.25/06 Remington in Africa

[Quaticman]

Is there a place for the .25/06 on safari? If so what species of game would it excel at and in your opinion what species of game would be the limit?

 

[PARA45]

I'd say yes, and would say warthog, impala, spring buck, bushbuck, to name a few. I personally wouldn't hunt eland, kudu, gemsbuck, zebra with one, and not sure if a PH would let you. My 2 cents.

 

[R.M.C.]

I second what para45 said

 

[JimP]

With premium bullets I would be quite capable. It has no problems with elk here in the US but you have to be a good shot to put the bullet where it is needed and hope that you don't hit a heavy bone.

 

[Waterbuck2008]

Everything but the heavyweights. Bullet and propellant advancements make the .25-06 a lot more versatile than the pronghorn and deer round it was originally intended as.

 

[One Day...]

Absolutely!
Anything up to ~500 lbs.
Likely one of the very best non-belted calibers for light & medium PG and mountain game before the introduction of the 26 Nosler.
I had a most successful PG safari with its bigger brother the .257 Wby 100 gr TTSX. It produced a long string of dead-right-there, complete pass-through, 100 to 300 yards one-shot-kills up to and including Roan.
It is one of my two PG do-it-all barrels on my Blaser R8: .257 Wby 100 gr TTSX up to 500 lbs.; .300 Wby 165 gr TTSX up to 1,000 lbs. (.375 H&H then .470 NE after that).

 

[C.W. Richter]

'Love .257 caliber ('had 'em all,) but 2506 wouldn't be my first choice for a more versatile caliber on opportunistic larger PG shots. Fine if you have a "bag of barrels" gun for the little stuff, but it wouldn't be my first choice on wildebeest/zebra/kudu etc. as they are elk size, but with much heavier musculature. The SD of most .257 bullets is also not ideal for penetration on angling shots (yeah, they have the 130ish grainers now, but they don't fly so well with most factory rifle twists.) As I love customized bolt-action rifles (with one dedicated bbl, excepting the Dakota travelers,) I wouldn't want to haul a 3rd rifle in .257 if some of the bigger stuff were on license (which is more often the case these days.) .257 is an excellent varmint-deer-sheep caliber in the US. I'd much rather prefer a hot 6.5-7-30-338 (or even a 375 in some cases) for PG in Africa. Read Kevin Robertson's books and see what he says about same.... As mentioned above, the .257 Wby is a cannon in that caliber (similar results with a .257 Ackley Improved) and can do the job, but there are calibers much better suited for the often much-tougher-to-kill African game. I'd consider a HOT 6.5 (not a needmore) or 757 (better yet 757 AI) the minimum for the job. Good luck! -My $0.257

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

Is there a place for the .25/06 on safari? If so what species of game would it excel at and in your opinion what species of game would be the limit?

@Quaticman
With the right bullet like the 100grain Barnes TTSX or 120 grain AFRAME I would say go ahead and have zebra as your upper limit.
This is providing you place your shots with surgical precision. No animal will survive with a decent hole thru BOTH lungs and heart destroyed. Check with your PH and see what they think tho.
A friend of mine shoots mountain brumbies with a 25/06 and 120 grain federal fusions and that seems to work well for him. Very rarely needs a second shot.
Bob

 

[R.M.C.]

I'd feel a whole lot better with a 30.06 in my hands against a zebra out in the real world . Being precise in real world conditions is tough sometimes . To each his own though.

 

[Dr Ray]

I'd feel a whole lot better with a 30.06 in my hands against a zebra out in the real world . Being precise in real world conditions is tough sometimes . To each his own though.

So would I

 

[meigsbucks]

The .25/06 is a wonderful round, but in Africa, IMO impala, blesbok, warthog, springbok and the like are more in it’s wheelhouse than zebra and kudu. I wouldn’t want to be stalking an impala and encounter the eland of my dreams with a .25/06 in my hands.
Yes with premium bullets and great placement it can take on larger animals. However, I wouldn’t use it as my primary PG rifle. You’re traveling half way around the world and spending a chunk of change, why handicap yourself? Add to that, if you draw blood you pay or spend precious hunting time tracking wounded game. However, coupled with something bigger like a .30 or .338 (or Bob’s beloved .35 Whelen) you’d have a nice PG combo.
If it’s a DG and PG hunt you’d definitely need to couple it with a .375 or bigger and plan on primarily using the larger round for the majority of your hunting.

 

[JimP]

On my first safari I thought about taking my 25-06 along with my. 340 Weatherby but then I thought about the above case scenario of having my 25-06 in hand when I needed the power of the. 340.

I left the 25-06 at home.

 

[TOBY458]

I would do what @Bob Nelson 35Whelen usually recommends, and choose a 243 Winchester with 80gr Hornady bullets. This should work for anything up to and including Giraffe. Lol!
On a serious note, I used a 25/06 with the 100gr TSX on a very big bodied Whitetail out in Kansas a few years ago. Body weight was close to 300 lbs. Complete pass through, and the buck never made it 20 yards. As with anything else, shot placement and bullet integrity are the most important thing.

 

[James Cook]

Agree with most of the above. 25-06 good for lighter PG, but not larger PG. The X factor in Africa - expect the unexpected - when you're hunting, you never know what trophy you may cross paths with. Better to have a gun in your hands that can handle the largest PG on your target list, than a lighter caliber that isn't up to the job.

 

[Happy Myles]

Africa is a huge continent. Where are you thinking of going? What will you be hunting? I would leave the 25/06 home and take something like a 30/06 for plains game. You will be able to borrow a 375 if your PH thinks you need it.

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

I would do what @Bob Nelson 35Whelen usually recommends, and choose a 243 Winchester with 80gr Hornady bullets. This should work for anything up to and including Giraffe. Lol!
On a serious note, I used a 25/06 with the 100gr TSX on a very big bodied Whitetail out in Kansas a few years ago. Body weight was close to 300 lbs. Complete pass through, and the buck never made it 20 yards. As with anything else, shot placement and bullet integrity are the most important thing.

@TOBY458
You are very funny Toby. The only thing I would reccomend the 24loaded with 80 grainers is when you pull the trigger it will listen the soil around the barrel so you can get it out of the garden so you can use it for a flower stake when the tomatoes stop growing.
Bob