How far can you go?

HiBC, letting it go doesn't clarify any misunderstanding on both sides. As I read it, you are interpreting that I have a first focal plane, rather than a second focal plane, scope.

In FFP, the reticle enlarges as the magnification increases but the relationship to the impact point at any portion of the ballistic markings remains the same. In SFP, as you described, the relationship remains the same only if you use and maintain the maximum magnification of the scope. So if you sight in at 200 yards with the first dot below the crosshair at 9 power, then increase the magnification to 12 power and use the same first dot, the impact point will not be the same.

Now, maybe I have it wrong. Which is why you should not let it go.
 
The original question was "Is the 25-06 with a 117 gr Sierra adequate for a 300 yd shot on a deer"

IMO, very adequate.

My understanding from the beginning was you have a second plane scope.

So if you sight in at 200 yards with the first dot below the crosshair at 9 power, then increase the magnification to 12 power and use the same first dot, the impact point will not be the same.
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I agree with this statement.

At 200 yards I increase the target size so that the crosshair blocks all the central white so I know I'm centered. At 300 I do the same thing but use the first ballistic dot to obliterate the white central enlarged dot.
Click to expand...

This may be where I misinterpreted your statement . I assumed you were doing this with the variable ring. As I reread it.maybe you posted different size targets downrange.

Oh well. I have no clue why the deer ran off. Maybe you clipped a blade of grass.
 
I don’t hunt with anything smaller than a 270/7mm. So I can’t answer the OPs initial question. I will comment on taking 20min to gather your stuff and get to the car…I live and hunt in the north country, have taken many 300yrd shots over the years (sheep/caribou). I’m not hunting out of a box or car, but would not in that situation (mule kick & run-off), take 20 minutes to go investigate! I would be there in 5min or less, especially if it was snowing. You are still hunting, until the game is down and not suffering. I hunt in bear country and always have sufficient ammo in the magazine and pockets, my knives are on me or in a small backpack on my back. I also carry a roll of survey tape to mark a trail coming out. You shouldn’t need anymore than that, to continue the hunt.
 
Pipercub, thanks for your thought. The problem that I see with getting there in 5 minutes is, if the bullet wound hit anything but the lungs or heart, tracking the animal before it had an opportunity to stop and lay down because of the wound would just push the animal to continue to travel and one might just spend an entire day tracking and never find the animal anyway. I've seen deer mule-kick and run no more than 30 yards even with a double lung shot, but when he ran into the forest I didn't know where he was hit. I didn't want to push him.

I was on a guided hunt once before in Montana and made a long shot at a mule deer, very close to the last light. The guide saw the kick. We found copious amounts of blood and followed a trail where the buck might have gotten hung up on a log he crossed over since blood was seen apparently coming from both sides of the body. Tracking stopped until the next morning but the crew that searched never found the deer.
 
which?

I don't think there is enough difference between the cartridges listed by the OP to claim one all that superior to the other at 300yds. The 7mm mag is the hottest round listed of course, but not by all that much.

I hate that the OP lost a deer. Sounds like he knew his gear and made an adequate effort to recover the animal. If I were to suggest anything different it would be to consider the placement of the hut. Is it really necessary to place it at that location so that a 300 yd shot presents? Meaning, ....could the hut be relocated a bit next season to reduce the distance to the end of the field?
 
bamaranger, the placement was coincident with the most often path taken by deer as well as where the sun will be. It is anchored by cables and leveled on a hill overlooking a field that begins 50 yards below and in front. At that point, the field rises slowly over 175 yards, levels to 250, and then slowly rises to a forest at 275 on the left extending to 350 on the right. There is a forest line 200 yards on the right that extends up to the 350-yard corner. The left side reveals a large patch covering a 60-110 yard shot, then a diagonal treeline that extends to the above-mentioned forest at 275 yards. It was set up about 10-11 years ago. In the beginning, deer often came from the forest behind the hut and to the right, but over the 10-11 years they entered and crossed from the top left forest, and the lower left patch. At any time they could come from any forest area at any time of day and cross he field, probably being bumped by other hunters in the area. For the last 5 years they most often enter the field at the 350-yard top right corner and feed in that spot where I shot at the buck this year. Last year I won the buck pool with an 8-point, 19-inch spread buck that entered at 260 on the right and walked the forest line toward me to a clear shot spot at 110 yards.
The sun rises from my front right and by 9 am blocks all views from the right until it rises above the window line. It sets behind me. Any other position would place the hut at a disadvantage with respect to the sun, especially in the evening.

I was very confident that I could make the shot as I "practiced" sighting does at the spot for the last 5 years, waiting for a shootable buck. The snow flurries arrived unexpectedly and contributed to my inability to track the deer.
 
is what it is

Sounds like that hut overlooks a lot of territory and in place for the duration. My suggestion was only based on the thought that I would not set up for a 300 yd + shot if I had the option of getting closer somehow. Your spot is what it is and given the success you've had, it's working for you. Better luck next year!
 
I fill 20 crop damage doe tags a year with a 257wby. Average shot is about 350yds longest was 635yds. I used100gr Barnes lrx the last 2 years. Before that it was 110gr nosler accubonds. Both worked great! I tried 117gr hornady sst on 2 deer when I first got the weatherby and even at 300yds they lacked penetration and would fragment violently. Made an absolute mess of things but the deer didn't go far if anywhere at all.
 
Seems like good Hit, according to Bucks reaction, bad tracking= no deer found.. Wotk on those skills as well as getting closer to deer before shot.. Just my view, seems like your weapon /Ammo were quite adequate..
 
The 25-06 has more energy than the 6.5 Creedmoor at 300 yards.

The 25-06 has plenty of energy to take a large whitetail past at least 500 yards (that's where I stopped calculating).
 
Should I have a .25-O6 and saw a nice buck at 300 yards, I wouldn't be shy about shooting it. After all one-shot from my .270 Win killed a large bull moose with my .270 Win, at about 300 yards down a "Maine-Woods" haul road, while just sitting on my hunting stool and holding the rifle, otherwise unsupported. One shot, one kill!
 
I shot an antelope with a 110gr bullet from a 6.5 Grendel at 300 yards and she died right there.
I think that a 115gr coming out of a 25-06 should be more than effective for taking deer.

That said, bullet construction is a big factor. I was using a copper bullet. If your 25-06 bullet was theoretically a ballistic tip bullet it might hit a bone and not drive as deep on arrival.
 
In 2007 I shot an antelope at very close to 300 yards with my 25-06 using a Hornady Interlock 120gr HP bullet. Hit him hard and he ran about 15 yards and cartwheeled, dead.
So, yes, a 25-06 will do the deed easily at 300 yards. BTW, this was a handload.
 
So happens I’ve never shot a deer with 25/06, a butt load of groundhogs at 300-400 yds.
I shot a lot of deer a few years on damage permits. We only shot out to 150yds and shot rested. Used Ruger 77 in 270 with 110gr SPs. My farthest shot on deer was 250yds with 308 and 130 hp.
So 25/06 is plenty good.
 
I've shot several deer with my .270 and also a good-sized Moose at about 300 yards. Most were one-shot kills, including the moose.
One was left-handed...a quick shot at a running deer, as it spotted me grabbing my rifle from the tree stand platform, where I was resting, after a long walk in the woods.
 
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