I don't reload so factory fodder is my firearms' diet. I recently resumed hunting after a 40-ish year break. No whitetail deer for me this most recent season but I might go after Axis some time later this year before whitetail season opens again.
I shot 2 feral hogs and a whitetail spike in 2019. All shots were with my 24" barrel .25-06 Remington Interarms Mark X bolt action rifle.
I shot the whitetail in the skull about halfway between the corner of its right eye and its right ear hole using simple Federal Power Shock 117 grain cup and core. Bang-flop,a little rear leg kicking but stopped pretty quickly. No bullet was recovered, no bloodshot meat, no lactic acid issues with meat flavor, no complaints on point of impact = point of aim.
I shot the first feral hog on its left side about center of its neck lengthwise, and just high enough to not hit bone with Federal Vital Shock loaded with the 110 grain Nosler Accubond. Another bang-flop but still some kicking so I put a finishing shot left side entry centered on its neck vertebrae a little closer to its skull and all motion ceased. No bullets recovered but I was highly impressed to see my first shot that didn't hit bone but put plenty of torque in the pig's neck had an exit hole the size of a fifty cent piece. To me that was fantastic as that's far from the thickest meat on the pig and no sign of bullet blow-up with published muzzle velocity of 3100 fps.
Second pig was shot with Federal Fusion with 120 grain bullet. Pig had its head down, bullet went in center top of skull, out the soft tissue of the lower jaw, into the chest. Bang-flop with no kicking or twitching. No bullet recovered as the pigs were butchered in gutless method. No sign of a lot of expansion either. The entrance hole in the chest was caliber size-ish by eyeball.
Overall highly impressed with the Nosler Accubond in the small & speedy .25-06 Remington. I bought some Underwood factory ammo to try as well as Doubletap loaded with the 110 grain Accubond. I doubt I'll order from Doubletap again as the web site said 2-3 days availability when I placed my order and actual receipt of my order was 6 months. No real return of my emails & phone calls even when I requested a full refund until the day came I was notified the components were on site and production was scheduled, then another 4 or 5 weeks for my order to finally be manufactured and shipped. Underwood was a whole different experience. After a few screen taps, my order shipped a few days later with heads-up and tracking info email, and delivered in a few more days with zero hassles.
