would definitely recommend the .25-06 over the .22-250. If there were no other rifle / round available, I might shoot a deer with a HEAVY, purpose built .22 centerfire, but I would try to avoid that situation like the plague.

Also, what sort of distances are you going to be shooting at? I believe that even with the higher powder capacity of the .22-250, it doesn't get that much more velocity than the .223. If you're going to be shooting at 100 (even 200) yards, you might do well to consider the .223 instead, especially if you consider the cost/round issue.

Lastly, what about building your "plinking gun" in .22-250, then purchasing a cheap-o deer rifle in a more appropriate chambering? Winchester 94's in 30-30 can be had for $250 around here, and single shots for even less.

I just noticed that was my 223'rd post - maybe that's a sign?

One point to consider is that for deer hunting, you want a heavy bullet in a .22 centerfire. The .22-250 is not optimized for a heavy bullet -- the rifling twist is too slow.

You make the point that 99.9999% of your shooting will not be at deer. But when you're hunting, 100% of your shots will be at deer -- and you don't want to wound an animal and have it escape to die a lingering death.

I have decided that I don't need my .25-06 and want to sell it. I can't actually bring myself to though because it is so easy to load very accurate ammo. There is something cultish about the quarter bores too.

The 25 caliber is a much better hunting bullet.

Jim

I also would consider the .243 or variant. I owned two 25-06s. Both Tikas. Great caliber. Ammo options are somewhat limited and especially from a reloaders point of view the projectile options are getting better, but with 6mm the options are almost endless. 6mm br? Didn't Savage offer some of their rifles in this cal.?
Nice trigger, scary accurate...

25-06 is a great cartridge. Good for everything from wood chucks to deer.

Good luck on your decision.

Paper targets and water jugs don't care what you shoot at them. But for hunting I think the .25cal or IMO the .243 or Rem 260 would be a better choice if you are staying away from 30cal.

What distance will you be shooting at paper? Both of those are pretty flat shooters.. It'd be pretty lame to only be able to shoot them at 100 yards.
I think you'll be replacing barrels on that .22-250 every thousand rounds or so.. I'm probably wrong though.

Another vote for 243. It will do anything a 25-06 will do with a lot less fuss. If I wanted a 22 centerfire I'd still go 223 for versatility. Worrying about buyng ammo during shortages is wrong thinking in my opinion. Keeping an adequate supply to get through them is a far better plan and is cheaper in the long run.

I figure that a .22-250 with a 1:14 twist wouldn't be the best to give really good groups with the heavier "deer" bullets. But a 1:10 twist works just fine from around 50 grains on up to 65 or 70. I have some old round-nosed 70-grain .223 loads that are half-MOA from a 1:10 twist.

The aforementioned 100-yard probabilities for shooting Bambi reduce the need for sub-MOA groups, anyway.

Back when I first joined The Firing Line in late 1998, I was down on using the .223 for deer. No way, Jose! But the R&D by the bullet makers has certainly changed that equation.

Both those choices give you flat, high velocity trajectories. Sometimes you need that. If you do, the very short barrel life is a reasonable trade in order to get it. Just remember that every time you pull the trigger on some cartridges, you need to put a quarter in a jar to pay for the next barrel.

The 25-06 has been called the perfect pronghorn cartridge. If you're in the wrong position, you can't get within about 700 yards of those critters, so the long flat trajectory serves a purpose.

If you're shooting at a 1-200 yard shooting range, or hunting deer, you rarely need to spend barrel money to get that much muzzle velocity.

The general belief is that as you increase muzzle velocity, you increase killing power. In the case of cup and core bullets, impact above 2800 FPS usually causes bullet failure, resulting in a shorter wound channel and less killing power. So unless you're using premium bullets, higher muzzle velocity can be counterproductive.

Only you can decide which cartridge fills your needs best. Whatever you get, I hope you enjoy it immensely.

.243 Winchester.

rc

Jason_W said:

I am adamant about completely shunning all common military and police rounds, so the .223 is out. The situation we're in now is never going to fully go away and will flare up every time an incident occurs, or even every time an unfounded conspiracy theory goes viral on the web..

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Except for when you have your .22-250 in your paw and stumble upon mountains of .223 (there are mountains behind about every door) you'll probably grumble a little bit.. or die.

Jason W said:

I am adamant about completely shunning all common military and police rounds, so the .223 is out. The situation we're in now is never going to fully go away and will flare up every time an incident occurs, or even every time an unfounded conspiracy theory goes viral on the web.

Click to expand...

jmr40 said:

Worrying about buyng ammo during shortages is wrong thinking in my opinion. Keeping an adequate supply to get through them is a far better plan and is cheaper in the long run.

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jmr40 has hit the nail on the head in my opinion. Same thing goes for handloading components, notably primers and powder.

Jason W said:

99.9999% of all rounds fired through this gun won't be at deer.

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Frugal, on a tight budget..poking holes in paper targets and water jugs??????

223 Rem..... cheap to shoot and reload, many choices of firearms to choose from,uses way less powder over the 22-250 which equals much more barrel life, minimal recoil, less report etc....

jason,on the 2506,install a pachmyer magnum decellerator pad and a http://www.gentrycustom.com/muzzle-brake.decreases recoil

If you were frugal and only punching holes at paper to 200 yards with the occasional deer, you could go Schuetzen style/power. The guns would/do go forever and a case would last like 30,000 firings. It's mainly offhand shooting though.

6mm; your choice as to which flavor. .243 winchester, 6mm PPC, 6mm remington, 6x47, there's a whole bunch of them if you look. If there ever was a caliber that gives you the most options, 6mm is it. Varmits, paper punching without destroying your shoulder, 200# animals with hunting bullets. 243 winchester is the cheapest to find. 6mm PPC would be an interesting option.

If you can pick up a rifle with a fast twist barrel, the 22-250 could certainly be used for taking deer with the new, heavier, modern hunting bullets. But, even though the velocities from the 22-250 would be higher than the 223, the standard 1:14 twist of the 22-250 just isn't fast enough to stabilize the more appropriate (heavier/longer) hunting bullets. I haven't run the numbers, but a 1:10 would probably let you shoot all the modern .224 hunting bullets, except probably the 75gr Swift Scirocco.

So, between the two cartridges you're considering, I'd pick the 25-06, unless you can find a fast twist 22-250. Then, it would be a toss up for me.

I own and shoot both 22-250 and 25/06. I've killed coyotes with both and deer with both. The 25/06 is a much better coyote rifle than the 22/250 is a deer rifle. If you don't mind blowing 75% more powder behind 80% heavier bullets, I'd go with the 25/06. Punching paper is different and the 22/250 is a much better choice for that. There is no great difference in potential accuracy, but a big diff in the comfort.

Hunting grade bullets in 224 are still around here. 55 gr soft points are all over. The 25-06 will do fine for everything if you reload for it. If you reload, want a good range and hunting round. I'd deffinately go 243. I find 85gr bthp and 105-107 bullets every time I go to sportsmans in 6mm.