25-06
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5,643 Posts
One of my favorites!! I have used it to send countless 'hawgs to the "big alfalfa field in the sky". She's also get quite a few whitetails to her credit..
I have an older tang safety Ruger that defines the term "tackdriver" and its a joy to load and shoot as well!!
I have an older tang safety Ruger that defines the term "tackdriver" and its a joy to load and shoot as well!!
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14,314 Posts
Great caliber for deer and varmint. I'm sure some black bears fall to it as well, but I wouldn't recommend it. I don't shoot or own one, but I do have and use a 257 Roberts which, with my handloads, is virtually the same as any factory load for the 25-06. I have a liking for quarter-bores too so I might be a bit biased.
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3,634 Posts
I don't own one, but when I was a teen and hunted in the penfield area my good friend Steve did. The old saying beware the man who own's one gun, he probably know's how to use it applied to him. His gun was a 25-06, he hunted everything with it. Ground hogs, deer, whatever. I watched him take lots of groundhogs every summer with it and deer every year. He swore by it. All I know is it seemed to hit what he aimed at.
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1,519 Posts
great caliber,killed whitetails,fox,groundhogs at some long distances with bullets ranging from 117gr down to 87gr. very accurate in whatever it was feed. i would not hesitate to recommend this caliber as a deer to vermin rifle
I usually get flamed for my comments on the quarter bore. but I am a big boy and I can take it. I have owned one 25-06, two 257 Wbys., one 250 Savage, and two 257 Roberts rifles. I still have one of the Robert's. It was a rifle my uncle left me, so I would never sell it.
Personally I do not like the cartridges. IMO they are too big for the little stuff, and too little for the big stuff. Way too much for a varmint rig-just not needed-pure overkill. And for larger game such as deer I have witnessed and suffered from poor performance from the quarter bores. So basically I do not have any use for them.
Also the bullet selection for the quarter bores is relatively poor when considered against the other calibers.
I consider the 6.5 mm as the minimum for deer. And I really like the BC's of the 6.5 mm bullets, as well as the 7 mm bullets.
I know a lot of guys like the quarter bores. And I say what the heck. If you want one then buy one. But I do not think they are a multi-purpose cartridge. If I really only could have one rifle, and it needed to be a multi-purpose cartridge then I would either go with a 260 Remington, the 6.5X55, or the new Hornady 6.5 Creedmore. But thankfully I can have more than one rifle. Tom.
Personally I do not like the cartridges. IMO they are too big for the little stuff, and too little for the big stuff. Way too much for a varmint rig-just not needed-pure overkill. And for larger game such as deer I have witnessed and suffered from poor performance from the quarter bores. So basically I do not have any use for them.
Also the bullet selection for the quarter bores is relatively poor when considered against the other calibers.
I consider the 6.5 mm as the minimum for deer. And I really like the BC's of the 6.5 mm bullets, as well as the 7 mm bullets.
I know a lot of guys like the quarter bores. And I say what the heck. If you want one then buy one. But I do not think they are a multi-purpose cartridge. If I really only could have one rifle, and it needed to be a multi-purpose cartridge then I would either go with a 260 Remington, the 6.5X55, or the new Hornady 6.5 Creedmore. But thankfully I can have more than one rifle. Tom.
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13,401 Posts
HOGGHEAD, what kind of poor performance have you witnessed? I was rather disappointed in a 257 Weatherby my stepson was using on antelope out west. He drilled one facing him in the brisket and it seemed to go for a mile before we caught up to it and finished it off.
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2,304 Posts
I have dropped 15 bucks in their tracks 6 running and one at 255 yards. a 190lb dressed Maine buck. Most people in pa use larger calibers to make up for their bad shooting abilities. What I have to say is they drop bucks dead and kick like a 22.
Oh and one black bear in pa droped never moved.
Oh and one black bear in pa droped never moved.
I knew the flames would fly. But as I stated I can take it.
The poor performance that I had was with the 257 Roy. All I heard was great things about that cartridge. That is why I bought two of them. I thought the bad experience I had with the first was just a fluke, so I bought the second one to give the cartridge another chance. To no avail.
First off I did not loose any deer with the cartridge. And I really should explain my perspective a bit better. I am a handicapped hunter, so I need to drop deer where they stand. If a buck runs 30 or 40 yards it can be a nightmare to me. So yes I like the heavier bullets for sheer take em down power. And I always hold dead on the front shoulder to break them down instantly.
