Thread: 25-06 why hasn't it achieved fame and success in New Zealand?

I’ve had two of them. One was in the US where whitetail were on the menu and it was ideal for the job. The other was in the UK where muntjac, roe, fallow and foxes were the main job, and also ideal.

Now the problems. For big bodied red deer it’s underpowered at all ranges. Some may disagree with that, but I had to shoot reds twice several times over the years. I used SSTs, Accubonds, Nosler BTs and VLDs and they were all less than ideal. I also found that at anything much past 300m the poor BCs of all available bullets meant that they were running out of steam and didn’t hav enough energy. At anything past that sort of range it’s far from flat shooting.

Blackjack 131 grain bullets are available now, but need much faster twists than factory rifles can offer.

So, for me, it’s a good chambering for some jobs, but not anywhere near the best all-rounder for NZ game.

My .25-06 is now a .284 Win, which I think is a great all-rounder, but that’s a different story.

Originally Posted by nor-west

I've got one for sale 24 inch barreled Ruger going cheap, rings, scope dies brass etc great shooter with 2217 and 120 spears.

Have looked at this and it really is a great deal.

I've been roaming the hills,mountains and valleys shooting animals of varying descriptions for about 40yrs now, I'll bet no matter how many animals I've shot, and assessed the suitability of a cartridge/bullet combination, @Spitfire has shot more.

I wonder how all those big reds feel about how "underpowered" 25/06 if, after being killed with .223, .243, 6mmRem ect. Actually I already know - they don't feel anything, cause they are .........dead.

Then of course, all the donkeys, camels and feral cattle, which are by far tougher than any red, would feel highly aggrieved that an inadequate cartridge did them in.

As to having to shoot animals twice, frequently......... if in doubt, blame the tool.

My post was my opinion and based on experience. It wasn’t personal and wasn’t designed to offend, so let’s try to keep the discussion that way. I’m sorry my opinion differs from yours, and it’s you claiming more experience than me. Not all of the animals I needed to shoot twice were shot perfectly, but most were in the lungs and still needed a follow up.

...and I never said frequently. I said “several times.”

Settle down, it's Friday... beer o'clock in 4 hours.

This part of our debates always brings a wry smile. Simply fact is, you can shoot a red deer with a .300 Win Mag, put it slightly too far back, and the deer's gone like shit off a stick. I saw that happen last winter... cue tool blaming by the nut behind the butt. When the deer was found, it had a dirty great big hole about 7-8" too far back, upper rear lung shot. Doesn't take much with a bit of wind and angles not quite in your favour.

When deer I shoot don't drop immediately, it's usually cos I didn't put the pill in the right place.

There's bugger all separating most of the sporting rifles we use, at the end of the day. Shot placement is top trump, every time.

That's all.

Originally Posted by Spitfire

...and I never said frequently. I said “several times.”

So over a lifetime of shooting bigger animals with a 25/06, it has only been an occasional thing for you to have to shoot twice, but that has always been the fault of the cartridge? that doesn't ever happen with other calibers/cartridges?

The 25/06 does have it's weaknesses:
-It needs a proper length barrel to play to it's main strength: velocity and SD
-It needs a smart projectile choice for the game intended (and good projectiles do in fact, exist)
-You need to be a handloader to get the best out of it
-Factory ammo that doesn't hamstring it, is limited.


.270 Win is lauded all over as a genuine game getter, yes?, lets have a look: Speer Reloading manual no 13
.277:130 Speer Hotcor, 64 grains H1000 gets you 3117fps, 300yd energy = 1684 foot pounds at 2416 foot seconds
.257:120 Speer Hotcor,58 grains Re25 gets you 3071fps, 300yd energy = 1555 foot pounds at 2400 foot seconds
.223 at 300yds, fuck all energy or velocity, still gets it done.
(To be fair, energy is not really the best yardstick, bullet construction and velocity far more important)
This is using bullets from the same manufacturer, the same form and construction in order to be an "apples for apples" comparison

As we can see, the "superiority" of the .270 at the Speer manual maximum, is very little, a slight advantage in energy - the .257 has a slight advantage in SD giving better penetration on heavier animals. The 270 in the hands of a handloader, can be made to give a little more velocity, the .257 in the hands of a handloader, can be made to give a lot more velocity. The result of that, will still see them both to be similar in performance.

Would you like to make the case for .270 with 130 grain pills being underpowered for red deer in NZ?

I have a 2506 AI and a 270. The 25 is very easy to hit things with and that seems to be a universal opinion amongst 2506 owners. I can still see the target in the scope when the bullet hits. The 270 kills better, because it has a bigger diameter pill. But even though the 270 is very accurate the different recoil impulse or something means that it needs more careful aiming to hit with it. 2506's are lasers, with a 26" inch barrel mine was capable of 3920 fps with 87 grain bullets. Never tried a Barnes but I am sure they would be interesting at that speed.

Originally Posted by Flyblown

cue tool blaming by the nut behind the butt.

Years ago when I was young fulla I had a couple of bad shots with the Ruger M77 .270. I knew that rifle inside out and often shot to 300yds on the range so was pretty practiced with it. I remember shooting 2 goats once that were so far away I aimed about a foot high and hit them low in the chest; a long range for those days. I'm not sure what the range was but it was sighted in t be 2.5" high at 100. It grouped 3 shots into around an inch with just under max handloads

Well I muffed a couple of sitters. Usually I always blame myself first, but this time for some reason blamed the rifle. Anyhoo.... Went to the range to test and it was smack on target. So yup, was my fault..... Lesson learnt (again!)

@bumblefoot

You never stop learning mate. The day I stop learning will be the day you can put me in a box. Fuck there’s so much I don’t know I don’t know where to start sometimes.

Had a Ruger Hawkeye 25 06 awhile back , shot 110 gr Accubonds at about 3140 fps and it worked well on reds out to 300 odd yards. I liked the caliber but the rifle was a little on the heavy side. Certainly gets the job done at normal hunting ranges.

Had one for a number of years, sold it.........last time I sold a rifle for a woman, never again! Now I want another one so if somebody has a 25 cal barrel, and possibly a 25-06 reamer, I'm all ears. I'm not too concerned if its not the perfect NZ calibre, Im not worried that there apparently isn't a good selection of high BC bullets. More than happy to go shoot a deer or a tahr or a pig with a 25, cool calibre

Originally Posted by Husky1600

Had one for a number of years, sold it.........last time I sold a rifle for a woman, never again! Now I want another one so if somebody has a 25 cal barrel, and possibly a 25-06 reamer, I'm all ears. I'm not too concerned if its not the perfect NZ calibre, Im not worried that there apparently isn't a good selection of high BC bullets. More than happy to go shoot a deer or a tahr or a pig with a 25, cool calibre

@Husky1600 there is a cheap one for sale. A dude couple of posts back even mentioned it.

Just after a barrel, have nice tidy Husky 1600 that needs a new barrel.

Originally Posted by Husky1600

Just after a barrel, have nice tidy Husky 1600 that needs a new barrel.

I love those 1600 Huskys only rifle I truly regreted selling. In the meantime for a miserly $550 you can have a great shooting 2506 all set and ready to go