ORIGINAL: eldeguello
"It's not a deer dropper now"
There is NO cartridge on earth that can be fired from the shoulder that will drop a deer, or any other game animal, with one shot EVERY TIME. In this regard, the .250 Savage and the .257 Roberts both have been considered very good deer cartridges for almost 100 years now. The .25/'06 is even better. I had one, a Ruger No. 1V. Using handloaded ammo with the Sierra 117-grain bullet at a MV of over 3000 FPS, it dropped deer as fast as any cartridge I have yet used. I sold that rifle, but I really like the .25/'06 (and the .270 Win., as well!). The .25/'06 is one of thegreat cartridges!
My 243 always drops 'em dead in there tracks, and my 7mm Rem Mag (rifle of choice), really knocks 'em dead.
Now does it stand to reason that a rifle firing a bigger bullet at a higher velocity (.25/'06 vs .243 Win.) is going to be less effective on game than the smaller, slower one? Give me a break! You cannot judge the relative merit of a cartridge by what happens in a couple of instances! Such results are "not statistically significant"........ shot placement is still
THE MOST IMPORTANT FACTOR.
The shot placement is the same. I've shot probably close to 50 some odd deer with my 243, and only 1 ever took its last step, I think he managed to go about 10 feet maybe. I shot 6 deer with my 25WSSM with 115gr Combined Technology BTs this fall/winter, and they all went at least 50 yards before expiring. My 243 was shooting 95gr Combined Technology BTs, all loads are home rolled by me. I don't know what the deal is, but I have yet to see a quarter bore drop a deer dead in its tracks.