25-06! especially if you're planning on keeping it forever. see it like this. a 25-06 is a perfect gun for deer, antelope, pronghorn, etc. you can shoot elk with it. the flat trajectory of the bullet is that of a 22-250 and has the knockdown power like a 270. the recoil is minimal. less than the 270. if you wanted to teach your kid to shoot a rifle, a 270 might be too big to have a 10 to 15 year old kid learn from. it has recoil and if a kid gets afraid or startled by recoil, they're not going to make consistent shot groups on paper. they will anticipate recoil and then you'll be wishing you had a smaller caliber. it's GREAT for varmints. the grain weight of bullets ranges from about 70 to 140. need i say more? really, a 270 kills everything as rabbitpolice stated. but in my opinion it's a little bit too big. i can handle the recoil of a 270 just perfectly but it's noticeable. 270 is a great caliber, but in my opinion the 25-06 is greater. im buying a gun soon and i've already decided it's going to be a Ruger M77 Hawkeye Standard in 25-06. 25-06 is a great caliber. nuff said.

I'll say it again and again: A .25 caliber anything is not a proper elk cartridge. Yeah, yeah, I know, you or somebody you know has killed a rhino or moose with a .22 so that make a .25 good enough.

.25-06 is perfect for deer, speed goats, sheep, varmints, etc, but not for elk.

25-06 all the way... no doubt! I grew up with both a 25-06 and a .270... both great rifles. I rarely shot the .270 and have shot easily over 40,000 rounds out of the various 25-06s I've owned. I never did it intentionally, I guess I just always grabbed the rifle that I thought gave me the edge for the task at hand. If I was shooting praire dogs or targets, I liked the low recoil so I could shoot as many as 500 rounds a day without developing a flinch. Both are pretty flat shooting but for prairie dogs, the 25-06 was flatter and that gave me an edge. For running foxes, coyotes, antelope and deer, the speed of the 25-06 gave me an edge, it was fast enough that the bullet hit where the cross hairs were on all but the very long shots. With the .270, I had to lead them. I could actually really never tell the difference in the killing power once I hit something.. both knocked everything dead that it hit. I for one, would have no doubt about elk hunting with either. With the premium bullets available today, no elk will survive a vital hit with either as long as it is from within 300 yards or so. Now for me, I have never shot an elk and that didn't play into my experience as you can see. If I elk hunt, I will probably take my .300 Dakota so that I can maintain over a ton of energy out to 600 yards or so. Both the .270 and 25-06 peter out after about 300 yards for something the size of an elk. By the way, if I go shooting Kudu and Gemsbock, I will probably do the same thing unless I use my .375 just for the fun of it. The point is, the 25-06 isn't the best for everything, just the things that people do in U.S. lower 48 states. I would also note that had I fired my 40,000+ rounds out of my .270 rather than the 25-06, I suspect that I would be a cripple today.

I grew up in Alaska hunting moose and bear. I've never fired a 270, but I can tell you that with proper shot placement the 25-06 will do the job and do it WELL! If any of you know the size of Alaskan moose I'm sure your aware that if it'll drop one of them an elk would be no problem. I'd NEVER take that out for bear, for that I always used my Browning BAR in 300 win mag. I know guys that shoot really big guns and I see their shoulders afterwards. I am confident that there is no game in north America that a 300 win mag won't suffice for, notthat the recoil from that is anything to scoff at, but it's no 375.

Well then, tell us all how many elk you have killed with your .25-06.

wait. i said WELL SAID to infantry because he made a good point. ammunition technology has developed so much, that the need for such a large caliber isn't as important as it is to put the bullet in the vitals. so go with the 25-06 also because it's a cheaper bullet if that means anything to you because shot placement means alot now. i know for a fact that you can kill elk with 25-06. i also know that a 270 probably would do a better job, but with great shot placement, both will suffice.

@Reid Jones

Not to say that the .35 Whelen is a light kicker, since I have had several people who have fired it complain about the recoil. It just doesn't come at you quite as fast nor furiously as a .338 Win Mag.

Since my .338 experience, I have never been a serious magnum fan. However, after shooting my son's 7mm Rem Mag on numerous occasions, I have softened my personal dislike for them. But since I have a lightweight .30-06 with a 24" barrel, the 7mm Rem Mag doesn't provide a quantum leap in capability. But since reading Petzal's test of the new FNH made Winchester Model 70, I am considering a Featherweight (which aren't very light) in .300 Win Mag as a classic combination. Don't ask me why because I don't have a reason other than " I think want it". I killed my first deer and elk with a .308 Win and know several serious Montana and Idaho elk hunters that hunt with one.

