Favorite 25-06 load for whitetail?

Tossing together a new deer rifle for this season. I've never hunted whitetail with a bullet so light. What loads have you had success with and what loads haven't you had success with? I'm most interested in what didn't work well for you. I'm thinking about trying Federal Premium Nosler Partition 115 GR if the gun likes them, or the Hornady American Whitetail BTSP 117 GR. Rifle has a 1 in 9.5" twist. Should I think about the 100 GR polymer tip stuff?

The Hornady 25-06 SST 117 grain groups the best for me in my Weatherby. I shoot this in 270 as well.

X2 on sst 117s they are the best shooting out of my sako

My gun likes the nosler red box 100gr partitions

Be not concerned about the "light" bullet of a 25-06.

The load I use is 52 grains of IMR 4831 or 53 grains of RL 19 under the Barnes 100 grain TSX BT. It's devastating on game. In my Browning B-78 either load will give me a five-shot average right at 3200 fps over the chronograph. The IMR groups are typically around one-inch for five-shot at 100 yards, with the RL 19 loads typically sub one-inch.

Below is a picture of a 100 grain Barnes X-Bullet (the predecessor of the TSX) recovered from a 170 lb. buck shot at 190 yards. The deer was North bound. The bullet entered the left ham and was recovered under the skin of the right shoulder. All of the deer I've shot with the TSX were broadside. None of those bullets were recovered because they were all pass throughs.

Bullet Options: http://www.barnesbullets.com/bullets/tsx/

Load Data: http://www.barnesbullets.com/files/2014/11/25-06Remington.pdf

I've had good luck with 100gr tsx at 3300, I wish someone would load the 80gr ttsx

IMO, the 25/06 is about perfect for Texas deer.

I like 120s at about 3000... flat trajectory, low recoil, and good bullet performance from plain ol' cup n core bullets.

No love for the soft points? lol I'll see what Cabela's has this week.

Ive had pretty luck with the Hornady American Whitetail. No issues at all.

Started hunting with the 25-06 last year. Took 3 deer with it, all with the hornaday sst 117 gr.

I did shoot and hit three coyotes with the rifle too, one died on the spot, other two were flank shot and ran off with good blood trails and all that but wasn't interested in tracking them so much.

Fed Premium 100 grain ballistics, mainly because the shoot and group well out of my 25/06 TC.

Remington Core Lock 120 grain

Killed a LOT of them growing up with 80g sofpoints..
they work fine on even big south Texas whitetails..

My dad used to say "deer just aren't that hard to kill"

80 or 100... both are good size bullets for WT.. I like 100gr loads in my .270 also

110gr my bad

I've been shooting the 25-06 for some time - it's a great caliber and plenty for deer. However, I have found that most 25-06 guns can be very finicky with ammo. So, find out what works best with your gun and stick with it. Especially when you go over 100gr with the 25-06, depending on your gun, some funky things begin to happen.

For example, my gun will shoot ANY 80-100gr cartridge with extreme accuracy, and I can switch from ammo to ammo brand/bullet with virtually no zero drift at 100 yards. However, once I get to the 115-120gr ammo, my gun has issues grouping. Not bad, but it is definitely there. With 120gr core-lokt, I could not get groupings tighter than 4-5", even when the gun was bolted down in a rest. I had mixed results with 115-117gr ammo.

For MY gun, the HSM Berger VLD round has been excellent, with consistent 1/4" groupings from 100-200 yards. The VLD bullet packs a wallop too - and have taken several animals in the 200-300lb range - some big axis or hogs for example. However, this round is not without issues.

The 25-06 moves so fast, that the VLD or ballistic silver tips rounds have a tendency to do "funky" things at SHORT distances, like 50-90 yards. I have had the Berger VLD do complete pass-thru at 80 yards and not expand. Also had them richochet off shoulder/scapulas at short range. On the other hand, at 250+ yards - they penetrate well and cause massive hydrostatic shock (think animal falls over dead without a step). But you don't want meat shots at longer distances - for example, a shoulder shot with a Berger VLD at 200 yards will mean there is no shoulder left on the opposite side.

I've had the same experience John. My gun does not like bullets over 100 grains.

I've shot probably 30 deer and a dozen hogs with the Federal 117 Sierra Gameking BTSP. If you are used to larger rounds, you are in for a treat. The 25-06 kills deer really quickly and effectively with low recoil, if you do your part. The Sierra is not a tough bullet and I haven't had any problems. The tougher 100 grain (Partition, Barnes, ETips) should be fantastic. I always wondered about the 100 grain soft points (ballistic tips, core-lokts, et). I'm sure they work but do they usually exit?

I am glad some have had good luck with the 117 Sierra Gamekings. I have mixed results and want to try the 100 Grain Barnes. The 117 Sierras group well in my rifle but the take down on game from my experience has not been good. I shot a doe in the engine room and she went down immediately. Not a few min. later she gets up and runs 100 yards in the woods. I was shocked!!! Shot a few other animals with fair results. The bullet hits where I am but I have not been impressed with the "kill performance".

Any experience with the Barnes or Winchester Silver tips for deer?

I shoot the Winchester supreme cpx2 115 grain bullet and have for at least the last 5 years and I'm pretty sure longer. I've killed probably 25-30 deer during that time, and 40-50 pigs. Shots ranged from 8 yards to 235 yards. Always had solid groupings and good knock down power past 80 yards. Closer than 80 yards is usually straight through and a little bit of tracking. Most animals never went more than 30 yards and a bunch never took another step. I love this gun and caliber. Sing its praises to all my friends!

I use Hornady superformance 117 SST's. They shoot very accurate in both my 25-06's and do plenty of damage. They will damage a lot of meat on shoulder shots. Your gonna love the caliber as it hits hard with minimal recoil.

110gr Accubonds have been awesome for me.

120gr Sierra HPBT Gameking over 49.5gr IMR 4350. Both my Winchester and my son's Remington shoot this load very well and it has knocked down many deer and hogs and aoudad over the years for us.

I load 110gr Accubonds for my wife's .25-06. Shoots them tight, kills effectively.

I have a 25.06 I haven't shot since the mid 90's, bull barrel and very accurate. Worked very well with the Winchester 115g silver tips on WT.

I have a M70 Featherweight 25-06. It will shoot nearly any factory ammo well. I've shot Federal Fusions for several years for whitetails and axis deer and it's always killed them quick. I've also used Winchester PESP 120 grains and they knock'em down fast as well.

I have a Ruger number one heavy barrel 25-06. It likes the 115 Nosler ballistic tips. It's shoots under an inch at 100. I do not like how it performs on deer so I do not use it anymore for hunting. Im sure a different bullet would perform better in the field but I have others for that. I just use it at the range. It always got the job done just not as fast and clean as I wanted.