25-06 and 90gr. Sierra HPBT.

[SJB358]

Between Guy, David and my little brothers, they seem to kill a whole bunch of stuff with their .257's. Enough to motivate me to hunt mine a little more. When my little brother got the 257 Wby a few years ago I loaded 120 PTs over a bit of RL25. As it stands right now he has claimed 5-6 deer and the other has taken 2 with it. Most of them don't typically collapse on the spot but make a quick 20-40 yard snow plow/dash and tip over. Probably could load a softer bullet but I do worry about them centering a front leg up close and not getting good penetration. Not a worry with the PT.

I'm watching how the load work goes with your 120's though E. They do have great BC for a .257 bullet and I'd bet an easy 3150 or so from them as well in a 24" barrel in a 25 Whelen.

 

[35 Whelen]

Yep, I am anxious to see what they do at 400 plus, course you will be the first tlo know , and as always I appreaciate all your help over the years Scotty, your de man!

 

[35 Whelen]

ET,
I reference to your comment on the reds in your area having some NZ wapiti in their blood? You might find Ken Tustins book"A wild moose chase" on spending 30 years of his life looking for proof they still exist in Fiordland, Ken was a helicopter pilot for Alpine for years, I did lots of flying with him, and spent some time examining tracks for them in the Dusky Sound area , I was never able to verify a legit Moose track down there,........ his book is very informative on what ever happened to them. I spent a bit of time hanging out the door of a Huges 500, shooting deer down there, mostly with 308's , but also used a little 6.5x55 to cartwheel some as well, when ground hunting. Found it to work nicely on Red Stags, with 139gr Normas.
Cheers
E

 

[filmjunkie4ever]

Earle -

My longest shot on deer with a .25-06 came a few years back. It was about 15 minutes before shooting light when I spied some deer out in some CRP we had on a ranch I was working on in Oregon. There were two 3 point bucks, nothing fancy but I wanted some meat. I was loaded up with my Remington 700 and the 120 grain Corelokt as I had been too busy for much handloading that summer. I cranked my Leupold up to 9x and took a rest over the hood of my farm truck. I guessed the range to be right at 400 yards though in the failing light and CRP I wasn't 100 percent sure. I raised the crosshairs up on the shoulder of the closest buck until I could just see light under the horizontal reticle. I squeezed off the shot and was momentarily blinded by the muzzle flash, but I heard the thump. I walked out there and found my 3-point hit high through the shoulder on-side and it exited behind the shoulder off-side. I'm 6'2'' tall and it was 390 paces back to the truck to drive out and get him.

I have shot a semi-truck load of coyotes with this rifle at various ranges both standing and moving. I have shot badgers, rock chucks, ground squirrels, and about 10 deer. Once I shot a crow out of the air with the .25-06 and 120 grain Corelokt. I only share that one because I had 3 witnesses. The 120 grain Corelokt is my favorite factory load by far (I was fully converted by the story above, where it was through and through at 400 yards). I have used many bullets over the years. Like any other caliber, if you'll use the right bullets for the right job, you'll not be disappointed.

It's been a good rifle for me, and I shoot it well.

Good luck Earle, we are all pulling for you -

Dale

 

[35 Whelen]

Dale,
Thank you for the kind words, I have no doubt the 25 Whelen is one heck of a cartridge! Your experiences with it only reinforce
That! I made a mistake trying to use the Pro Hunters for coyotes, that is certainly no reflection on the caliber. I have no doubt
Once I get these 90gr BlitzKings loaded up , we will have the songdog situation covered! And I am sure if you could always shoot these coyotes right thru both shoulders, the Pro Hunters would likely get you by........I am thinking the BlitzKings would not be anywhere near as specific were you need to hit them.
The Speer BT 120s are raved about by many long range hunters all over the country, that bullet has taken hundreds of big bucks At extreame distances for lots of hunters. I am confident the Speer is more than up to the task, of dispatching any deer in
Kansas if I can do my part.

 

[HomerOz]

G'Day Fella's,

JR1968, for many years (a while back now), I used this bullet (@ 3590 fps) to shoot a heap of critters including hundreds of Kangaroo's, along lots of Pigs and Goats.
They all died almost instantly!
Well, I've grown a bit older and wiser and these days I only shoot 100grn bullets through this same .25-06!
This includes 100 grn Nosler B/Tips and Barnes X type bullets.
I think any WT Deer you want to hunt, deserves a bit more bullet weight and robust construction, than the 90 grn Sierra!

