.25 Caliber Rifle Cartridges and the Future of Them

[Rocco490]

One thing I would add is a 257 roberts is a nice cartridge but not a true short action where a 25 CREEDMOOR would likely be ideal for a short action quarter bore caliber so I could see that coming into existence and making a great hunting round for short actions. If any new 25 caliber cartridges come out I hope its that one. I don't hate the 6.5 Creedmoor by the way just all the bs usually associated with it.

 

[Bonk]

I bought a Ruger All Weather 25-06 a few years ago on a whim. Paid about $550 IIRC. BNIB. Turned out to be a helluva shooter. Sub 3" groups at 300 yards with factory Hornady American Whitetail 117gr. I've killed several deer with it. I'm not aware of any other caliber more suited for whitetail deer than 25-06. I'm never selling that rifle. With the exception of the 257 Bob none of the other quarter bores appeal to me at all. The 257 Bob is just such a dang good caliber though. I wouldn't mind having one. Plus it has a lot of cool going on.

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

Just pulling your leg, Bob! Happy New Year, mate!

Doug

@Doug Hamilton
I know Doug but seriously you need a 25 mate.
Bob

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

Yup. Me neither. I just focus on getting closer and guesstimating wind...

@Puddle
My scope is 1.8 inches above the bore. Sighted 2 inches high with the TTSX or nosler balistic tip I'm on zero again at 300 and 275 respectively. This gives a drop of 8 to 13 inches at 400yrds.
A dead on hold is fine for 350 yards.
A backing hold on medium game gives me a 400 to 450 yard hold.
It took some getting used to the trajectory so I didn't over shoot.
Pick up rifle, hold dead center of chest and pull trigger. No guess work out to 350. Pull trigger and ifn I do my bit game falls down.
Bob

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

One thing I would add is a 257 roberts is a nice cartridge but not a true short action where a 25 CREEDMOOR would likely be ideal for a short action quarter bore caliber so I could see that coming into existence and making a great hunting round for short actions. If any new 25 caliber cartridges come out I hope its that one. I don't hate the 6.5 Creedmoor by the way just all the bs usually associated with it.

@Rocco490
As good as the 25s are unfortunately there are a lot of people that just don't see how good they are. The 25s fell out of favour when wimpchester introduced that pos 243 amidst a bucketful of lies that went with their advertising. The 25s still have a loyal following by those in the know. It like the 35s both just plain get the job done without all the bullshit and will continue to do so.
Bob

 

[Dr Ray]

@Rocco490
As good as the 25s are unfortunately there are a lot of people that just don't see how good they are. The 25s fell out of favour when wimpchester introduced that pos 243 amidst a bucketful of lies that went with their advertising. The 25s still have a loyal following by those in the know. It like the 35s both just plain get the job done without all the bullshit and will continue to do so.
Bob

My latest acquisition is a 25/06.
I’ll be using 117 grain bullets for wicked fallows
Shoots fantastic groups

 

[Nevada Mike]

SO... is the 25-'06 making a 'comeback'. There have always been fans, of course, but is it growing in popularity?

 

[Scrumbag]

@Scrumbag
Scrummy I can't understand that you say the 257 Roberts is a lidgt deer rifle. It works well on big red stags as well with those bullets.
Stop being a naysayer mate or people will think it's not any better than the pissant 243s when in actual fact it's not far behind the 25-06. You should easily get 2,900gps plus with the 120s.
Bob

Bob,

Light weight rifle rather than light weight deer

 

[BeeMaa]

SO... is the 25-'06 making a 'comeback'. There have always been fans, of course, but is it growing in popularity?

It's #15 on this list...whatever that's worth.
https://backfire.tv/popular-cartridges/
If you are considering a .25 caliber, the 25-06 is a wonderful option.

EDIT - Quick search on AmmoSeek.com show a plethora of ammo available. This is a good indication that it's going to be around for a while. Compare that to the 250-3000SAV and there are only 2 sellers, making handloading this caliber close to a necessity.

 

[gjwardman]

Neva

Question: Do the 110 ABs open up when used on pronghorn? I have several boxes of them and like the bullets, but I am concerned that they will not have the terminal performance on light animals like Coues deer and pronghorn.

Nevada, DISCLAIMER: I'VE NEVER SHOT A PROGHORN

That being said, I have never had any issues with bullet performance on eastern and central US whitetails. To be fair, I've never recovered a bullet either. I have shot the Barnes 100 gr and Remington 115 RN into wet newspaper and recovered those bullets. They performed as advertised. Retained mass and had uniform expansion. I was shooting them at 50 yds, but no issues that I saw.
A buddy of mine swears by the 257 Roberts on mulies and pronghorns in Wyoming and Idaho..

