Questions for 25 06 guys

I have the 25 06 you want as for what I shoot I shoot winchester 120 grain positive expanding points and when it hits a deer the deer hit the ground.....pm me if you're intrested in a remington 700 custom deluxe 25 06 with a leopold 3x9x40 on top

It should. I have a Savage .25-06, but I don't use it for varmints or anything, just deer with 100 gr. bullets and heavier. It is an excellent cartridge.

DNR;

My 25-06 is a Ruger Hawkeye it has a 24 inch barrel and a 1-10 twist.

Mine has shown no perceptable difference in the grouping patterns of different weight bullets that I can see. I have shot 120gr ( Remington and Winchester XP ) 117gr ( Hornady and Federal) 100gr ( Federal and handloads ) and 85gr ( Winchester). Some of these only at paper, but again all weights grouped well. Some a little better than others, but the Brand of ammo was the difference there.

Obviously there are different trajectories with different weights , but the grouping patterns have all been consistant so long as the shooters does his job. ( and trust me I need all the help I can get )

I have only shot the 117grainers at Whitetails, but have found the Hornady Custom SST and the Federal Sierra Gamekings BTSP both to drop Bambi where he was hit.

I have a friend who uses Federal loaded with 100gr Barnes TSX's with great results on Whitetails.

I wish I could help you with your question about 75 gr , but I have never shot any, or seen any in a 25-06 for that matter ; but if I could find them on the shelf somewhere I'm sure curiousity would get the best of me and I would have to try them.

Hope some of this helps,....Tentwing

I've owned a Rem 700 vs, purchased new in 1978, so I have 30+ years of experience with this cartridge. When I bought this rifle ammo was scarce with the only availability being at gun stores. I learned to reload and never gave it a thought. Even Walmart sells .25-06 ammo now so it has become more popular.

It is a dual purpose cartridge. Using the 85 to 90 gr bullets it is the hardest hitting varmint cartridge you've ever seen, at distances hard to believe. I've used mine primarily for hunting ground hogs in OH. Bullets of 100 to 120 gr are good for larger game. Besides a flat trajectory it is accurate too. Mine has never shown a preference for any certain weight of bullet, every weight I tried worked fine.

I've hunted varmint, deer and bear with my rifle. It has always done what I asked it to.

Everyone should own a .25-06, it is one fantastic cartridge.

If you plan to reload for it this cartridge likes slow powders like IMR4350, IMR4831, H4350, H4831, RL19 and RL22 to name a few.

Mine has always preferred Sierra and Nosler Bullets.

I tried Sierra 75 gr bullets the first season. Very accurate but they just ran out of steam past 350 yards. It may have been the poor bc or hollow point but at long range sometimes the 75 gr bullet just didn't kill. The best performing varmint bullet for me was the Sierra 87 gr. With this bullet any varmint I shot to 500 yards was a one-shot kill.

I'm now on the second barrel, a Krieger Match. It still prefers the same powders and bullets. I do have some Berger 115 gr VLD bullets that I want to try if I ever get a chance.

I've got a Rem 700 XHR in .25-06. I haven't tried 87 gr bullets yet, but my rifle seems to like 90 gr SGKs, 100 gr SMKs, Nosler 115 gr BTs, and Hornady 117 gr Interbonds. I get <1 MOA with all of them using IMR-4831, CCI BR2 primers and a variety of once-fired brass. (BTW, all loads were tested using a Caldwell LeadSled.). .25-06 is a useful caliber.

FH

Been shooting a 25/06 since 1969... never shot anything below 87 gr ... but have shot just about every bullet made above that ... some shoot better than others ... but I never found one that was bad. My deer loads are the 115- 120 grs over a slow powder.
By slow ... I'm saying IMR 4831, IMR 7828, Reloder 22, Reloder 25 or one of the other slow powders.

Jimmy K

I have shot 75gr bullets out of mine a couple times,they shot very good.But I usually leave the 75gr bullets to shoot out of my 223's.

I usually shoot 100gr Sierra Gamekings,Pro Hunter,and Matchkings-Nosler 100gr,115gr Ballistic Tips-Hornady 117gr SST,120gr Partition.All of these shoot very well out of mine.
I have never had any luck with any caliber of Barnes Triple Shock bullets,so I won't even try them anymore.

The 25/06 is a great caliber,and can be used for varmints,antelope,whitetail,and mule deer.There are some that even hunt elk with it,but I have too many .30 caliber choices in the safe that I know will safely take elk in 1 shot.

I have played with 25-06s and have found that they can be a bit picky. Like other guns some shoot everything well and some....not so much. My opinion is that it is pretty overbored and has a long powder column so unless everything is just right it can be hard to make shoot the way you want. If it were me I would think about building a .257 improved. It will do everything you need to do on deer sized game, in general give better accuracy than a 25-06 with less powder and you really will not give up much velocity. OF course you have to handload for this plan to work.

I own a rem BDL 25-06 and have for 16 yrs.. it will shoot a ragged hole with 85 gr nosler or 87 gr speer. it will also shoot 100 gr rem core lokt in one hole. My uncle and dad worked up a load for it when i got it for xmas when i was 12. SINCE THEN.. It has killed a lot of critters, death on deer and coyotes... 54.0 gr imr 4350 and a 85 gr nosler ballistic tip is a 3500 fps round out of 24 in barrel... most groups avg about .375.

dont know about them being picky. Ive owned probably a dozen 2506 rifles through the years and havent had a bad one yet. Even the rugers chambered in it shoot exceptionaly well and thats sure not the case for rugers in some other calibers. Right now i have a #1b a bdl and a cdl and all will do less then moa with about any bullet weight with the right load.

We don't see many folks buying .25-06s here in Maine, though I've looked hard at the cartridge over the years. Every time I get close to buying one, I end up with something else, like a .22-250 Rem for chucks and crows, a .243 Win or 6mm Rem for larger varmints and wind-bucking spring chucks; and the .270 Win or .30-06 for deer and larger animals.

I'm not a fan of really light bullets in any cartridge, so if I got a .25-06, it would be loaded with not less than 87 grain bullets, and probably more 100 grainers for woodchucks and eastern coyotes.

Deer are a 120 grain proposition and it would be a fine caliber for field shooting, but the .270 and .30-06 work better here, since most deer are encountered within 350 yards, and woods shots are quite common.

My sendero does not like 90 grn Sierra BTHP's but loves 87 grn spitzers. Not sure why but it is more the bullet in my opinion then the gun. With 87 grn spitzers mine is more accurate then with 117 grn Spitzers or 120 bthp's.

Both of my 2506's are great guns. I think it is a fine round for general use.

Glad to get the information on the 25-06. I just traded for an mkII 25-06 all weather (stainless) with the "boat-paddle" stock. Haven't shot it yet, but I can't wait (this threads not helping...lol). Soon as I get it scoped up I'm headed to the range. Thinking about a Mueller sport dot if I can find one in silver.