willie78

I want to get started reloading for my 25-06 savage. I haven't purchased anything yet and was looking for suggestions for an accurate and effective deer load(top to bottom). I'm not set on any bullet weight, or type, brass, primers etc. at this point. I have a buddy whose equipment I'll be using, but he isn't set up for 25-06 yet. Money isn't a huge concern, I'm more interested in the result. My buddy would like for me to use a light grain bullet in the 75-85 range. He's a great shot. I'm not quite there yet. I've been shooting with 120. Any comments would be greatly appreciated. I've been told every rifle likes a different load so I thought I would look for anybody with same rifle. Thanks in advance!

harter66

Even the next or last SN will shoot a differnt load . had good success with 117 grn sierra's it's a sp flat base. The charge of4831 is 55 grns . Gives around 3000 fps , 4895 shows a max of 43.5 for 2900.

petrey10

I would just go with the heaviest Nosler silver bullets they have which I think is 110..... Great bullet and I use it with alot of success in my 25-06....I use the 85 gr bullet and have hit a railroad tie at 465 yards.Great choice in caliber

North Texan

For powders, IMR 4350 would be a good place to start. I started with that when I started reloading for my .25-06, and it has always done well in my gun.

I've had decent results with Nosler Accubonds (117 gr). I have several other bullets I need to work loads up for, just haven't gotten around to it yet.

My favorite load is a 75 gr. Hornady V-Max pushed by IMR 4350. It shoots great in my gun, and since I'm a coyote hunter anyway, it makes great coyote medicine wwwayyy out there.

willie78

Thanks for the info! Has anybody shot deer with the 75gr v-max. My friend uses them for his .257 Roberts and loves them. I know a lot of people consider this a varmint and coyote round only. Open to all opinions.As for the powder, I think it will be either the 4350 or 4895. Has anybodyhad any trouble with certain brands of primers for the 25-06.Thanks for the help!

herman

I got the load below from another friend on here,I think he had 4or5 in one hole,and he was shooting a remington but it worked the same in my tikka and worked good on a nice 8 pointer last season.
You may want to try it for deer.

North Texan

They aren't a round I would use for deer. The jacket is made for coyotes and varmints, which aren't very thick animals. So penetration isn't an issue. The bullet is designed to fragment rapidly in all directions. It makes a very wide wound channel, providing quick, clean kills. All of the bullet's energy is used up very quickly. Coyotes also don't have thick bones, so it doesn't take much to penetrate them.

For deer, you need more penetration than a V-Max provides. You need a bullet with a thicker jacket. You don't want a bullet that expends all of its energy within the first few inches. You want a bullet that retain its weight and energy for a foot or more. If you hit a deer in the shoulder, you want a bullet that can punch on through. The thin jacketed V-Max will fly apart, and you won't get reliable penetration. A thicker, heavier bullet will still have the copper jacket around it when it hits the shoulder. That copper jacket keeps the bullet together so that it remains true and penetrates.

I would try some Sierra Gamekings, Nosler Partions or Accubonds, Hornady Interlocks, Barnes Triple Shocks, or some similar game bullets.

HighDesertWolf

Impressive my friend!!

herman

Thanks wolf,I get lucky sometimes.I can still do good at 100 yds on targets but this old body and eyes are starting to show at 300 yds.Last week I had a very good day with groups at 300 but here lately I have more bad days than good days.
willie78,you asked about primers when I get a load I want to keep that really shoots good I try different brands of primers,sometimes even go from reg to mag and vice versa,to see which primer does the best with that load,but to start with I use the primer listed in the manuel for that load.Have seen just changeing the primer the groups open up to inches,some not much,some not any at all.This is for shooting less than MOA,but for a good deer load its not that much difference.

stubblejumper

I personally would not use the v-max for any big game hunting.It is designed as a varmint bullet that opens very rapidly and sacrifices penetration as a result.