.243 or 25-06 ???

[dfrobert]

I have had great results with my 25-06 and Federal Fusion 120gr. Accurate enough for me and the deer I have taken with them very impressive bullet performance.

[J0HN_R1]

Congrats on the Forbes rifle !

To bad the bolt's on the wrong side...

[Kurt505]

Originally Posted by J0HN_R1

Congrats on the Forbes rifle !

To bad the bolt's on the wrong side...

I was eyeing up one wrong handed in the classifieds for my boy but it's a bit on the pricey side, I got mine new for cheaper.

[runnin'wild]

Nice rifle but gotta say I think you are crazy to want to remove the cerekote from it. It looks great and will obviously help the gun weather better.

I have a remington with the trynite coating and haven't seen anything better but have heard good things about cerekote, planning on getting another one of my rifles done in it.

[oldgutpile]

The 25-06. The gun I love to hate!
From a butcher's perspective, the 25-06 could be the worse meat wrecker that ever got invented! I'm sure it has that laser trajectory, and kills them dead every time, but I have never seen a rifle with such a history of destroying meat! Things get badly blown-up and turned into jelly!

To the O.P.: Congrats on the selection of rifle, and you possibly picked the best scope for the money out there that exists! It's just your cartridge selection that makes me cringe. I have watched animals come into the butcher shop for years and everytime I see one with major damage, I ask the shooter what caliber he was hunting these poor little critters with. I always expect a 300 wby, or 338 rum, but NO, the lowly 25-06 !
Just make sure to use the heaviest, best constructed bullet you can afford! The Chinchaga bullets are definitely "heavy for caliber" so you are on the right track with them.

[Kurt505]

I think instead of removing the cerakoted I'm going to maybe paint the stock to match my other rifle, a darkish shad of tan.

As far as the 25-06 being a meat wrecker, I think for the most part I'll be doing my big game hunting with my 280, this will be my plinking rifle.

I do really like the Z3, I think I might pick up another one if a deal arises.

[Xbolt7mm]

Originally Posted by oldgutpile

The 25-06. The gun I love to hate!
From a butcher's perspective, the 25-06 could be the worse meat wrecker that ever got invented! I'm sure it has that laser trajectory, and kills them dead every time, but I have never seen a rifle with such a history of destroying meat! Things get badly blown-up and turned into jelly!

To the O.P.: Congrats on the selection of rifle, and you possibly picked the best scope for the money out there that exists! It's just your cartridge selection that makes me cringe. I have watched animals come into the butcher shop for years and everytime I see one with major damage, I ask the shooter what caliber he was hunting these poor little critters with. I always expect a 300 wby, or 338 rum, but NO, the lowly 25-06 !
Just make sure to use the heaviest, best constructed bullet you can afford! The Chinchaga bullets are definitely "heavy for caliber" so you are on the right track with them.

The rifle doesn't wreck meat at all and I don't see how a cartridge can be labeled like that at all. The bullet selection just like any caliber/cartridge is what determines the damage as well as where they are hit and with what bullet and really, everytime it's mush it's the lowly 25-06, not a 257 virtually the same ballistics and bullets. Your post is just silly with no realistic basis that I can see. From your stated opinion these maybe should be only used on large animals due to the massive destruction they inflict, simply untrue, they are just a good deer cartridge simple as that.

[Xbolt7mm]

Originally Posted by Kurt505

I think instead of removing the cerakoted I'm going to maybe paint the stock to match my other rifle, a darkish shad of tan.

As far as the 25-06 being a meat wrecker, I think for the most part I'll be doing my big game hunting with my 280, this will be my plinking rifle.

I do really like the Z3, I think I might pick up another one if a deal arises.

Kurt, don't listen to that guy. The quarter 06 is as fine a deer cartridge as there ever was made, select your bullet wisely for your purpose, just like any other round. For target practice only then don't waste your money on noslers, they are pricey but if hunting and target practice are combined, I'm always a fan of targeting with what I hunt with. The 85 ballistic tip for coyotes will almost split them in two if just dead is all you are looking for and they are an absolute laser. If fur is what you want then any quarter cartridge is not great. Use it and you will love it and it will just take a bit more selective purchasing/research to get to optimalization and ignore the haters. Enjoy that purdey bang stick.

[rottie]

Originally Posted by Xbolt7mm

Kurt, don't listen to that guy. The quarter 06 is as fine a deer cartridge as there ever was made, select your bullet wisely for your purpose, just like any other round. For target practice only then don't waste your money on noslers, they are pricey but if hunting and target practice are combined, I'm always a fan of targeting with what I hunt with. The 85 ballistic tip for coyotes will almost split them in two if just dead is all you are looking for and they are an absolute laser. If fur is what you want then any quarter cartridge is not great. Use it and you will love it and it will just take a bit more selective purchasing/research to get to optimalization and ignore the haters. Enjoy that purdey bang stick.

As Xbolt says, use a bullet designed for your purpose and the 25-06 does no more or less damage that any other cartridge, Being using one for years as a go to gun, and it doesn't wreck any more meat than my bigger rifles

[harv3589]

The 25-06 being a meat wrecker? Not with a quality bullet it's not. Between my wife and I a few deer have been taken with the 25-06 and very little meat damage.

