New gun - Eventually a 25 SST?

[CalgaryDan]

Hey guys, a while back I made a thread asking for advice about a first time hunting rifle that I wanted to be a jack of all trades but still be relatively easy on the recoil. There were a lot of great suggestions with the 25-06 and 7mm-08 being a couple of the more common suggestions.

After doing a ton of reading on the subject I had kinda settled on a 25-06 despite understanding that the biggest draw back for this cartridge was the lack of heavy for caliber bullets that limited some of its potential, particularly on elk sized game.

Now I’m reading about the Blackjack 131 gr and 128gr Hammer Hunter bullets which have the potential to change that.

As these rounds are made for short actions and require a 7 or 8” twist I’m curious if it would be possible to buy a Tikka in 25-06 and down the road rebarrel/chamber it for 25sst. Or would it be better to simply rebarrel it to accommodate the heavier bullets when the opportunity presents itself?

I’m new to all of this so any input would be appreciated!

[DLab]

To start with ,you'll need a Magnum bolt head I'm thinking ,the 25/06 doesn't have that.Mag change also for feeding short fat cases.
Definitely will need to hand load for the Wildcat,sourcing specific cases and bullets in Canada may be problematic,pricey at best,that's if those Blackjack's or Hammer's are still available by the time you burn out that 25/06 barrel.
In short ,shoot the 06 you may be surprised how well it works for your intended purpose.
For an easier conversion I would be looking at the .270 Sherman long or just buy a Tikka in .270 Win.it will do every thing you're after,basically the same case and recoil factor anyway.

What you're asking about is a lot of chewing for a first bite ,if you get my drift.

[CalgaryDan]

Originally Posted by DLab

To start with ,you'll need a Magnum bolt head I'm thinking ,the 25/06 doesn't have that.Mag change also for feeding short fat cases.
Definitely will need to hand load for the Wildcat,sourcing specific cases and bullets in Canada may be problematic,pricey at best,that's if those Blackjack's or Hammer's are still available by the time you burn out that 25/06 barrel.
In short ,shoot the 06 you may be surprised how well it works for your intended purpose.
For an easier conversion I would be looking at the .270 Sherman long or just buy a Tikka in .270 Win.it will do every thing you're after,basically the same case and recoil factor anyway.

What you're asking about is a lot of chewing for a first bite ,if you get my drift.

My wife accuses me of that whenever I’m looking at getting into a new hobby, she typically isn’t wrong.

I like doing things from scratch and definitely prefer things that are a little oddball or unique. If the heavy for cartridge trend keeps up for the 25’s would the Tikka 270 WSM be an appropriate action to start with?

[fps plus]

The tikka wsm would work fine

[Dubious]

If your going with the wildcat round your going to have to reload, your going to have to source all the standard reloading equipment AND all the wildcat equipment you need to construct the round. it can be a pain and costly to find wildcat dies and brass or having to make the brass and buying extra dies to make false shoulders and stepping brass down before fire forming. not to mention finding a gunsmith that has a reamer and go/no gauges for your build. if they don't have it you may also have to buy them to chamber the rifle once and then have a reamer and gauges sitting in your basement that you only used the one time. people don't usually go wildcatting on there first rifle there's a lot that you need to know and if you don't have someone to mentor you in person the task can be very difficult for someone just breaking into the sport. there also the back end costs like a range membership or driving out to the bush buying a crono so you can get the speeds of your loads wildcatting/reloading can be very resource heavy.

or you can just buy a factory chamber like 25-06 and buy rounds off the shelf and not have to worry about all the prep before you can even fire a round.

and lastly the game won't know the difference between the 3300fps 131gr blackjack bullet and the 100gr 3300 fps 25-06 bullets. I Knocked down a nice 5x6 bull elk with my 25-06 100gr load and he was drt and I won't hesitate to use it on moose either.

[CalgaryDan]

Originally Posted by Dubious

If your going with the wildcat round your going to have to reload, your going to have to source all the standard reloading equipment AND all the wildcat equipment you need to construct the round. it can be a pain and costly to find wildcat dies and brass or having to make the brass and buying extra dies to make false shoulders and stepping brass down before fire forming. not to mention finding a gunsmith that has a reamer and go/no gauges for your build. if they don't have it you may also have to buy them to chamber the rifle once and then have a reamer and gauges sitting in your basement that you only used the one time. people don't usually go wildcatting on there first rifle there's a lot that you need to know and if you don't have someone to mentor you in person the task can be very difficult for someone just breaking into the sport. there also the back end costs like a range membership or driving out to the bush buying a crono so you can get the speeds of your loads wildcatting/reloading can be very resource heavy.

or you can just buy a factory chamber like 25-06 and buy rounds off the shelf and not have to worry about all the prep before you can even fire a round.

and lastly the game won't know the difference between the 3300fps 131gr blackjack bullet and the 100gr 3300 fps 25-06 bullets. I Knocked down a nice 5x6 bull elk with my 25-06 100gr load and he was drt and I won't hesitate to use it on moose either.

Thanks! I do appreciate the feedback and when I start into something I often go over the top. I do like to look down the road and set a goal to accomplish when I get into something that will force me to expand my knowledge base and there is definitely so much to learn!

[3blade]

Don’t let the long range bench/competition stuff you read online get in the way of hunting. Some guys get their willy in a knot over 0.003 BC differences. It don’t matter.

Buy a quality rifle, scope, binos, bino harness, pack, good ammo, boots, appropriate clothing...things that will actually make a difference.

Spend all that extra time you would have spent reloading on scouting, shooting and getting used to walking all day.

Comparing guns and ballistics is fun, but the opportunities to utilize long range capability are exceptionally few and far between in the field.

Re: what gun/caliber, you got the best answer from kurt right off the bat in your last thread. A T3X in 270win (NOT WSM - feeding issues and good luck finding brass/ammo) will do everything you ever need to hunt in Alberta.