ORIGINAL: stubblejumper
First of all, in my experience, 25-06's can be fairly finicky when it comes to ammo. While this can be true of certain rifles in dang near ANY caliber, it seems to exemplify itself in the 25-06 more often than not. And by finicky, I don't mean that it will shoot Federals great but doesn't like Remingtons...oh no...not quite that simple, more like it won't shoot any factory ammo much better than another, but certainly none good as it should (think around 2" or so at 100).
It sounds like you are judging the cartridge based on a single gun,which is by no means a fair judgement.A hunting partner has a tikka t-3 in 25-06 that shoots virtually every load that he has tested into less than an inch at 100 yards.A few loads constantly do 3/4" or better.I have never seen a 25-06 that was as bad as the one that you describe.
It sounds like you have trouble reading an entire paragraph for composition. Go back and try one more time....in fact...I'll pick up where you left off....and I'll even highlight the important stuff for you...
ORIGINAL: SwampCollie
.....While thats not bad for some short barreled deep woods brush guns...this is supposed to be a 400 yard gun...and 2" at 100...ain't really gonna get it done on medium game and espeically not varmints. I have spent some serious time working with some of my customers and they have spent some serious time and money handloading to get them to shoot those nice .5" groups you hear about so often. There again...this isn't always the case, but considering how many 25-06s I have had contact with (5 if I remember right, 3 with issues...all the same problem), its a fairly high percentage. Keep in mind...might just be a bum steer on my part. Luck does work both ways sometimes.