25-06 on Whitetail??

[verbatim]

Local shop has a Ruger M77 Mark II Standard in 25-06. It comes with rings and is in very good to excellent condition. It looks hardly shot. The lands and grooves look new and the crown is perfect. The bolt locks up nice and tight and is pretty smooth for a Ruger. The trigger is not great, but I could manage it. They want $350.00. Is it worth it?

I know a guy who swears by his 25-06 for Whitetail (SC deer are small). I shoot a 7mm-08 now and am looking for something with a little more power at longer ranges.

 

[labgrade]

I know next to nothing on prices these days, but

"I shoot a 7mm-08 now and am looking for something with a little more power at longer ranges."

You're giving up nothing with your 7-08 & the only thing you'll gain with the .25-06 is some in trajectory - & likely something you can't really use unless you're a way off anyways.

All things told, I'd just stick with the 7-08 - unless you're in The Market for another one & that's good enough reason as any.

The '25 will fill a bit of a niche, but not enough for 99% to matter either way.

 

[omega5]

25.06 is a necked down 30.06. Got plenty of power and shoots flatter. Great for long shots on Mule Deer, Antelope or Sheep.

 

[Mr. Chitlin]

I agree with labgrade. My son andI shoot Ruger 77MKII stainless 25/06's, and they do great on the Arkansas whitetail's that we hunt. But at the same time, I wouldn't buy it thinking you are going to improve over the 7-08 you already have. Money to spend and wanting something new, go for it. That sounds like a great price for the description you give. I paid $450 each NIB for the ones we hunt with.

 

[labgrade]

... & the 7-08 is a necked down .308 Win

There is absolutely nothing appreciable that any white tailed deer anything will know between the differecne between being shot with a 7-08, or .25-06 if you put a decent bullet in the right spot.

The .25-06 may allow a bit of lee-way do it's flatter trajectory, but at normal deer-hunting distances, it's likely not to matter to anyone taking shots at such distances anyway.

 

[Blue Line]

The only thing I'll add is that my uncle had a 25-06 for whitetails and he usually got one but it sure destroyed a lot of meat up close. He had more gun than he needed. I think it would be great where you could reach out for something.

 

[labgrade]

Let me add here that my all-time fave deer-round is a .243 (another necked down .308 Win) - seems to just drop 'em in their tracks, very flat-shooting & zero "meat damage" as they were all shot broadside anyways & in the right spot to preclude any of that nonsense.

I used my standard 87 gr Hornady SpirePoint handload - a no-nonsense, cheap bullet that did everything I asked of it for over 30 years.

The Wife shot a CO antelope with her short-barreled 7-08 (120 Nosler Ballistic Tip at a 2600 fps MV) at about 325 yards. Only "variance" was that she knew the bullet's trajectory & used the scope's duplex subtension. Bullet hit within an inch of expected.

Oh, & another = the antelope actually took three steps before dropping - rather than the immediate incapacitation.

Bullet had complete pass-through, excellent expansion.

A .25-06 would have allowed that she only used 1/2 of the scope's duplex when shooting the same thing - maybe. Results would have been exactly the same, except that maybe the .25 ThunderBolt would've dropped it 2 feet closer.

 

[labgrade]

Pleasee the "meat damage" discussion in Hunting = new thread.

 

[Peter M. Eick]

I own a 7-08 Rem 700 and a 25-06 Rem Sendero. I picked up the sendero for deer hunting in Texas. No that the 7-08 could not have done the job because it has several Texas whitetails to its credit. No the 25-06 offers a heavier barrel and better ballistics with a 26" barrel over the 22" 700. As was pointed out above. Both will work, but I think the 25-06 will work better at longer ranges.

 

[Kurt S.]

I used an M77 in .25-06 for years when I was hunting west Texas. I was told it was "the perfect west Texas deer caliber" and it proved to be that for me for a long time. With 120 grain PSPs it put hogs down like you dropped a cast-iron safe on 'em. I found that what was said about meat damage at close range is true.

 

[artherd]

Try Barnes copper X bullets.

Either caliber should do the job just fine.

 

[labgrade]

For whitetails, I wouldn't do anything but shoot them in the right spot & no reason whatsoever to pay a premium price for premium bullets at all.

Good grief!

I keep seeing people in MS asking about using the newest .300 WundurUber for shots on 100 pound deer at 100 yards ....

Nonsense & nuts.

 

[Mannlicher]

My two cents worth is go ahead and buy it. Thats a great price on a good rifle.
For deer hunting, its pretty good, but where I hunt in North Florida, I prefer a shorter barrel. The .25/06 has got a lot of zip with a long barrel, but it loses steam quickly when you go down below 22 inches.
In SC you are lucky, in having a varied terrain to hunt. The .25/06 would work great in the upper western areas, but for hunting the low country, I would take a shorter rifle.

 

[Al Thompson]

The .25-06 is getting popular here. My bro-in-laaw refers to it as his "deer laser". IIRC, the 115 B Tip is a favored bullet.

 

[Man-O-War]

I really like my Rem 700 in .25-06 for whitetails here in East Texas. It has been my primary deer rifle for better than 20 years now. I reload for it and prefer 115 grain or 120 grain Nosler Partition bullets.

Just my $0.02.

 

[riddleofsteel]

If you already have a 7-08 and use it for deer I can tell you very little about it. However, I to own a 25-06 Sendero with a 26 inch barrel. I know it shoots pretty dern flat out to just under 400 yards and kills deer like hot lighting. It also weighs around 11 lbs. with a 3.5 X 10 Leupold Vari X III scope on top. It is not a walk around rifle.
The 25-06 needs a long barrel to wring out the speed. At least a 24 inch barrel is recommended. If you hunt from fixed posistions like a tower stand or from a stationary blind like I do a heavy 25-06 is hard to beat. If you are a walk around guy or like to hike to your stand you may want to look at a light rifle in 280 Remington, .280 Improved, or plain old 7mm Mag. You can keep the same diameter bullets and pick up and extra 50, 100 or 150 yards on your point blank range respectively.

One point; I have often found Ruger rifles extremely hard to bed and get accurate. They either shoot grea or they don't.

{Flame suit on)


YMMV

 

[Steve F]

I've got to agree with riddleofsteel on his observations of .25-06 and barrel length I have a Springfield 03 with a 26'' bull barrel chambered in .25-06,topped off with a 2"Unertl scope,and as he says,at 400 yds,it shoots with near zero drop I'm useing home grown ammo with 120 grain boat tail slugs,and they shoot very flat.It's not a carry around rifle though,at almost 14lbs it's a beast to carry