25-06 or 6mm

[motocykill]

Thinking of buying a deer gun for my wife. What do you guys and gals think? what shoots better out of the box with less hassles.. ect. any help?

[Bait Bucket]

I have an 87 year old aunt back in Virginia who smacks the living daynights out of whitetails with her trusty 6mm. She hasn't been bad on the Wyoming antelope either.

And when you are 87, you can dress anyway you like to.

[Two Fister]

I know a couple of really exceptional hunters who swear by the 25-06. I've been thinking about getting one for myself for a long range/open country.
TF

[James in Idaho]

25-06 can be a really accurate gun, and most likely kicks a little more than a 6mm. .257 Roberts would fit the bill if you can find one, as would a .260 rem and 7-08.

[ommedia]

I believe the 6mm is essentially a .243 correct?

That being established, The .25 is a bigger caliber, and if you reload I think you can buy bigger grain bullets for that caliber.

My family swears by the 25-06...however...my buddies daughter is 3 for 3 (2 blacktails and a cow elk) in the last three years with a 6mm.

I hunted with a .243 almost exclusively for deer, pronghorn, varmits, and even my first two elk when I was very young. I've changed recently, but not because of dislike.

tough question. I think one factor you must consider is it's resale value if the wife doesn't like it or continue hunting. Or at the very least, evaluate which you would prefer to hand down to kids when they start hunting.

good luck

[Bait Bucket]

Originally Posted by ommedia

I believe the 6mm is essentially a .243 correct?

Same bullet, different case.

[img]http://www.huntingmag.com/guns_loads/HM6mm200C.jpg[/img]

6mm is on the right.

[northriver1]

At the end of the day if you choose the 6mm I would than suggest switching to the 243 for many reason. Cheaper shells, availibility of ammo, resale (imho), larger selection of guns to pick from and lastly because I own two of them. Good luck in what ever you do. I have owned a 6mm and 25-06 and you will be happy in any direction you go.

[oregonmuley]

I'm a little biased since I just recently got myself a new 25-06 so thats my vote. So far the only action it has seen is the rifle range - but I sure like it and hope to break it in this year on Wyoming antelope. Its about as nice a shooting caliber as I've ever shot - my other rifles are a 7mm-08 and a .280Rem, but I think the 25-06 with 100 grain TSX bullets or 117 grain Hornady will be the new favorite.
Good luck - you have many good options

[DogZilla15]

25-'06 wins every time. Better bullets, more energy. A handloaded .257 Roberts is just as good and in a short action.

[Crayfin]

Let's see...

I have a 25-06
I have a 7mm-08
I have a .260
I HAD a 6mm

Seriously though, the 25-06 is better suited than the 6mm for just about everything..ie reloading, availability of shells, overall performance

I have shot quite a few things with my .260 performace was always excellent

7mm-08 has really good bullet selection--looking forward to whacking something with it

25-06 is SUPER accurate and a pleasure to shoot

[Duckwheat]

243 with the ease of finding ammo or components......

Remington Model 7 would be great or a Remington 600 in 243.

The 2506 would be ok. You could just get a 270 and then she could go shoot an elk without a lot of thought.

Life is easy, no reason to make it difficult.

DW

[OB1]

I have a 243 in a Remington mountain rifle and this is a great shooting rifle.
I had a 25-06 but moved up to a Weatherby 270 mag when I hunt Muleys out east. The 270 Mag shoots a tighter group than the 25-06 did.
If you plan to hunt Elk I would move up to 25-06.
As far as scope all of my rifles have Leupold on them, I like them because once they are sighted in they stay right on the money unless you change bullets.
Happy rifle shopping

[Eagleclaw]

i love my 25-06 can't wait to take it over to the Steen's and see if i can't fill my deer tag with it.

[billc_sbio]

Originally Posted by DogZilla15

25-'06 wins every time. Better bullets, more energy. A handloaded .257 Roberts is just as good and in a short action.

