.25-06 and recoil..??

[pberzk]

Just curious.... what would recoil for a .25-06 be comparable to? Looking for a rifle with a little more power and range than a .30-30 that would also be comfortable fro my son to shoot. He can handle a .308 and .375 Winchester pretty good, but a .30-06 is just a little too much for extended shooting sessions. Mostly for target and varmit type shooting. Aslo under consideration might be .243, or .22-250. And also a condsideration would be expense since I don't reload.


Pete

 

[Mal H]

This is strictly opinion since recoil is subjective and some shooters feel it a lot more than others.

The .25-06 is a pretty hard hitting round for a .25 caliber rifle, a lot more than a thutty-thutty. To me it feels much like a .270, but then again I can shoot a .270 all day with no problems at all. It feels quite a bit tamer than a .30-06 mostly due to bullet weights, but the velocity it puts out tips the scale back towards the hard hitting side.

From your choices, I think the .243 would fill the bill a lot better. It's one of the great varmint rounds and it will be cheaper to feed than the .25-06. The 22-250 is also excellent, but is more limited to very small game or target shooting although it's hard to find a flatter shooting round that is as pleasant to shoot.

 

[Dr.Rob]

Understand that a .25-06 is a .30-06 necked down to .25 caliber. You end up shooting a lighter bullet with the same powder charge, hence the 25-06 has a lot more velocity. It also shoots much lighter bullets, say from 85-120 grains.

To me it doesn't kick much more than a 270 (which is a .30-06 necked to .27 cal), but most rifles made in 25-06 are varminters, meaning heavy stock and bull barrel. That means they are a pain to walk around with. (I think my Dad's 25-06 weighs in at like 16 pounds with scope, bipod, sling, etc) However all that weight makes the recoil no worse than a 30-30.

I don't know many people who use the 25-06 for big game larger than antelope, though I'm sure the 25-06 can kill a deer. Given the high velocity though, I'd shy away from the 25-06 on Elk. The bullets tend to break up too quickly, and on something as large as an Elk, you'd likely end up with a wounded animal, rather than a dead one.

25-06 is a rather specialized cartridge, and since you don't re-load I'd suggest the .308, as inexpensive american made ammunition is readily available, and even places like Wal-mart are sure to have it on hand.

 

[HSMITH]

For targets and varmints stick with the 223 or the 243. Both are great varmint rounds, capable of exceptional accuracy and won't break the bank to feed.

If your boy can shoot a 308 the 25-06 should be no problem.

 

[Peter M. Eick]

I agree that the sensation of recoil is a personal thing, but the favorite rifle of a co-worker who is only 120 lbs is my 25-06 rem sendero. This is over 22 bolts, 7-08 x rem 700, 30/30 winchester etc.

She said the recoil doesn't really bother her, she just likes the raw accuracy.

 

[redneck2]

Varmints and targets??

why not a .223??? Cheap & accurate

 

[cratz2]

Well, the 243 and 25-06, along with the 6.5x55, 257 Roberts and to a lesser degree personally, the 260 and 7mm-08 are all exceptional catridges. Great downrange performance with little recoil. Of those I list, the 25-06 has the most recoil but it's not too bad. My wife has shot my sporter weight Ruger M77 in 25-06 and had no problems whatsoever. I have no doubt that a rifle shooter with even limited experience should be able to put 30 or 40 or 50 rounds with no recoil bruise.

Recoil levels compare something like this:

100 Gr .243 in 8 lb rifle 8.4 lbs
120 Gr .25-06 in 8 lb rifle 12.5 lbs
140 Gr 6.5x55 in 8 lb rifle 11 lbs
140 Gr 7mm-08 in 8 lb rifle 12.6 lbs

Compare these to:

130 Gr .270 in 8 lb rifle 16.5 lbs
165 Gr .308 in 8 lb rifle 16 lbs
180 Gr .30-06 in 8 lb rifle 20.3 lbs

or

160 Gr 7mm Rem Mag in 9 lb rifle 18.2 lbs
180 Gr .300 Win Mag in 8.5 lb rifle 25.9 lbs

Most of these are managable levels of recoil to most healthy full-sized adults but when you start looking at shooting 50 rounds at a sitting, they add up. The much vaunted .270 is a great and extremely versatile cartridge but I can not shoot 50 rounds through my light weight 700ADL without my accuracy deteriorating quite a bit. On the other hand, I can shoot my mid-weight Winchester in .243 for 200 rounds without accuracy suffering. The excellent .25-06 is somewhere in between there.

Rifle weight has a LOT to do with preceived and measured recoil. The difference between my 10 lb Winchester and 7.5 lb Howa rifles, both in 243, is pretty startling. Both are very managable but the difference is pretty amazing.

Also, have a look into rifles chambered in 6.5x55. Tikka and CZ both have excellent rifles in this caliber as do Winchester, Ruger and Remington. If you don't reload, S&B soft point ammo is available cheaper than any .243 or .25-06 factory ammo.

 

[pberzk]

Thanks for the replies. A wealth of information and knowledge here on this forum.


Pete

 

[labgrade]

Far as just targets & varmits, I'd opt for the .243 - more readily available than the .25-06 & still well within the '5-06's capability to take deer/antelope. Short action too boot.

If just targets & varmits, I'd really go for the .223 - plenty good for what you described, within range.

The .22-250 is a superior .22 cal varmiter & the .243 is as well, + capable of deer/antelope to 400 yards.

Never even shot a .25-06 - I wouldn't argue that it's a great round, but if you can't do it with a .243, why not get a .270 or the like? (Rhetorical)

All told, from what you mentioned, I'd get the .243 Reaches way out there, bucks the wind pretty well - better than any .22, you can shoot it all day long, better availability than the .25'06 while still right there enough.