.25-06 or .243 Help me decide

[Art Eatman]

Tad, I was in an email back-and-forth with an Australian about the Federal Premium High Energy rounds for the '06. Federal claims 3,150 ft/sec with the Sierra 165-grain HPBT and a 26" barrel. The Aussie, using a 26" barrel, said that his chronograph agreed with Federal's claim.

I've only shot one coyote with that load. Maybe fifty yards. Blew out most of the chest, bones and all.

I've read reports that Hornady is a bit optimistic about their light magnum ammo, but that's hearsay. I've never tried it. However, I am a mild fan of the Federal, I guess, but I don't see much real need for it.

 

[bpl]

For mule deer hunting, I'd have to go with the 25-06 over the .243. A little flatter, a little bit wider and heavier bullet, a little more reliable on a big mulie I'd expect. If you like the savage with accutrigger over the XL7, sell the XL7 and buy the savage. Do most of your target shooting with your .223.

 

[oneounceload]

Where the 25-06 really shines is on the prairies after pronghorn and in the "hills" after goats and sheep. Seems a bit much for coyotes, but a doable backup for mulies. When I lived in NV, I preferred my 7mm's of various flavors for deer/elk.

Your other option might be a 6.5 x 55 - load 85-160 gr bullets. My 100+ year old Swede carbine loves Sierra 120's and 3031

 

[Al LaVodka]

.25-06 Ackley Improved. All around.
Al

 

[JimKirk]

The 25/06 is a fine round, so is the .243 Win. There is no way I would sell one to get the other. I have both, so I don't have that problem. I reload for both and like some one earlier said, the only cost difference is the price of the powder. The bullets cost the same, the primers the same, both can even use the same powder, only the amount differs. The .243 would be a better varmint round by the same amount that the 25/06 would be the better deer round, very little.

Having had two different 25/06, I can tell you that my 22" barrel Browning A-bolt out shoots velocity wise, the Win 70 24" barrel I had, by about 100 fps. So don't let the shorter barrel upset you.

Jimmy K

 

[djardine]

Okay guys- thanks for the info. I am throwing into the mix another option. I have owned two .308 rifles (Win Model 70 and Remington 700). I loved these rifles and regretted having to sell them. As I stated before, I really like shooting at the range and am looking for a rifle that is cheap to shoot and accurate. I would consider selling the .25-06 and buying a .308 because the ammo for the .308 is much easier to find and Walmart carries factory ammo for $12.97! I love the .25-06 but ammo is expensive and I don't have the money or time to reload just yet. I believe the .25-06 is one of my favorite cartridges but it doesn't reach her full capacity until she can be reloaded. What do you think? .308?

 

[Franco]

308 is a fine "all around" rifle. I'm just not an "all around" rifle kind of guy so my advice is biased. I like my 7mm-08 and 30-30 for deer, bear and hogs, my 22-250 or 243 with moderate or light loads for woodchucks, crows, coyotes and long range plinking, a 45-70 just because it's darn fun to shoot and I'm currently in the market for a 300 WSM for the bigger animals. Reloading really isn't that expensive or time consuming -- I reload for every rifle I shoot.

Having said that, I guess if you're primarily shooting deer and you can have just one rifle, the 308 is a very versatile rifle with lots of readily available ammo options.

 

[sumpnz]

Walmart carries factory ammo for $12.97

First off, I despise Walmart, but that's a side issue.

I can reload with premium quality projectiles for a lot less than that with my 6.5x55.

Bullet: 140gr Hornady SP $0.26
Powder: 39.5gr Varget $0.13
Primer: CCI 200 Large Rifle $0.02
Brass: Mixed Headstamp $0.02 (a lot was free, some bought)
Total: $0.41 per round or $8.20/box

I could step up to Barnes TSX bullets and still keep it under $12/box. I'd be shocked if you couldn't reload .25-06 for noticeably under $10/box with better quality bullets than that factory ammo at $13-25/box.

As for the cost of reloading equipment, I use a Lee Anniversary Kit that runs a little over $100 last I looked (which was a while ago). Add a set of dies and enough components to load a couple hundred rounds and you're probably looking at $250. About what you'd spend on the next 10 boxes of factory .25-06. And incidentally that couple hundred rounds is the same as 10 boxes. After that, you're in the gravy as the equipment has paid for itself.

Spend some time reloading rather than watching TV and the time factor disappears. You can even do a lot of reloading work while watching TV. Cleaning off the case lube after resizing, trimming the brass, and priming are things I sometimes do while watching TV. When it comes to weighing powder charges, just do a few rounds worth at a time and then seat the bullets. That way you can walk away after a couple minutes or a couple hours because you don't have a large number of charged cases sitting there without bullets plugging the case mouth inviting a mess or contamination.

 

[Big Bill]

I have an older Ruger M77 Mark II 25-06 that has a 26" barrel. It is by far my favorite rifle and VERY accurate. I've killed both coyotes (with lighter loads) and mulies with it. I'll never sell it.

If I were you I'd keep the Marlin and get another Savage 243 or 22-250 for varmints. Why not have both to choose from?

 

[Franco]

To Sumpnz point, even if you buy new brass for $1/cartridge (which I often do), it's free the next 10 times you reload it which takes your average per/box costs way down over time. And, besides, I think you're getting more accurate and consistent loads when you do them yourself.

 

[djardine]

My question now is- does the .25-06 have that big on advantage over the 243 for Mule deer up to 300 yards? Especially because my 25-06 only has a 22 inch barrel- which I figure loses 60-100 fps of velocity. I love my 25-06 and am torn on this one, but I REALLY LOVE the overall feel of the Savage .243. I just don't want to feel undergunned by going with the .243. I have shot MANY MANY rifles and the Savage .243 was the most accurate I have ever seen. If I can the 25 and buy the 243 also, I will, but I don't know if having a .25-06 and a .243 would be advantageous because they are very similiar in ballistics.

 

[lopezni]

man, how many times a year is this topic debated? Well the .25-06 is effective out to 300yrds on deer sized game, .243 I wouldn't take a shot on a deer over 200. If you have a 22" barrel on a .25-06, you're not really getting the most out of your rifle.

 

[sig220mw]

Keep the 25-06.

 

[rangerruck]

We are talking about 1 bullet weighing maybe 10 to 15 grains more than the other, and the diff in diameter of less than .5 mm. That is not enough of a diff for a muledeer to tell you which he was shot with. Then the real diff comes in at handloading; if you can handload, I would crank up a 25; problem is there are not many great made vld type bullets for it. But there are great factory rounds for the 243 cartridges, and vld type bullets especially over 100 to 110 grains, that with handloading, you can crank those up pretty good as well. And if there is not enough diff in speed, I say that the b.c. of the 6mm less weight bullet, is better inside of 500 yds, than a 25 cal bullet; just because it is thinner to grab onto, while still keeping basically the same speed, and it has a smaller meplat, and a flatter ogive.
check this out;
from this page, at the g7 level, the 243 still has a better b.c. than the 25
and check out this video
243 at 600 yds, on a steel plate. think your mulie can handle it like these plates?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AZ8qXiMSdXk&feature=related

are they accurate enough? check this...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k5MwKfiKjdo&feature=related
how about 900 yds?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7GpBTRyixe4&feature=related
or a headshot at 728?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_AyjPdip-io&feature=related
not a 243 but close- 6mm/284
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KhriXO6tuDY&feature=related
not a long shot on a mulie, but listen to this girls' heartbeat at
the 5 minute mark, just before she gets it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wu2gUxODJ80