A .257 Roberts "Ackley Improved" can actually be BETTER than a .25-06 (same or higher velocity with LESS Powder)

(and I HAVE a nice, custom .25-06 and look longingly at my friend's .257 Ackley Imp.)

But then .243s/6mm s are nice too. (and more efficient with their powder charges)

If you think about it, both the .270 Win. and the .25-06 are simply necked down .30-06s, made to shoot faster, flatter.

Of the two, the .270s actually probably the best choice of the necked down '06s.

Heck, get one of each!

[Charlie Storey]

I know lots of you guys like the 6 mm's, but I've always thought they were a little light. And, I know lots of you guys like the .25-06, but I always thought it was too much case for a small bullet, and wasn't that much better than a hand-loaded .257 Roberts. Soooooo, my vote is for something with a short action and a bigger bullet than a 6 mm. Like, as already mentioned, the .257 Roberts, or, with a little more zing, (still light recoil) a 6.5 x 55. You gotta remember that not all shots are perfect broadsides so the more zing you can get and keep recoil manageable the better off you'll be. Recoil is only an issue when target shooting. I've never felt recoil while shooting a deer or elk.

[scottishsetter]

Ruger Ultralite in 257 Roberts...

[billc_sbio]

Originally Posted by scottishsetter

Ruger Ultralite in 257 Roberts...

Yeah, but truly if you considered going the .257 Imp route, you'd probably want the gunsmith recutting the chamber to put on a good quality barrel?

I read once (and this was a long time ago) that Ruger contracted the barrels they bought from another company and (then) were only paying ~$12/ea. for them!

Of course, these days, they're probably up to ~$30 a barrel, assuming the same situation exists.

And many of the cartridges from .25 cal on down are real TACK DRIVERS with a good barrel!

[ehunter]

Now I think the best long range gun is a 270 WSM but that was not the question but I had to throw this in

[SXS]

Are you really set on 6MM or 25-06? I'd say a 260 is a WHOLE lot better than the 6MM. The 25-06 is good for some people but I've always considered it neither fish nor fowl. It is too much for a varmint cartridge and too light for deer. Flame on, if you wish. I'm thinking he's only gonna buy his wife one rifle and my opinion is a 260 or 7MM-08 fits the bill here. Just an old man's

[ErnestE]

.243 for a lady, less harsh

[leadeyedbugger]

Since your original question said deer rifle, i will assume that it will be only for deer and deer sized or smaller game. With that in mind either one will do the job just fine. My wife has deer hunted with a 243 for 8 yrs now. And she has harvested 8 deer in those 8 years with said 243. Great gun. The 25-06 will do just fine also. It kinda depends on what your looking for in a deer rifle.....The 25-06 can push a bigger bullet with more energy,more power so to speak...It also has more recoil.................etc,etc,etc, insert favorite caliber arguements here . Basic answer is both will work fine and both are very accurate.

Oh yeah, i have always considered the 257 to be the ultimate deer rifle. And i think anyone shooting anything bigger then a .260 is using overkill on deer.....so there.

[guitgary]

One consideration is...are you planning to reload or strictly use factory ammo. The 6mm (or, .243 for that matter) may have some problems stabilizing bullets over around 90 grains. Plenty big enough for deer and other critters. If you plan to use the larger pills, you will need a barrel twist of around 1 x 8. Most .243's, I believe, come in 1 x 10.

The 25-06 offers you the opportunity to use (I think) up to 117 gr.

Both will do the job on deer and the like. I recently picked up a 7mm/08. Light recoil, surprising accuracy and a fairly wide selection of bullets.

[Don Fischer]

There are no right answers here. Not many wrong ones either. Doesn't sound to me like the man is a handloader so I'd eliminate the 6mm, 257roberts, 260Rem and the 6.5x55. Sounds like the little woman never shot anything before either so I'd toss the 270, 270 short mag and the 25-06. She only, make that, he only wants her to have a deer rifle, excuse me, deer gun, so of whats left and not knowing a thing about the woman, I'd look at the 243, but not long and the 7-08. Of the two I'd take the 7-08 and use it on everything up elk.