The problem I had with the 257 Roy's was I had good boiler room shots, in behind the shoulder. And I had 3 different deer react like they were not even hit. Yes they all died a fairly quick death. But on two there was no blood trail and they both went over 100 yards. Yes I recovered them, but did not have any exit hole, and had no blood. The third bad experience I had a buck go almost 300 yards with no blood trail. And yes I quickly recovered the deer, but I was again dis-pleased with the scenario.
When I tuck a 165 grain bullet from a 30-06 behind the shoulder. I always get an exit hole, and I always get a good blood trail. So in my opinion. That makes the 30-06 a better choice.
Now I will also admit that I probably shot a total of 30 or so deer with the quarter bores, and had pretty good success on the other deer-except the three I noted. But to me 10% is unacceptable for cartridge performance. Just an opinion.
Now one of you guys up there said the recoil for a quarter bore is the same as a 22 caliber?? Certainly you are joking?? Because I certainly know better than that.
Part of being a god varmint cartridge is the ability to see your hits. And if one of you guys are saying there is no recoil with a standard factory 25-06 rifle, and you can see impacts with that said rifle?? Well I am calling "Horse Puckey" on that one. Tom.
The poor performance that I had was with the 257 Roy. All I heard was great things about that cartridge. That is why I bought two of them. I thought the bad experience I had with the first was just a fluke, so I bought the second one to give the cartridge another chance. To no avail.
First off I did not loose any deer with the cartridge. And I really should explain my perspective a bit better. I am a handicapped hunter, so I need to drop deer where they stand. If a buck runs 30 or 40 yards it can be a nightmare to me. So yes I like the heavier bullets for sheer take em down power. And I always hold dead on the front shoulder to break them down instantly.
The problem I had with the 257 Roy's was I had good boiler room shots, in behind the shoulder. And I had 3 different deer react like they were not even hit. Yes they all died a fairly quick death. But on two there was no blood trail and they both went over 100 yards. Yes I recovered them, but did not have any exit hole, and had no blood. The third bad experience I had a buck go almost 300 yards with no blood trail. And yes I quickly recovered the deer, but I was again dis-pleased with the scenario.
When I tuck a 165 grain bullet from a 30-06 behind the shoulder. I always get an exit hole, and I always get a good blood trail. So in my opinion. That makes the 30-06 a better choice.
Now I will also admit that I probably shot a total of 30 or so deer with the quarter bores, and had pretty good success on the other deer-except the three I noted. But to me 10% is unacceptable for cartridge performance. Just an opinion.
Now one of you guys up there said the recoil for a quarter bore is the same as a 22 caliber?? Certainly you are joking?? Because I certainly know better than that.
Part of being a god varmint cartridge is the ability to see your hits. And if one of you guys are saying there is no recoil with a standard factory 25-06 rifle, and you can see impacts with that said rifle?? Well I am calling "Horse Puckey" on that one. Tom.
As a second thought about recoil. I will openly admit that the recoil from a 25-06 is less than the recoil from a 30-06. No doubt about that. However the recoil from a 25-06, 260 Remington, 7-08, and even the 6.5X55 are very similar if not about the same. Unless you go with strictly the lighter quarter bore bullet(but why would you go with the light for caliber bullet for deer??). So I think the other calibers other than the 25-06 make a better choice for deer, if you are a recoil sensitive hunter. Certainly you would agree that a 120 grain pill in a 25-06 is close in recoil to a 130 or 140 in the 260, or 7-08?? And I am not sure how you could argue against my opinion that the 260 and 7-08 bullet is a far better choice for deer?? Help me out here. Where am I wrong?? Tom.
So you are advocating the 25-06 as an adequate 500 yard and beyond deer cartridge?? Are you serious?? I like to partake in LR shooting myself. And maybe I am wrong but I would definitely not consider a 25-06 as an effective long range big game cartridge?? Maybe I am wrong??Ghost said:
I know a lot of guys who are very adapt at long range shooting, and long range hunting. I do not know, or shoot with a single one of them who considers anything below a 6.5 as adequate for ranges at 500 yards and beyond(for big game). But maybe they are all wrong too?? Tom.
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1,519 Posts
hogghead i respect your opinion and agree to a point, the .264 dia bullets are definately way better for long range shooting, but in a pinch there are some really good .257dia boat-tailed aerodynamic bullets avaiable these day's in 117gr and 120gr that i would take that 500yd shot with using my handloads with the 25-06-given the right conditions.
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13,401 Posts
Ghost said:
The goat was facing him and he shot it front on. The bullet which was a 115 grain Nosler BT exited somewhere back near the hams. It was a nightmare catching back up to that antelope but I always figured it to be a fluke and never held it against the cartridge.
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