ORIGINAL: andlan17
hello all,
I am a new member to the forum and have been hunting for many years. I am looking to get a new rifle for christmas and ireally likethe 25-06 in Ruger M77 Hawkeye. I have done a lot of reading up on the 25-06 and am very impressed with its trajectory and power out to long ranges. I mainly hunt whitetails,pigs,yotes in GA but recently went on an elk hunting trip in coloradoback in october and hope to go back next year. I know manyhunters say that a .257 caliber is too small for elk but i know if it is put in the right spot it will do the job. I used a short barreled .308 in colorado and had shots of 500 and 600 yds so if i go back i would like to have something that is laser flat. does anyone have experience with 25-06 and what would you suggest about using it for elk.
ps. I am not a fan of the 270 so no one suggest that please.
I started out this answer firmly convinced that a .25/'06 is not an elk rifle. After a little research I have revised my opinion. A .25/'06 would be acceptable, in the hands of a superb marksman. A guy like W.D.M. Bell, who once killed an elephant with a heart shot at 600 yards using a 7X57mm Mauser with a 173-grain full-jacketed military bullet.
I would not feel bad if my only rifle was a .25/'06. And it is sufficient for all game in the lower 48, and most in Alaska as well. However, despite the fact that properly placed, it will kill elk quite well, I for one would not feel comfortable shooting at an elk with it at the ranges you mentioned. Actually, I would not recommend shooting at an elk much beyond 300 to possibly 350 yards with ANY rifle that can be fired from the shoulder.
The .25/'06 may justcarry enough velocity andenergy at 500 yards to doan acceptable job on an elk,IFyou were good enough to place the bullet properly at that range under field conditions. You'd also need to be a good judge of range, or have an accurate rangefinder.
If you fired a 120-grain .257 bullet, B.C. .435, at a MV of 3200 FPS (POSSIBLE with some powders in some .25/'06's!) zeroed in at 300 yards, the bullet will be +3" @ 100, +3.8" @ 200, dead on at 300, and -23" @ 500. At that distance, it will still be carrying 1500 foot-pounds of energy. But the question is, will the bullet, moving at 2400 FPS, still expand??
I think the .25/'06 would be acceptable for a stationary elk in the open up to 500 yards, IF you used the most streamlined, reliable-expansion 120 grain bullet you can find, and load it to a MV of3050FPS or more. But I would limit myself to a lot shorter range than that to be certain of exact bullet placement. If you are going to try this, PRACTICE A LOT AT 500 YARDS with your elk load!!
I hunt elk with a 7mm Rem. mag. and 175-grain bullets, and take no shots over 300 yards, and then only when I can find a rest out in the woods.
Here's a source of some info for you! All you need to now is your bullet's ballistic coefficient and weight, and MV.
P.S. If you don't like the .270, take a look at the .280 Remington. Load it right, and it is a great cartridge! Maybe the best we make in the U.S.
http://www.biggameinfo.com/index.aspx?page=%2fbalcalc.ascx