How much recoil for 25-06?

Ricky Bobby

New member
The wheels are always turning up there in that big head of mine! Just got to thinking today about the 25-06 and was wondering how the recoil compares to a 30-06? I own a 30-06 but have never shot or been around a 25-06. I would assume that they're pretty close since the case is similar in size but thought I would just ask! If they are the same I probably would never have any interest in one. Never was a fan of abusing myself when shooting or hunting!
 
The recoil of the 25-06 is in fact lighter than the 30-06. Remember that your shoving a chunk of lead that is 30% lighter. I have never owned one, but have shot a few and loaded for a couple. They are fast, flat and effective. Quarter bores are addictive.
 
I would say they are going to be so close it would be hard to tell, depending on if the guns are close to the same weight. I have a 25-06 barrel for my encore with the flex tech and it kicks about like my wood stock .243. 25-06 is a good caliber that gives the shooter a good range of bullet selection for about any small to medium size game. So it can be your varmint/coyote gun and also your deer/antelope gun also.
 
About the same as a .270. Less than 30-06 for sure but I wouldn't want to shoot one all day
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A lot of it depends on the stock shape and the overall weight of the rig.
 
have around 4 30-06 rifles and one 25-06. To me, the 25-06 has a noticeably lower recoil. Gun writer Chuck Hawks has a recoil table on his site....shows 30-06 recoil energy of 150 gr cartridge being 17.6 lbs...165gr is 20.1 lbs, while the 25-06 with 120 grain is 12.5 lbs.
 
If your thinking predator gun, shooting 90 grains, no kick at all. Target will jump out of the scope, but you won't feel it on the shoulder.

I have a quarter-bore and a 30-06. With the 90 gr's nothing but a gentle push.

Load it up with the 115's hot, then you start to notice, but still very manageable.
 
Mine is a model 70, 1:10 twist and 24" barrel. Believe this is the "standard" set-up for the .25

Don't know about the 9.5 twist, haven't shot one. Have to defer to others???
 
I believe it is designed for heavier bullets, but not 100% sure. I think anything over 100 grains would be fine. I don't think you would have much luck with the varmint loads, but I have no experience with them so I am 100% assuming. Hopefully someone has some experience with them that can chime in...
 
Originally Posted By: tcprohunterI would say they are going to be so close it would be hard to tell, depending on if the guns are close to the same weight. I have a 25-06 barrel for my encore with the flex tech and it kicks about like my wood stock .243. 25-06 is a good caliber that gives the shooter a good range of bullet selection for about any small to medium size game. So it can be your varmint/coyote gun and also your deer/antelope gun also.

I agree it is very comparible to a .243.
 
I shoot mainly 87gr. and 75gr. out of mine and the recoil is very mild and the bullet is very fast. Try it, you'll like it!!

Oh ya, you can shoot it all day long if you want.
 
I've owned a 700 Rem .25-06 for 34 years, it is my favorite caliber. I shoot mostly 87 gr bullets in mine and recoil is nothing like a .30-06. Shooting the light bullets the rifle will not punish you during an active day, and I have no recoil pad on the gun.

If you start shooting 120 gr bullets recoil becomes noticeable and after 20 you may want to stop. I'd use this bullet for larger game.

The 100 gr bullet is probably the best all around bullet, good for hunting varmint or bigger game. I prefer the 87 gr only because it disintegrates when it hits something.

I tried the 75 gr bullets for one season. No recoil and 3700 fps. The only thing I didn't like about this bullet is it seems to run out of steam past 300 yards.

My rifle has the 1:10 twist. I would have no problem with 9.5 and it may handle the heavy bullets better. But with the 9.5 twist I doubt you'd have any trouble shooting 87 gr to 120 gr bullets. 9.5 is not a big difference.

The trajectory of the 06 is very flat and the bullet travels quite fast. I'm moving the 87 gr bullets at 3450 fps.

For varmint hunting I've never seen any cartridge hit like the 06. The rifle kicks enough that you can't see the hit through the scope but I can hear it. It makes a very distinct slap when it connects.

The only downside I've ever seen with this cartridge is unless you move the bullets near the max loads velocity drops to levels of the .257 Roberts.

After 34 years of using this cartridge I found that the Winchester large rifle primer seems to give the best performance. I'm on the second barrel now and this one still prefers the Winchester primers.

Everyone should own a .25-06, great cartridge.
 
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