Standard Cartridge Series - 25-06 Remington

[Jay Edward (deceased)]

I built myself a .25-06 on a Mauser action at one point, using a Douglas barrel and altering the 'double stage' trigger into single stage.  It had a 26" barrel on it and would consistently hold 1/4" groups all day long.  I used it hunt prairie dogs untill I realized just how much it was costing me per shot.  I let a logger talk me out of it and he used it for his Deer, Elk & Bear gun.

[klallen]

Love the cartridge. Power to do it all when loaded correctly and in the right hands. I've got mine tuned into varmint mode right now. It's just a great round. One of the best things to ever come from that ole '06 case, that's for sure.
 
I posted a thread on another site that I jokingly titled something like "my Savage thinks it's a .257 WbyMag". It was a report on my load development for this round. I don't know what other fellas are getting with their .25-06's, but holy mackeral, my BVSS really gets those 100 Ballistic Tips smok'in     . Later. >> klallen

[Hunterbug]

I have a couple of friends that have this caliber and love it. I have my 257 AI or I would own one. IMNSHO the 25s are better choices for deer and antelope than the 243/6mm.

[NUMBERFARMER]

I hate to even start on this cartridge since it will bring tears to my eyes. :o This is my alltime favorite cartridge. It can do everything I need it to do in my country. It will drop a good size mule deer out to 300 yards and do it with authority. Take a big bull elk with very carefully placed shots at closer ranges. It is great for white tail on the creek bottoms and it will stop an antelope dead in his tracks at any sane range. It will take coyotes all winter, and plink praire dogs out to way out there all summer. I know there are other cartridges that can do the same thing, but this happens to be the second caliber I ever owned and the first I purchased with my own money at the ripe old age of 15. I had to beg my dad for months to let me buy a brand new Ruger that no one else seemed to want. The gun store had it on the shelf so long they offered it to me below cost. I don't think they thought I would ever convince my dad since he did not hunt at all. I started reloading that very same year, and that 25-06 and a 243 kept me out of trouble and on track for many years to come.
 
A few years later my son came along and I sold the guns to meet some family needs. To make a long story short, I didn't own another 25-06 until my son gave me a Ruger #1B in 25-06 a few years(16) later. That gun is now topped with a 3.5 x 10 vari X III and will shoot 2" 3 shot groups at 300 yards. I use 117 grain sierra bullets over H4831 in Win brass ignited by wlr primers. Muzzle velocity for this load is 2950 to 3025. For praire dogs I use the same load right before deer hunting season. Another great bullet is the 87 grain Sierra for coyotes and praire dogs during the other times of the year.
 
Sorry for the long winded reply, but to me that is what firearms and hunting are all about, the traditions that can be established in your family, and the memories and lasting satisfaction that comes from preserving our hunting and firearms heritage. I can look back and see what a couple of rifles and a whole lot of reloading and shooting did for me, and I would like to do the same for some others. Thanks for the read.