how accurate are the handi 25-06's

[243handigun]

                                  Any luck with the 25-06 being accurate? what kind of groups should i expect? any suggestions for some handloads to try?  I had a 243 but couldn't get what i expected tried a bunch of handloads and some factory got my best 100 yard group of 1 1/2'' with factory 100 gr winchester power points am i being to picky to complain about that?  can i expect better out of the 06?

[torpedoman]

i built mine on a mauser action and with the right hand loads it is way under 1 inch at 100 yds for a 5 shot group off a caldwell dft rest now if only i could shoot that good offhand.

[243handigun]

              I know that 25-06 is a very accurate round just wondering if anyone has had any luck getting a 06 handi to shoot good groups kinda disipointed in my 243 so h&R said they would replace it with another caliber 25-06 is my second choice  in my opinion 1 1/2'' is not that good! try shooting groundhogs at 200-250yds with a 2''-3'' group

[stimpylu32]

My 25/06 Handi will group under 1" @ 100 yards with both the 75 grain Hornady V-max as well as the 87 grain Sierra HPs using both IMR4895 along with H4350 , with the better of the 2 being the 75g with H4350 .

Hope that helps some , also what 243 barrel do you have ? and what load combo's have you tried in it ?

stimpy

[243handigun]

                           the gun is a ultra hunter with the 24'' bull barrell, dont know the exact recipes for the handloads got a guy that loads for me. Ive tried enough reloads to make me ticked. loads that i heard shot good for others , 95 gr nosler b-tips  85gr sierra h-point 95gr winchester silver tips and a couple factory loads like 95 gr fedral fusions 100 gr fedreral vital shocks (P.O.S.) and the 100gr winchester power points which shot the best 1'' group at 50 yds and 1 1/2'' at 100yds but that opens up considerably at 200 i shoot alot of g-hogs in the summer but need to stick with a good deer load I would rather just shoot the same load year round                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          thanks for the info on the 06 i would expect to shoot at worst a 1'' group and was hoping to do so with the 25-06 dont know what the deal is with the 243

[quickdtoo]

The Ultra has a 26" barrel if it hasn't been cut, it's the only barrel H&R has made in 25-06, it's also a standard contour, they didn't make a bull barrel. If it is indeed 24" breech face to muzzle, it's been cut off and likely needs to be recrowned. There are many, many happy 25-06 shooters here including myself, it's one of the best shooting H&R chamberings. Mine shoots the 115gr Federal partitions, 117gr Hornady BTSP and the Federal Vital Shok 117gr SGK BTSP into about 1" at 100yds, all with the first two touching or real close to it and the third opening the group up to 1". I've never felt the need to work on the forend since the 25-06 isn't a round I'd shoot more than one or two shots at anything, I have varmint chamberings for that purpose. I'd try some different ammo after checking the crown, read the FAQs and Help info and the Handi Basics 101, they've helped hundreds before you, the answers are there, the questions have been asked before, take advantage of those that have been down the same path.

Tim

[stimpylu32]

Tim

I think his 243 is the 24" BB , the one thats not shooting well for him .

stimpy

[quickdtoo]

Oops!!  Thanks Stimpy. 

I've got two 243 Ultras, one shoots the 95gr Fusion and 100gr Powershoks real well, but the other doesn't,  it does best with the 80gr Rems so far, so it's just a matter of finding the right load and following the Handi Basics, it could be oil on the latch/shelf, improper trigger pull, simple things that can make a big difference. 

Tim

[243handigun]

         I have been making sure that the gun is dry of oil cause the ejecter fails if not completly dry the trigger is not bad but gonna  get h&r to soften it up a bit when i send it back i love the 243 just need a better shooter and hoping the 25 can give me better groups

[striker525]

A buddy of mine has the 25-06 and claims it is one of the most accurate rifles he has in his safe. sub 1 inch groups at 100 yrds all the time.

[Ditchdigger]

I've had 3 different 25 06's and they all shot about 1 1/4" to 1 1/2" with factory loads and about the same with several handloads. 2 of the barrels went to Ebay (back when you could sell them on Ebay) and the third went to my nieghbor and he likes it. Some shoot and some don't. If it does'nt shoot to your spec's,you can always sell or trade it.   Digger

[tmccray45]

I've got a Handi 25-06 and didn't do anything with it other than put a scope on it.   It's one of the most accurate Handi's that I've gotten with inch to 1.5" groups.   It's about the same as the Handi 30-30.   Light recoil, good shooter.

[Fred M]

My Ultra 25-06 did not shoot to what I thought it should so I traded the barrel
for 223 which was not much better. The 223 barrel was then rebored to 257 Roberts. Subsequently I bought a used Ruger#1 25-06 it was badly abused and needed extended repairs. It is now a one hole shooter. A 25-06 is amongst others things a long range varmint rifle and as such should shoot into a 1/2" or better at 100 yards. My Ruger shoots under 1/4" at 100.

[PHATINJUN]

My H&R shoots the 117 Hornady under 1" and with more work on the 75 Vmax I am hoping for 1/2". Kurt

[243handigun]

                                     thanks for the help everyone sounds like the 25-06 could be a good shooter but it could shoot groups as big as my not so great 243 ,sure hope i get a barrell that is capable of sub 1'' groups and find a load it likes ,but who knows it might be sloppy ,sure didnt know it would be this hard to get a rifle that would shoot ,really dont want to have to go through 3-4 barrells to find one that will shoot. Sounds like some have tack drivers and some shoot ok ,sounds like theirs no garranteed consistency in the barrels

[deerjackie]

  got a handi and shoots great