new deer rifle

[Grouse Hunter]

well ive deccided to get a new deer rifle sine my model 700 25-06 dosent relay have enough take down powerfor me. so i was thinking about switching to a model 700 .270 bdl. i killed a deer with my dads .270 last year and dropped him in is tracks. I would just use his but nows he started usin it instead of his BAR 30-06 What do you guys think get the model 700 0r something else??

 

[ArmedBear]

You could use the BAR yourself, if he'll let you.

I like my Vanguard Sporter in .30-06. Weatherby Vanguards and Howa 1500s are similar to 700s, though they're a few ounces heavier. They're less expensive, and they have bolt-lock safeties still (I just found out here than 700s don't). The Weatherby stock kicks the gun away from your cheek when it recoils.

 

[ACP230]

Have you checked the ballistic tables?
I don't think the .25-06 and the .270 are that far apart.

Dead on the spot deer are due more to shot placement and bullet construction than power in my experience.

I have had more deer shot with my .250 Savage drop on the spot than with my BAR in .30-06. The "06 with 150 grain soft points is more powerful but the .250s 100 grain soft point bullets open faster. They seem to do more damage internally than stouter .30 bullets.

 

[WYO]

I agree with ACP230. It's possible you have a projectile issue, but not a power issue.

 

[AH-1]

a big plus 1 here.the 25/06 has been dropping mulies out west for years.
bullet placement and a nosler/barnes ect and put it in the right place.. dead deer.
pete

 

[enkindler]

I agree, I've been dropping mule deer for years with my 25-06 and just got a black tail this season with the same gun (damn they seem small). I do understand the up sizing desire, somehow I now seem to "plink" with 308. If you want a bigger caliber I would suggest that you tell your dad that you want to put in for your Moose tag


P.S. in almost two decades of deer hunting I have been lucky enough to only have one runner. Shot him on the top of a ridge and he ran almost all the way to the bottom of a huge valley with no roads. I think he gravity would have taken him most of the way but it does make you think before you pull the trigger.

 

[Hazzard]

The .270 or 30-06 are both fine deer calibers, but the 25-06 is nothing to sneeze at either. I would have to concur with others here and say bullet construction may be the problem. If your'e not getting good expansion at 25-06 velocities, you can punch a neat, clean hole with little energy transfer. The other side of the coin is that a poorly constructed bullet (or one designed for rapid expansion) will disintegrate before reaching the vitals. What loads are you using?

 

[fal 4 me]

I think your expecting too much from your bullet. To get a deer to "drop right there" your going to need to hit the central nervous system. I've never had a deer drop right there, but every deer I shot was taken with the broadside, double lung hits. A couple even hit the top of the heart, yet the deer still managed to run 30 to 60 yards. If your 25-06 is doing this, you shouldn't be worried about knock down power. By the way, I've only used the 30-06 to take deer. This year, with my new 30-30, I hope to change that.

 

[MachIVshooter]

well ive deccided to get a new deer rifle sine my model 700 25-06 dosent relay have enough take down powerfor me.

How big are the deer in Kentucky? 1,200 lbs??? The .25-06 is a premium deer cartridge, and AFAIK you only have white tails back there. Those things get a maximum 2/3 the size of the mulies I've been dropping with my .25-06 for years. BTW, I also hunt elk with my .25-06.

Sounds like your issue is shot placement, because the .25-06 with 117 gr. pills will cleanly exit a 350 pound mule deer after destroying the heart and lungs and sending pieces of rib and shoulder bone through other organs.

If you can't kill a deer witha .25-06, you can't kill a deer with any rifle.

 

[mustanger98]

well ive deccided to get a new deer rifle sine my model 700 25-06 dosent relay have enough take down powerfor me. so i was thinking about switching to a model 700 .270 bdl. i killed a deer with my dads .270 last year and dropped him in is tracks. I would just use his but nows he started usin it instead of his BAR 30-06 What do you guys think get the model 700 0r something else??

Grouse Hunter, What kind of conditions are you hunting in? Thick woods? Open fields? Clear cuts? How far are you shooting? My understanding is .25-06 and .270 are both long range flat trajectory deals. So is .30-06, but not having he charts in front of me at the moment, I think it has a mite higher trajectory.

FWIW, the last deer my Daddy killed two years ago (for lack of time last year, while I did hunt)... that buck was shot with his pet handloaded .30-06 which is a 150gr Hornady RN SP running 2800fps according to the Hornady 5th Edition manual. The terrain is some pretty good cover and the shot wasn't more than 50-60yds. I saw the results... the bullet passed through in a high double-lung and turned everything ahead of the diaphragm into mush. The deer didn't walk 20 feet before collapsing. The entry wound was about the size of the bullet, but the exit wound was over an inch between the expanded bullet and the transferred energy. Last I knew, Daddy had the scope set up to be a couple of inches high at 100yds to be dead on at 200yds. The bullet did its job because it was a quality bullet placed where it'd do the job.

