25-06 Enough Gun?

[Mntngoat]

I am thinking of picking up a Ruger #1 in 25-06 (Songdogs fault he brought his to Wister for me to drool over) for hogs here in California. Do you think it is enough for up to 200 lb. pigs. I am intersted in a food pig not necesarily a trophy.

Thanks for the help

Michael:confused-yellow:

 

[Kickaha]

Mntngoat,

Look at the "Can u help me out" thread here.  There's a lot of good information and opinions there.

 

[shaginator]

This is similar to the following recent thread:

http://www.jesseshuntingpage.com/cgi-bin/i...5&topic=125

Discusses the .243 and hogs. .25-06 seems just marginally better.

There are #1's in .300 and above. Take a look:

http://www.ruger-firearms.com/rfsingle.html

Whatever you decide, #1's are indeed nice rifles.

(Edited by shaginator at 8:24 pm on Mar. 6, 2002)

 

[Bill W]

Personally I think a 25-06 is fine for hogs.  I think it's on the bottom end of "fine", but still in the "fine" category.

A 25-06 has quite a bit more juice than a 243.  The muzzle energy on a factory 243 load is 1945 ftlbs, while its 2400 ftlbs with the 25-06.  That's a 20% increase.  More importantly the heaviest bullet available in the 243 is only 100 grains.  You can get a 120 grain bullet for the 25-06.  That should spell substantially more penetration with the right bullets.

JMO
Bill

 

[Speckmisser]

First, I'd direct you to the same thread that everyone else has pointed out.  There are a lot of really good points made there, both pro and con.  

I'm not real familiar with the 25-06, except to know it's a really good deer round and offers a somewhat heavier bullet.  I expect it'd perform more consistently on hogs than the .243.  

But deer aren't pigs, and the same features that'll drop a thin skinned, light-boned deer will only irritate a hog.  

Following that, I'd direct you to the DFG's hog hunting handbook (you can download it in PDF format, or you can request a copy in the mail for free), which includes a chart of recommended hog hunting calibers.  It's simply a rule of thumb kind of thing, and certainly not all-inclusive.  But according to that chart, even the .308 is considered "light" for hogs at "range".  

The thing is, you say you're only looking for "meat" pigs, but does that mean you'd pass up a shot on a 300 lb tusker when he trots by flashing his 3.5" daggers?  Or at 150-200 yards, all you see is big, brown animal under an oak tree.  Is it 150lbs or 300?  Do you walk away because you aren't sure your gun can kill it?  

It'd be in your own best interest to make sure your gun is not just "on the bottom end of fine", but plenty fine.  And of course, on the other hand, you're better off with a really sweet shooting gun that you can handle well, than a shoulder-breaker that makes you close your eyes when you pull the trigger.  

It's starting to seem to me that this discussion is going to become more and more like the ongoing discussion of the "best deer round".  That one's been raging for over a century now, and there's still no definitive answer.  

 

[SDHNTR]

I've got one and while I got it for deer and not for pigs it will certainly do the job.  "On the bottom end of fine" is probably a good way to describe it for hogs.  If you want one fine, but I would not buy a .25 specifically for hogs.  There are better choices.  90% of the hogs you will see will be under 225lbs or so and it would be fine out to 300 yds with a good shot.  But Speckmisser made a good point, if a 300lb mean old muther appears you'll want more lead.  I usually take my 30-06 hog hunting (or my old .300 savage, or my .54 cal muzzleloader) but I'm taking my 25-06 on the Santa Cruz Island because its lighter and the pigs are smaller.  If you have you're heart set on a Ruger #1 for just pigs look at the 308.  If you want one primarily for deer and varmits, that will also take a pig, then your choice of 25-06 is a good one.

 

[wmidbrook]

Pig are tougher than you think.  Yes something in a .22 cal will work and I've heard of some being taken with a .22-250 shot behind the ear--I know of a rancher's neighbor who takes pig with a .25 cal but he's lost a few over the years.

 A rancher friend of mine just shot a pig a few days ago with a .270 in the boiler room with a 130 gr Nosler partition.  It flipped the 200 lb sow on her back and it's feet were flailing a bit and rolled into a ditch.  He's shot many pig, had a rest and knew he connected well.

My buddy walked about the 100 yds to the ditch and there was no pig to be found.  The blood trail stopped @ about 30 yds away.  He figures it went into thick grease brush another 100 or 200 yds away...He didn't find the pig.

I've shot a 'little' 100 lb boar with my 150 grain Sierra BTSP handloads out of my 30-06.  First shot through the lungs...it was down.  A minute later it lifts up it's head.  I shoot again hitting it in the head.  A few minutes later as I am walking towards it it jumps up and I shoot it offhand in the boiler room it's down for good.  

The shot at the head travel 5 inches along its snout and deflected before penetrating its skull...I have pictures of this and will post when I get a new scanner.

They are tough.  I will never use less than 180 gr premium bullet , nice 'n warm handload with my '06 again.  In fact, I'm thinking of only using a .338 mag for pigs when I get one.  



(Edited by wmidbrook at 6:33 pm on Mar. 7, 2002)

 

[songdog]

Two things...

One, if you can shoot it well, a .25-06 would kill a pig plenty dead.

Two, and maybe this is a topic for another thread but...  Very little big game (pigs, deer, elk, antelope, etc.) will drop on the spot even when hit with a perfect shot that takes out the heart and both lungs.  Many times they don't realize that they're dead and still run 50-200 yards.

So the question is how good are you at finding game that goes more than that first 10 yards after being hit?  What are your secrets?

I know for myself that when I started bowhunting it made me a better rifle hunter when it comes to finding game after you've shot it.  

I think that a lot of this caliber vs. that caliber stuff boils down to people's ability to find game after it's been shot.  Just an opinion...

 

[Speckmisser]

Songdog,

Gotta give that one an AMEN!

You've seen my posts in other areas enough to know how I feel about following up the shot with tracking skills... and how important it is to consider recovery BEFORE the shot.  

As I've said before (and won't go on about now), finding sign after a 300 to 500 yard shot is a slim bet for most hunters.  Once you stretch past 500, it's gonna take a lot of luck just to find where the critter was standing when you shot...much less picking up blood or spoor.  

One more real good reason to use enough gun.  :soapbox: