.243 or 25-06 Your Thoughts.

[BBF]

Lonewolf:
I pulled three bullets from a bulk package, here a the results:

       1.  1.0385
       2.  1.0465
       3.  1.0475

[lonewolf5348]

thank you:

[Coyote Hunter]

A good friend of mine is looking into picking up a new rifle. It will serve as a varmint rifle as well as a back up to his 30-06 for deer hunting. As of right now the two rounds he is up in the air on are the .243 and the
25-06. Either of which will be a H&R. The .243 would be in the Ultra-Varmint and the 25-06 would be the Ultra-hunter. He is also into reloading so he wont be limited to off the shelf ammunition. So if it were up to each of you, what would be in your gun safe next to your 30-06, the .243 or the 25-06. If it were up to me I would opt for the .243. I'm also trying to get him to become a GBO member  . As he found out yesterday, there is a wealth of information here.

Flinter54

Depends on what “varmints” means.  For high volume prairie dog shooting, I’d go with a centerfire .22.  My choice was a .22-250 but a .223 works fine.

For the occasional coyote, it makes no difference.  I chose a .257 Roberts and use +P loads, giving up little to the .25-06. 

For deer my preference would be a .25-06 as I like the heavier bullets.

[pastorp]

If he buys the 25/06 he will find he no longer needs his 30/06. The 25/06 will do it all. The only time its too big for varmits is where your shooting 500rds a day in a PD town. Then you need a 223 not the 243. JMO Regards, 

[leatherman92]

I have A Handi in 25-06 it performs better on deer than my 7rem mag!!great coyote gun to...

[DDZ]

I have owned my Rem. Mod. 700 BDL 25-06 since I was 16. I bought it in 1973 for $149. At the same time I bought a Leopold 3-9 for $80. The rifle still wears this scope. I have used this rifle for everything I hunted. Varmits and deer. Is there better calibers for varmits, yes. Is there better calibers for deer sized game, maybe. Depending on the cover you hunt. I have also used the same bullet for both varmits and deer. Its a 117 gr. serria spitser. I think that there is no better caliber for hunting both, its one of the most versitile calibers there is. By useing it for hunting varmits and deer, you really get to know your gun, and the load you shoot out of it. I have shot groundhogs out to 450 yards. Thats about the limit here in western Pa. with the rolling hills. As for hunting deer. If you put one in the boiler room it ain't going to far. If you want an all round gun, you can't beat a 25-06.     

[shootinpreacher48]

i would pick the 243 just my 2 cents, i have owned both before and still own a 243, and LOVE it. it just depends on the size of deer and where you are located, and what other purposes you have for beside those two.

[2ndtimer]

I realize I am more than a little late responding, but if it were me, I would opt for the .243 just because it is less similar to the rifle the OP already has.  I started with a .243 and have owned a few over the years.  My current .243 is a Stevens 200 that wears a Nikon Buckmasters 4.5-14 scope.  My son painted the stock with a cheat grass camo pattern, I added a Rifle Basix trigger and Hogue soft recoil pad, and it looks really sharp.  I think I paid $269 for it at Sportsman's Warehouse a few years back.  While the .243 may be a little on the light side for deer and a bit much for ground squirrels, it certainly recoils less than the 25-06, and all the .243's I have owned were capable of MOA accuracy, some better than others, but all capable with tailored handloads.  My current Stevens even shoots cheap (well, it used to be cheap, anyway) Federal blue box factory loads just over an inch for 3 shots at 100 yards, both the 80 gr and 100 gr loads.  The 25-06 uses more powder and kicks more.  At any reasonable range, each will do the job, but the .243 will do it a little easier.  As one of the other posters pointed out, the 25-06 is really a magnum, and the down side to magnum cartridges is recoil and muzzle blast.

[nomosendero]

I realize I am more than a little late responding, but if it were me, I would opt for the .243 just because it is less similar to the rifle the OP already has.  I started with a .243 and have owned a few over the years.  My current .243 is a Stevens 200 that wears a Nikon Buckmasters 4.5-14 scope.  My son painted the stock with a cheat grass camo pattern, I added a Rifle Basix trigger and Hogue soft recoil pad, and it looks really sharp.  I think I paid $269 for it at Sportsman's Warehouse a few years back.  While the .243 may be a little on the light side for deer and a bit much for ground squirrels, it certainly recoils less than the 25-06, and all the .243's I have owned were capable of MOA accuracy, some better than others, but all capable with tailored handloads.  My current Stevens even shoots cheap (well, it used to be cheap, anyway) Federal blue box factory loads just over an inch for 3 shots at 100 yards, both the 80 gr and 100 gr loads.  The 25-06 uses more powder and kicks more.  At any reasonable range, each will do the job, but the .243 will do it a little easier.  As one of the other posters pointed out, the 25-06 is really a magnum, and the down side to magnum cartridges is recoil and muzzle blast.

Do you really think the 25-06 kicks?  I have shot them for years & I never even think about that. I just tested a real flyweight Marlin 25-06 & I didn't even notice it.

[DannoBoone]

After reading the posts to this point, if I didn't have an opinion when asking which was best, I would
be totally confused by now! 

There was a time when caliber and/or speed made all the difference when choosing a caliber to do
some particular job. While that still holds weight in decision making, some of the modern bullets
are very good "equalizers". Could the 85gr TSX possibly out-perform the 100gr Hornady SP?
(the former being .243, the later .257).

Then there is the magnum mentality, at least for MEN!:

Man's deer rifle is 300WSM, 7mmMag, .257 Weatherby, etc., but a woman's or kid's rifle is a 7mm-08,
6.5 Swede, .257 Bob, etc.

I would maintain that a good bullet combined with well-placed shots out of a .243 will kill a deer just
as dead, just as fast as a .25-06 as far away as most shooters are capable of good shot-placement.

Am I saying this because I own a .243 instead of a .25-06? Nay, nay, just the other way around. The
.25-06 has been my round of choice ever since the mid-'70's, but the Savage 12 VLD in .243 is on
order. Why I really need one is beyond me, but 10 or so years of temptation have caught up with me.
The 112 VLD .25-06 will still get used, but powder savings with the .243 will be rather nice.