My understanding of the .270's success is that it was Jack O'Connor's pet cartridge and he shot just about everything with it. I don't have a lot of information historically on .25-06 for the sake of comparison. But, whether a cartridge will work depends on the right bullet placed in the correct place to do the most damage. My understanding of bullets is that some are built to explode very quickly and are really not rated for big game such as deer. I've noticed with Hornady bullets in particular that they rate them to give the best expansion in a certain range of speed. I'll have to consult my Hornady 5th Edition manual before I start posting numbers on this one.

 

[Hazzard]

Here's a comparison ballistically between the three...

http://www.gunnersden.com/index.htm.25-06remington.html

http://www.gunnersden.com/index.htm.270winchester.html

http://www.gunnersden.com/index.htm.30-06springfield.html

Best I can do as I don't have a ballistic program on my 'pute. Not that much difference at decent ranges. YMMV.

 

[Ifishsum]

Agree with the above posters, the .25-06 is a great deer cartridge. Use a well constructed bullet and put it in the boiler room, it will take down a deer as fast as anything else. But don't let that stop you from buying another rifle if you want one - but get a .30-06. The .270 and .25-06 are so close it doesn't really make sense to have both, and then you have something for larger game if you ever take that up.

I currently use the .06 for both deer and elk, but by next year I'll be using a smaller, lighter rifle for deer - probably a 7mm-08.

 

[AH-1]

I have a bud I hunt with every year on thanksgiving morning.he uses a 30-06 and every year he has a runner.not the gun/bullet or rifle .
I talked him into a marlin guide gun 45/70 and that has cured his runners .
pete

 

[Lonestar.45]

Your 25-06 is not that far off from a .270. If you want piece of mind, go 30-06.

That said, don't judge your 25-06 harshly if you've had one or two deer run on it. I've shot dozens of deer with my .270, and one thing I can tell you is that you never know if they'll run or not. Sometimes they drop immediately, other times they'll go 50-75 yds, even if they are hit in exactly the same spot. I'd think your 25-06 would be the perfect deer rifle unless you're going for mule deer or elk. But, if you've lost confidence it, there's no way to get it back probably. Go .30 caliber.

 

[NateG]

Heck, if you want a new rifle, go for it. That Remington in .270 wouldn't be a bad choice at all. However, as just about everyone said, the .25-06'll do the job. So, don't feel like you have to. If there's something else you'd rather spend the money on, do it. But if you want a new toy... well, I'm the last person to try to dissuade you from that.

My wife's deer rifle is in 7x57 Mauser, which isn't all that far from a .270, and it's certainly up to the challenge.

 

[Mr White]

This is a ballistics comparison of a 120 gr .25-06 to a 130 gr .270 from Remington. If you're looking for something with more 'knockdown power', get a 270 WSSM or a 7mm mag, or some flavor of 30 cal mag, but there just isn't, IMO, enough difference ballistically between the 25-06 and .270 to make much of a difference.

That said, I'll +1 what they say above, that shot placement is everything and a well placed shot with a 25-06 will kill any deer in the US just as fast and just as dead as any 300 mag. It wouldn't be my first choice for elk, but I have no doubt it could do the job.

 

[Essex County]

y'all are spliting hairs.....Essex

 

[Karbon]

What do you guys think get the model 700 0r something else??

Can you say TIKKA?

Since everyone is offering suggestions on the caliber/cartridge, I'll address the gun.

Look at the Tikkas. (IMO) they are better rifles than the 700. Better trigger, slicker action and 1moa out of the box.

 

['Card]

If I was buying a new deer rifle tomorrow, it'd be a .30-06 in either a Benelli R1 or one of Remington's new Model 750 Woodsmasters.

...but then, I'm a semi-auto guy. I'm a firm believer in the concept that a quick second bullet is the best preventive measure.

 

[Outlaws]

well ive deccided to get a new deer rifle sine my model 700 25-06 dosent relay have enough take down powerfor me. so i was thinking about switching to a model 700 .270 bdl. i killed a deer with my dads .270 last year and dropped him in is tracks. I would just use his but nows he started usin it instead of his BAR 30-06 What do you guys think get the model 700 0r something else??

Don't take this as an insult, but you need to work on shot placement as opposed to "knock down power".

You got the kill with the .270 because you must have scored a very nice shot. A 25-06 will kill every bit as much as a .270 for something like a deer. There is no difference IMO. Yes they are different rounds, but neither will kill if you hit something in the butt, and neither won't kill if you shoot the proper place.

Maybe your current gun needs a better scope, or maybe you just need some more time at the range and patients with what shot you take.