25-06 vs. 6mm

bakmc3

yes ,i'm looking for a fast and long range rifle in a heavy barrel,mostly for game up to deer size animal's,but to go as little as prairie dog's too.with minimal recoil,i do re-load and these are the 2 caliber's i have settled on, the 25-05 or the 6mm,now just make up my mind.OK,let the arguing begin[:p].thank's for any info.[8D][8D]

Mossbergboogie

Why not a .243? Did you consider it or is that the 6mm you are speaking of?

Mobuck

The 25/06 is a better deer caliber but does use more powder and has more recoil. Not obnoxious in a heavy barrel rifle but more than a 6mm Rem. The 6mm is a decent deer caliber but still is light for big bucks.

dfletcher

I have both - a Remington VLS in 6mm Rem and a Ruger 77 Grey Target in 25.06 and I handload. No reason to have both really, I bought the 6mm for a "larger than 223" target rifle and bought the 25.06 for a "less than 7mm" target rifle. Having both means I probably have too many guns, I suppose.

First, nothing you shoot up to deer will know the difference between the 243, 6mm or 25.06. The 243 is immensely popular and the 6mm barely beats it out in velocity & accuracy. But, it does beat it & if that little bit counts (or you "justgottahave" the 6) with you as it did with me then the 243 is out.

The 25.06 has a little more velocity & can shoot slightly heavier bullets. BC is pretty close on each. But my experience is that the 6mm has a slight accuracy edge.

If accuracy were the deciding factor I'd go with the 6mm. If there were a chance I'd go for something slightly larger than deer or at a longer ranges, I'd get the 25.06.

Well, that's my take on it anyway.

jbw1776

bakmc3,

I was in your situation not long ago, wanting something for varmints but could use on deer if I had too. What I chose was the .243. I looked at the 25-06, 204, and the 22-250 also. I don't reload, so I made my decision based on factory loads availible. I only shoot Federal ammo so I used their ballistics charts for comparisons, here:

http://www.federalpremium.com/ballistics/Ammo_Search.aspx?act=choose&firearm=1&s1=1

For varmint the 55gr. bullets are hard to beat. According to their site, it's pushing the 55 grainers 3850 ft/sec at the muzzle and darn flat to boot.

If I wanted to use it for deer or for my daughter to shoot with one day, I can load it up with 85gr. to 100gr. pills and it will do fine on whitetails. (resighting the scope of course) Very little if any recoil.

Go to the link above and scroll through and select the calibers/bullets you want to compare and then click compare.

There isn't one "perfect" gun/bullet for everything. But for mostly varmint, with the capability to take down deer, and with minimal recoil, this is the closest thing to it I found. Good luck[8D]

Ben

select-fire

Remington VLS 6mm. Accuracy is no problem.

SW 357Mag

I have a .243 and have taken many large size deer with it using 90 grain bullets. Many of the deer I have shot dropped in their tracks. I also love it for shooting coyotes. Accuracy is supreme and it drops coyotes like nothing. I've not had any experience with the 6mm Rem.

bakmc3

HAHAHA[:p][:p]BUD IT'S ONE OF THEM GOTTA HAVE MORE THAN ANYTHING ,SOMETHING NEW[;)],I ALREADY SHOOT A RUGER MOD 77 IN A 30-06,A REM.700 CLASSIC .223,A REM.700 BDL HEAVY BARREL 22-250,A REM 700 CLASSIC .243[IT'S NOT A HEAVY BARREL].WE GO TO THE TEXAS PAN-HANDLE 1 TO 2 TIMES A YEAR TO REALLY STRETCH OUT,1000 YDS ,NOW I'M INTERESTED IN ANOTHER HEAVY BARREL,SOMETHING LIKE THE 6MM OR 25-06.

sandwarrior

bakmc3,

Both give excellent ballistics out for about as long as you want to shoot. Something I discovered the hard way though was how much more wind drift meant than drop. With the generally lighter bullets at longer ranges you will get more drift with the 6mm. If you are a good wind shooter fine. But if you are like me get ready for some hair plugs. I call one great then don't then do, then don't. 6mm's are as good as the 25-06 for no or little wind, but, the 25-06 is better for heavier wind.
Overall, if you are picking at dogs long distance a heavier bullet is better yet Such as a 7mm. My favorite is my 7x57 using Berger 168's. It doesn't kick much(rifle is heavy though). It retains l-r track as well as most of the heavier .308 claiber bullets. And, best of all it doesn't pound my shoulder like my 7mm WSM.

-just some thoughts

shoff14

I don't have a 6mm, but I do have a 26-06. Accuracy is great, but can't compare. It will shoot flat at high velocities out to 500 yards. I don't reload, but there are plenty of bullets available for 25-06. Hornaday makes a 117 grain bullet that goes out at 3200 fps, winchester has a 85 grain bullet that goes out at 3100 fps. I don't see any wind drift. There is little recoil with the gun I have, even the hornaday bullets and the gun just has a standard barrel.

nononsense

bakmc3,

I'm going to close this thread out with an alternative to your dilemma. While I'm a fan of the 25-06 in all of its variations, I am also a big fan of the .240 Weatherby for several good reasons. Don't get all bent out of shape over the cost of cases because when you load them correctly they last a long time.

I've used the 105 AMAX for long range deer hunting for the last two years and it works great. The best part of this is that the same bullet can be used for shooting varmints at long range as well with equally great results. Maybe not quite as spectacular as some of the lightest bullets but it sure makes them do back flips! No switching loads between seasons just work up your best, most accurate load and shoot both. The combination I use is nearly as good as one of my long range target loads.

It has the same rim diameter as the '06 case and loads to the same length as the '06. Pick your favorite long action and go to town.

Best.