I have always hunted with the same old .30-06 ( model 700), for 10 years now, and have taken many critters with it. Monday night I decided to go get a new thunder pole. I went with a .25-06 H&R SB2 "Ultra" It is a single-shot, break-action rifle, with the bull barrel. I mounted a Simmons Atec 2.8-10x44 on it. I wondered if any of you snipers out there have had any experience with this round?! I decided to go with Barnes x-point (100 grain) packaged by Federal. The ballistics chart I have is showing +1.2" @100 yrds, zeroed @ 200yrds, -5.8" @ 300 yrds. for this round. I am no sniper but I read that as having <7" of elevation adjustment from 100-300 yrds. The gun has been bore-sighted and I plan on ripping a few rounds through her tomorrow. Any tips, comments, or suggestions?
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Got a new toy!
- Thread starter churly
- Start date
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The 25.06 is a good flat shooting round. Just remember that with the 100 grain bullet you must put it in the boiler room. You have less room for error with the lighter weight bullets. I witnessed a good friend drop a doe in it's tracks at a little over 300 yards with a 25.06. I think you will like that H&R. I have a scope that is the same model as yours and I like it quite well. Good hunting and enjoy your new toy.
coondog
Well-known member
congrats!!!! on your new H&R, last year i bought an H&R single shot in a .22mag and i love it, i plan on ordering the .17hmr barrel, and i may even purchase, one in a center fire round, a buddy in my hunting party, bought the 12ga fully rifled slug gun and it may kick like a stubern mule but all in all a good shootin' gun. congrats again on your new toy.
inthebox30lbs
Well-known member
THats a great caliber and an awesome bullet your shooting with it. I have shot a 243 with a hundred grain nosler partition reloads for years. I have had no problems what so ever. The 2506 is a lot hotter, especially with that 100 grain bullet. Let me know what you think when you put down the first one of the year.
Scott
Scott
G
Guest
Guest
The 100 grain Barnes bullet will out perform and out penetrate any bullet in it's weight and most bullets even 30% heavier. Barnes X is simply the best bullet ever made for big game. The 25-06 is just a fast 30-06 and I would be confident with most shots out to 300 plus yards. A pro can kill with that calibre at 400 easily.
Liveliner
Well-known member
Regardless of what you hear on the street there are some major differences in the 25 cal vs your 30 cal. I used a 243 for years and took some big deer with it. </p>
From my personal experience, shot for shot, I think the 25.06 will bring down a deer much better than the 30.06. There are some reasons for that and also some drawbacks you will need to understand. The way I look at this is "How much shock does a bullet actually dispense into the animal?" Every bit of the energy pushing a bullet after it exits is wasted. A 180 gr bullet that zips through an animal at a speed less than 2,000 fps has very little energy that impacts the target. Now a 100 gr bullet jacked up to about 3,000fps that hits that same target will have a much bigger result. That light bullet is highly unlikely to exit. Therefore 100% of the bullet’s energy stayed in the animal with zero waste. The energy of faster small bullets can exceed the energy of larger slower bullets. .... Check your charts....</p>
No exit wound brings on a new problem that you should be concerned about. You will get very little blood to track, if any. The good thing is that I have had very good results in the deer I have shot with a well placed small hot bullet. They seldom run. If they do it is usually less than fifty feet. Seriously I have dropped several 200 lb bucks in their tracks. There are several other factors with high speed bullets like the compression released in the animal and how it reacts.</p>
The bullet design is going to be the most important factor for you. The post a few up from here that mentioned the 100 Noslier Partition bullet is dead on target. You may shoot the heavier bullets but you start to loose your advantage of having the 25.06 in the first place. You should have kept your 30.06... I recommend using a lighter bullet that has more speed and energy. Not necessarily the very lightest bullets you can find though. With the lighter, faster bullets you will shoot much flatter. Therefore improving your accuracy to take that neck shot at 200 yds. The bullet should be loaded to a safe hot level and be designed to penetrate, mushroom well and EXIT the animal. That is why Noslier’s partition bullet is the #1 bullet with me. ....A related short hunting story...I was hunting a big pasture whereas a herd of deer came out over 300 yds away and were not going to get any closer before dark. So I switched out my 243 Deer loaded bullets to lighter, red hot varment loaded 85 gr HPBT bullets. With two shots I had two deer on the ground in their tracks. (Doe days and I had the tags). When I examined the deer for where I had hit them, I could not find the entry hole and for sure no exit. When i field dressed them i could see that I had hit both in the "Boiler Room". It appeared that the bullet had entered the skin and penitrated about a half inch then exploded. The hearts and lungs in both deer looked as if they had been sprayed with shotgun pellets. The compression from that hot load dumped 100% of the bullet's energy in the chest of those deer and created a Mush out of the vitals.</p>
