Ridge Runner

what do you intend to do with it and what do you call long range
RR

oldtownpaddler

Hunt whitetails, groundhogs, and antelopes. Pretty much just something smaller than my 300 weatherby mag. Long range would be 450-500 yards at the max.

homers brother

I've never quite understood the .25-06. Everything the .30-06 is, but less. Sort of like "lite" beer. Long action, and maybe it's been a bigger commercial success than the .260, but that's not saying a lot, given that even then it's not terribly common - ammunition OR rifles. So, that argument is really sort of irrelevant when you compare the .25-06 to the 7mm-08, or (dare I say it?) the .243.

I've hunted deer and goats for closing on four decades now with the .243. I've never been presented with a shot that made me wish I had something like a .25-06 or .257 Wby. If you want to compare on the basis of "commercial success", compare against the true commercial successes - the 7mm-08 and the .243. Nearly everyone makes a rifle chambered for those two. Otherwise, the 6.5s are far better performers at longer ranges than are the quarter-bores. My vote then would be the .260.

flags

I'm a big fan of the 6.5 calibers which the .260 is. Those long, skinny heavy for caliber bullets are incredibly effective on game. As you have noted, the .260 will allow heavier bullets which I am also a fan of. I'll admit I don't own a .260 but I do have a Rem Model 700 Classic in 6.5x55 Swedish and a Mannlicher Schoenauer Model 1903 carbine in 6.5x54MS. Both have been very good game getters. The .260 is basically a ballistic twin of the Swede and the Swede has been used for a long, long time in Scandinavia for moose.

I've never owned a 25-06 but I hunted mulies and elk with a guy that had one. It was a good deer caliber but I personally felt it was a little light for elk. That being said, he never lost one that I know of that he shot with it, so it did the job. Bottom line, either will work for what you want. I think the .260 can be had in a lighter rifle since it is a shorter case based on the .308 Win. The 25-06 is a full length case and requires a bigger action. That may be something to think about and then again, it may not be important to you.

Bbj270

Do you now what rifle your looking at for them in. I was wanting a model seven in 260 to go with my 7mm/08. But I am now trying to find one of the new vanguard in 240 WBY, to go with my 300.

Ridge Runner

If 500 is as far as you wanna shoot, go with the 25/06, not enough benefit from the higher BC bullets of the 260 to justify it, shoot a good bullet in the '25 and hang a scope with some form of milliradian reticle on it and learn to use it, it'll serve you well to 500.
RR

salukipv1

I was gonna mention the .243win as well. It's my 'goat' gun, and wouldn't hesitate to take a deer with it. 85gr tsx.

Personally I'd probably lean towards the 25-06 over the .260 just as a personal preference, really wish a 6.5-06 was more popular. Though the 6.5-284 seems to be doing well, another round to consider...

Don't forget about a .270win or .270wsm even.

jerry d

25-06 has more "overbore" than the .260 so if you want to do a lot of shooting the 25-06 might be harsher on the barrel ,depending how you shoot.

Bullcamp82834

The 25/06 is a great cartridge and a barrel eroding monster.
Still, it is probably the second best long range pronghorn and mule deer cartridge you can get. Right behind the .257 Roy.

I love it.

I'd also love a Rem Mod 7 in 260.

It's like choosing between a hot brunette and a hot blonde.

redgreen

25 06 rules from mice to moose. Pleasant to shoot and deer are DRT. Moose and elk fall down fast when the bullet is put in the boiler room. Flat shooting, and ammunition is available everywhere if you don't handload.