Hope that helps

Doh!
Homer

 

[ElmerThud]

ET,
I reference to your comment on the reds in your area having some NZ wapiti in their blood? You might find Ken Tustins book"A wild moose chase" on spending 30 years of his life looking for proof they still exist in Fiordland, Ken was a helicopter pilot for Alpine for years, I did lots of flying with him, and spent some time examining tracks for them in the Dusky Sound area , I was never able to verify a legit Moose track down there,........ his book is very informative on what ever happened to them. I spent a bit of time hanging out the door of a Huges 500, shooting deer down there, mostly with 308's , but also used a little 6.5x55 to cartwheel some as well, when ground hunting. Found it to work nicely on Red Stags, with 139gr Normas.
Cheers E

Hmmm we're not sure about the wapiti element. It's all rumour & chinese whispers, however, it's reckoned in Galloway, Scotland that reds with a dark (black) horseshoe shaped hair marking (perhaps 2" broad) across the top back/rump of the reds, is a clear indication that wapiti blood exists in those beast. True or not, some red deer have this marking and are usually slightly larger deer than others that do not have this marking.
Maybe one day when I remember, I'll take a photo.
But, it's true to say I've never seen these marks on any highland red deer. Only in Galloway.
Cheers, ET

 

[efw]

There are too many far better options out there.

These are flimsy turds IME so I'll only use them on chucks & yotes but not deer. They pop from my 257 AI.

I've found a great load that hits similar speed & POI w/ this and the 90 gr GMX.

The 100 NBT, 110 NAB, 115 NBT & 115 NPT are all excellent options.

 

[35 Whelen]

In Kens book most of the areas they are looking for Moose is where the NZ Wapiti were , he has a degree in Wildlife biology,
And would certainly be interested in your theory, bet he could shed some light on those dark spots?

 

[ElmerThud]

The link should take you to a research document I found on the subject of 'wapiti' deer in Galloway. It seems there is validity to claims of wapiti blood in some red deer in Galloway, Scotland. I've heard these stories for 30+ years of stalking reds in Galloway, but they've always been disputed & no one I ever met/knew could substantiate the theory.

I took a look via Amazon at Tuskins book...priced at more than I want to spend.
Cheers, ET

http://nora.nerc.ac.uk/508462/1/O147362CR-6.pdf

Quote:
Lowe and Gardiner (1974) used multivariate methods on craniological
measurements to examine the relationships between different red deer
populations. They concluded that there were marked discontinuitiesbetween
the wild deer of Scotland,Irelandand north-westEngland with feral red deer
that had escaped or had been releasedfrom parks elsewherein England.Despite
introductionsinto Scottishforests they also concludedthat natural selection
favoured the native genes. However, this view is not universallyheld,
anecdotal evidence suggestingwapiti-likefeaturesin some populations (eg
8
antler shape, Darlingpers commun). Dratch (1983)used electrophoresisto
study different populationsof red deer. Two populationsfrom Galloway and
one from the Island of Rhum were very closelyrelated. He suggested that this
was due to all populationsbeing derived from 19th Century introductions,

 

[LVE2143]

The old Nosler Solid Base was by far the
best 100 grain bullet.
I shot more whitetail with it than all
others combined.
I've shot tons of bullets since then,
but have never found anything better

 

[35 Whelen]

Those old Nosler Solid base bullets , back in the day before bullets were bagged 50 in the bag, were sorta like CokeCola, they got it right the first time, here we are 40 years later and they have changed the jacket thickness a half dozen times on the BTs,
And we now have a bullet that is almost as good as the original solid base was! They call that progress? :?
As far as the original post, I think we have thrashed thru within the thread, that the 90gr hpbt is probably alot more suited to coyotes than it is to Elk..........
I will add that a sister bullet to it, the 90gr BlitzKing is an amazing performer on coyotes, especially at long ranges.
If there is a better bullet for 25 Whelen to shoot coyotes, I would have to see it! To believe it............. :wink: