marlin 25-06

[Joe Little]

Friend of mine tells me this would be a great gun for my son ( 10) , I know nothing about this caliber, never even heard of it .
What can you gun guys tell me about it ??

Was looking for a youth model 243 , but he says this would be a better choice amd very versital rifle for many applications.
Joe

[Ken Lago]

I'm sure you could kill a marlin with a rifle but that would seem to me being the bushman/redneck way of fishing

[Dan R.]

My favorite round ever.

I will post more info later.

[Dan R.]

The 25.06 is the same shell casing as a 30-06 with a smaller diameter neck (.25" vs .30").
Bullet weights can vary from 60 grains to 140 grains. I usually shoot 95-120 denuding on the situation.
Muzzle velocity can range up into the 4,000 ft/ sec range. This is very fast and very flat shooting.

This has a substantially amount of recoil, especially for a 10 year kid. There are muzzle brakes and other accessories that can reduce felt recoil to almost nothing. With the recoil reduction system I have, it is possible to see the impact through the scope @ over 700yds.

Pic of my gun with some ballistic tip ammo at the ready, a specialized scope, bipod , some camo and the recoil reduction system ( notice the end of the barrel)

[Joe Little]

Thanks for all the info, the one thing I was told was the recoil was minimal , or could be made minimal maybe Your version sounds a little different

[Joe Little]

From your's and my buddies view of the gun, I think I will buy it anyway.

[Dan R.]

He won't be 10 years old forever.
If I can help in any way, ring me.

[Joshua Hopkins]

Dan, I think you have a little RN in u2 that is some fancy camo.

[Darryl Miller]

Sniper Dan?

[Dan R.]

The camo is the finest US military has to offer. It comes in many colors and has many uses in the military. It is easy to find at gun shows.

Darryl, this rifle does have a very advanced sighting system.

[Chris Mills]

Dan, you are a vault of knowledge.......you never cease to amaze me.

[politefab]

For the last year and a half I have been going back and forth between this round 25-06 and the 7mmSAUM. I narrowed it down to these two and just cant seam to make the final decision. I love both rounds but I think I am going to end up with the most cost effective one to reload.

My way of thinking is this for my kids! what rounds are available and affordable.. I want them to be able to get out there and shoot. A LOT! all 3 of my kids have a .223 and for x-mas this year they are all getting glock 19's. Both of these calibers are available and fairly cheep and it will allow them to learn the fundamentals of both rifle and hand gun shooting without breaking the bank.. you can never go wrong with the .22lr if you can find ammo

[Dan R.]

Eli, any decision? Not sure about the availability of the 7mm SAUM brass. The 25-06 can be easily fashioned from readily available 30-06 brass.

The 7mm SAUM is a short action rifle, while the 25-06 is a long action. The only real difference is the length of travel of the bolt throw.

I have a .300 WSM Browning A bolt rifle. Incredibly soft shooting short magnum with unbelievable recoil (soft). It is true hunting rifle, with a pencil barrel, very light weight (about 6 lbs). I originally bought it for my 12 old nephew to use hunting elk out west.

[Nick]

I don't think I can read another post by Dan without imagining the big dog crawling through an eastern European field in a ghillIe suit with that thing

That gun is sweet looking. As much as I am not into guns, I am very attracted to being a sniper/playing sniper video games etc. I think it has the same allure of game fishing to me in that you put in an incredible amount of effort just for the chance to have one shot at not screwing anything up. I like pressure.

[william w]

A very nice looking rifle.
Dan do you like the ballistic tips for hunting or target shooting, or both?
I have not tried ballistic tips for my 308 but I might.

[Dan R.]

I use ballistic tips with this gun for shooting prairie dogs at extreme ranges (500-800yds).

For hunting thin skinned animals, I prefer a soft point bullet. Old school, but that is how I am wired. Basically, any North American game short of Buffalo or Elk.

[Nick]

Off topic, but kinda applies...

Dan, you really are pretty cool I don't even know what you are talking about, but you sound like a real man . I had a client in the shop yesterday from NY, and he was commenting how he liked that we had "young" guys getting dusty and doing stuff with grinders and getting on it and how everyone young today is only useful enough to use iPhones. As much as I am as guilty as anyone, there really are masses of people today that don't hunt stuff or catch fish or work with their hands and it is pretty sad how America became so friggin soft. The client was also not originally from America, and was refreshingly appreciative of our work and surprisingly realistically grateful and not complaining about use being behind despite his (obviousily self made) wealth and presumable life of privilege.

