.25-06 Remington

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The .25-06 Remington had been a wildcat cartridge for about 35 years before being standardized by Remington in 1969. It is based on the .30-06 Springfield cartridge necked-down (case opening made narrower) to .257 inch caliber with no other changes. Nominal bullet diameter is 0.257 in (6.53 mm) and bullet weights range from 75 to 122 grains (4.9 to 7.9 g). The cartridge is capable of propelling a 117 grain (7.6 g) bullet at up to 3200 feet per second (980 m/s) and energy levels up to ~2,500 ft·lbf. Bullets lighter than 75 grains are available in .257" caliber, but were designed for the smaller .25-20 Winchester and .25-35 Winchester cartridges and are too lightly constructed for the high velocities of the .25-06

The .25-06 is the most popular and arguably the most useful of the .25 caliber cartridges. It is an ideal round for deer and antelope, but will cover game ranging from prairie dogs to elk. However, if one chooses to use the .25-06 for large game, one must remember that .257 in (6.35 mm) bullets are of fairly light construction and will not penetrate bone like a .284 or .308 in (7.21 mm or 7.82 mm, known as 7 mm or 7.62 mm caliber) bullet will, and therefore shot placement is paramount. The .25-06 cartridge has a flat trajectory that is well suited to open plains hunting where long shots are the norm.

The cartridge has fairly light recoil, slightly below the .270 Winchester and the .30-06 Springfield. Shooters who are recoil sensitive will find the recoil from the 25-06 bearable, but not pleasant enough to shoot all day long.

Most manufacturers of bolt action or single-shot rifles offer the .25-06 as a standard chambering and factory loaded ammunition is available from Remington, Winchester, Federal Cartridge and most other major manufacturers.

This cartridge is nearly as powerful as the .257 Weatherby Magnum, usually running 100-150 ft/s. slower with a given bullet weight.