The 25-06 deer

[Greg Nolan]

The trip is over and the mule deer is history but the 25-06 debate lives on. From the deer's standpoint it worked but required a lot of hobbling around before he was put out of his misery. The shop placement wasn't the best for sure. At 300+ yards downhill I was hoping for the shoulder but the quartering away ended up with a hit to the rear hip. It blew him down and I thought it was over but he rolled down the hill and to his feet out of sight. There was no blood and I spent about an hour in ever larger circles. He was about 300 yards away making for the bottom of the canyon still going. Upon examination the hip and both hams were blown. The bullet front portion blew up and the rear portion passed through.
The 120 gr. Partition would have been dynamite on a chest shot. I will not use it again for mule deer. I think the 300 wsm with a 165 or 180 AccuBond would have had enough mass and energy to put the rear hip completely out of commision. Just my opinion based on the premise that I normaly only get one shot at a legal animal per season and it may be at a difficult angle at long range. It seems to work out that way for me. Still a dead buck is a dead buck and the rest is just opinion. Here's pictures of the head. It was a long hard pack out from where the deer ended up so I boned it out. The board attachment quota has been reached so I'll add the pictures when it lets me.
Greg

 

[SJB358]

Great report Greg, glad you were able to recover the deer. Really makes a good example of when having some extra mass wouldn't hurt anything.

 

[DrMike]

Things don't always go as we plan. Such times justify the expenditure for a premium bullet. Glad you got him, Greg. I've tracked a few as well.

 

[Ridgerunner665]

I once witnessed a similar shot on a large whitetail...the rifle in question was a Savage 110 in 270 shooting 130 grain BT's.

It was a bad shot from the start...300 yards at a running deer, not running full bore...but running.

My buddy didn't lead enough and at the shot I saw the near side ham nearly get blown completely off the deer. It went down and stayed down because the bullet did put the rear end out of commission...but it wasn't pretty, the deer was still alive and flopping around like a fish out of water (trying to get up).

As it happens...I finished it with my 25-06 because my buddy had some trouble with his rifle...those loads were hot and it stuck his bolt, LOL...we were young and brave, still learning this reloading thing back then. He noticed the bolt lift was stiff on some of them when he worked them up, but they were very accurate and he wanted to use the load...I forget the charge but it was IMR 4350 powder (another of the lessons that sold me on the Extreme powders)

The 25-06 is plenty for mule deer, as has been discussed...but it may be lacking the SD and bullet construction for those "not so good" shot angles.

 

[Oldtrader3]

That is why I went back to the .270 Winchester, 130 gr Partition. I used the .25-06, 120 Partition load for a few deer and it just did not take them out with the same elan as my .270 Win did. That extra 10 grains of bullet, more ballistic coefficient and a little more velocity just did the job better, particularly at 300 yards plus. This was in southern Utah where the average shot was at altitudes of 8000 to 10000 ft and distances of 300 yards plus.

I also used the 7mm Rem Mag, 160 Partition and the .300 H&H, 165 Partition occasionally, both of which cleaned deer's clocks, DRT at any range. however my main deer rifle was the .270 Win, Model 70, Super Grade. I liked the .25-06 but it just did not kill deer quite as surely as my .270 Win did. With the .25-06 the deer would stand and look at me for a minute or so with the high lung shot. With the .270 Win and the same shot, the deer DRT'ed much more dramatically.

 

[Ridgerunner665]

Every whitetail I shot with the 25-06 dropped like a rock...except one, and that was my fault, not the caliber...the shot was taken at about 50 feet, I went for a heart shot but forgot to allow for the scope height (big scope, tall mounts...haven't owned one since)...long story short, thats the only deer I've ever shot that I couldn't find...a few bow kills took until the next day, but I always found them.

I looked for 9 days, took off work and everything...no deer, there was good blood for about 200 yards...it was there that I found a big clot of blood about the size of an apple...then NOTHING!

I hunted with factory ammo in the 25-06 back then because none of my reloads could match the accuracy of the Hornady Custom ammo in that rifle...117 grain BTSP's.

 

[Guy Miner]

Edited - too many danged words.

Guy

 

[onesonek]

In this case a .30 mag of some kind may have made the difference. Most know, I'm generally in the larger caliber camp for the most part. My own 1/4 bore went by the wayside to a 6.5 mm, not that I didn't trust it however. And the .30's are my favorite on the whole. But also a couple inches difference, it could have been worse, no matter what you hit it with. With the same thought, a couple inches and the .25-06, it may very well be a DRT, and most would be praising it. Bigger harder hitting don't necessarily guarantee the outcome with this situation. Hard angles are a pita, and a risk no matter how the pie is sliced.
With that I'm sorry to hear murphy's law snuck up and bit you. It has happened to the best of us, me included. And at the same time, I'm very glad you found the animal. But this was a placement issue more than caliber used. Without knowing the precise impact point and angle it is hard top say from here,, but again a couple inches it could be worse, regardless of what .30 mag used, or other for that matter. When you miss the vitals, or major circulatory, and or major bone, and or CNS, things tend to go badly,,,,I feel for you. But I certainly wouldn't discount the .25-06 from this experience.

 

[Greg Nolan]

The blame for the crummy results rests soley with my crummy shot. The 25-06 knocked the deer down handily. There's a combination of things that I've become a believer in. A slower expanding bullet in a big enough caliber to give me the retained weight I want to use on the animal in a big enough caliber to ensure maximum penetration and damage without penciling thru with little energy transfer. It has never failed. I hit an cow elk with that same last ditch effort shot as she's droping over the ridge. It was with the 375 RUM with 160 gr. AccuBond. Same hit in the hip. She cleared the ridge and dissapeared. 10 minutes later I got over the ridge. She was gone. Until she stood up and slowly limped. I put her down easily. I believe if I had used a 7 mag or equivelent with a 140 gr. Partition I would have had the same outcome as with the 25-06 on the deer. She would have been long gone and tracking would have been tough. I guess I'm just not a good enough shot to take the chance anymore.
I can't post the pictures. I think I had the camera in the 5 megapixels mode and it might be too big. Certainly bigger than the 3 point buck is. You didn't miss much.

 

[FOTIS]

Glad you recovered it Greg!

 

[Mountain Goat]

Many times it's the rifle and/or cartridge that gives us the most confidence that makes the difference. Since your confidence is shaken with the 25-06, it might be more difficult for you to make a good shot on game with that rifle in the future. We all have reasons why our favorites are our favorites as well as why we have our dislikes. Sometimes our stories coincide while other times they conflict. I'm just glad that from Hornet to Tyrannosaur we all have camp stories to share.