25-06
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- 2 point
- Posts: 206
- Joined: Tue Jul 15, 2008 11:17 am
Re: 25-06
I used a custom 25-06 for years on deer. It is a great open country deer rifle with preferably a 26" barrel and at a minimum the 24". The problem with factory rifles is that most only have a 24" tube and some have the ridiculously short 22" tube (Savage, Tikka, etc.....) The 25-06 is highly overbored and needs a longer tubes or it is a really loud 257 Roberts. This is especially true for the 22" equipped rifle. Of the above mentioned choices I would look hard at the 7mm.
"The things that are over my head are under God's feet." Adrian Rogers
Re: 25-06
as a past guide i have seen too many people even with fairly good shot placement wound elk with lighter calibers. 30 cal minimum is what i would recommend to any for elk. Deer are no problem for those calibers if the range is shorter. With people nowadays thinking they can shoot anything within a 1000 yards without practice are fools just because they see someone else do it makes me sick. Too many wounded animals out there because of the caliber of choice and poor shot decisions. 30 cal for elk and lots of practice for any gun.
- Springville Shooter
- Monster
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Re: 25-06
I agree with spoof for the most part, but I think that 7MM is a more reasonable minimum to recommend across the board for elk. Ballistically speaking, bullets of similar weight in 7MM will kill just as good or better than 30 cal. plus they have a better BC and higher SD. I don't have a ton of elk under my belt, but the ones I've taken have been with one shot from my 7MM Dakota. I don't even dislike the idea of the 270's for elk, but I think that anything smaller becomes far less effective. All that being said, Spoof's rule of 30 cal is probably a good safe one to follow. Besides.......if you don't already have a 30 cal, you should get one anyway.-------SS
"Only accurate rifles are interesting"-----Col. Townsend Whelen
Re: 25-06
The 25-06 is a great round, but if you are looking for an all around cartridge for the midwest my vote would go to the 30-06. Easy to find a variety of factory loads and if you reload the choices are endless. I have shot everything from prairie dogs to muleys with mine.
Re: 25-06
It's amazing how the 25/06 has been re-born. What a super cartridge it is too. I myself have 2 of them at the moment. Would I hunt elk with one? Yep! I sure wouldn't stay home if it was my one and only rifle. On the other hand,if I wanted an excuse to buy another rifle,elk hunting is a great reason. I also have a 7 Rem Mag,338 Winchester,30/06,284 Winchester,300 Ultra and a 270 lying around here. I hate to say anything against the 7 Remmy mag. Soooo many folks use it with great success for elk and deer you can't deny it's credentials. But, out to say 300 yds,the 30/06 with a quality 180gr pill gives up nothing to the Remmy 7. I personally haven't come over to the Barnes way of thinking,but a Nosler Partition loaded to it's full potential in the Otter 6 is hard to say "no" to out to say 300yds. It can be had in some very light and handy rifles,and recoil isn't brutal. My Tikka 338 Win Mag is 7 3/4 lb field ready. An elk rifle? Absolutely! Kick? Absolutely! Back to the point though. If you have a 25/06 that will handle the heavier bullets accurately,and limit your shots in both distance and angle. I say go get em.
Re: 25-06
Here is a group of 110gr AccuBonds I shot with my T3 Tikka today. Not too shabby I'd say. If I was limited to the 25-Otter for elk I'd grab these and hit the road.
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- Fawn
- Posts: 46
- Joined: Thu Nov 08, 2012 9:08 pm
Re: 25-06
I am also a big fan of the .25-06 for large deer size and smaller game, but have an Ackley Improved version.
I took my muley at 488 yds this year, quatering on, and had a complete pass through from front right shoulder to left hip with the 100gr Barnes TSX at 3580fps muzzle velocity. I would easily say he was 200+ on the hoof.
It would not be my first choice for elk though. I have a few other guns for that game size. .270Win, .280AI, 7mmSTW, .300RUM....
Could it kill an elk? Definitely. But shot placement and effective range become a lot more critical. Not that this is not critical with a .338Lapua either, but there is a lot less room for error with the .25-06 on an elk. I am a fan of the one-shot, quick/humane kill on ANY game animal.
I took my muley at 488 yds this year, quatering on, and had a complete pass through from front right shoulder to left hip with the 100gr Barnes TSX at 3580fps muzzle velocity. I would easily say he was 200+ on the hoof.
It would not be my first choice for elk though. I have a few other guns for that game size. .270Win, .280AI, 7mmSTW, .300RUM....
Could it kill an elk? Definitely. But shot placement and effective range become a lot more critical. Not that this is not critical with a .338Lapua either, but there is a lot less room for error with the .25-06 on an elk. I am a fan of the one-shot, quick/humane kill on ANY game animal.
Re: 25-06
I love the .25-06 and know guys that have killed alot of elk with them. Like was stated above a good solid bullet and shot placement are key. If I were you I'd probably buy the .30-06 if you plan on doing a lot of elk hunting though.