there is extra joy for some folks like me to kill deer with a rifle i bedded myself and otherwise tweaked, with ammo i loaded myself. the deer ain't no deader. like 3% wrote, the off season is long, and if you're any kind of a rifle nut and handloader, there is much experimentation and prep to keep yourself occupied. i'm old now, and past the hand loading stage, but i still do a bit of messing around with rifles. i've gone from shooting a couple thousand rounds of centerfire a year, to sighting in for deer season. it's all fun, some funner than other things ...

My pic for a long action was a 280 Ackley Improved. That's what I had and it was a hammer with 140 or 150 Accubonds or Partitions either one.

The 280 AI is an awesome cartridge. Only issue is that he already has a 7 mag and there isn't a lot of difference ballistically between the two rounds.

True enough, mine was right on the heels of a 7mag. Can't go wrong with staying with the '06 based rounds and the 6.5-06 is a viable option since the 6.5 CM has spawned a zillion bullets for that caliber. I know of a guide in Alaska that uses a 6.5-06 for moose! He says that if you stuff a 140 gr Nosler Partition in the ribs, the show is over.
I just went through this same decision with a long action tang safety Ruger that was a 280 with a bad barrel. It is now a 7x57 and I am well pleased with it. I have not shot any critters with it but if WDM Bell could kill over 800 elephants with it, surely it is big enough for a woods goat.

The 6.5 - 06 brass can be an issue. I'm uploading 25-06 brass in a full length sizer. Then once it's fire formed I can used a neck sizing die, These die's can be hard to find at times. It's not much more than a 270 in ballistics. While you can shoot lighter bullets than a 130 but you better get the twist in your barrel right for that. Once we got mine dialed in I was very happy with it, but it did take a while. I ended up with a 140 ballistic tip that shoots terrific in it.

A 7X57 would be an awesome choice !

For me it would be 25-06. I'd love to run across a browning abolt in this caliber someday.

Just gave mine to my daughter. It was a tack driver. I may have to buy me another

Find two of them , I'll have a nice Hunter model , please.

Wish I could find one much less two of them. There was one for sale on here about a year ago in Enterprise Alabama which is only a little over an hour from my house and it was chambered in 260. I have kicked myself ever since it sold for not burning the tires off my truck to go get it as soon as I saw it since you don't see them come up for sale very often and this one was not far which made me kick myself even harder.

There are still some Ruger American Go Wild camo first gen rifles around. Reasonable price, and it was made in 25-06. Tikka also makes the T3 in 25-06

25-06 just really doesn't have a place in 2025 it's been superseded by a variety of newer calibers since the 1960's. Someone will probably come out with a "new" .25 caliber and it be all the rage in the future but it won't be a .25-06. A .270 with a 130 Grain is significantly better in terminal performance IMO.

Get one and try to shoot a deer with a 100 grain Magic Bullet is effectively stupid as hell. Why? Just get a .243 so everyone will know what you're about if that's the goal. Don't fake it with a .25-06 if you want to shoot a tiny bullet fast. No reason to leave anyone guessing.

That's the exact reason it's not widely chambered. Some of y'all need to re-think why some of these cartridges aren't widely used... and that is because they don't offer anything to the shooter.

I personally have always had and hunted quite a bit with a .25-06 but the difference is I don't get caught up in something like that and come on here spewing some garbage about how good it is... it's not great. It will kill the crap out of a deer but so will a variety of other things. I really only shoot it because I've shot it so long. It doesn't offer anything of significant value IMO.

The 110 Accubond is the bullet I like.

No need for a .280 he said he's got a 7 Mag. the 280 ain't gonna do anything for him.

6.5-06 would be a better fit given what's already in the stable. Just shoot 140's instead of geting cute and trying to shoot a tiny bullet and it will perform long range. That's the reason to have a 6.5-06. Lots of load data out there for this.

I'm interested in wood stock only , Tikka's site doesn't show a 25-06 in a T3 Hunter or Forest model.

The 25-06 is an awesome deer cartridge IMO. If I were hunting Elk with it I'd agree with you but these are for the most part sub 200 pound animals.

Whelen, can be used for primitive in select states, plus it's just cool.

I think its has to be a single shot rifle in most states.

I believe you are right.

nah. Whelen, like the OP mentioned in his opening post. no need for a swede with a .270 already in the house ...

The way some are worded as long as the gun can only shot once its ok .I think Mississippi states single shot though I think some states say incapable of more than one shot

The other thing about .25-06 was that in the past it had really good accuracy potential in a now bygone era. Back when rifles that shot MOA were still considered special... dam thing is accurate. I'll give it that. I've never owned one that wouldn't shoot MOA with handloads.


But nowadays you have lot of calibers on the market that will sling a bullet between 3,000-3,200fps. So why? I can't think of a good reason.. and it's not a .243 thing about shooting micro bullets that suck long range.... it's just hanging out there somewhere being irrelevant. I think it might have life again at some point but that isn't today.