25.06

[nybuckboy]

Hi folks, thinking of a new rifle. I have a 30 .06, a 30-30, a model 70 chambered in 270 Weatherby mag and a Ruger 243. I’ve been thinking of purchasing a Tikka 25.06 for Whitetail. I hunted this past season with the 243 and know the 243 is an adequate caliber but thinking the 25.06 would have just a little bit more punch. Trying to stay away from recoil. Thoughts. 

Edited December 27, 2022 by nybuckboy

[Lawdwaz]

Sure, why not?

Recoil should be between the 243 and 30-06 obviously and surely tolerable, if not enjoyable DEPENDING on the weight of the rifle.  117gr bullets of good construction will hammer any game you point them at in NYS and most of North America.

What gun are you pondering?

[fasteddie]

I have a NEF 25-06 single shot and love it . It is my go to deer rifle . The only draw back is that the ammo is 1 1/2 times as much . My 14 year old grandson has a Savage 25-06 bolt action and shot 2 deer this season . I re-load for both of us which helps keep the ammo price down . The re-loading components I have are before all the prices went up . 

[wolc123]

Why not go with a 7mm-08 instead ?  Maybe a slightly better deer round, with less recoil, and cheaper and easier to find ammo.  

[Larry]

I would go with a 7-08. One of the best deer rounds out to 300 to 400yds low recoil accurate and hits hard.

[airedale]

I have some experience with the 25-06 cartridge but not a whole lot killing Deer. Had a custom rifle made up back when Remington legitimized  what was once a popular wildcat and started producing factory rifles and ammo. 

I used that rifle more for long range Woodchuck and Crow hunting than anything else, made some unbelievable long shots with that gun. I killed one Deer with that rifle. Recently I purchased a 28 inch Pro Hunter barrel for my Thompson Center Encore and have killed one Deer with it.

The 25-06 will kill deer with no problem, with a good bullet you can really reach out with a 25-06, recoil is negligible with plenty of power.

Al

[Lawdwaz]

43 minutes ago, wolc123 said:

Why not go with a 7mm-08 instead ?  Maybe a slightly better deer round, with less recoil, and cheaper and easier to find ammo.  

Ahhh flip of a coin.  He asked about a 25-06, I responded in a way as not to change his mind.  Personally I wouldn't own one BECAUSE I own a 7mm-08. 

In the big scheme of things, who cares?  Just keep on truckin'.......new guns in any chambering (except those dreaded 223 Remington and 243 Winchester bastards) should always be encouraged. 

Merry Christmas belated you lugnuts.

[luberhill]

28 minutes ago, Lawdwaz said:

Ahhh flip of a coin.  He asked about a 25-06, I responded in a way as not to change his mind.  Personally I wouldn't own one BECAUSE I own a 7mm-08. 

In the big scheme of things, who cares?  Just keep on truckin'.......new guns in any chambering (except those dreaded 223 Remington and 243 Winchester bastards) should always be encouraged. 

Merry Christmas belated you lugnuts.

I love my .243

[Lawdwaz]

No argument from me on the 243.

[wolc123]

13 hours ago, Lawdwaz said:

No argument from me on the 243.

This reminds me of a story your buddy Al told me, a bit over a year ago. Many years ago, a woman who boarded her horse at their farm, asked about the dead and skinned  “horse” that was hanging from a beam down on the far end of the barn. 
 

The “horse” was actually a moose that his mother had shot out west with her .243.  They had gutted it out there and hauled it whole, all the way back home to WNY, in the bed of their pickup truck.   

[Wildcat]

I guess it all depends on the scenario you normally hunt in..   At my place the longest shot I have is 200 yards +/-..   I hunt primarily with a 25.06 and for those distances it performs great.   I have never had a situation where I felt it wasn't "enough gun"...   If I had opportunities to shoot 400 yards, I would like hunt with something else..  Personally, if I was going to buy another rifle it would be a 6.8 western..  Ammo is tight, but how much ammo are you really going to burn thru a hunting rifle.

[Daveboone]

6 hours ago, wolc123 said:

This reminds me of a story your buddy Al told me, a bit over a year ago. Many years ago, a woman who boarded her horse at their farm, asked about the dead and skinned  “horse” that was hanging from a beam down on the far end of the barn. 
 

The “horse” was actually a moose that his mother had shot out west with her .243.  They had gutted it out there and hauled it whole, all the way back home to WNY, in the bed of their pickup truck.   

Hey, if it was cold enough, I cant blame them. They would probably over double the amount of meat they would get from just field dressing/quartering it. 

[onlybrowning]

.25-06 is a nice round. Like Lawd asked…what gun? In many bolt guns, I really prefer a short action. Some, (Tikka is one that comes to mind) do not use a different length action for your typical short and long actions. So, in short, if it’s a Tikka, .25-06 is a no brainer over a short action quarter bore or something close to it. Just my $.02


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[LET EM GROW]

25-06 all day. It will be my next Deer Rifle. Like to get one in Tikka as well.  

[chrisw]

I love 25's, best deer caliber I've ever owned. I tried finding a Tikka in 25-06 last spring but couldn't so I settled for a 270 Tikka T3X Lite Roughtech. If you want the best of both worlds you can find a 25WSSM, which is a super short action caliber but the ballistics are identical to the 25-06. I have one and it's the last gun I'd sell for deer. Ammo can be tricky at times to find but what isn't anymore. Plus it's a pretty unique caliber.

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