.25.06 for Elk

[longbow51]

Thinking about passing along my 25.06 Cooper to a young woman, daughter of a man who grew up in our household (first deer hunt, first goose/duck hunt, taught him to flyfish, and to do math). She's a crack shot. She will likely weigh 105# max.

I shot all my elk with .300 WM.

With Hammer bullets, would this be good for elk < 300 yards?

Otherwise I'll just sell it. Octagonal barrel, color case-hardened, gorgeous wood, Talley rings, Zeiss scope.

 

[blackbeard]

With a well placed shot and appropriate bullet I don't see why a 25-06 wouldn't do the job

 

[rmyoung1]

I have a friend who’s killed a zillion elk with a .25-06

 

[TN2shot07]

I wouldn’t think twice about carrying it as long as she’s comfortable giving up some of the hard quartering shots. A good bullet out of a 25-06 is bad news for just about anything. As a quarter bore fanatic that one sounds like it’d be an easy sale if you go that route!

 

[longbow51]

I wouldn’t think twice about carrying it as long as she’s comfortable giving up some of the hard quartering shots. A good bullet out of a 25-06 is bad news for just about anything. As a quarter bore fanatic that one sounds like it’d be an easy sale if you go that route!

Don't really need the money, just don't want to wound elk. She already has my Model 70 .243 for deer.

 

[DFS]

I bet it would work fine. Some people shoot them with bows.

 

[BuzzH]

Thinking about passing along my 25.06 Cooper to a young woman, daughter of a man who grew up in our household (first deer hunt, first goose/duck hunt, taught him to flyfish, and to do math). She's a crack shot. She will likely weigh 105# max.

I shot all my elk with .300 WM.

With Hammer bullets, would this be good for elk < 300 yards?

Otherwise I'll just sell it. Octagonal barrel, color case-hardened, gorgeous wood, Talley rings, Zeiss scope.

I wouldn't even give it a second thought, will work just fine.

 

[mdeerjunkie]

I’ve got a friend that gets elk with a 25-06. Drops most of them on the spot.

 

[OntarioHunter]

If hunting in grizzly country I think 180 gr 30-06 would be minimum.

 

[urge2hunt901]

I bet it's going to work nice

 

[Walkathon]

My hunting partner shoots adult whitetail bucks every year with a 25-06 using cheap cup/core bullets and it works great (out to about 300 yards). Don't see why it wouldn't work on elk at 300 yards with a quality bullet if she shoots well. No experience with the gun on elk. My 2 cents.

 

[brockel]

25-06 will be fine. As long as your shot is good I’ve never found elk to be as bullet proof and tough as the internet says

 

[Doublegunner]

Thinking about passing along my 25.06 Cooper to a young woman, daughter of a man who grew up in our household (first deer hunt, first goose/duck hunt, taught him to flyfish, and to do math). She's a crack shot. She will likely weigh 105# max.

I shot all my elk with .300 WM.

With Hammer bullets, would this be good for elk < 300 yards?

Otherwise I'll just sell it. Octagonal barrel, color case-hardened, gorgeous wood, Talley rings, Zeiss scope.

Sounds like a nice rifle. Would love to see a picture of it. As for good enough? I think so. We all seem to love discussing the merits and capabilities of various cartridges and bullets but the reality, I think, is that most any modern big game rifle cartridge will get the job done with a good bullet. I do think the bigger cartridges will give you some shot options that the smaller cartridges won't given the same bullets being used but cartridges like the 25-06 do just fine for most situations. They are also generally easier to shoot for most people which is really important. IMO.

 

[noharleyyet]

What minimum weight gents?

 

[brockel]

What minimum weight gents?

I know a guy that’s killed enough to fill an ark with the old 100 grain hornady interlock out of a 257 Roberts

 

[MTTW]

I know a guy that killed quite a few elk with a 257 Roberts but after having other hunters gut a couple before he found them, he started using a 7mm08. He had an old shoulder injury and couldn't take recoil. He has killed a lot of elk.
There is no doubt that the 25-06 will kill elk if you do it right. I have had one for many years, but my wife and daughter use a .270 so I guess that tells you what I think about it.

 

[MT Bound]

yes, that's what my wife uses, it works great if you hit 'em where you're supposed to.

 

[S-3 Ranch]

With a well placed shot and appropriate bullet I don't see why a 25-06 wouldn't do the job

I would think 25-06 with a ttsx or accubond or a federal premium would be satisfactory

 

[buffybr]

If hunting in grizzly country I think 180 gr 30-06 would be minimum.

I've hunted deer and sheep with my .257 Ackley in grizzly country shice the late '70s. I probably did a dozen sheep hunts in several of the Montana Unlimited bighorn units just north of Yellowstone NP with that rifle, and killed one of my best 6x6 bull elk on one of those hunts, less than a mile north of the Park line. A one shot kill with a 120 grain Sierra GameKing bullet that dropped that bull in his tracks. One of the quickest kills on any of my elk.

I also used that rifle and bullet on my Dall sheep hunt in Canada's MacKenzie Mountains. Again, one shot kills on a 39"+ ram and a Mountain Caribou.

Another friend that I used to work with killed his elk almost every year for many years in southwest Montana with his .25-06.

After hunting deer, elk, moose, sheep, goats, and grizzlies in grizzly country since 1975, I have only encountered one grizzly on all of those hunts, and I ran him off with a rock.

 

[Dan O]

I think she would treasure it and put it to good use. We all get hung up on FPS & FPE when the important ingredient is a well placed shot. A well constructed bullet makes a rifle kill beyond it's size.
I would say she should hunt with it.