"It's all good". Some just better ;-)

good choice

I had a Savage 112V in 25-06 with a fluted heavy barrel and 4x16 Bushnell scope. It weighed 12 lbs...too heavy for a good hunting rifle, but on a very windy day (~25+ mph 90 degree crosswind), I pulled out a 1/2" group at 500 yards. A buddy who is an excellent marksman was shooting a Remington 700 moa rifle that same day, and had a hard time keeping them on the paper. Also, with my Mauser 96 North American with a Redfield 2x7 Scope, I shot a 3 1/2" group at 600 yards, and that rifle only weighs in about 7 lbs. IMHO, the 25-06 the premium long range cartridge, and with Nosler 120 partitions will bring down anything you need to.

depends on what you will use the gun for. i would go with 30-06, the range of bullet grains is so great it will do anything and everything these calibers will do.

Reid, Nobody should be shooting elk with a .22-250 or deer with a .17, and i'm sure it is illegal to do so, and stupid to brag about too. The differences between a .270 and a .25-06 are negligible, but the .270 is better for elk or bear due to heavier bullets available. Both are very fine calibers.

One without the other doesn't work. Or rather will make for a whole bunch of work ie; tracking a wounded animal.

Yah, got me that .338 20 years ago and sold that kicking mule before I ever got it zeroed in at the range. Got me a .35 Whelen and never looked back.

ALL calibers have their limits;strengths and weaknesses such range limits, or excessive recoil! I still think it safe to assume, however; that experience speaks louder then words. Having said this, if a WA or DP type hunter with more then a few "hoofs" under there belt suggests a certain caliber or bullet for game animal I'm gonna listen to them as giving me saged advice!

Clay-
You prefer the 25/06 over the .270 for BIG GAME in general, or the 25 being more flexible for varmint and BG?

300 is a kickin son of a gun.

WAM, Clay

Have either one of you had any experience with the .300 H&H?
I'm like WAM and his Mod 70 in .300 WM. I don't need it, I just want it!! LOL!!
I want a Ruger No. 1 in .300 H&H!!
How is recoil?

Bubba

I would go with Reid Jones with the 25-06, but I must agree with WAM, the 25-06 is a stretch for Elk for the average shooter! Personally, 30-06 would be my choice, but my 338 Win Mag would be my 1st choice and 30-06 as backup. Take down the M1 Garand and rap it up good in a 55 gal yard bag and toss it into my pack on back of my ATV for backup.

West of Mississippi .270. On the east side gotta have the 25.

I just purchased a 25-06 on steriods (.257 weatherby Mag.) and it is a real pleasure to shoot and the accuracy is outstanding. I think I would feel comfortable shooting about anything(except big bears) with it with the proper bullet. Heck Roy even took the .257 to Africa and killed a Cape Buffalo with it, I don't know if I would go quite that far.

Clay,
I was sure that you keep saying that the 25-06 would kill anything. What are you doing carrying that canon into the woods.

I purchased a Vanguard Deluxe. It is a beautiful rifle and it shoots quite well. I would have liked to have had a Mark V but just couldn't justify the price tag. It is the same rifle that I gave up last year and was lucky enough to get it back. The guy who had it put a scope on it sighted it in and sat it in his gun safe and then decided it was trading material and it returned to my gunsmith and gun dealer. Cabelas has a Vanguard now that has a lazermark stock on it but the only place you can buy it is at Cabelas. There isn't a store very close to me and I was happy to get the one I had back because I knew how it shot.

If you're too busy to shoot or fish, you're too busy.

I found out this afternoon that it didn't like the Accubonds. Back to the reloading bench.

I have not found the perfect powder and load for 110 gr Accubonds for my .257 Roberts either. My .35 Whelen loves them.

Yea I say the 270 hits harder and the 25-06 shoots farther so I really don't no!!! I think the 270 shoots better but I dought that it really doesn't matter at all. I think some peoples opions the that the 270 shoots better but it really doesnt matter!!!???!!?!?!

I went to the range with my buddy last year. He was shooting his .270, me a 25-06. Before he finished his box of 20 rounds (140g hunting bullets), he quit shooting because of a sore shoulder. I had shot about a 100 rounds by that time. His shoulder was badly bruised and he was unhappy. He tried my 25-06 shooting 75g and 100g bullets. He was shocked at the lack of recoil and proceded to shoot another 50 rounds or so. You can't tell the difference between these two when you hit a deer but your shoulder knows the difference. I also notice the speed difference with the 75g bullets on varmints.

beathie1996, I've shot quite a few foxes with the 25-06 using bullets weighing 75g, 87/90g, and 100g. Occassionally, I see a clean passthrough with a 1/4 inch exit hole. Typically, however, with ballistic tips or hollow points, there is pretty severe damage to the pelt. If you use a 25-06, full metal jackets will just poke a nice hole and are really optimum. Fox are so small and thin skinned that I actually prefer a .223 40g or 50g VMax bullet for them unless your range is over 400 yards.

I've owned a couple of .270's and .30-06's and I don't care for them. I think they kick too hard for my comfort level. I will admit I'm a fan of the .243 Winchester with a good scope and a bullet like the Barnes TSX and the Nosler Partition, or one of the 95 grain bullets inside 200 yards, I could drop a muley doe or a cow elk with a shot to the neck and not ruin any of the tasty meat that one of those beautiful creatures provides.