I agree with all of you guys - I've had a 25-06 in my safe since about 1975.
I was raised on "big boomers" like the .300 Winchester and the .300 Weatherby Magnums - with the 30-06 being my "light" gun growing up.
Then, I had the chance to shoot the 25-06. I couldn't believe the apparent lack of recoil. Soon, I took to shooting the heads off of Blue grouse, with my 25-06 for camp supper - due to the fact it was so easy to do. I took no mental concentration whatsoever. Being that my favorite 25-06 is a heavy long-barreled Browning Bolt-action rifle (a fat bolt design - that looks like a Weatherby take off) the lack of recoil (even with hot loads) is so evident - it has to be tried to be believed.
I've shot more deer than I can count, plus some big bears, caribou, moose and elk with mine.
The 25-06 never let me down - even on the big stuff. But then, I have to admit - I never shot anything big without using either the 120 grain Nosler Partition or the 115 grain Barnes X's (or Barnes's other variations of that bullet) - and I've never lost an animal due to the lack of caliber or bullet weight. The 100 grain bullet was my "deer" bullet. With all of these bullets, if I hit it - it died.
In shooting the 25-06 compared to the big .300 magnums - I found the trajectory of the bullets to be the same, and when using premium bullets, the game seems to drop just as quick, but the recoil seems so slight (particularly in a heavier rifle)to be so slight as to enable pin-point accuracy without regular practice or without any mental effort or concentration. Also, shooting three shot groups into an inch and a half (at three hundred yards)just makes me want to shoot even more.
In short - I love the round!
Try one - I'm sure you'll love it too.