When I shot a 6mm/24 cal the choice bullet was 95 grs partition loaded to shoot approximately 3,100 fps at the muzzle. I never had a problem with that load. </p>
I know that you may be wondering what I shoot now. I now shoot a Remington 700 BDL 270 cal with a Nikon Monarch 3 x 9 scope. I handload 140 gr Noslier partition bullets. At maximum accuracy they are not as hot as I would like but I estimate that they are in the area of 2,700 fps at muzzle.</p>
In my opinion the best factory load for performance is either the 270 SM and/or the 300 SM. They both have the accuracy and the speed with plenty energy to get the job done.</p>
From my personal experience, shot for shot, I think the 25.06 will bring down a deer much better than the 30.06. There are some reasons for that and also some drawbacks you will need to understand. The way I look at this is "How much shock does a bullet actually dispense into the animal?" Every bit of the energy pushing a bullet after it exits is wasted. A 180 gr bullet that zips through an animal at a speed less than 2,000 fps has very little energy that impacts the target. Now a 100 gr bullet jacked up to about 3,000fps that hits that same target will have a much bigger result. That light bullet is highly unlikely to exit. Therefore 100% of the bullet’s energy stayed in the animal with zero waste. The energy of faster small bullets can exceed the energy of larger slower bullets. .... Check your charts....</p>
No exit wound brings on a new problem that you should be concerned about. You will get very little blood to track, if any. The good thing is that I have had very good results in the deer I have shot with a well placed small hot bullet. They seldom run. If they do it is usually less than fifty feet. Seriously I have dropped several 200 lb bucks in their tracks. There are several other factors with high speed bullets like the compression released in the animal and how it reacts.</p>
The bullet design is going to be the most important factor for you. The post a few up from here that mentioned the 100 Noslier Partition bullet is dead on target. You may shoot the heavier bullets but you start to loose your advantage of having the 25.06 in the first place. You should have kept your 30.06... I recommend using a lighter bullet that has more speed and energy. Not necessarily the very lightest bullets you can find though. With the lighter, faster bullets you will shoot much flatter. Therefore improving your accuracy to take that neck shot at 200 yds. The bullet should be loaded to a safe hot level and be designed to penetrate, mushroom well and EXIT the animal. That is why Noslier’s partition bullet is the #1 bullet with me. ....A related short hunting story...I was hunting a big pasture whereas a herd of deer came out over 300 yds away and were not going to get any closer before dark. So I switched out my 243 Deer loaded bullets to lighter, red hot varment loaded 85 gr HPBT bullets. With two shots I had two deer on the ground in their tracks. (Doe days and I had the tags). When I examined the deer for where I had hit them, I could not find the entry hole and for sure no exit. When i field dressed them i could see that I had hit both in the "Boiler Room". It appeared that the bullet had entered the skin and penitrated about a half inch then exploded. The hearts and lungs in both deer looked as if they had been sprayed with shotgun pellets. The compression from that hot load dumped 100% of the bullet's energy in the chest of those deer and created a Mush out of the vitals.</p>
When I shot a 6mm/24 cal the choice bullet was 95 grs partition loaded to shoot approximately 3,100 fps at the muzzle. I never had a problem with that load. </p>
I know that you may be wondering what I shoot now. I now shoot a Remington 700 BDL 270 cal with a Nikon Monarch 3 x 9 scope. I handload 140 gr Noslier partition bullets. At maximum accuracy they are not as hot as I would like but I estimate that they are in the area of 2,700 fps at muzzle.</p>
In my opinion the best factory load for performance is either the 270 SM and/or the 300 SM. They both have the accuracy and the speed with plenty energy to get the job done.</p>
G
Guest
Guest
David that is why the Barnes X bullet is so amazing. It will completely expand and create an exit wound at speeds less than 1500FPS. The wound is very much like some of the better broadheads. Very little collateral damage as compared to say a Nosler Ballistic tip. In other words you don't waste a bunch of meat because the bullet retains it's weight and energy better and does not eplode on impact. I don't have all the technical statistics but I do have nearly 30 years of processing deer and talking with hunters about what they used on their game. I'll say it again,in ANY calibre the Barnes X is the best. Churly will be a testimony of this after he harvests a few deer with his new rifle with this load.
