25-06 vs. .243

S

stevowpappas

New member
I posted a while ago asking about what gun to get next. I am looking for a rifle that i can take to hunt coyote and deer. Strictly these two animals only. I have rifles for everything else i hunt. I own a 30-06, 30-30, .17hmr, and a .22.

The problem i have is the 30-06 is kicking my butt. I really dont like to shoot it and its the only rifle that i flinch with. It is also pretty heavy. So im looking for either a 25-06 or a .243 in a savage with accutrigger.

Now what one should i get? what are the biggest advantages to one over the other? is the .243 going to be enough to knock a deer down (california bucks). I understand the 25-06 has a limited choice of loads available but i checked out the local store and they have everything i need in both the 25-06 and .243.

So if you had to pick one which gun would you get and why? What gun is more accurate? what gun has a longer range? and what gun is going to kick the most?

thank you very much for your time.
 
Welcome

Boy you sure know how to heat up a can of worms.
1) what gun is more accurate? They both are very accurate, true accuracy depends on the gun.
2) What gun has the longer range? 25-06
3) What gun is going to kick more? 25-06
4) Does the .243 have enough energy to knock down a deer? Yes, Some will say out to 300 yrds, others will say you can take deer out to 600, and even 700 yrds. We all know anything taken past 300 starts to really depend on the shooter. However the 25-06 will do anything the .243 will do just with a lot more authority and conviction.
5) Which gun would I get? 25-06
Now here are the negatives of the 25, Factory rounds are very limited, some .25 can also be very picky on what pill they will shoot accurately. Also You will not see the full potential in a factory round, you will have to hand load for the .25 to gain the most. If I had to shoot fact. .25 rounds go with the Winchester 100 grain spit. Those seem to be the most accurate, however try the federal and Remington rounds that way you know how each type of ammunition responds. Trust me you will see some very drastic differences.
Best of luck on your purchase
 
I own both calibers and my go-to gun for big game is the 25-06 hands down. When it was my only rifle, I hunted everything from rabbit to elk with the sierra 100 grain bullet.

The 243 is good enough for the hunting you list.

Both my 243 and 25-06 are exceptionally accurate....but I reload for that specific reason.

Recoil isn't much different in either one, but considerably less than the 30-06.
 
As stated. Ammo will be much easier to find for the .243. The 25/06 is much more gun however. Both will do what you want the 25 will do it a little better (with a little more kick, more muzzle bast and noise). Depends on what you want.

I think everyone should have a 25 caliber. It is really an amazing little round. However, you may be better off with the .243. You have member of the -06 family already & you can go to that if you need more gun.

If you get a 243 you will find yourself using it more for miscilanious shooting than you would with the 25. (cheaper, less report)
 
stevowpappas; A few years ago I drew the very same question to this board. The extra variable was will I reload or not? These days good factory ammo for either is available.
Don't know where your from - where your hunting but you did mention strictly coyote / deer.
.243 55-100 grain loads up to 115 if you reload. (short action based on a necked down .308)
.25-06 85-120 factory ammo (long action based on a necked down 30-06)
Oviously either will knock a coyote down, & the .243 has enough balls to take whitetail with the correct ammo. If you find yourself hunting more deer then anything else then the quarter bore would be the ticket imo. If on the other hand it's more on the coyote side then Im just thinking eventually you may start some recreational or varmint action. then the .243 is a great cal. Up to you, another question would be do you plan to keep the 30-06 or sell it.
One more thing, welcome to one of the best forums ever.
 
the 25-06 is a great caliber, i have one in a weatherby, and hornady makes any round you want, and the 120's will do a number on any deer, and the 85's work great on yotes.
 
I'm going to suggest the 7MM/08. Because it shoots a little bigger bullet than both the .243 and the 25-06. It's recoil is pretty much in line with the quarter bore. But the selection of bullets is much wider. It will basically match the 25 in MV with 120 gr. bullets. But I really like the 140 gr. it will shoot for deer.

Recoil table.
 
Long range 200 yards out the 25-06 rules but for deer at any range your shot placement is critical.

To replace the 30-06 for shots up to 200 yards with a less kicking gun you need to look at the 243 which is great for deer and coyotes.

Doug
 
yes i will definately be keeping the 30-06 in case i want to go for elk or bear. I'm going to be deer hunting this year and i want a rifle that is not going to kick as hard as the 30-06 but will be enough to take a deer down.


I dont care about saving furs on the coyotes. We shoot them to keep them away from the livestock.
 
I have never shot a 25-06 but have a 243 and the reason I bought it was because a frined of mines whole family up in Idaho hunts those big muley's up there with'em and the deer down here in Cali don't even compare in size to the one up there. I also don't like recoil hence I don't shoot my 270 hardly at all any more unless I buy a bear tag.
 
As stated earlier...the 25 is WAY more gun. I love the 6mm rifles, I own and shoot a 6mm Rem. quite often. However, the 25-06 dominates it in nearly every way possible and I find myself reaching for it more often lately. It hits harder at all ranges and I'm far more comfortable shooting at large predators (bears/cougar) and deer with the the 100 grain TSX. That being said...if you're looking for a coyote/deer rifle the .243 will do it. If you're looking for a deer/coyote/large predator rifle look no further than the .25-06. *qb
 
I have both a .25-06 Rem. and a 6mm Rem. I opted for the
6mm over the .243 Win, for the greater velocity. Since I
hand load, factory ammo is of no concern to me. I do
agree with the comment, "Get both", but if forced down to
one rifle, hands down, it is the .25-06 Rem. It will do
every thing the .243 Win will do, and do it with more
authority. About the only advantage the .243 Win has
over the .25-06 Rem. is in a colony varmint setting,
the .25-06 Rem. will heat up faster than the .243.
The .25-06 launching a Barnes TSX bullet, will even make
a decent elk rifle. And the .25-06 launching 85 gr.
Nosler/Combined Tech Ballistic Tip bullets, makes for
some explosive varmint/predator shooting.

If there is a "do it all" chambering, it is the .25-06 Rem.
And it does it with a relatively mild recoil...Unless
one hand loads "smokin'" rounds right at max. pressures /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/crazy.gif

Squeeze
 
Neither one should be used on colony varmints. Well, that is unless you like trading barrels frequently. A down side to the 243 is barrel life, the 6mm's are known for being hard on barrels, lots of fire and heat in a fairly small space. The 25-06 should be similar but I've heard little about it burning up barrels, quite possibly because it is rarely considered to be a high volume gun. You basicly take a 25-06 out, kill something and put the gun away. The 243/6mm is occasionally used more heavily.
 
25-06 & it is not close, especially for anything bigger than Varmits. As stated before, neither are volume Varmiters, I would want a 223 or 204 for the high volume stuff anyway.
Both are great Varmiters & for the flatest & best wind bucking loads, the 25-06 wins by a little.
But for Deer/Antelope & other Big Game, we are looking at a major advantage for the 25-06. Me & my brother have used the 25-06 & now 25-06AI for many years now & have smoked many Whitetails, Mule Deer & Antelope & many Varmits with devasting effect!
 
If you reload, .257 Roberts. Fun cartridge. If not, I'd opt for the .243. You have an 06 so your big game hunting is covered. If recoil is an issue the .243 has much to offer. The .243 will do nicely as a deer/yote rifle with negligible recoil. Also, IMO, yote hunting is much more enjoyable without the added recoil. Multiple shots are a little easier, easier to track targets in your scope, and the short action is nice. My two cents.
 


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