25.06 opinions

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crowpopper

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whats your opinion on this caliber? whats better a 243 or 25.06? i hunt every thing from crow to deer @ ranges of 1000 yds Possible . whats the max range and bullet weights? what twist for what weight bullet? thanks for help it may just help me decide
 
I shoot a 243 and have friends whom shoot 25-06's and really don't believe either caliber is a thousand yard deer gun, especially the 243. My 243, at least in my hands is good on coyotes to 600 yards.

In the last 45 years of hunting I know only a handful of folks that shoot big game at ranges exceeding 800 yards and all of them are using rifles such as the 7mm Stw and various 30 caliber magnums or larger.

It simply takes more than the ability to hit targets at those kind of ranges, you need bullets that will carry killing energies at those ranges and the 243 and 25-06 though fine rounds are not them.
 
Quote:
whats your opinion on this caliber? whats better a 243 or 25.06? i hunt every thing from crow to deer @ ranges of 1000 yds Possible . whats the max range and bullet weights? what twist for what weight bullet? thanks for help it may just help me decide



Asking one caliber to do all those things well is like asking for one tire to do everything from run in deep mud to run in the Indianapolis 500 well. I have both calibers. The 25-06 is a better deer cartridge and probably a bit better long range varmint caliber. But, for varminting, it will probably make little difference for most people, other than the 25-06 will kick a bit harder, burn more powder and be a bit louder than the .243.

If I wanted one rifle to hunt varmints ..... and deer, between the two, my choice would be the .25-05.
 
i wont be shooting 1000yds but have therange to where i hunt. may take pop shots on a distant crow but the rest will be under 400. what kind of twist do i need for 75-85gr bullet and what powder.
 
My .25-06 has the standard 1 in 10 twist. And, it shoots the 85 grain Nosler BT very well, using SR4064. A friend has a Savage and uses the 75 grain Vmax with SR4064, with similar accuracy (sub 1/2" at 100 yards with 3 shots).

I prefer to use powders on the faster end of the burn rate scale with lighter bullets when I will be shooting in cold weather as I find them less susceptible to a fall off of velocity or accuracy when the temps drop.
 
Quote:
i wont be shooting 1000yds but have therange to where i hunt. may take pop shots on a distant crow but the rest will be under 400. what kind of twist do i need for 75-85gr bullet and what powder.




Got a coin?? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused1.gif

I shoot both, I like the 25-06 for the windy days, I like the 243 for the calm days and less recoil, less powder, better bullet selection. Either will do what you are looking to acheive. Just don't expect either to perform well at 1000 yards in a hunter/field configuration.
 
Like mentioned bullet selection is way better for varmints in .243 caliber. The .257 caliber has alot better choices in big game hunting bullets.

You have to figure out what your going to be shooting more of. If your hunting more varmints at long range, I would opt for the .243 because of the high B.C varmint bullets.

I own a 25-06 A.I Sendero, I shoot this at standard 25-06 levels. I shoots real good with varmint bullets, but they get blown around. Furthest varmint kill 710 yards.

I would benifit from a higher B.C bullet that expands well at long range. Like the .243 87 V-max with a B.C of .400 compared to my 87gr .257 Speer TNT with a B.C of .310. This is a real important consideration. B.C trumps velocity the further you get out there, with drop and wind drift.
 
My 2 cents, I have shot 25-06 for a couple years then stopped because I wanted a.243, both are good, and in a real marksman's hands there are great. I'm average. A frind took my 03-A3 .30-06 and rebarreled it with a stainless steel .25. After a careful break in, I am shooting 1/2" at 200 yds. 75 gr v-max at 3600 fps is a ground hog getter. For deer I use 120 gr factory Fusion, scope readjustment is needed. I would not take a 1000 yd shot at a deer with this, not enough bullet weight. But on young groung hogs at a distance there is no exit hole, I think this will work well on predators that are not in your face when you squeeze off. Long range shots need mass or heavy bullets. The gun smith who worked on my rifle, shoots long range and uses .308 nato, he knows more then I do about this stuff.
 
I have no experience with the 243 win but I did have and shoot the 6mm rem and do own a 25-06 that said I would recomend a 25-06 over the 243 for a duel purpose round for the simple fact that you can get heavier bullets in 25 cal
 
I have a sako in a 25-06 and have owned a Ruger #1 varmint in it also. Here in Indiana I do not have any 1000 yard areas to shoot. But have killed ground hogs at 600 yards and many at 400 I love the round.
 
I never owned a 243 but I can atest that the 25-06 is easily capable of taking deer and varmits at realistic ranges.

Bullet selection is the key. As with any cartridge there is no one size fits all.
 


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