25-06 best choice?

taylorce1 said:
I wouldn't call the 6.5 CM better, just a different option. The 6.5 CM is just the new flavor of the month, but if you're not reloading the 6.5 CM isn't the round for you. If you're relying solely upon off the shelf ammunition the .243 and .270 Win would be better choices.

:rolleyes:, wasn't aware a month lasted nine years.
 
Geo_Erudite said:
:rolleyes:, wasn't aware a month lasted nine years.

At what time did you actually think I was being literal? The 6.5 Creedmoor has just seen a recent surge in popularity over the last two to three years as more affordable rifles like the Ruger American, Savage 10 TH, and Weatherby Vanguard became available. It's a good cartridge, but it isn't widely available most places except online. There will be a new darling cartridge that'll be introduced eventually that'll displace the Creedmoor and move it from the spotlight, just like what has happened to the .25-06.
 
taylorce1 said:
At what time did you actually think I was being literal? The 6.5 Creedmoor has just seen a recent surge in popularity over the last two to three years as more affordable rifles like the Ruger American, Savage 10 TH, and Weatherby Vanguard became available. It's a good cartridge, but it isn't widely available most places except online. There will be a new darling cartridge that'll be introduced eventually that'll displace the Creedmoor and move it from the spotlight, just like what has happened to the .25-06.

It was your overall tone that the 6.5 Creedmoor is a flash in the pan cartridge. The cartridge has been around for nearly 10 years and is growing in popularity. Savage is now making their axis line chambered in 6.5 Creedmoor, which will probably open it to a whole new market of rifle consumers. This did not happen with it's ballistic twin the .260 Remington. If you live near a big box sporting goods store the 6.5 Creedmoor is an accessible round, and often runs cheaper in price than the .260 and even some .308 hunting loads.

The issue with the .25-06, which is a cartridge I would really like to own someday, is that it is a slight overbore that was developed when bullet selection sucked, gun powder sucked and barrel metallurgy was not what it is today. Introduce the .25-06 today and odds are you're on here typing it's the new flavor of the month cartridge.
 
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The interesting thing to me is that there was never a .308 variant popularized.... a ".25-08". There was (is, I suppose) the ".25 Souper" but it's certainly not a factory offering.

It seems like it would be a natural progression. I suppose maybe it's too close to a .243. .25-06 is ~2-300fps over .243 for same weight bullets. .25-08 would probably only be 100 or so.
 
Brian Pfleuger said:
The interesting thing to me is that there was never a .308 variant popularized.... a ".25-08". There was (is, I suppose) the ".25 Souper" but it's certainly not a factory offering.

It seems like it would be a natural progression. I suppose maybe it's too close to a .243. .25-06 is ~2-300fps over .243 for same weight bullets. .25-08 would probably only be 100 or so.

It is interesting that there has been no successful commercial short action .257 caliber. The reason probably being, like the .277 calibers, it was seen as a hunting caliber vs a long range paper punching caliber. Benchrest shooters and other disciplines seem to like the short fatter cartridges.

Also if one was created now, it would be based off the vastly superior 6.5 Creemoor case:p
 
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I'm of the opinion that the 257 Roberts will do most of what the 25-06 will do but with substantially longer barrel life. The 6.5 Swede would fit in there too, but ammo may be less available. The next logical step up is 270 Winchester.
 
Geo_Erudite said:
It is interesting that there has been no successful commercial short action .257 caliber. The reason probably being, like the .277 calibers, it was seen as a hunting caliber vs a long range paper punching caliber. Benchrest shooters and other disciplines seem to like the short fatter cartridges.

Also if one was created now, it would be based off the vastly superior 6.5 Creemoor case

The .250-3000 Savage was a very popular short action cartridge, just that when it came out there weren't many short action rifles. It's a wonderful quarter bore cartridge that fit well in the Savage 99 lever actions. When Remington started to produce true short actions with the M722 in 1948 the magazine was long enough to allow them to make rifles in .257 Roberts.

As far as a 6.5 CM necked down to .257, it has already been done many years before the CM was develop. It was called the .250 Savage Ackley Improved or AI. The only difference is the CM has a 30 degree shoulder and the .250 AI had a 40 degree shoulder.
 
Brian Pfleuger, Win came out with 308 case and Rem came out with 260,7-08,280 and the old wildcat 25 Neidner (25-06). I have old Speer Wildcat manual for the late 50's and they have the 25 Souper loading data using new 308 Win brass.

That manual also has loading data for 6.5x257 Roberts.

All the years I had wildcats build I only knew one that had 25 Souper build but I knew more that shot the 25-06 as wildcat.
 
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