What is a good 25-06 bullet for deer?

[RSVP2RIP]

I'd either go with Berger VLD Hunting in 117gr for a bullet that fragments if you can shift shot placement to the boiler room or somethihng that will exit like the Partition for shoulder shots.

 

[Zeke/PA]

In my Ruger #1 in .25-'06 I load 117 Grain Sierra Game King(51 grs.4831),for an accurate load in that rifle.
One shot kills on Maryland beanfield deer out to 300 yds.
Three shot sub M.O.A. groups too!

 

[Swampman]

I love the .308, 168 grain Bergers out of my K31, although I've never shot an animal with one that actually left a blood trail. It's been pretty much a "BangFlop" bullet for me, with the deer laying in a pool of blood and liquefied "stuff".

As long as the shot is properly placed, it's great in a 30 cal at moderate velocity, but if you shot a deer in the shoulder at 25-06 speeds, I fear the results would be similar to an M-79 grenade launcher. (I know a "boiler room" shot was specified, but stuff happens, especially with kids and buck fever).

Understand that I'm not speaking from experience with the .257 bullets. I tried some for long range target shooting (LOVE that BC), but I couldn't get anything that shot decent to fit in the magazine (Sako L579 action in .257 Bob AI). Even single loaded, I couldn't get the accuracy I was looking for, so I gave up. This was years before Berger came out with the hunting version of their bullets, but quite a few people used them for that purpose.

 

[DM~]

My thought exactly.
Unlike a lot of the newer premium hunting bullets, the Nosler Partition isn't designed to retain 100% of its weight after impact.

A partition will generally expand very quickly and lose about 30% of its weight as shrapnel, the other 70% percent WILL drive through and leave a good exit wound as long as the cartridge you're shooting is reasonable for the game hunted.

This gives you the best of both worlds, the quick kills of a fast expanding bullet like a Hornady SST combined with the reliable penetration of a Barnes "X" bullet.

In other words, there's a very good chance that the animal will be DRT, but if not, you'll still have complete penetration and a very good (and probably very short) blood trail.

Most of my .25 caliber hunting experience has been with the .257 Roberts Ackley Improved, which pushes 100 grain bullets about as fast as the 25-06. For small Texas Whitetails I like the 100 grain Partition, but for large hogs the 115 grain seem to be more reliable, especially on quartering shots or when heavy bone is hit.

Bottom line, for smaller deer use the 100 grain Partition, for big Yankee Whitetails or Mule Deer, the 115 or 120 grain may be better.

For those that are put off by the price of Partitions, check out Shooters Pro Shop, the Nosler factory store. They currently have 100 grain "over run" (NOT seconds) .257 Partitions for sale at only $14.50/50.

And no, I don't work for Nosler, I just think the Partition is about the best hunting bullet ever made.

And the WINNER IS, the above post! NP's are what all other hunting bullets are compared to, and it's for a GOOD reason.

More comments,

Complain about the price??? that's 50 bullets! How many head of big game do you shoot a year??? Get real! 50 bullets would last 99.99% of hunters, for YEARS!! I'm still shooting from a box of 50 i bought years ago!

I wouldn't even mention gamekings in the same sentence with partitions! There's NO comparison!!

Partitions WILL penetrate deeper than Accubonds, so keep that in mind too.

DM

 

[Kachok]

I wouldn't even mention gamekings in the same sentence with partitions! There's NO comparison!!

Partitions WILL penetrate deeper than Accubonds, so keep that in mind too.

DM

Sure but how much penetration do you REALLY need for whitetail? I have yet to have a Game King fail to go through and through in any caliber, and they do more damage in between then the Partition which is a much harder construction.
If you want to use a smaller caliber on hard raking shots or on much larger game go with the Partitions/Accubonds/TSX/GMX/E-Tip but for thin skinned game they are a bit of an overkill in the penetration department.

 

[Steel Talon]

115 grain Nosler Partition is the absolute best pairing I've ever found..

 

[DM~]

BUT, as gamekings slow down they expand slower and slower. The nose of the partition always expands, even when velocity falls off, and then the rest of the bullet drives on through! It's the BEST of both worlds.

NO comparison!

BTW, i've seen more than a few gamekings in .308 150g that didn't exit a whitetail out of a 30-06.

DM

 

[Kachok]

Don't use 150gr SGKs in 30-06 (or any 30 cal for that matter) but the 165s are awe inspiring in my Savage 30-06 @2830fps. All lead core bullets expand less at lower speeds even the Partition
I would not even imply that the Partition was anything less then a superb all around bullet and the standard by which all others should be judged, but for deer class game the Ballistic Tip, SST, Serria Game King, and a few select others are every bit as good in the calibers I load for.
If weight retention, reliable expansion and penatration were the only factors we consider the TTSX would be the one and only bullet on the market, but factor in the other aspects of bullet performance and the picture changes a little bit.

 

[Kachok]

Due to marketing buzz surrounding bonded/mono-metal bullets people tend to think that bullet weight lost after impact is wasted in some way, nothing could be further from the truth. Those fragments create a shotgun pattern of damage through the vitals and as long as the bullet retains enough weight to finish punching through I am happy for the extra wounding effect. Anytime I use Ballistic Tips I get a cone of destruction from these fragments that end up embedded in the far side rib cage usualy in a several inch spread. If the bullet lost the vast majority of it's weight and failed to penetrate out the far side I would switch to a harder bullet but since I am still getting more then enough punch out the far side I welcome the extra shock and rapid blood loss this creates.
All that said, I highly doubt any deer hunter would ever be disappointing with the performance of a Partition, I have known people who have used them for many years and have yet to formulate a complaint even if they don't hit as hard as a Ballistic Tip

 

[DM~]

All lead core bullets expand less at lower speeds even the Partition

True, but at some point the gameking will start becomeing a solid, and it will be LONG before the partition "nose" will stop expanding. That is what makes the NP so much better than the others...

At another time in my life, i tested thousands and thousands of bullets, in all kinds of medium and big game, so i have some kind of idea how all of this works.

In fact i designed bonded core bullets and was swageing and selling them back when Bill Steiger and i, were the only ones doing it.

I still like the partition better, than even the bonded bullets on the market today, at least for big game here in the U.S..

DM