I think it is good to hunt for food and make stuff, too many people I come across lately need the experience of obtaining food or making something (basically working for something) to rectify their American sense of immeasiate entitlement. Good call on getting the boy a rifle Joe!

[william w]

Soft points are nice, I am partial to the solid copper bullets like a Barnes X type for my hunting needs.
They have always done the job for me. Might try some ballistic tips next time I am
home on a few prairie dogs.

[Dan R.]

The ballistic tips help the bullet stabilization over long distances, especially lighter weights.

Solid copper Barnes X is some heavy duty stuff, what are you shooting? Very nice ammo, though!!

For my .308 I prefer the 168 grain BTHP (Boat Tail Hollow Point) military match ammo. It is super expensive now, so no shooting lately of that caliber.

There really is a great variety of awesome ammo available. I remember when….

[graniteman]

Ballistic tips are great unless you are trying to keep the hide, they tend to leave a large exit hole.

I use Core Lok and Nosler Partition bullet for most of my hunting. They shoot great out of my gun and are the easiest to find.

I shoot Barnes X bullets out of one gun and they are awesome. They are only copper skinned with a lead core. I use them on Elk and Mule Deer.

[Dan R.]

I grew up with the yellow and green boxes of CoreLokt ammo everywhere. Good stuff!! I come from a Remington family.

I don't save prairie dog hides, but if you want some, I can deliver a boat load. The whole idea, as I understand it, is for the plastic (ballistic) tip to afford more aerodynamics than a hollow point can deliver and then allowing the hollow point to transfer the energy into expanding the bullet upon impact. Thus, a more dramatic wound channel and large wound path (including the exit). It is the hollow point design that causes the excess tissue damage.

FWIW: hollow point ammunition is one of the several types specifically ban by the Geneva Convention to use on human targets. Along with phosphorous rounds (they burn holes in metal), something about them being cruel and unusual when used on humans...

[graniteman]

Thanks Dan but I don't need any prairie dog hides I hate those little chirping bastards and shoot a bunch every year out west. 22-250 is my gun of choice but whatever I have in my hand usually works. 5-800 yds is outside my skill level. I have never stretched that gun out that far.

I have made the mistake of shooting a couple of coyotes and one badger with ballistic tips. Had to shoot some more so I had the hides. I have shot many deer with a 243 with soft points, they never go far but not many of them leave a good trail. Mostly internal damage with no exit.

[Dan R.]

Off topic, but kinda applies...

Dan, you really are pretty cool I don't even know what you are talking about, but you sound like a real man ....

Nick, do me a favor.....don't get caught by your wife! And if you do, please do not use my name in your explanation!!

[Dan R.]

Brian, loads of peeps love the 22.250. I am not fan, more of a .30 and up guy. I have a few .223s, but never shoot them. Give me a .308, 30-06 or larger.

[politefab]

Eli, any decision? Not sure about the availability of the 7mm SAUM brass. The 25-06 can be easily fashioned from readily available 30-06 brass.

The 7mm SAUM is a short action rifle, while the 25-06 is a long action. The only real difference is the length of travel of the bolt throw.

I have a .300 WSM Browning A bolt rifle. Incredibly soft shooting short magnum with unbelievable recoil (soft). It is true hunting rifle, with a pencil barrel, very light weight (about 6 lbs). I originally bought it for my 12 old nephew to use hunting elk out west.

They can both be used in a long action a lot of long range shooters are using short magnums in long action receivers it allows them more flexibility in how they seat there bullet when they reload.. Some of the heaver bullets say for the 7mm SAUM when seated are to long to fit in the magazine or feed properly. So the real decision starts to become do I want to go with a magnum bolt face or not? than I need to choose chambering 7mm in any configuration SAUM,
REM-MAG, 7mm-08, SAM, and a few others out there are extremely flexible and have a vast selection of bullets. Where as the 25-06 is not as flexible but are both flat shooting cartridges . I think that I'm just way over thinking things because the 6.5/.260 keeps popping up in my head. overall the 7mm rem-mag has the most available brass of all of them and most affordable.