greeker375, don't do it!!!
Hey, greeker, how goes it. I tried to post on that 7mm/25-06 debate but it was locked. I just had to say, don't trade that 30-06 for a 25-06 if you hunt deer in Kansas or Montana or pretty much everywhere but the South. The 25-06 is plenty big for a coyote but Not big enough for my money if I'm aiming at a big 4 year old whitetail buck at 250 yards. You want KNOCK-DOWN! That 30-06 is far better to be risking long shots with than its little cousin. My Regular deer rifle is a 7MM Mag. Its definately not too big, I've never "blown a hole" in anything. (160gr.Noslers) My little backup rifle is my 30-06. I won't even let a .243 in my house!!!! Chuckle Chuckle! Just my opinion.[:D]
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Redches
Thanks for the concern, and I may have spoken prematurely on getting "rid" of the 30-06 as I really hate to get rid of any gun...thats why I have too many for my gun safe to hold.
More than likely though, I will be using it less and less. I do have to tell you that the deer I saw taken last week with the 25 went down HARD and it was a long shot! It dressed out at about 140-150 lbs and I tell ya, the expansion on that bullet caused a terrific wound channel and cut its' heart right out. Very impressive.
Just like 2 of my favorite writers, Elmer Keith and Jack O'Connor, used to say, hit an elk in the leg with a .458 Win Mag and its' just as wounded as if you hit it with a 30/30.0 -
Redches, I beg to differ on your opinion on a 25-06!!! Plenty of power for ANY DEER ANYWHERE IN THIS COUNTRY!!! With the right shot placement, he's going down! I've been shooting them with 25-06's since 1980 and have yet to lose 1. On second thought, I have yet to see one run out of sight of where he was shot and most were dead right there!!!! Both of the Montana mulies fell without taking a step. 1 was 350 and the other was 225 yards. I did wound one once with a 7mmMag but it was my fault for rushing the shot, not the fault of the caliber or bullet! You just don't shoot a bull in the butt with ANY gun and expect him to fall! I think far too many people beleive in size these days!! GHD 0 -
That is an arguement as old as the hills. Somewhere in between is probably most logical. I'm a descent shot but not as good as I'd like to be. If its standing still its dead out to 350. Its the running shots that are tough for me. The 25-06 is an awesome rifle, but personally I am a "worse case Scenario" kind of guy, Throw in a 24" whitetail, abit of wind drift, A bit of buck fever, and my bullet may not go "PERFECTLY" where it should, The deer might start to run right as I pull the trigger.......etc etc. I try to use plenty of gun. My buddy shoots a 300WIN ....just for deer (now thats more punishment than even I need) I say shoot as large a caliber as anyone can stand and still shoot confidently without flinching. Proper preparation prevents poor performance. That includes firepower for me. The 25-06 is a fine rifle, but the only place I'd personally use one is in south Texas Leisurely sitting on my duff in a box blind and the deer is under 200 yards......thats just my opinion. Cause Crap Happens! 0 -
I think the 25-06 is enough for any deer at even longer ranges. Grandpa used his (with 140 gr. reloads) for Elk. He's got a collection of elk racks a whitetail couldn't jump over. Sometimes he used his 300 win mag., but if he was hunting deer and Elk he'd use the 25-06.
Remember that excessive recoil and accompanying flinch, and longer follow-up shot times can lead to loss too.
Back to one-shot kills: 25-06 is good medicine for deer in my opinion. .243 is a heck of a deer caliber too.0 -
Love these cartridge debates! I have shot numerous, and I mean a bunch of big game animals with everything from the 22-250 thru the 375HH. I gave up on the Magnums years ago, few folks shoot well enough to use the extra power and those who do, don't need it! Choose a cartridge that is comfortable to you, then shoot, shoot shoot it. It matters little which cartridge you select, after all my father shot everything from gophers to moose, peccaries to white whales and walrus with his old .270. I have used a wildcat 6mm cartridge for my annual antelope, black bear, deer and elk for 7 years and haven't lost a single one thus far. What is critical is that you match the bullet to the size of the quarry then place the bullet in a vital area.
Good shooting and God Bless...............0 -
Agree pretty much with what everyone has said. But I must add, (not trying to be a jerk) But.....You can kill a deer with a .22 mangnum too, if you hit it in the right spot. Smart? no. I know a guy who shot a deer he jumped out of a riverbottom. He hit him basically in the ass. He was using a 243. If he'd a had a 300win the deer would have been toast, because of penetration ,but the deer run off and he never recovered him. As I said, crap happens, and I hunt wide open flat country. You can't simply Sit in a stand and calmly pick the exact point of bullet placement where I hunt. There are many 200+ yard shots. And yes the occasional running shot. Small calibers are fine if you sit in a blind. For wide open plains hunting I still stand with the biggest caliber you can shoot without the recoil affecting your accuracy. 0 -
The guy that shot the deer in the butt was a hunter of questionable character!! Why shoot at the deer with anything? And the results could have been the same even with the 300! That is the perfect example of the "big gun mentality"!! Just because I've got a big gun I can take any shot!!! People who do this are not qualified to be called hunters!!! And back to the 25-06, anything you can shoot within reason with your "big gun" I can kill just as dead and humanely with the 25!!!! GHD 0 -
Redches, Have you ever shot anything with a 25-06?. I have just about every caliber a man could wont. The deadliest rifle I have ever shot is the 25-06. I am talking over 36 white tails, Around ten Manchurian Sikas, To many hogs to count, Many over 300pounds. Only one has not dropped in it's tracks. It went thirty yards.
I cant remember if it was 1984 are 1986, A article in the Rifleman written by one of the top guides in Alabama. He said the 7mm Rem mag was the greatest cause of wounded deer he had ever seen. He gave two reasons. No1 flinching, No 2 not enough energy absorbed by the animal, But lots of trees killed on the other side.
In 43 years of hunting and guiding. I have come to one conclusion, 90% of the people I see are over gunned.
Now before I get jumped here. I own and shoot many magnums. I also shoot around a thousand rounds a year. I am talking about the dudes that go to the range , And shoot three rounds. Then they take off after Elk.
If you can take your big gun and hold a decent ten shot group then that's a different story. I am talking about the guy that a box of shells last him tree years. He is over gunned, And not proficient.
The most important things, Are not things.0 -
Groundhogdevastation, All I know about that story is he jumped a buck out of some thick stuff and took a running shot (Happens more than standing shots where I'm from) So it was nothing new, just anothe running buck.....And he shot poorly and didn't lead him enough....So he hit him in the ass....oops, should've had a larger gun, might still have wounded/lost him...but his odds would have been better. Hunting is different in different parts of the country. Mabeye He shouldn't have shot, I wasn't there....So your saying he could have been shooting a .22 rifle and that would have been the same???? If he would have been shooting a Bazooka he would have blown his whole ass end off and the deer would have died quickly....I'm getting carried away...but see my point??? And as someone just said, proficiency is the key...whatever the gun , shoot it straight. 0 -
I bought a 25-06 not long ago,and if you go to General Discussion and look up HEY GHD!The story is there.Since then there was another 8 point taken with my 25-06.This buck was a big body deer and was the biggest in camp.This buck was shot at over 100yds thru the chest on a angle.The buck ran 100yds and i don't see how he ran that far because it went thru his main organs.The damage the 25-06 did to that deer was something else.I would agree with GHD & say i can do anything with the 25-06 that another person could do with a bigger cal. Hunter 0
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