Well what combos are you currently trying or tried??? I have tons of data for a 25-06 with virtually every bullet weight that will shoot 1 inch or better, usually .4"-.7" Thats very surprising to me you are having great difficulty getting a Tikka to shoot under 1 inch. I thought they had a 1 inch guaruntee from the factory?? With reloads that should not be a problem. What bullet weights are you preferring??
Need a higher grain for Muleys and a small grian for varmits just grabed some 110 AccuBond ,need a load for that also. love this caliber shot a Moose with it this year.
I have found that the 25-06 is usually an easy cailber to find a load to shoot in. I have had the best luck using IMR 4831 sparked by a standard primer for bullets from 75-100 grains, and using IMR 7828 lit up by a magnum primer for bullets from 115 to 120 grains.
There are other things that work well, such as H 4350 or RL 22, but this seems to simplify things for me.
Your last post suggests you might want some heavier bullet loads. I have shot great groups and had good success on game when using either the 115 grain Nosler Ballistic Tip or the Sierra 117 grain Pro Hunter.
I am surprised the 117 grain Pro Hunter came apart on you.
I have shot a couple deer and a couple wild hogs with them and have had no problems.
All the bullets were complete pass throughs with great performance inside the animals.
One of the deer was only 50 yards but then the bullet only encountered ribs and soft lung tissue and heart.
Maybe the 115 BT would do better, I am not sure. I shot an antelope right in the shoulder this fall at maybe 125 yards. Perfect performance, not hardly any bloodshot meat at all. Again, a pass through so no bullet to examine.
Having said that, the 115 grain Partition is certainly "tougher" than either of those bullets.
It would make a good choice for any .257 caliber rifle on a big old tough mule deer.
I have a lot of loads for the 115g BT's. I used this bullet for most of my "go to" hunting load. For some reason, I just keep coming back to this bullet when its deer season. Maybe its because its the best deer bullet for the 25-06. You should not be dissappointed with this bullet at all from 100-600 yards. I have shot quite a few muleys with this bullet and most drop on the spot dead. I have found no bullet to recover, although I know BT's hold together better than core lokts, believe it or not. I always aim for the shoulder to break it and anchor game on the spot. I have never had a poroblem doing this with the 115g BT. The 117g SBT gave me a poroblem the first buck I shot with it, bullet did not exit at 200 yards and it was a mess. A nice stiff load of RL-22, or IMR-4350, or IMR-7828 gets the job done with the 115g BT. It is an amazingly accurate bullet, with a higher BC then most hunting bullets of its kind for caliber. I dont think you need a Partition for deer, but thats just my opinion.
