Help me plan out a mid range rifle? .25-06 & light barrel experts needed.

[trebark]

The suggestion of a Remington 700SPS is a good one. Given you are pretty much limited to factory ammo, I would give serious consideration to 308 (generally speaking, I would go up or down a caliber e.g. 6mm, 6.5mm or 7.62mm as they have better BCs than the .25). An SPS will cost you ~$500.

Once you have the rifle, replace the stock and have a good smith can 'accurize' it for you - tune trigger, lap lugs, recrown barrel. This will cost ~$300 depending on the stock you chosose. Examples...

http://www.longrangehunting.com/forums/f53/nephews-transformed-rifle-53634/

http://www.longrangehunting.com/forums/f53/my-308-1k-rifle-evolution-continues-43510/

Optics..Leupold is nice. Sightron SIII is better. Their 6-24x50 will run you ~$800

 

[strombeckj]

I would look into a rem model 7 or a savage predator. Both would be a great starting point for upgrades. However I would go with a .243 (very low recoil). the reason is if you go to any coyote hunting forum this is most likely the caliber of choice in a factory load. 6mm bullets have better BC in the 85-105 range the the same .25 cal.

88gr Berger High BC FB varmint loads are a coyotes worst dream. High BC, good penetration with very few pass through's.

My 6-06 loves them

 

[killahog]

I think the 25-06 is an excellent chioce I am shooting a 25-06AI pushing a 100G SMK at 3366 fps A groundhog at 500 yards is in grave danger from the first shot, and I have more 800 yd kills on prairy dogs than I can count. Sell something you don't need and screw on a custom lilja, shilen, hart, or douglas, pac nor, 1-10 twist barrel on a remington action and your in business.

 

[noneck180]

257 wby in a Vanguard, had one, wished I had never sold it, you would have to reload though.

 

[Bart B]

I doubt any factory mid caliber barrel's capable of even 3/4 MOA accuracy (at worst, few-shot tiny groups don't count) 700 yards away. You'll need a top quality aftermarket one for that. Kreiger comes to mind for the maker.

Barrel weight for a given length has nothing significant to do with accuracy. As long as the barrels whips the same way for each shot, it'll drive tacks; tiny headed ones at that. And barrel heat has little to do with accuracy if the receiver's properly squared on its face where the barrel tenon shoulder mates against.

While many folks like Remington actions, a Winchester 70's near 3 times as stiff, more reliable in feeding, extracting and safety operation and easier to operate with its bolt handle shape and size. Conventional epoxy bedding's just as good as the more expensive pillar version.

While capable of good accuracy, the .25-06's a barrel burner. While factory barrels may last 1500 to 2000 rounds, a tack-driving 1/2 MOA one at 700 yards won't last more than 800 to 900 rounds at peak accuracy levels. Too much powder's burned pushin' that bullet out so darned fast eroding away the throat. A 6.5-.284's probably a better choice; a favorite in long range matches and good for 1200 to 1500 rounds of 1/2 MOA performance at 700 yards.

 

[lepcur]

I,ve got a factory 25-06 Sako that's 40+ years old and has 1,000s of rounds thru it and it will shoot .5-.75 MOA all day long when I do my part. The only thing it has had done to it was being pillar beded. I think you're looking in the right direction. Mine has a 6.5-20x50 Zeiss on it but you would probably want something a little lower power for your application. Mike

 

[backwoods83]

Well I'll throw in 2 more cents, like mention a 25 cal is not the best option, and second if everyone on this forum read this post atleat 80% of the members would agree that your not going to find a more accurate out of the box, production rifle than a savage, they are often more accurate than other brands that have been "accurized" and I have shot factory savage rifles into single digit groups at 1k.

 

[Bart B]

I,ve got a factory 25-06 Sako that's 40+ years old and has 1,000s of rounds thru it and it will shoot .5-.75 MOA all day long when I do my part.

If the range for that performance is 700 yards, that's what the OP wants but I don't believe that rifle's barrel as stated will do that well at 1000 yards. If the range for those groups is only 100 yards, I'd believe that. But those groups won't be the same MOA at 700; more like twice that size, 1 to 1.5 MOA. Accuracy grows in size as range increases due to the spread of muzzle velocity and bullets' BC as well as subtle cross winds; typically 8 to 15% for each 100 yards past the first 100.

