My wife shot an antelope at 230ish yards with a 100 grain BT (granted, not a 115) and it didn't even penetrate that little guy. No way am I gonna put a .257 BT into an elk. Maybe a big 180 out of a .30 caliber, but not a quarter bore. The wife killed an oryx and a few antelope with 100 grain TSXs, but that's a little light I think for elk (great deer and antelope bullet!). She has an elk tag this year and I ponied up for a larger bore rifle for her. I'm gonna hold steadfastly to the 120 grain Partition or similar (110 Accubond, 115 TTSX, etc.). Stick with a fairly heavy for caliber premium bullet, get within 200 yards of your bull, put that bullet through his heart/lung area, and you'll be packing meet. Anything less is a gamble in my opinion.
.25-06 and Elk
- Thread starter bob_catslayer
- Start date
Airedale56
Member
I use the Barnes 115 TSX Flatbase out of my .25-06.
It tips mule deer right over. Not worried in the least about using it on elk with a reasonable shot.
Heck, I'd even use my .243 with the Barnes TSX 85 grain, again while being very picky about the shot.
I'm sold on the Barnes TSX bullet for game.
Problem coyotes get a Nosler 85 grain BT from the .25-06.
It tips mule deer right over. Not worried in the least about using it on elk with a reasonable shot.
Heck, I'd even use my .243 with the Barnes TSX 85 grain, again while being very picky about the shot.
I'm sold on the Barnes TSX bullet for game.
Problem coyotes get a Nosler 85 grain BT from the .25-06.
bob_catslayer
New member
Since we've been talking about bullet choice I just read an article in the May 2013 Guns & Ammo magazine called "T Bullet is the Bottom Line". The author of the article talks about bullet choice for game and talks about the different bullet types, what they do, and what they're good for. He covered Rapid-Expansion bullets, Traditional Softpoints, Controlled Expansion, Expanding Solids, and Nonexpanding Solids. I found really informative and worth the read. If you get a chance I'd suggest it as a quick read.
The Partitians are good bullets. I also love the Sierra GameKing bullet. There are many Elk killed every year with a .257 Roberts and the 25-06 has a bit of a velocity edge over the Roberts. That said I would choose a 120 grain well constructed bullet if I were to go after Elk with a quarter bore.
My real choice would begin at a .270 with 150 grain bullet and end with a .338 Win Mag with 210-215 grain bullet. Elk are not magic. They can be killed with good shot placement and a marginal caliber. If the shot is not perfect I like a larger, heavier bullet. It helps.
My real choice would begin at a .270 with 150 grain bullet and end with a .338 Win Mag with 210-215 grain bullet. Elk are not magic. They can be killed with good shot placement and a marginal caliber. If the shot is not perfect I like a larger, heavier bullet. It helps.
Nightvisionary
New member
Originally Posted By: DesertRamMy wife shot an antelope at 230ish yards with a 100 grain BT (granted, not a 115) and it didn't even penetrate that little guy. No way am I gonna put a .257 BT into an elk. Maybe a big 180 out of a .30 caliber, but not a quarter bore. The wife killed an oryx and a few antelope with 100 grain TSXs, but that's a little light I think for elk (great deer and antelope bullet!). She has an elk tag this year and I ponied up for a larger bore rifle for her. I'm gonna hold steadfastly to the 120 grain Partition or similar (110 Accubond, 115 TTSX, etc.). Stick with a fairly heavy for caliber premium bullet, get within 200 yards of your bull, put that bullet through his heart/lung area, and you'll be packing meet. Anything less is a gamble in my opinion.
Are you saying it bounced off of the shoulder or something like that?
Are you saying it bounced off of the shoulder or something like that?
NoShot
New member
Originally Posted By: DesertRamMy wife shot an antelope at 230ish yards with a 100 grain BT (granted, not a 115) and it didn't even penetrate that little guy. No way am I gonna put a .257 BT into an elk. Maybe a big 180 out of a .30 caliber, but not a quarter bore. The wife killed an oryx and a few antelope with 100 grain TSXs, but that's a little light I think for elk (great deer and antelope bullet!). She has an elk tag this year and I ponied up for a larger bore rifle for her. I'm gonna hold steadfastly to the 120 grain Partition or similar (110 Accubond, 115 TTSX, etc.). Stick with a fairly heavy for caliber premium bullet, get within 200 yards of your bull, put that bullet through his heart/lung area, and you'll be packing meet. Anything less is a gamble in my opinion.
Interesting..
I killed my Wyoming buck antelope yesterday, using 100gr handload Ballistic tip out of the 25.06. 236 yards. Pass through, absolutely destroyed the lungs and a couple ribs. I pulled the trigger, the buck hit the ground, never saw it even kick. I would post a pic of the damage,(graqphic pic policy) .
