Wow, you guys are a little over the top on pushing your opinions to the point of futility. AR, bolt-action, SA, LA, single shot, whatever floats your boat...opinions are great. Just don't try to one-up each other and hijack the original poster's question.

I was searching for information related to the 25 WSSM lately for my father. We prairie dog hunt with the normal 222, 223, and 204 little guys with great results. I am on my second 204 barrel after getting a respectable 4500 out of the factory Savage. I am now around 1100 on the second Shilen tube...anyway, back to the 25 WSSM. We were considering two different ways to cheat the wind that blows on a nearly constant basis in prairie dog territory. A 204 is great out to 400 yards, but the wind can sometimes limit its ability to only 300 yards. We have scope reticles that try to deal with the wind, but the inconsistent gusty air always seems to ruin a good shot. "I would be great if we could find another varmint round that can resist a little more wind." I am currently building a 6mm BR Norma, and Dad wants to try the 25 WSSM. I think that both are going to be great rounds for this task.

I shot a 25-06 three years ago on a hunt in WY from a bench...and did not like it. Don't get me wrong, the round was absolutely great for 450-500 yard shots with devastating accuracy and down-range ballistics. But, I was not able to follow up quickly for blowing away the other three dogs on the same mound. With the SA 204, 223, or 222, I could always rechamber a round without moving my line-of-sight through the scope. The 25-06 always required me to loose my sight through the scope by allowing room for the bolt. Also, the 25 WSSM will be slightly cheaper to shoot than the 25-06 based solely on the powder. The more efficient case design allows for the same 06 performance with less powder consumed. To most shooters, that may not be a concern. But when the group goes through multiple 8-lb cans of powder each year when reloading, squeezing another 10-15% more ammo helps in the cost category. I will assume (not shot one yet) that the recoil will be slightly less from the 25 WSSM, but we will see.

The 243 WSSM or 223 WSSM are just not viable in our book, meaning barrel life. One friend shot a 22-250 for two years and needed a new tube after 2000 rounds. I suspect that one may be able to get good life (3500 rounds?) out of a 25 WSSM, but that can vary. I base this on the capacity:bore dia relationship that most refer to as an "overbored" or "underbored" cartridge. If anything, this 25 WSSM looks slightly overbored, but the fact is that the 25-06 has a bigger case capacity than the 25 WSSM. Couple the 3400-3500 fps with a decent bullet and good BC, we think the 25 WSSM would make a great bench gun for p-dogs...especially with a 28 inch varmint contour barrel (maybe reaching 3600 fps).

Lastly, I have always observed that the SA receivers are slightly more accurate than LA receivers...in general. The short stiff block of steel used to house a short cartridge would dictate a stable platform based on physics alone. That does not mean that you always get a more accurate SA over a LA, but bench shooting does not lie...308, 6 BR, 22 BR, 22/6PPC, etc... Having said that, my cousin owns a 270 Win that is an absolute tack-driver. I think of the 25 WSSM as a SA 25-06, if that is what you need. If you are deer hunting...it probably does not matter.

So, we have a special requirement that the 25 WSSM should fill nicely. At the same time, there is absolutely nothing wrong with the 25-06 round. I have always noted that the older generation will always stick to what they are used to...and sometimes they are right. In this case, I don't see why variety in cartridges is a bad thing as they all sometimes fill a specific job.