25/06 long range???

[buckslayer]

will the 25/06 do good out to 400 yds with winchester ballistic silver tip 115 gr for deer??? will the wind drift be bad ??
thanks!!!!!!
later buckslayer :wink:

[alsatian]

I think you would find the .25-06 adequate out to 400 yards on deer.  The benchmark most people look at is 1,000 ft-lbs or energy at point of impact.  Check your ballistic charts and see if the .25-06 has this at 400 yards.

At long range bullet wind drift is an issue.  A 115 grain bullet is probably in the mid-range of bullets people deal with.  55 to 75 grain varmint bullets are lighter and more susceptible to wind drift.  180 grain bullets are substantially less susceptible to wind drift.  115 grains is roughly in the middle, maybe even on the light side.

Another question is are you a 400 yard shooter?  400 yards is a damn long ways.  To keep your shots in a 6" diameter equivalent of a vital area, you would need to shoot reliably 1.5" diameter groups FROM FIELD POSITIONS, IN THE WIND at 100 yards.  Not 1 shot out of 5, 5 shots out of 5.  Actually, since wind drift is not linear -- drift at 400 yards is considerably more than 4 times the drift under the same conditions at 100 yards -- the picture is worse than I suggest.  Everyone knows their limitations, or should.  My limitations are well less than 400 yards.  I feel comfortable at 200 yards; I'm pretty squeamish about taking 300 yard shots.  While you can hold on point of aim with a .25-06 out to 300 yards, there is a substantial bullet drop between 300 yards and 400 yards.  If your quarry is at 400 yards and you mistake the range and shoot as if it is standing at 380 yards or 420 yards, this makes a big difference in shot placement!!!

Notwithstanding these reservations, I guess a well placed shot from a .25-06 with 115 grain bullets will kill an average whitetail.

[Coyote Hunter]

will the 25/06 do good out to 400 yds with winchester ballistic silver tip 115 gr for deer??? will the wind drift be bad ??
thanks!!!!!!
later buckslayer :wink:

buckslayer -

Do for what?  Whitetail?  Antelope?  Mule deer?  Elk?  Moose?

Alsatian has a very good point - even if the .25-06 is capable, are YOU?  (Only one way to find out, and that is to shoot at 400 yards...)

As to the .25-06, I shoot a .257 Roberts, 115g Barnes TSX, 2958fps.  The calculator predicts sighting in for Maximum point Blank Range for a 6" kill zone results in a drop of -16" at 400 yards with retained energy of 1200fpe.  In a 10mph wind, deflection would be around 12" at 400 yards.

As for myself, 20+ years of big game hunting and my longest shot being 350 yards, I would hesitate to take a 400 yard shot at game, even though I practice at 200, 300 and 400 yards.

[riddleofsteel]

Years ago I was living on a piece of land adjacent to around 1500 acres I had permission to hunt on. It was criss crossed with gas pipelines, power lines and long soybean and alfalfa fields. When I moved there I was hunting with a 30-06 Remington 700 and a 2x7 Nikon Scope. I killed at least four deer per year and was quite happy with the lease and the rifle. When the Remington Sendero came out I bought one in 25-06 and put a Leupold 3.5x10 50mm Vari X III on it. This rifle (after tinkering) was fully capable of holding MOA out to 500 yards from a sand bag rest with 117 grain Hornady SPBT's.
This lead me to build several tower stands where I had views of 400 yards or more. I practiced some on life size deer archery targets shooting from these towers. On each stand I had gallon zip lock bags filled with sand stacked up on the rails and covered with feed bags. Shooting the targets and the deer from these stands, at known distances was challenging shooting. Under those conditions I have killed deer out to 385 yards with the 25-06 in low wind conditions.However, it is not the average deer hunting experience with unknown distance and shaky aim with the cross hairs bouncing around. Take the advice listed here. Know your limitations. The average deer hunter has problems hitting a deer at 150 yards shooting off hand with no rest. Propped on a makeshift rest the distance might go out to 200 yards. 400 yards is twice that! http://yerfrockethellhound.com/SENDERO25-06.JPG

[Lawdog]

buckslayer,

The .25-06 on deer(even the large Mule Deer) at 400 yards?  No problem BUT as stated by 'alsatian' "are you a 400 yard shooter"?  You are not going to find a bigger supported of the GREAT .25-06 than me.  "Quarter Bore" fan big time.  I don't care for your choice of bullet though.  I would go with the new Barnes 100 gr. TSX.  Just seems to be giving better down range accuracy and power.  Lawdog
 

[Tom Brush]

I have a Remington 700 25-06 that my wife and I have used on deer and antelope.  We are long range groundhog hunters and often shoot 400 to 500 yds.  The 25-06 has been used in the east for many years for this task.  After a summer of shooting you become proficient at long range.

My wife has shot one antelope at 526 yds.  Her last was 304 yds.  I use a .300 Winchester for antelope.  My longest shot was 483 yds.

Both of our rifles are very accurate.  The 25-06 groups under 1/2" at 100 yds.  The 300 Win. under .150".  Our bullet of choice for the 25-06 is the 100 gr. Nosler Ballistic Tip.  There is a big difference in wind drift between the 25-06 and the 300 Win.  400 yds. is very possible with the 25-06.  We prefer to keep our shots around 300 yds.  Our rifles are sighted in at 300 yds.  We use a Harris bipod for a rest.  Shooting prone with the bipod is as stable as a benchrest.

Tom

[DannoBoone]

Once upon a time, I got a Rem 700 .25/06, vintage 1974, when a part of the
mfg competition was to make flawless, accurate rifles BEFORE they left the
factory. It was topped off with a Weaver K10. (I later moved to Iowa and
sold it, and have been kicking myself ever since!) It would shoot 75gr
Hornady HP's moving 3300fps @ 1/4" all day long. Strangely, the trajectory
of a 100gr Hornady SP moving 3100fps was almost identical. So it was a
simple matter to use the varmint load for prairie dogs in the summer, then
switch over to the deer round in the fall. Back in the mid to late '70's, we
didn't have all the fancy equipment we have now. Getting accurately
proficient was accomplished by busting a few hundred PD's during the
summer. Compensating for the wind became second nature to
compensating for distance. Soon, no PD within 300yds had a chance
with that rifle, and there were a few taken at 400yds.  By the time deer
season arrived, no deer had a chance at even 400yds.  However, there
had been a few hundred "practice" rounds taken during the summer prior
to deer season.

So......would I now feel comfortable using the .25/06 on a deer at 400
yards? NO  Would I feel comfortable doing the same NEXT fall if I could
hunt PD's at varying distances and wind velocities all next summer? YES
The next best thing would be to shoot a few hundred rounds at paper
at various distances, judging those distances with your own judgment,
out to 400yds, using a bi-pod instead of a benchrest (or shooting sticks,
or whatever you plan to use).  Now, are you ready for a humane deer
kill at 400 yards?