25-06 and Elk

[Huntin Fool]

I shot an Antelope buck with a friends 25-06, less than 100 yards. Bullet hit a rib right off the crease, followed the rib down, across the front of the sternum, and up the other side. Bullet was comparable to a dime, between hide and muscle about 1/3 way up the far side. The shot knocked him down then after a few seconds he started to get up and I shot him in the neck, that shot killed him. Needless to say that’s a caliber I’ll never own.

These kind of responses kill me, did you ever think maybe it was the bullet and not the caliber?

 

[Texasbuckeye]

I shot an Antelope buck with a friends 25-06, less than 100 yards. Bullet hit a rib right off the crease, followed the rib down, across the front of the sternum, and up the other side. Bullet was comparable to a dime, between hide and muscle about 1/3 way up the far side. The shot knocked him down then after a few seconds he started to get up and I shot him in the neck, that shot killed him. Needless to say that’s a caliber I’ll never own.

As has been mentioned many times before, every caliber will have weird stories that dont make sense. I have shot plenty of deer sized game with the 25-06 and recovered every one. Never had anything i would call a “weird bullet experience” but enough time and i guess we all see weird things.

For elk, i would not bring my 25-06, but for smaller game sure thing. I am a bug beloever of bringing a gun to a knife fight, and for elk sized animals, my choice is a .30 cal variety.

Even then, shot placement is key.

 

[Jeremyc_1999]

I’ve witnessed many elk killed with a 25-06. it was in the late 90s. I think that a blanket energy number may have been relevant years ago, but know your bullet and its technology. Pick a Bullet that will create an effective wound channel. Know how much velocity it takes for that wound channel, and know your limitations. If you flinch terribly every time you shoot a larger caliber rifle and can shoot more accurately with a smaller caliber rifle that is better. Also, if you are confident in the 25 06 more so than others, know your limits and go hunt. If more people spent time on the range practicing rather than arguing forums they would know for themselves that they don’t need a magnum rif to kill elk and don’t need to shoot them at 1000 yards. I will say elk are critters that don’t always die easily or quickly. When I was younger and thinking about becoming a game warden in MT I did some ride alongs with my hunting partners dad. He said that a lot of people shoot elk and don’t stay on that elk and end up shooting multiple, or that the don’t go check up on their shot and see if they killed the elk that they were shooting at that ”ran off”. Btw his son (my hunting partner) hunted with a 243 and killed multiple elk. I’ve killed elk with 270 win, 260 rem, 300 wm, 300 wby, and 338 Lapua. All the elk didn’t know the difference. I’ve lost 2 elk in my life. One with the 260 and one with the 338 Lapua. I did wound and have to fini off more animals than I care to admit because when I was young i had a lightweight 270 and was a small statured kid and developed a flinch that took many many hours of dry fire and air gun shooting to fix. My two boys are 4 and 2, but the will start with 22 lr trainers and then go to 223. If the are small statures like I was the will hunt with suppressed 223 until I feel that the can move up to a larger caliber if they want, but it won’t be required and will probably be discouraged. They will shoot suppressed though. That will be required. I’m already too deaf.

 

[wapitibob]

These kind of responses kill me, did you ever think maybe it was the bullet and not the caliber?

I really didn't care.

 

[doc holiday13]

These kind of responses kill me, did you ever think maybe it was the bullet and not the caliber?

This...

A 223 will take whitetail with ease. A 25-06 is waaay more powerful than a 223. Whitetail weigh much more than pronghorn(OP said antelope but I assume meant pronghorn) so its intellectual dishonesty to say otherwise.

 

[jjohnsonElknewbie]

People lose the forest for the trees so often. Nobody argues that the .30-06 is a "legitimate" elk killer. However, you neck the exact same case down, seat a bullet that is .051" smaller in diameter that is faster and flatter, and all the sudden it's "not enough gun". ROFLMAO!!!

EDIT: I forgot to mention, the .270 Winchester. Again, grand consensus says it is a certified elk and all around "one gun" for big game. Same exact case as the .30-06, and .02" bigger in diameter than the .25-06.

No elk alive would notice the difference being hit by a .30-06, .270, or .25-06, at appropriate velocities for the chosen bullet.

 

[Boonie327]

People lose the forest for the trees so often. Nobody argues that the .30-06 is a "legitimate" elk killer. However, you neck the exact same case down, seat a bullet that is .051" smaller in diameter that is faster and flatter, and all the sudden it's "not enough gun". ROFLMAO!!!

EDIT: I forgot to mention, the .270 Winchester. Again, grand consensus says it is a certified elk and all around "one gun" for big game. Same exact case as the .30-06, and .02" bigger in diameter than the .25-06.

No elk alive would notice the difference being hit by a .30-06, .270, or .25-06, at appropriate velocities for the chosen bullet.

No way man. Those elk are tough and notice those tiny differences in those calibers listed. Especially with our crappy modern bullets. It’s all about energy. I bet all those pics on the .223 are fake.

 

[Bill Flynn]

A 25-06 will definitely kill an elk given certain circumstances. Keep your shots under 200 yards and wait for a standing broadside shot. Personally I shoot a 300 win mag and try to follow those same rules, and I mange to shoot elk every year.