Liveliner
Well-known member
Thanks Cheez. I do not have a problem with the Barnes-X. I have not shot that one however I have heard all positive. I think i recall an ad on that bullet that showed that the brass tapered from thin at the front to a solid base for coltroled expansion. Is that the design of the barnes-X?</p>
I am totally sold on the Noslier partition and not likely to switch.</p>
I am totally sold on the Noslier partition and not likely to switch.</p>
cooperjd
Well-known member
congrats on the new toy churly. it's always fun to have a new rifle. or pistol, or shotgun, or muzzelloader for that matter. for deer and varmit sized game you should have a great rifle in your hands. i'd like to know how the h&r shoots, i'm sure we'll see a report. i would like to pick up a .22-250 in the relatively near future and may look that way. though i've always shot remington 700's, and may be difficult to switch to a single shot.
I used a .243 for the first several years of deer hunting with my little youth model, and when i could control my shaking and make a boiler room shot, no problems for that 100gr bullet. but i prefer a little bigger bullet when the shots may not go quite as expected, so now i use either my .30-06 or the 7mag.
i've also talked to some folks out west that say the .25-06 and .243 are the perfect antelope bullets, so i'd like to see your report on a nice goat one day.
I used a .243 for the first several years of deer hunting with my little youth model, and when i could control my shaking and make a boiler room shot, no problems for that 100gr bullet. but i prefer a little bigger bullet when the shots may not go quite as expected, so now i use either my .30-06 or the 7mag.
i've also talked to some folks out west that say the .25-06 and .243 are the perfect antelope bullets, so i'd like to see your report on a nice goat one day.
emoLaughcooperjd - 9/13/2007 8:10 AM
congrats on the new toy churly. it's always fun to have a new rifle. or pistol, or shotgun, or muzzelloader for that matter. for deer and varmit sized game you should have a great rifle in your hands. i'd like to know how the h&r shoots, i'm sure we'll see a report. i would like to pick up a .22-250 in the relatively near future and may look that way. though i've always shot remington 700's, and may be difficult to switch to a single shot.
I used a .243 for the first several years of deer hunting with my little youth model, and when i could control my shaking and make a boiler room shot, no problems for that 100gr bullet. but i prefer a little bigger bullet when the shots may not go quite as expected, so now i use either my .30-06 or the 7mag.
i've also talked to some folks out west that say the .25-06 and .243 are the perfect antelope bullets, so i'd like to see your report on a nice goat one day.
There is a large pack of ferrel goats that live along the Caney Fork River, local land owners hate them! They are usually pretty easy to find by drifting the river and watching the bluff lines in late winter/ early spring. That will have to do until I get drawn for one of those prize tags for a pronghorns or goats out west!
