25-06 vs. 270 any advantages

[Hales Smut]

After watching George McDonald shooting hinds on a snowy winter day in the highlands on youtube, the 25-06 made me curious. Checking out a few websites ( Federal, Remington, ..) there is no difference in trajectory between the 25-06 shooting 117-120 grain bullets and the 270 shooting 130 grain bullets. The 270 being more easely available is an advantage. Why do some of you prefer the 25-06 over the 270 ?

 

[sikamalc]

I always used 100g bullets in my 25.06 on the hinds. I do not shoot anywhere near the numbers I used to take. This is down to a change of lease. The previous lease in the highlands I was on a penalty clause and we had to take 50 red hinds a year and as many Sika hinds as we liked. I also had the experience of arranging a lot of the culling on a big estate on the West coast some years back and that was a historic cull of 200 head.

The 25.06 is a very good round in my opinion for hinds, but I have used it on stags too. Both the 25.06 and the 270 are my choice, but again its all about bullet placement and knowing your ground.

 

[palmer_mike]

I personally find the 25-06 a lot nicer to shoot (recoil)

 

[enfieldspares]

It's a niche cartridge. If what you want it for fits that niche then you well, good and happy. But if you need a 140 grain bullet, a 150 grain bullet AND a 100 grain bullet capability then the .270 WCF will handle all three weights and bullets are available in all three weights.

 

[Hunt-Inter]

I used a .25-06 quite extensively using 100g NBT and took a lot of game with it in the UK and some abroad.

 

[deeangeo]

.25-06 is an excellent round. Much less recoil than .270Win. 100gn @ 3330fps MV Sierra Prohunter works well for hinds & the 110gn Accubond @ 3120fps MV good for both stags & hinds.
Nothing not to like, been using it for the last sixteen years.

 

[Heym SR20]

25-06 shoots a small bullet flat and fast which I used quite a bit. It was designed for shooting small to medium game animals at longer ranges and in this it is excellent. If most of your stalking is open ground hind and open hill stags then it is very good. Not a lot of recoil and point and shoot out to 250 / 300 yds, and at 250 it still hits hard. It is also perfect for long range foxing. In some respects the 25-06 mimics the flat shooting and ease of use of the 243 with an 80gn bullet, but with the 100 to 120 gn bullet it has that extra energy that does the job with much more authority.

270 is shooting 130 to 150 gn bullets and is the next step up - it is good all round flat shooting calibre, albeit with a bit more recoil and ideal for all deer and bigger animals. You could argue that for hinds it is a bit too big, with more energy and recoil than necessary and thus the 25-06 comes into its own.

Where the 25-06 is not so good IMHO is in the sub 100 yd shots on the body - the bullet is moving very fast and will cause a lot of meat damage and potentially not penetrate as well as a bigger slower bullet, or on smaller deer a 100gn from a 243.