If your choice is down to the .25's I'd pick the 25-06. Since you are not handloading 25-06 ammo will be way more available on the shelf. To make the .257 shine you have to be a handloader in my opinion. Also some of the old .257s came with a slow twist that wouldn't stablize the 117 and 120 grain 25 caliber bullets. If you are buying new make sure it has a 1/10 twist.
Concerning recoil between the two I couldn't tell the difference, both are non-kickers by my standard.

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A is a Federal Fusion 130 gr in .270
B is a Federal Fusion 120 gr. in 25-06

Depending on the load and rifle you use, the .270 can shoot flatter than the 25-06 and has much more energy as well.

I'd figure that the POSTER was looking at comparably BC rounds, which might mean a 117gr or 110 in the 25/06. A comparable .270 will never shoot at flat as a 25/06 at HUNTING ranges.

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Actually, a .270 will shoot any specific bullet weight faster than a .25-06. At "hunting ranges" (whatever that is, exactly) the .270 is the superior round in both trajectory and energy.

Look at the BC of 25-06 rounds then look at the BC of .270 rounds. You will see that the .270 has better ballisitics.

And BTW, what do you mean by "hunting ranges" and what are you going to hunt with a 110 gr. bullet?

I compared a heavier 130 gr. bullet (Federal Fusion) in .270 and it shoots flatter than the a lighter 130 gr. (Fusion) in 25-06

.

I voted for the 25-06, there's plenty of loaded ammo too choose from and not just the main well known makers. There's Corbon, Double Tap, Conley Precision Cartridge, etc as well as the big major manufacturer's. I have both the 243 and 25-06 and would take either one for any and all the game you said. They will both reach out on the coyotes and do just fine for deer and hog. A good bullet that retains it weight well and shot placement are always important. Best to ya !

About hunting ranges I'd assume TNhunter is talking about the range that game is normally taken with that rifle. Concerning the 110 grain bullet, My 25-06 has taken about 28 head of game in the last 5 years using a 100 grain Sierra Prohunter. Recently been using the 110 grain Nosler accubond. From my field results it appears to be equal or better to the Sierra pill in all respects.

I didn't realize fussion loaded a 130 grain bullet for a 25-06. How is it lighter than a 130 for a 270?

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I think that was a typo. In the original trajectory comparison, the 25-06 was a 120gr fusion. Could be wrong.

Deck

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Just drug out the Hornady ballistic charts and compaired the 25-06 to the 270 using the same weight bullet and same muzzle velocity.

.270 Win 100 grain @ 3400 FPS
200 yd zero, drop @ 500 yards 41.5 inches

.25-06 100 grain @ 3400 FPS
200 yd zero, drop @ 500 yards 33.8 inches

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It was a typo, the comparison was to a 140 gr. Fusion in .270.

Just went to the Hornady ballistics chart online:

http://www.hornady.com/assets/files/...nterSpread.pdf

200 yard zero

25-06 GMX 90 gr. 3350 FPS has a drop of 38.5" at 500 yards
25-06 SST 117 gr. 3190 also has a drop of 38.5" at 500 yards

.270 GMX 130 gr. 3200 FPS has a drop of 33.7" at 500 yards
.270 SST 130 gr 3190 FPS has a drop of 33.9" at 500 yards
.270 SST 140 gr. 3090 FPS has a drop of 35.4" at 500 yards.

Even the much heavier 140 gr. .270 has less drop at 500 yards than the lighter 90 grain 25-06

At 200yrds would the deer really notice the difference ? If we decide to go for a pronghorne or blacktail in the Californian hills where 3 ...4 or even 500yrds shots may be required. Would we not then make sure we knew beforehand the relative different trajectories for those distances ? What counts really is how hard the projectile hits when it arrives at those distances. Amazingly the book shows the 270 140 grain producing about 60ftlb more at 500yrds than a 165 grn 30 calibre out of a 300H&H both at 3000fps m.v.
Funny old world. But would that Blacktail notice the difference? For normal everyday hunting, I still stand by the 257Rbts BUT make sure it has a 1 -10 twist to handle the 117/120grn bullets for the larger game, although a well placed 87 grn bullet would deal adequately with any whitetail I have seen when in the US. Emphasis on well placed.