Now if we're talking reloading I'd take a long hard look at the 260 Rem and 6.5x55. In fact I'd look no further. Problem with them is the 260 isn't knocking anybodies socks off like it should, so may be a dieing pig, and the 6.5x55 shines best from handloads and a modern action.

My wife put her 6mm away and never shot it again when I got her her 6.5x55. And she suddenly had a cartridge that handled everything up to elk easily.

[Abiquadeer]

I don't know if I agree with everyone here. To me everybody kind of over thinks cartridge choice. My first rifle was a 6mm and my second was a 25-06. Both killed every deer I shot at. Bullet placement and bullet type is far more important in my opinion. Both will kill deer without a problem. Pick one and spend your time practicing with her. You can't go wrong with either choice in my mind.

[Dan360]

My bias against the 25-06 is that the 270 Winchester shoots faster with heavier bullets and does better in the wind. Why shoot a 117 or 120 gr bullet at 3000 fps when you can shoot a 130 or 140 gr bullet at the same speed with a whole lot more wind bucking ability? Also, the 270 carries energy further downrange than the 25-06.

If I was in the market for a light-kicking rifle for a lady, I'd stay away from the 25-06. Its over-bore and doesn't use its powder space efficiently. At short range, bullets may not hold together unless you use the tougher bonded or solid copper types. At long range, energy and velocty shed so quickly that you might not get reliable expansion. For 110 lb antelope, no problem. Deer up to 200 lbs, maybe some penetration issues. Plus, there is no guarantee that the bonded or solid copper bullets will shoot well from your rifle. This limits your options.

You can say the same thing about the 243. As a big game cartridge, margin of error is very small. Light recoil aids bullet placement, but lack of bullet weight inhibits penetration. Especially when you get to the 200 yard mark.

My vote would be for a 7mm-08 Remington. 7mm bullet performance is impressive and bullet weights and styles are legion. I believe that the 260 Remington is dying, so I'd stay away unless I was a reloader. Federal Premium loads 4 different loads for the 7mm-08 alone.

A good friend of mine has been using a Remington Model Seven in 7mm-08 for mulies out to 300 yards. He loads a 150 gr Swift Scirroco at a modest 2700 fps. I've seen him turn a couple of bucks upside down with this cartridge. My nephew, who weighs only 120 lbs, shoots his rifle at the range with no issues.

[Flatfish]

Between the 6mm and the 25-06, I would pick the 25-06. It's much easier to make a bigger cartridge act smaller than a small one bigger.

[Dan360]

Originally Posted by Flatfish

Between the 6mm and the 25-06, I would pick the 25-06. It's much easier to make a bigger cartridge act smaller than a small one bigger.

I would agree with this. I guess the 25-06 just doesn't fit any niches in my hunting. That doesn't mean its not the perfect cartridge for someone else. With out too much wind, I think of it as the perfect antelope cartridge. I like the 6mm cartridges because with 100 or 105 gr bullets at 2850 or 2900 fps, they are dynamite on the 120 to 140 lb blacktails where I live. Especially when shots are kept under 200 yards or so. I still think the 7mm-08 is better for this kind of hunting, but the 243 is still one of my favorite cartridges.

[GO-FASTER]

25/06 With The 110 Grain Accubond

[motocykill]

Fisrt off I would like to thank all of you for your help. I haven't been a member all that long here but I am truly in awe with all of you. I have nothing but praise for Yall every time I tell someone new about this site. Now that we have narrowed it down to 6mm,25-06,.257 roberts,243,.260,and 270.... this should be easy LOL I don't reload yet (no time) so I will probally lean towards the 25-06 Model 700
Again thanks everyone you guys are Awesome.

[Mr. BrownTrout]

I have heard good things about both, my wife hunts with a Remington 300SAUM and loves it.

[leadeyedbugger]

Your wife will be happy with that setup