Does anybody hunt larger game with a 25-06?

[Hem]

Close is good. But nothing wrong with being prepared for not close. mtmuley

So you are saying stay in shape so you can hunt yourself closer?

 

[mtmuley]

So you are saying stay in shape so you can hunt yourself closer?

Yeah. And I'm in shape to hunt closer, but it may not work. But with my rifle, I'm still "close". mtmuley

 

[noharleyyet]

Buzz, how many elk have you taken with a larger than quarterbore-06?

 

[nrpate05]

OP - think about it this way. You have probably the best pronghorn cartridge ever created and probably top 3 for deer. Now, you can certainly kill an elk with it, but you also have an excuse to get a new rifle down the road! If you have a .25-06 and say a 30-06 or something of the like you can pretty much conquer 99% of hunting across the world.

 

[Hem]

Yeah. And I'm in shape to hunt closer, but it may not work. But with my rifle, I'm still "close". mtmuley

I get where you are at.
After years of bowhunting I still like to smell em before I shoot em.

 

[BuzzH]

Buzz, how many elk have you taken with a larger than quarterbore-06?

A lot, and some with smaller than quarterbore too...

Know a couple guys, that between them, have probably killed 50 elk with a 25/06, including bulls of the extra large variety. The one still breathing, I hunt with every year, and he uses green box ammo to boot.

 

[mtmuley]

I get where you are at.
After years of bowhunting I still like to smell em before I shoot em.

Understood. I did kill a rifle bull at 42 yards once. And two with a 12 gauge shotgun, both at about 50 yards. mtmuley

 

[Elkish]

Intuitively you would think so, but in practice. Many goat rodeos have been caused by 300 mags and hits around the edges.

Sure, but I doubt anyone has ever come out of one of those situations saying “I wish I would have used a smaller caliber”

 

[belly-deep]

Sure, but I doubt anyone has ever come out of one of those situations saying “I wish I would have used a smaller caliber”

Actually, if the person were to pick up a .243 and be honest with themself, they’d probably admit to having a flinch and agree that they should have been carrying a smaller gun.

 

[squirrel]

It must be winter, just to click on this, it's gotta be. With caliber or trophy size it is never about what people want to talk about, which is: I would shoot a xxx" bull with an xyz caliber at wtf yards...

The question you have to answer is what will you not shoot, when handed on a silver platter. At 75 yards will you shoot at "huge" critter even if the angle is not optimal??

Sadly the kitchen table answer often is at odds with the hillside answer, leading to wounded and lost game.

Last fall I got a bull at 20, a cow at 45, and a bull at 50. Coulda got all three with a .22 hornet. instead of bow, .300 WM and a .338 WM. I never wished I had had that .22 hornet (but I did wish I had my new 45-70)...

Will it do the job? Of course within its limits, are you willing to live within it's limits while on a mountainside and excited? Who knows, least of all you, until you've been there and let him walk.

 

[Rancho Loco]

Yada yada yada, the .25-06 will work. Heck I'm sure there's some old timers without internet access punching their elk tags with the .257 Roberts.

 

[rammac]

To the original poster, make your own decision but notice that all these guys that are telling you that the caliber is a super gun and can do anything don't talk about the ranges that they are using their 25-06 at and those that have mentioned the range have mostly taken their animals at under 200 yards.

I never said that the caliber won't do the job (if you place the bullet precisely), but I said that it is too limited for my tastes. More often then not my shots are somewhere under 200 yards but I do get opportunities out to 300 yards or so that I'll take under the right circumstances and for that I prefer a .308 or larger.

My advice is to ignore anybody that says speaks in generalities or absolutes (like "ignore that guy") because in my experience those are usually BS artists that repeat the Internet chatter because they have no direct experience. Any way you cut it a 25-06 is a niche caliber that is great on deer and smaller game but it's marginal for larger animals in the hands of an average hunter. If you are a good marksman and you pick your shot opportunities well then the 25-06 will work but in the hands of an occasional hunter I suspect that the results won't be as good.

 

[Katfishcharlie]

If you Google Bob Milek he was a gun writer that's passed on who was quite fond of the 25-06. There's an old article in Rifle Magazine that shows up that tells about his on game experiences with the cartridge, including elk. Bob was one of my early influences in hunting rifles. I wish I could have met him.

 

[The Hedgehog]

Since a scoped 25-06 is far superior in range/lethality than any bow or blackpowder rifle out there, something tells me you don't need to be looking for something else.

Unless you want to of course. Never a bad reason to buy a new gun.

 

[JMG]

It pretty much boils down to shot placement.

 

[BuzzH]

Rammac, this is you isn't it? I'm curious if a better choice for elk than a scoped 25/06 is this? Looks like some real quality shot placement to boot.

 

[The Hedgehog]

What the hell is that, an SKS? haha Now, that's dumb.

 

[Dias454]

Looks like m1a

 

[Mthuntinfool]

Apparently someone forgot to tell this bull that elk can't die from .25 caliber bullets... and 100 grainers to boot! .257 Roberts

 

[JLS]

i always get the "too much gun" guys after me. Where's the middle? Mtmuley

6.5 cm