I will also be using the same rifle for an upcoming cow elk hunt, but loaded with handloaded 120gr Partitions. I have no worries about using this caliber for elk! I also understand that I won't be taking 400 yard shots at an elk with it either
Interesting..
I killed my Wyoming buck antelope yesterday, using 100gr handload Ballistic tip out of the 25.06. 236 yards. Pass through, absolutely destroyed the lungs and a couple ribs. I pulled the trigger, the buck hit the ground, never saw it even kick. I would post a pic of the damage,(graqphic pic policy) .
I will also be using the same rifle for an upcoming cow elk hunt, but loaded with handloaded 120gr Partitions. I have no worries about using this caliber for elk! I also understand that I won't be taking 400 yard shots at an elk with it either
Originally Posted By: NightvisionaryOriginally Posted By: DesertRamMy wife shot an antelope at 230ish yards with a 100 grain BT (granted, not a 115) and it didn't even penetrate that little guy. No way am I gonna put a .257 BT into an elk. Maybe a big 180 out of a .30 caliber, but not a quarter bore. The wife killed an oryx and a few antelope with 100 grain TSXs, but that's a little light I think for elk (great deer and antelope bullet!). She has an elk tag this year and I ponied up for a larger bore rifle for her. I'm gonna hold steadfastly to the 120 grain Partition or similar (110 Accubond, 115 TTSX, etc.). Stick with a fairly heavy for caliber premium bullet, get within 200 yards of your bull, put that bullet through his heart/lung area, and you'll be packing meet. Anything less is a gamble in my opinion.
Are you saying it bounced off of the shoulder or something like that?
No, I'm saying it didn't pass completely through a small, light-boned antelope. I like two holes, especially on bigger game like elk. Now we shoot 100 grain TSXs in that rifle and pretty much always have two holes.
Are you saying it bounced off of the shoulder or something like that?
No, I'm saying it didn't pass completely through a small, light-boned antelope. I like two holes, especially on bigger game like elk. Now we shoot 100 grain TSXs in that rifle and pretty much always have two holes.
Originally Posted By: NoShotOriginally Posted By: DesertRamMy wife shot an antelope at 230ish yards with a 100 grain BT (granted, not a 115) and it didn't even penetrate that little guy. No way am I gonna put a .257 BT into an elk. Maybe a big 180 out of a .30 caliber, but not a quarter bore. The wife killed an oryx and a few antelope with 100 grain TSXs, but that's a little light I think for elk (great deer and antelope bullet!). She has an elk tag this year and I ponied up for a larger bore rifle for her. I'm gonna hold steadfastly to the 120 grain Partition or similar (110 Accubond, 115 TTSX, etc.). Stick with a fairly heavy for caliber premium bullet, get within 200 yards of your bull, put that bullet through his heart/lung area, and you'll be packing meet. Anything less is a gamble in my opinion.
Interesting..
I killed my Wyoming buck antelope yesterday, using 100gr handload Ballistic tip out of the 25.06. 236 yards. Pass through, absolutely destroyed the lungs and a couple ribs. I pulled the trigger, the buck hit the ground, never saw it even kick. I would post a pic of the damage,(graqphic pic policy) .
I will also be using the same rifle for an upcoming cow elk hunt, but loaded with handloaded 120gr Partitions. I have no worries about using this caliber for elk! I also understand that I won't be taking 400 yard shots at an elk with it either
That's the performance I would expect (and get with 125 grain B-tips in my .30-30 AI), but it wasn't the case in my (admitted) limited experience. But that experience left a bad taste in my mouth, so I moved on to better things. I'm sold on the TSX in that rifle now.
Interesting..
I killed my Wyoming buck antelope yesterday, using 100gr handload Ballistic tip out of the 25.06. 236 yards. Pass through, absolutely destroyed the lungs and a couple ribs. I pulled the trigger, the buck hit the ground, never saw it even kick. I would post a pic of the damage,(graqphic pic policy) .
I will also be using the same rifle for an upcoming cow elk hunt, but loaded with handloaded 120gr Partitions. I have no worries about using this caliber for elk! I also understand that I won't be taking 400 yard shots at an elk with it either
That's the performance I would expect (and get with 125 grain B-tips in my .30-30 AI), but it wasn't the case in my (admitted) limited experience. But that experience left a bad taste in my mouth, so I moved on to better things. I'm sold on the TSX in that rifle now.
bob_catslayer
New member
I decided to go with the acubond. I like the stuff I read and I like the load data it has. Oct 5 is the start of the rifle Elk season in Utah so we'll see how it goes.
CDENTON
New member
I killed a Bull in NM that scored 336 gr. @ 481 yds. One shot hit him in the necked drop him dead. 25-06 100gr I roll my owne and that is what that gun likes. It all boils down to shot placement you can shoot a 416 but if you shoot them in the hip your in for a long day.
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