25-06

Has any one used the 25-06 for elk, mule deer. Im looking into a model 10 and they have one in 25-06 and 300 H&H, 30-06 and 7mm Rem Mag. Really like the 25-06. Any caliber suggestions.
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sawsman
The 25.06 is an awesome caliber. A real deer slayer for sure..

Shoot a heavy premium bullet for elk and it'll do the job. Some will suggest a larger caliber and I cant argue with that. Bottom line is that bullet placement is the most important thing.
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ABert
IMHO, the .25-06 would be fine for deer but "might" be a bit small for elk. That being said, I know of a couple of fellers that hunt elk with them and don't seem to have a problem putting meat in the freezer. As with whatever caliber you are shooting, bullet placement is much more important than bullet size.

EDIT: Dang! sawsman beat me to it! lol
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sawsman
"ABert" wrote: EDIT: Dang! sawsman beat me to it! lol
 Typing at the same time and great minds thinking alike! =D>

And welcome to forum switchbackkd.
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Springville Shooter
I am probably one of the biggest proponents of the 25-06. I have a pet rifle in the Ackley version. I kill deer every year with it and it works great with premium 100 grain bullets going lightning fast. That being said, I would not consider the 25-06 as a great round for elk. It will surely kill them easily with 115-120 grn bullets and does every year, but I wouldn't call it ideal. Pronghorn and blacktail deer would be closer to the ideal game for this round.---------SS
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The 25-06 is a good caliber for deer but you really need to chose your shots with it on elk. I've shot cow elk with it but it's frustrating to have to let one walk because it's a bad shot angle. The 300 win mag with Barnes TSX bullets is a much better choice. It'll penetrate 2 to 3 feet of elk so you can angle the shot through heavy bone and muscle and that's the one that always goes bull elk hunting for sure.
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"m gardner" wrote:The 25-06 is a good caliber for deer but you really need to chose your shots with it on elk. I've shot cow elk with it but it's frustrating to have to let one walk because it's a bad shot angle. The 300 win mag with Barnes TSX bullets is a much better choice. It'll penetrate 2 to 3 feet of elk so you can angle the shot through heavy bone and muscle and that's the one that always goes bull elk hunting for sure.
 That would be nice if they had a model 10 in 300 but they only have 30/06 300 H&H in 30 cal and a 7mm Rem Mag. What your thoughts on the 7mm or 300 H&H
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Springville Shooter
The 7MM and 300HH are both great big game rifles that will easily handle any elk situation. The 7MM is very popular and there are many factory offerings as well as endless options for the handloader. The 300HH is just a cool old historical round that is the parent of many cool modern cartridges like the 300 Weatherby. Unfortunatley there are not alot of factory offerings for this round, but if you handload, it is just as useful as the 300 Win Mag. I had a chance to buy a mint condition Remington 721 in 300HH and didn't have the extra money. Man I wish I could find that rifle today. It would be mine for sure.-------SS
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I love the 25-06 for deer. It's probably my favorite cartridge right now. I personally wouldn't use it for elk, although I know that plenty of people have taken elk down with it. If you're set on that particular rifle and want one rifle for elk/deer, I'd look at the 7mm. That round has quite a following and will take down elk and deer easily.
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I'm getting ready to build one myself. I looked at alot of different choices, and it came down to 25-06 because it will be great for everything from varmints to deer, and I already have a long action donor rifle for the build. As for myself, I have a .300 win mag as well so I don't need it for elk.

Out of your options there, I would lean to 30-06 or 7mm rem mag. Both are great rifles, and ammo can be found anywhere.
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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.
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spoofman
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.
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Springville Shooter
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
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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.
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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.
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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.
http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b184/DWCalls/100_1481.jpg" alt="" />
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For coyotes, deer, and antelope no better caliber can be found in my opinion.

Yeah, I have a 25/06 and it's my deer/antelope caliber these days. My second rifle is a .300 Win Mag for the bigger stuff.
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gizmo1
i watched a 16 y/o girl level an elk at 150 yds w/a 25-06 improved ackley. it was a 1 shot kill and it flat out smoked the bull
http://i1094.photobucket.com/albums/i444/gizmocop1/DSC_9729.jpg" alt="" />
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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.
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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.
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you would absolutely do fine taking elk with a 25-06 as long as your using a Barnes tsx or ttsx as they will hit harder then most 30-06 lead rounds due to its 100% weight retention
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