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

Originally Posted by grandpamac

Greetings 257 Weatherby and All,
I didn't say the .25-06 is not a good cartridge but that it was not popular due to the reasons I outlined. I just checked the current offerings from Reloaders and out of 92 rifles none were 25 calibre let alone any in .25-06. 18 6.5mm, most of them Creedmoor's were listed. I believe it was more popular in the past but not today. The OP asked the question why it was not more popular so perhaps that is what needs to be addressed.
Regards Grandpamac

You made a definitive statement, I'll come back to you tonight.

Originally Posted by Nickoli

....Please enlighten us, where is he wrong?

Bitecha bum, open your popcorn, and wait for later.

Originally Posted by 257weatherby

You made a definitive statement, I'll come back to you tonight.

Not sure when prefacing a point with "I think that the basic problem ...." became a definitive statement. But then, any calibre argument is going to bring out the fanboys on both sides

Originally Posted by Bos

I was persuaded a while back when getting a custom rifle built, to consider a 6.5 - 06
So put simply, a 6.5 projectile sitting on top of a 25 06 case
At present Ive got a 143 Gr ELD X at 2870 fps and grouping about .4 of an inch at 100 yds. Not being a benchrest shooter, small groups and reasonable velocity are only important to allow me to knock over what I put the crosshairs on. So far the 6.5 06 has proved to be a great choice even though I was sceptical at the start; I can confidently kill an animal at 100 yds and then dial up a bit of elevation and repeat the process out to (so far) 480 yds.
While there might not be a lot of popularity now for the 25-06, if you replace the 25 with 6.5 then you've got a pretty much perfect calibre for anything you're likely to come accross. Only downside is there is no factory ammo available so this will be the one single issue that will disadvantage the 6.5 06. Certainly worth considering if youre a handloader

And thats why the PRC is so popular already.
Its a 6.5-06 that has factory ammo and brass and even fits in a short action (just)
Tho all things 6.5 are in short supply at the mo things will catch up.

Originally Posted by 257weatherby

You made a definitive statement, I'll come back to you tonight.

After 18 pages it doesn't look like too many people are convinced.

But truth is, if it was the only caliber available here you could still grab your rifle and kill any NZ animal at a reasonable distance, without a fuss.

The 110 Nosler hooning along at a good speed sounds like ok medicine.

Originally Posted by Bos

I was persuaded a while back when getting a custom rifle built, to consider a 6.5 - 06
So put simply, a 6.5 projectile sitting on top of a 25 06 case
At present Ive got a 143 Gr ELD X at 2870 fps and grouping about .4 of an inch at 100 yds. Not being a benchrest shooter, small groups and reasonable velocity are only important to allow me to knock over what I put the crosshairs on. So far the 6.5 06 has proved to be a great choice even though I was sceptical at the start; I can confidently kill an animal at 100 yds and then dial up a bit of elevation and repeat the process out to (so far) 480 yds.
While there might not be a lot of popularity now for the 25-06, if you replace the 25 with 6.5 then you've got a pretty much perfect calibre for anything you're likely to come accross. Only downside is there is no factory ammo available so this will be the one single issue that will disadvantage the 6.5 06. Certainly worth considering if youre a handloader

The problem being the 6.5/06 and the 25/06 were always said to need a 24" barrel to get the best out of them. I've had both over the years and love the .25 cal I just wish they made more high BC pills for them, then I would have another 25/08.
I see you 6.5/06 speeds with the 143 ELDX are almost the same as a 20" .260 which will use less powder, which is why I don't have a 6.5/06 anymore.

Sent from my CPH1903 using Tapatalk

Originally Posted by grandpamac

Greetings All,
I am really surprised that this thread has gone on so long. I don't own a .25-06 and never have but here is my two pence worth anyway. I think that the basic problem for the .25-06 is that it doesn't do things much better than a lot of smaller cartridges like the .257 Roberts and not quite as well as larger cartridges like the 6.5 mm and .270. The standard 1 in 10" twist limits its projectiles to 120 grains and rightly or wrongly it has gained a reputation as a barrel burner. Some of the current crop of 6.5mm cartridges leave it for dead. It's that simple.
Regards Grandpamac.

