Accurate 25 06?

Z

zeke mccune

Member
I read an article that told the story that a major "custom" rifle mfg. had a very difficult time in getting the rifles chambered in 25 06 to shoot accurately. I asked my gunsmith to make me a rifle chamberd in 25 06 and he replied, "I could never get the 25 06 to shoot." Now this is coming from a very capeable benchrest gunsmith who has had his rifles win many matches and set records.

What are your results with the 25 06? Good or bad or...?

Tia,

Zeke
 
I have know hunters that really liked their 20-06s but they were not expecting, or needing top target accuracy from their hunting rifles. Accuracy has more than one standard. Carry weight rifles, with slim stocks and functional magazines, generally are not shot in a manner that would give a good indication of a target rifle's accuracy. On the other hand, building a hunting rifle in a caliber that has done well in competition is probably a good idea. I don't think that you will see many 25-06s in competition, one reason being the limited selection of suitable bullets.

If you must have a .25, a friend has built an antelope rifle in .25-.284 that shoots very well. He got the idea from an article in Precision Shooting that was either written by, or about a rifle built by Dave Tooley, a man with considerable long range competition credentials. I should mention that there was some work involved in getting the dies so that they were a good fit for the chamber. He ended up having custom dies made.
 
25-06

What do you call accurate.... .5" moa....??? Or are you looking to compete against guns that will agg. Less than .2" ...????
Each accurate..... Depending on who`s interpetation....
 
I see two issues that will affect accuracy. #1 is bullets..... who makes accurate 25's?

And #2 is muzzle blast. This is a wicked overbore cartridge.

If you have access to good bullets, the muzzle blast can be scrubbed off with a muzzle brake.

Just a couple opinions

al
 
Your benchrest gunsmith probably had very high standards.

The .25-06 isn't a debate in hunting circles. it is a very capable cartridge with a following based on performance. It doesn't have to win benchrest to be a great hunting round. There isn't anything I know of like a benchrest bullet for the caliber, and that is probably going to make it a non-starter for anyone with benchrest in their minds.
 
I do have a couple 25-06's and loaded with Barnes 100gr TTSX's they're amazingly capable and accurate. Barrel life is around 500rds IMO, which for hunting is OK.
 
25/06

Some of my Friends & I have had problems getting the heavy bullets 115 & 120 to shoot rill good. The 90 & 100 shoot a lot better in our factory barrels. The twist rate seems to be a little slow. Max
 
25/06

I'm with ALINWA a Barns 100 gr TTSX should work great. Max
 
for benchrest / longrange forget the 25-06,,, for a fine deer round, you'll have to look long and hard to find a better round. load that puppy up with a health dose of H4831SC or H4350 and a Sierra 117 gr GameKing or 110 gr Nosler AccuBond and give it to a shooter that can make good well placed shots and he'll keep you in deer & deer sized game, love mine out to 400 yards on Georgia sized whitetails, recoil is manageable even for kids,,, BUT you know, rifle calibers are like golf clubs & boobs,,,,,,,, whatever a guy has to play with
@ home is usually the best there is!!

the wind is my friend,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

DD
 
I have been shoot the 25s since 1963.

I have only had one 25-06 precision barrel. It was a very 28" heavy barrel on a Rem 40X. It would hold 1/4 MOA with good bullets and correct loads. Shorter barrels have to much muzzle blast with the large powder capacity of the 25-06 case.

One of the 25-08 improved cases will give similar velocity and better groups. Still a longer barrel is usually needed.

I shoot several versions of the 25 BR. This little case is excellent. It is better than a Dasher if you use good bullets. Bullets have always been an issue with the 25 bores. The BIB 25 bullets are excellent. If you want precision these are the best I have found. The Bergers are almost as good. In most good barrels the 75 gr V Max will shoot under 1/2 MOA and can be made to go very fast.
 
Octopus said:
I have been shoot the 25s since 1963.

I have only had one 25-06 precision barrel. It was a very 28" heavy barrel on a Rem 40X. It would hold 1/4 MOA with good bullets and correct loads. Shorter barrels have to much muzzle blast with the large powder capacity of the 25-06 case.

One of the 25-08 improved cases will give similar velocity and better groups. Still a longer barrel is usually needed.

I shoot several versions of the 25 BR. This little case is excellent. It is better than a Dasher if you use good bullets. Bullets have always been an issue with the 25 bores. The BIB 25 bullets are excellent. If you want precision these are the best I have found. The Bergers are almost as good. In most good barrels the 75 gr V Max will shoot under 1/2 MOA and can be made to go very fast.
Click to expand...

I had a 25-06 that was okay but changed to a 257 Roberts AI when I needed a new barrel. Better groups, same velocity with less powder and recoil.
 
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The best bullet I ever shot in the 25/06 for accuracy was the JLK 108 VLD, B.C. is around .500 and it shoots good to 1000 yards. In my rifle it will outshoot the 115 Berger, 117 Sierra BT Spt and the 115 Nosler BT w/ the plastic tip.
 
I built a 25-284 a few years ago on a FN SPR action with a lightweight sporter barrel (Rock Creek) and it has shot very accurately with most bullets (.5 MOA). I believe two standouts were the 110 Accubond and one of the TTSX bullets. Never played with the -06 version.
 
A similar but wildcatv round is the 6.5-06. It is supposed to be very accurate and the 6.5 142 bullet holds velocity well.
 
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