25-06 vs 300 win mag

[93glide]

I have been hunting with the 25-06 for 12 seasons.
I would like to try next year with the 300 win mag.
Is this too much of a jump in caliber size?
I realize there will be more knock down power
and must be more careful with shot placement in order
not to destroy any meat.
I will keep the 25-06 for antelope...it's too great of a gun to
get rid of.
I'm not sure if I need two deer rifles but eventually I will get a Elk tag
and the 300 should be just right for that.
So if anyone has hunted with both, I would like to hear the pro's and con's
of the two in comparison.

Thanks
93glide

[White-tail-deer]

It depends on what type of hunting situations you have, long shots vs. shorter shots. I always prepare two guns for deer season, one will be sighted in for woods hunting and the other is sighted in to handle longer shots for field hunting.

[frizzellr]

I realize there will be more knock down power
and must be more careful with shot placement in order
not to destroy any meat.

Meat damage with a 25-06 Rem can me more severe than with a 300 Win Mag. Alot of it depends on the bullet used. Some 150 grain .308 bullets will expand rapidly at 300 Win Mag velocities and cause meat damage, but the 165 and 180 grain bullets seem to hold up well.

[James B]

Frizzellr is right on. A lot of the caliber discussion here should be on bullets and thier construction rather than caliber size. I have hunted deer with both calibers and both are fine for deer. The 300 will extend your ability to reach out with plenty of retained energy for deer. However the 25-06 will drop deer as far out as most people should be shooting. For elk the 300 would be best even though many Elk have been taken with the 25-06 as well.

[mossy33oak]

ORIGINAL: White-tail-deer

It depends on what type of hunting situations you have, long shots vs. shorter shots. I always prepare two guns for deer season, one will be sighted in for woods hunting and the other is sighted in to handle longer shots for field hunting.

yep, do the same thing, I have my 25-06 ready for opening day when I will be sitting on stand all day, and my 300 rum, is ready to go for when I move to the fields, ( usually by 8 am when all the yeehaa hunters get impatient and start driving) and to answer your question, no one can have too many deer rifles!!!! And its sounds like with the 2 calibers you have picked, you have 2 ends of the spectrum covered.

[Vapodog]

IMO the .25-06 is as fine a deer rifle as one can own.....it'll do anything a bigger gun will do and with a lot less recoil and might even be a bit less heavy. If range is important I'd still pick the .25-06 over the bigger gun.

[CanWoodsman]

frizzellr I agree that meat damage can often be because of poor bullet choice but bullet placement also plays a part. As for your comments on 25.06 I think we should all take them with a grain of salt as you have already amitted to disliking the caliber. Anyone can check the recent 25.06 thread to see this. We all have our favorites but most don't go to the lengths you have to discredit others choices.

Ps: The 300 mag. would be a good round for deer sized game & larger game. The 25.06 is exellent for deer size and smaller.

[skeeter 7MM]

I think it would be a good addition, not a lot of overlap and is perfect for those hunts for larger game. The 300 win has been really gaining steam in my area as a deer choice and I think a lot is due to the versatility it offers. Like others have said proper bullet/grain size and you might actually see less meat loss on deer than 2506.

[handloader1]

Go for the .300 Win. Mag. Good luck.

[NVMIKE]

get the 300 you'll never regrett it