I perfer the 243. You stated you dont handload so it is the easiest to find ammo for. Any mom and pop backwoods gun store anywhere in the U.S. will have ammo for the 243. A 243 is a very under estimated round, I have seen several elk killed with them, I also have a friend that lives in Alaska that only owns one rifle, a Browning BAR chambered in the 243. He has sucsessfully used that rifle for years to kill everthing in Alaska including moose and grizzleys. It is all about shot placement and bullet selection.

I have one 25-06, three 257Roberts, zero 243, but do have a 6mm Remington. The rifle I'll take to our 600 yard range is a 7x57 rifle. I seem to have an affinity for 7x57 based cartridges, which I enjoy shooting on a regular basis. So, of your choices I'd suggest the 257 Roberts, which in a modern action rifle can be reloaded to get close to performance specs of the 25-06. However, if you do not reload, then the 25-06 or .243.

Ok, i think im goona go with the 25-06. What brand or model would you guys recomend? and what scopes would you recomend on this caliber.

Not a bad choice at all, sask.

Win Mod 70, Rem 700, Ruger 77. All offer various models in 25-06. Although I didn't look, Browning (A-bolt or X-bolt, or 1885?), Savage, Tikka, TC, Kimber, Cooper and a bunch of others likely chamber that round (Ruger #1?).

For that cartridge, I recommend you do not go with a barrel length less than 24"

My personal preference, but go with a sporter weight barrel, not a heavy barrel, depending on your primary hunting use.

I have a 2-7x Redfield widefield on my Win mod 70 25-06. It works fine, but have had thoughts of a 3-9x or 4.5-14x on it. Again, depends on your primary use.

Let the search begin!

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I will second that.

as for scopes, it depends on how much cash you want to spend. I've personally had great experience with the zeiss conquest, leupold vx-iii, nikon monarch, and vortex viper. If cost is a concern, I think the vortex diamondback is the best scope for the money with decent magnification, features, and less than $300. Also, I love my A-bolt (.270 Win), Win Mod 70 (7mm-08), Rem 700 (.300 Win Mag), and CZ's. I'm also in the process of bedding a Ruger 77 tang safety, so my advice would be to look for the rifle that "speaks" to you. You'll know it when you see it. Best of luck.

Deck

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Thanks guys, I know that picking the brand of rifle is all personal preference, but with all the brands listed above is there any way to narrow it down? And id like to pay under 500 for the scope.

There are quite a few rifles chambered in 25-06 and very good ones at that. It is about feel and what appeals to you, how the stock feels in your hands, weight and so on. Personally my 25-06 is one of the new Weatherby S2 rifles and is about 500 dollars and for the money you cannot go wrong. It doesn't have the prettiest stock but the trigger is fantastic and it is extremely accurate. As far as scope just depends on how far you might ever shoot, here in Texas a long shot on a coyote wouldn't be unheard of and i have a 4-16x56 on mine with a side focus. There's plenty of great scopes under 500 dollars. Best thing to do is just look through some and see what type of reticle you like and how much light it gathers and such, check eye relief. Savage rifles are very accurate also and definitely go with the 24 inch or 26 inch barrel. Good luck to ya and let us know what you get !

Choosing between these cartridges was relatively easy, compared to the decisions involved with which rifle to buy and which scope to top it with. Those come down to what YOU like and what your pocketbook can tolerate...we can't help you out a whole lot on those!

The good thing is, there are many solid rifles on the market today. If you're on a tight budget, consider the Marlin XL7; a few bucks more gets you the very accurate Savage 110; well-heeled buyers could do far worse than the beautiful Model 70 rifles rolling out of the factory these days. You will have to figure out what your price point is and then handle as many of these guns as you can. If you're a gun nut of the highest order, rest assured one of them will grab you.

For scopes, it's easy: Buy the best glass you can realistically afford. Money spent on a Leupold is never wasted, but there are quite a few other good options out there, these days. I'm very happy with the Burris FullField II line and the Vortex products are proving to be well worth the money, as well.

Good luck and keep us appraised!

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