...at leat 80% of the members would agree that your not going to find a more accurate out of the box, production rifle than a savage, they are often more accurate than other brands that have been "accurized" and I have shot factory savage rifles into single digit groups at 1k.

If this claim's what you've done once in a while, that's what some factory rifles will do also; once in a while. But they don't do it all the time. Even rifles holding benchrest records have accuracy level all the time 2 to 3 times the size of that record group, sometime more. Rifle accuracy is what one can count on all the time, not just when everything goes perfect. You gotta count all shots fired, otherwise shoot one 30-shot group then claim the smallest 5-shot cluster as its accuracy level. Plus, to have at least 90% confidence that a group represents real accuracy, you gotta shoot at least 20 to 25 shots per group. 5-shot ones are at best only 50% credible.

 

[270 lefty]

Out to 700 yards or further you will also need to invest in a good range finder if you don't already have one.
If you could load enough on your off time to justify the reloading expence over time you may even save money, if you shoot enough.
And you could look into a 6x47 or 6mmxc get more life out of your barrel and brass, and 115 dtac or berger would offer a high bc it would kill deer goats & sheep with ease @ longer ranges
one of those two calibers is my next build soon as Obama can figure out how to turn the economy around (I might be waiting a while!!)

 

[lepcur]

Bart B, I totaly agree with you and yes those are 100 yd. groups I was refering to, but I also was trying to point out the amount of rounds this rifle has had thru it as I don't think of it as being a barrel burner like someone stated earlier. Have a good1 man

 

[dmr400]

First, thanks everyone for the thoughtful replies. 2 things...I hadn't considered barrel life. 2nd, the mention of the model 70 action reminded me I have a (barely) post 64 model 70 in 308 I could use as a base for this project. Would an action this old be a viable one for a LR rifle? Second, what caliber for the short action? I'm tempted to just put a quality 308 barrel on it because of the availability of premium ammo, but is there a better choice?

 

[Tikkamike]

DMR,

I didnt read every reply i just skimmed them but i didnt see anyone with the same advice im about to give. You wont find a bigger 25-06 fanatic than me. some people hate them but people that have them love them to death. My primars coyote rifle is a tikka t3 lite in 25-06 topped with a zeiss rapid z 800 scope. I haven taken deer and antelope out to 760 yards and every where in between not to mention the piles of coyotes and fox. its a 22.5" barrel little rifle that is comfortable to shoot but is more than capable of taking down whatever you want to kill. You mentioned "drive by's" That is my primary method of killing coyotes as I do a lot of traveling around wyoming. and if you have done it much you know exactly where I am coming from. you want a rifle that is easy to get out the window and get stuff done, this is the gun for you plus it shoots 1/2" groups no problem. the action is super smooth. I love everything about it. Best part is they are like $550 bucks. Maybe itll wear barrels out faster than some cartridges but its not short barrel life by any means. I say buy one of these you wont regret it.

 

[Guy M]

An all-around favorite of mine for easy carrying, light recoil, good accuracy, and great effect on target is my .25-06 Rem 700 CDL, with a 6x Leupold, and handloaded 115 gr Berger VLD's:

I've thoroughly enjoyed hunting with this rifle for several years now. It's instant death on coyotes & mule deer and not too shabby with rock chucks either. All I did to it was adjust the trigger and sight it in with that Leupold. One shot kills on deer at 400 yards are easy without even holding over, just raise the aimpoint up towards the back some, and drop the 115 into the kill zone. I keep mine zeroed at 300 yards, and hunt primarily in Eastern & Central Washington.

On the other hand, a good .308 would work well too. No, there's nothing wrong with using your old Winchester Model 70 in .308, in fact if I had a real tight budget that's what I'd do. Use the .308, and spend the money you saved on ammo, or a compact reloading setup.

Regards, Guy

 

[Tikkamike]

That's a sharp looking rifle guy, I love the looks of the CDL's