Righto, give me some basis for your opinion, not something your wife heard from her hairdresser that heard it from a girl who's boyfriend heard it from a bloke who talked to a bloke who read it on the internet, posted by a guy who heard about it from a mate who once talked to a bloke who saw one once......

My basis for opinion is this: Over nearly 40 yrs I have shot animals with everything from 338 Lap down to .243 and most mainstream cartridges in between. (Except 30/06, somehow that never happened) I've had 7 25/06's in that time, only 2 of them did not stay long in my possession and that had nothing to do with their ability to kill stuff. Two of those 25's had their barrels shot out. Most of the cartridges (lets leave out the actual magnums) that I hear bla bla better than 25/06, I have used to actually kill stuff with - so I have direct experience to draw comparison with, not hearsay. The only real criteria I have, is that whatever I carry, it has to be able to kill cleanly with one shot, 25/06 has never failed me. Oddly neither has .243, my current goto for anything on legs. Maybe I'm just lucky.

I did love my 300 Weatherby though, that thing was dynamite on Tahr! I know where a 691 in 25/06 can be found if anybody had a hankering .

Greetings 257 Weatherby and All,
In his opening post Rock river arms hunter, clearly a fan of the 25-06, asked the question why it was more popular in NZ. Clearly both of you have had excellent results and I don't dispute that. I also don't dispute that the 25-06 is not an excellent cartridge but the question posed by RRAH was not if it was any good but why it was not more popular and my comments addressed that. Although Remington introduced the 25-06 late in 1969 it had already been a semi wildcat for 50 years at least. I seem to remember that it was quite popular after introduction but since then laser range finders have made flat trajectory less desirable than heavier high BC projectiles that are less deflected by the breeze. No projectile manufacturer is going to develop high BC projectile if there are no rifles that can stabilise them.
The cartridge market is a fickle place. Decisions by rifle purchasers are often made for reasons far removed from how well they perform. Most people like something new and there is plenty of new about at the moment but not much for the 25 calibre. I thought that FN/ Winchester dropped the ball by not using a faster twist in the 25 WSSM to allow some higher BC projectiles but it has flopped for various reasons.
In summary to both you and RRAH enjoy your 25 calibre rifles, they work just as well as they ever did, or better with some of the newer projectiles but I think they are likely to continue to lose market share to the 6.5 cartridges especially the PRC.
Finally like you I am a fan of the less popular cartridges, the 6.5 x 55 and 7mm SAUM being examples in my rifle cupboard and I do have 25-06 and 257 Roberts dies so one day perhaps.
Regards Grandpamac.

Always wanted one but never got one.
Only know 2 people that have/had them and both like them very much

The government are likely to ban the 25-06. They don’t want people crawling around in the bush looking for lost and wounded animals when they could instead be working hard to earn money so they can pay their tax.

Originally Posted by Tahr

The government are likely to ban the 25-06. They don’t want people crawling around in the bush looking for lost and wounded animals when they could instead be working hard to earn money so they can pay their tax.

.... @Tahr - are you alright mate? - Comments like that suggest you are looking for an argument.....whether it's caliber related, government related, bullshit related....whatever.....

Originally Posted by Nickoli

.... @Tahr - are you alright mate? - Comments like that suggest you are looking for an argument.....whether it's caliber related, government related, bullshit related....whatever.....

Hah, I’m sure some people could find an argument in anything. It’s well proven on here.

Originally Posted by Tahr

Hah, I’m sure some people could find an argument in anything. It’s well proven on here.

......Couldn't agree more - myself included at times - but your comment (as I read it) is a rebuke to a government intent on banning things...because they can...

Originally Posted by Nickoli

......Couldn't agree more - myself included at times - but your comment (as I read it) is a rebuke to a government intent on banning things...because they can...

Nah it’s a comment on the irony of getting upset about the effectiveness or not of a bit of copper and lead.

Greetings All,
Noticed an error in the third sentence which should have read: I also don't dispute that the 25-06 is an excellent cartridge ......
Grandpamac.