G
Guest
Guest
Liveliner - 9/13/2007 6:36 AM
Thanks Cheez. I do not have a problem with the Barnes-X. I have not shot that one however I have heard all positive. I think i recall an ad on that bullet that showed that the brass tapered from thin at the front to a solid base for coltroled expansion. Is that the design of the barnes-X?</p>
I am totally sold on the Noslier partition and not likely to switch.</p>
David the Barnes X is solid copper. No lead, no brass, no tin. I am a big fan of deep penetration and the two bullets we are speaking of are the best at weight retention. In numerous tests depending on the calibre, the X bullet trades back and forth with the partition for the number 1 and number 2 spots. I have used and loaded both and have total confidence in either. I just like the idea of the one piece construction of the Barnes.
cooperjd
Well-known member
cheez i bought some barnes triple shock bullets for my 7mag, i've read nothing but fantastic reports on them. i have read that at extreme ranges, where the velocity is slow, they won't open up quite as well, but the longest shot i could get where i hunt is a touch over 300 yards, should be no problem for the bullet.
for deer i love swift sciroccos. they don't have the weight retention of barnes, i think they are supposed to retain ~75% or so, but are devastating on whitetails, and they shoot wonderfully out of my guns. thats about all dad and i use now, but i had to be different this year and try barnes. hopefully i'll get the chance thanksgiving week.
also cheez, did i read that you are a handloader? i want to get into that one day, when i have a better place to shoot at longer ranges.. but have you ever tried berger bullets? i have heard wonderful things about their accuracy, and the vld's are supposed to be a very nice hunting round.
for deer i love swift sciroccos. they don't have the weight retention of barnes, i think they are supposed to retain ~75% or so, but are devastating on whitetails, and they shoot wonderfully out of my guns. thats about all dad and i use now, but i had to be different this year and try barnes. hopefully i'll get the chance thanksgiving week.
also cheez, did i read that you are a handloader? i want to get into that one day, when i have a better place to shoot at longer ranges.. but have you ever tried berger bullets? i have heard wonderful things about their accuracy, and the vld's are supposed to be a very nice hunting round.
G
Guest
Guest
Bergers are good from what I have read, I have never loaded them nor have I shot any. Sciroccos are deadly accurate just like any ballistic tip bullet. They are way better than Nosler Ballistic tips for weight retention especially in magnum velocities.
beetlespin
Well-known member
Damnit, all this gun talk is making me want to start hunting. I wonder how my wife would take another expensive hobby?!
BS
BS
Buoy-Master
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</p>beetlespin - 9/13/2007 8:19 PM Damnit, all this gun talk is making me want to start hunting. I wonder how my wife would take another expensive hobby?! BS
I heard that Lance. Mine wouldnt take it well. Heck, they might start thier own hobby...Child Support Collection! </p>
Shot her for the first time yesterday evening. It took about 3 shots to get her dead on then I was crossing eyes and dotting T's! The recoil was fairly light, but it was a comfortable shot. I may have a GS play with my trigger a hair, but I cant say a bad thing about the gun.
cooperjd
Well-known member
glad to know it shoots well. were you using factory ammo or handloads? also, can you adjust the trigger yourself easily on those guns? i adjusted my 2 rem.700's (sshhh don't tell remington) myself, and they are now fantastic. a fairly light crisp trigger with no creep is vital to accuracy.
TennesseeTalker
Well-known member
good golly miss molly!!! Who knew there was soo much to hunting?!?! Not me! You guys are smart I read all the information about bullets, velocity and exit vs non exit shots. All very interesting and makes a lot of sense. You guys are pretty darn smart!
Churly .. seen the Big Boy around lately? I need to decide who I'm rooting for this year pretty darn soon! Sounds like a nice rifle ... I bought my x a 30.06 for Christmas one year and it was a pretty gun. I never shot it, I had a 30-30. Is it possible to have you post a picture?
TT
Churly .. seen the Big Boy around lately? I need to decide who I'm rooting for this year pretty darn soon! Sounds like a nice rifle ... I bought my x a 30.06 for Christmas one year and it was a pretty gun. I never shot it, I had a 30-30. Is it possible to have you post a picture?
TT
G
Guest
Guest
TT you might want to root for Churly so that big buck will stop eating your matersemoBigsmile
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