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

My latest acquisition is a 25/06.
I’ll be using 117 grain bullets for wicked fallows
Shoots fantastic groups

@Dr Ray
The 117gr SST are wicked deadly on fallow.
Bob

 

[Bonk]

25-06 is one of the most underrated calibers I've ever seen. Nobody pays any attention to it until they own one or knows somebody that does. I was guilty of that until I bought one almost by accident. Bud's had a sale on Ruger All Weather rifles. The 308 version was on sale for around $700 but the exact same rifle in 25-06 was $550. I'd heard of 25-06 but didn't know much about it but I'm a sucker for a good rifle at a great price whether I need it or not. I figured spending $550 on a decent quality bolt action rifle was worth it so I took a chance and bought one. I'm extremely glad I did. The combination of caliber, velocity and bullet weight is a magic formula that's absolutely lethal on deer and coyotes. The bonus is that it seems to be an inherently accurate caliber because I've never heard of a 25-06 rifle that didn't shoot well.

 

[steve white]

If you’re talking about Spomer’s video, my take away was that the 25 hasn’t got that much attention and that a 25 Nosler would fill in thier product line. I’ve always been a fan of the 25-06 but we have no R8 barrel for that. For me, I don’t know what else I could ask for that the 25-05 or 25 Wthby can’t already do

You don't have an R8 barrel until you get one rechambered...?

 

[steve white]

@BeeMaa
Unless these new 25s come with a fast twists barrel to handle newer 131gn and heavier otherwise what's the point.
The 25WSSM was a good cartridge but didn't do anything the 25-06 wouldn't do better. Then som Muppet necked it up to 35 cal and mad a short arse 35 that almost matches the 358 Winchester. Why I don't know but hey what ever floats your boat.
The 25s just seem to kill game without fuss or bother and do it in dramatic fashion. My mate even said the little 25-20 killed goats and smaller fallow deer very emphatically and out all proportion to its size. The 25s became unloved with the intro of that pissant useless 243.
Bob

Why don't you go ahead and dare to tell us what you reallly think....lol

Agree, 25's are pocket cannons

 

[steve white]

@JimP
And that would have been with a backing hold or less.
When I started using my fast 25 I had a tendency to over shoot game at longer ranges until I got used to the flat trajectory. The speer 100gn sppbt sailed clean over a fallow deer at a bit over 400 because I held on air. The next shot was a back line hold and resulted in a high lung shot. It was like someone pulled the rug out from under him. His legs just collaped and he didn't move. Back then I didn't look for projectiles but he was a mess inside and no exit.
Bob

My high lung shots have had that effect--it's a wonder I don't try them on purpose.

 

[Inline6]

One thing I would add is a 257 roberts is a nice cartridge but not a true short action where a 25 CREEDMOOR would likely be ideal for a short action quarter bore caliber so I could see that coming into existence and making a great hunting round for short actions. If any new 25 caliber cartridges come out I hope its that one. I don't hate the 6.5 Creedmoor by the way just all the bs usually associated with it.

25CM has been out a while, just not commercial available ammo.

 

[Inline6]

If you’re talking about Spomer’s video, my take away was that the 25 hasn’t got that much attention and that a 25 Nosler would fill in thier product line. I’ve always been a fan of the 25-06 but we have no R8 barrel for that. For me, I don’t know what else I could ask for that the 25-05 or 25 Wthby can’t already do

Palehorse Zero will cut you one, then you can get the twist rate to take advantage of the new heavier bullets.

 

[Nevada Mike]

The current 100, 110, 115, 117 and 120 grain bullets work very well. Why do I need a heavier bullet of game of the 25-'06 class??

 

[BeeMaa]

The current 100, 110, 115, 117 and 120 grain bullets work very well. Why do I need a heavier bullet of game of the 25-'06 class??

You don't need them for hunting with a 25-06. It's the long range competition shooters who want the heavier and longer bullets to buck the wind with the new 25CM and others cartridges like it.

 

[Nevada Mike]

You don't need them for hunting with a 25-06. It's the long range competition shooters who want the heavier and longer bullets to buck the wind with the new 25CM and others cartridges like it.

WHEW! Here I was thinking I'd have to replace a nearly new .257 caliber Brux cut-rifled barrel. I wondered if the 1:9-1/2 twist would be outdated before I finished load development.