[huntsfurfish]

I have both and the 25/06 would be my choice.

[Xbolt7mm]

Originally Posted by huntsfurfish

I have both and the 25/06 would be my choice.

There we go,,,back on track😀

[legion]

25-06 is my absolute fav
my father bless his soul used to make custom guns and his fav was 25-06 but it was called 25-06 improved , so love that cartridge best he owned western gun works in winnipeg and cambells gun works in late 80 early 90

[graybeard]

Originally Posted by rottie

25-06 gets my vote, fast, flat, and kills great. Moose and Deer as well as coyotes have all being taken with mine. A buddy uses his on Elk as well as Black Bear

X 2 .....

http://www.chuckhawks.com/why_25-06.htm

The CXP 3 is the big difference...I use the 100 grain Barnes Triple Shock...

[Kurt505]

Instead of removing the cerakote I decided it would be easier just to paint the stock instead. I like the grey stock with stainless barrel look, but with a charcoal grey cerakote on the barrel I prefer the tan color with webbing look.


Here's the before and after pics,

Before:




After:




Different strokes for different folks, but I like the new look much better. Not to mention, the clear coat I used gives a grippier finish.

[J0HN_R1]

Originally Posted by Kurt505

I was eyeing up one wrong handed in the classifieds for my boy but it's a bit on the pricey side, I got mine new for cheaper.

The 30-06 ? I was eyeballing it yesterday...

[Kurt505]

Originally Posted by J0HN_R1

The 30-06 ? I was eyeballing it yesterday...

No, it's the 25-06 I painted last week.

[ruger338]

nice rifle what is the barrel length? I wish I wouldve listened and bought atleast a 24" mine is 22" guess it only matters if your stretching out past 300m
also I dont recommend the nosler 100gr BT I shot a small ish buck in the neck at around 100yrds it went in and turned and destroyed front shoulder op side
not the bullets fault i suppose, I will be using a bit heavier bullets next season

[Kurt505]

It's a 24" barrel.

[Opa]

Sweet piece of equipment that you have!!!! I have had an A-bolt in 25.06 for 25 odd years and have used it on everything. It now sports Zeiss HD5 2x10x42 Rapid Z-600 glass. Try loading it with 110 Accubonds. Great bullet, does not wreck meat(unless you hit bone), & capable of dropping everything from antelope to moose. My go to ammo previously was Fed Prem. 115 partition, however, I was fortunate a while back to snag a few boxes of Nosler Custom ammo and love it. Pricey as hell, but top drawer accuracy. I do not shoot enough to warrant reloading.

[ram crazy]

Thought you knew everything?

[Beeman3]

25-06 is a fun caliber. I really enjoy shooting my 25-06AI. It runs just a bit slower than a 257 Weatherby. 115 Bergers at 3350 fps with H1000.

[700-223]

Beautiful rifle! Nice work on stock repainting too - looks as good as factory. Love than black webbing finish.

[roger]

2506 is my favourite non magnum cartridge.
Legal for game, great varmitr, superb choice for entry level centerfire shooters..kids, recoil sensitive .too

[ParkGunner]

Having owned both, I'd take the 25-06 10 times before I'll own another 243. It's flatter shooting, has better energy, and better bullets. The brass is silly easy to make too. Just take 270 Win brass, shove it in a 25-06 die and then trim.

Of all the guns I've owned, and sold, I seriously regret ever getting rid of my 25-06, and want another. I in no way miss my old 243.

If you want something different, go 7-08. Great round, great ballistics, and you can take once fired (longer) 308, neck it down, and away you go.

[Erik]

Nice rifle. I've really been wanting a 25-06 with a 24" barrel for a while. Just got a .243 recently for a utility gun, but the 25-06 is still my preference for an all-round hunting gun. A calibre that I feel is worth spending some money on. Best of luck with your new acquisition.

[Xbolt7mm]

A utility gun??

[Kurt505]

Originally Posted by Xbolt7mm

A utility gun??

I guess you can say that. I just wanted a rifle that I can use to cut down the round count on my other rifles, spread out the burn!

[Erik]

Originally Posted by Xbolt7mm

A utility gun??

Not his gun, my 243. I got a savage for myself in 243; it's like a utility turkey, ugly but gets the job done. To be clear, my point was that I feel it is worth it to spend more of your $$ on the 25-06, not 243. Clearly he has done so and has a fine rifle. Happy hunting!

[eclipse71]

I never tried the 6.5/06 but would dream to get one.

About your question, its very hard to answer for me,
I have 243`s, one 25-06 and had a 257 Wetherbi.
-Let start with the 257 Wetherbi, fantastic ballistic table and it got me, but the Mark5 I bought was POS, receiver was even been drilled croocked ( out of windage adjustment on my scope ) warranty...then accuracy was below average.
-Bought a Tikka 25-06 for the wife, loved it, killed few deers with it and was really impressed with the 100gr Bal-tip.
-Bought a 243 to try, ( Savage ) and wow! long range was easy, recoil mild, and on deers as effective as the 25-06.

Thats why Its so tough to tell you which one, I think I prefer the 243 cause I have 3 now, with 95gr VLD and 43.3gr of IMR-4350 its wonderful