 

[jjohnsonElknewbie]

A 25-06 will definitely kill an elk given certain circumstances. Keep your shots under 200 yards and wait for a standing broadside shot. Personally I shoot a 300 win mag and try to follow those same rules, and I mange to shoot elk every year.

Agree that using good woodsmanship to get as close as possible regardless of cartridge is something all hunters should endeavor.

If you have to take a longer shot though, the .25 and .300 (obviously) are cappable of reaching way farther than 200.

 

[jjohnsonElknewbie]

No way man. Those elk are tough and notice those tiny differences in those calibers listed. Especially with our crappy modern bullets. It’s all about energy. I bet all those pics on the .223 are fake.

For sure! LOL

Here is one more table to provide a value-added comparison between the .30-06 family of cartridges I listed earlier. These are all with Nosler Ballistic tips with roughly the same BC and muzzle velocity.

At 500 yards:

• Each load hits with +/- 100 ft. lbs. of energy (if that's important to you)
• The .25-06 drops 6" less than the .30-06 and 2" less than the .270
• The .25-06 has a slight wind advantage (+/- 2")
• ALL are still traveling above the 1,600 fps minimum impact velocity for a Nosler Ballistic Tip
• (EDITED) The .25-06 carries over 1,600 fps to 800 yards, the .270 to 750 yards, and the .30-06 to 700 yards.

The .25-06 does all of this with significantly less recoil than the .270 or .30-06. And the 115 grain NBT can be shot accurately/stabilized with a standard 1:10 twist barrel.

 

[Texasbuckeye]

That chart is a little misleading…not many people shoot a 150gr out of a 30-06, so the energy factor is much more when you apply a bullet in the 180-200gr range most people shoot out of 30-06.

I have always considered the .270 and the 25-06 near comparable from a ballistics standpoint. When i went thru this exercise to pick out a deer sized game rifle, i ended up with the 25-06 mainly because of the lower recoil and similar ballistics as the .270.

Would be interesting if ypu posted the above chart using eld-x bullets with grains of 110, 145, and 178-220 for the reapective calibers. I think that is a more realistic comparison in bullet weights while still maintaining the same bullet characteristics across the conparison.

I dont know, maybe i am off on what people usually push out of their rifles tho

 

[jjohnsonElknewbie]

That chart is a little misleading…not many people shoot a 150gr out of a 30-06, so the energy factor is much more when you apply a bullet in the 180-200gr range most people shoot out of 30-06.

See 3 factory offerings from Federal from their ballistics calculator below.

Federal 180 grain Nosler Partition numbers @500 yards. Minimum expansion velocity of 1,800 FPS.

-48.7" drop, 20.7" windage
1,837 FPS, 1,348 ft. lbs

Federal 175 grain Terminal Ascent (.520 BC) @500 yards. Minimum expansion velocity of 1,400 FPS.

-45.9" drop, 18.2" windage
1,930 FPS, 1,447 ft. lbs

Federal 150 grain Nosler Ballistic Tip numbers @500 yards (from table). Minimum expansion velocity of 1,600 FPS.

-42.6" drop, 20.6" windage
1,932 FPS, 1,243 ft. lbs

The overall numbers are so close the differences are irrelevant. However, you will get more reliable expansion at longer distance with the Terminal Ascent and NBT.

 

[roosiebull]

Then some will say “that was just a cow elk Ryan”

Here's a 320” bull killed with 1050 foot-pounds.

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Did you guys have to shoot it twice to get the necessary energy in that bull?

That’s an awesome bull! Cool character on that one.

“Bullets matter” is the hurdle most seem to struggle with, they shoot an elk with a Barnes through the ribs with some 30cal magnum, elk doesn’t drop, wound channel isn’t very impressive, and can’t wrap their head around a smaller bullet being enough, because a 200gr bullet at 3k fps didn’t kill with authority, how could a 100gr bullet kill one?

I am convinced that many will never budge and hold onto the “nobody will talk about the ones that got away” like it’s some big hidden percentage, even if the percentage doesn’t exist.

There will also be the bad stories of people using the wrong bullet, have a bad experience and blame the cartridge rather than their lack of understanding about the proper projectile for the task.

But this forum alone has changed my perspective on cartridges and bullets, the .223 thread having the biggest impact on my thought process.

Conventional wisdom isn’t always wise

 

[roosiebull]

How does he or you determine minimum?

The internet!

 

[roosiebull]

that mouse is relatively intact compared to the deer. the deer was missing about half it's spine, the entire pelvis, and at least most of both femurs.

They can go too far with a bmg, we need a little more to ethically kill whitetail does

 

[35WhelenAI]

Conventional wisdom is not unwise. More than one idea can hold merit and be considered as a fit solution and be no more or no less wise than another.

 

[treydfoster]

Razor sharp broadheads kill differently than bullets. You should know that.

You'll catch flack for this but it's absolutely true.

 

[treydfoster]

I bow hunt with field points. If I do my part elk drop like a sack of hammers when you hit them where the spinal column enters the skull.

This is a joke, or no?

 

[treydfoster]

1176 foot pounds

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He's a dark ole dude.

 

[Poser]

I killed a bull this season with a 117gr Hornady SST 25-06 round. 263 yards/+27 degree angle. Bullet entered low chest and bottomed out on the opposite shoulder (steep angle). No blood or exit wound, but the shot did drop the elk, who rolled downhill a bit, did not get back up, but took a minute to expire.