I have come to consider the 25-06 the perfect mule deer and antelope caliber for my Montana hunting. I consider it a little too much for my style of whitetail hunting, where I prefer the 30-30 single shots with spitzer bullets, or the 6.5 Swede, but when put to the task of whities, the 25-06 really does the job. By the way, I also use 117 or 120 gr loads to keep the damaged meat down.