270 Winchester, 6.5-06, or 25-06 Fast Twist Deer Rifle

[Double Dropper]

6.5-06 has mild recoil...wide bullet selection, easy brass, I prep the brass alot so trimming or neck turning 100 brass after weighing is no issue, I like the quality control. Has anyone had any issues the the heaviest bullets in 6.5 (156 grain variety) ?? Obviously with the correct twist.

270, the big issue I see here in Kanadastan is availability of bullets...and I shoot 180-215 already out of my 300 Win mag so a 175 might seem to be moving in that territory. 25 cal.....120-135 grain is a small range, its very cool and the ballistics are impressive.....

 

[coop2564]

270 is to close to your 300 rule it out. So 25-06 is my pick I also think its next to get a bunch of great BC bullets coming out with the 25 cm gaining in popularity. The 6.5 again with the bullets in the 130-140 you can load those weights in your 300. I have a great deer load in my 300wsm using 130gr Barnes @3500 kills deer better than a Star Trek phaser. 25-06 AI it.

 

[willfrye027]

I would vote 25-06 from those options. Double check that your mag box will fit..mine was too long and the bullet was a ways down in the case. Mine was accurate at 3120ish with RL26 and the 131 ace. Retumbo, imr8133, and n570 also had good velocity but not as accurate. I was neck turning lapua 30-06 brass which was not ideal but as you said not a big deal.

I have since moved on to a 25-284 with a proper throat, fits perfectly in my magazine, bullet is not down in the powder column, lapua 6.5-284 brass single pass through the bushing die. H1000 and 135gr Berger's it's moving 3015fps with a mild load..still going 1800fps at 1000 yards near sea level. Much easier to tune with Very wide nodes.

 

[.280AI Freak-Nasty]

Sooooo stuck on this, I have a stock, a trigger, and a 06 length action, looking to install a fast twist 26" barrel for long range shooting and deer. I have a custom 300 for elk works, and a 35 Whelen for a timber rifle, looking at 3 long range options, no I do not want a 6.5 CM or PRC ! not interested, but have an associate with a long range 270 win with the new 170 grain berger. Handloads are mid 2900 fps (very impressive!) and he also has a 25-06 fast twist shooting the new 133 grain Bergers at 3000 fps. The ballistics are quite amazing with these slippery bullets, brass is available and standard, even the 6.5-06 is easy enough to work with.......stuck on cartridge selection. Thoughts? and hoping for gents who have these rifles.

Personally, I would go with a 280 AI or a 25-06 AI.

 

[INVICTUS]

Sooooo stuck on this, I have a stock, a trigger, and a 06 length action, looking to install a fast twist 26" barrel for long range shooting and deer. I have a custom 300 for elk works, and a 35 Whelen for a timber rifle, looking at 3 long range options, no I do not want a 6.5 CM or PRC ! not interested, but have an associate with a long range 270 win with the new 170 grain berger. Handloads are mid 2900 fps (very impressive!) and he also has a 25-06 fast twist shooting the new 133 grain Bergers at 3000 fps. The ballistics are quite amazing with these slippery bullets, brass is available and standard, even the 6.5-06 is easy enough to work with.......stuck on cartridge selection. Thoughts? and hoping for gents who have these rifles.

I have had a 270 win since I was 16 years old. I still view the 270 win as the standard for flat shooting long range bullets. There's marketing and a lot of catchy things out there these days but the 270 is still measuring stick. Can't go wrong with any of those you stated but in terms of brass and bullets there is probably less demand on the .277 stuff now because of all the others that are out there. To me that is important these days.

 

[hudgic]

All great deer cartridges but the 6.5-06 for the win in my opinion it's. More versatile with all the bullet weight choices

 

[Wolf76]

25 cal is the way you should go.
I'd push the 257 bee, but alternatives were already shutdown.
Frankly the 25.06 regular or AI is pretty close to the bee. Deer aren't tough to kill and the 25 cal kills surprisingly well.

 

[seattleman1969]

This is just a pure emotional response for me... For a dedicated deer rifle... .25-06. I love mine, it's my confidence rifle. It only misses when I screw up.

.25-06 is very underrated in my opinion.

 

[txsheepman]

6.5 RPM

 

[DLJ6]

I'm in the same boat but considering a 25 PRC… should
Probably just go with a 25-06AI as brass will be easier to obtain and less expensive. I suspect more bullet manufacturers will be coming out with high BC 25 cal bullets in the near future.

 

[HunterMann]

Put a post it note in a dart board and throw a dart. Closes one wins.

Use the most accurate darts you can find...

 

[greg4321]

I went through the same thing and went with the PRC. If I was to do it again would do a 6.5-06AI.

 

[C S Fever]

Another vote for the 6.5 RPM will fit nicely and is basically a long 6.5-284 or go the 25-06 AI. I think either would be a great cartridge for what you are trying to do. Just my $0.02

 

[rcg5076]

I have owned, reloaded and shot all three caliber you mentioned(25-06, 270 and 6.5-06). The 6.5-06 is the only rifle i have left, and it is my go to rifle. It has killed numerous varmints, hogs, deer, antelope, oryx and elk. I have reloaded it down to 85gr and up to 160gr bullets. I have a 26 inch stainless 1:9 twist #4 barrel with 6,000 rounds throught it, and is still as accurate as it was brand new 30 years ago. I high recommend the 6.5-06 caliber.