Which cal. of rifle is better for varmint hunting----223 or 25-06?

Question

I know almost any cal. of gun will kill a varmint, but I don't want the animal to be completly destroyed without recognition of the animal. Whick cal. is better all round for VARMINT hunting?

Answer 1

The 25-06 is large enough to hunt deer and is considerably more powerful than the 223. It will also drift less in wind than the 223 and if you are planning on varminting at 1000 yards I would go with the 25-06 but in most situations (less than 800 yards) the 223 is a more appropriate varmint cartridge and if you reload you can tweak some of the wind drift out of it. It will also cost you less to shoot. My vote is strongly for the 223, especially if you don't want to destroy the varmint.

Answer 2

25-06 Varmint Rifle

Answer 3

what's your VARMINT? if its large then you can use a .300, which is my rifle of choice. but if you're not too far away and hunting small critters use a .22 or .22 mag. get a real accurate rifle and aim for vital areas...if you're a sloppy shot then use a shotgun or one of those larger bullets. or if you don't want to buy a different rifle for everytime you hunt buy a .270 I don't know if they still make them but there used to be this awesome round that was a .22 round in plastic and shot out of the .270 rifle, its sole purpose was varmints. what I'm really trying to say is the .223 sucks, and if you're going to buy a 25-06 might as well move well into deer catagory.

Answer 4

both great varmint calibers, 223 dosnt have the range of bullets available that the 25/06 has. i use the 25 shot lots of types of varmints and come deer season step to the 100 or 120 grain and you have a deer rifle that is extremely accurate and capable of 5 to 6 hunderd yard shots, i shot 5 deer now over 500 yards with mine using 100 grain bullets and none wnet more than 30 yards

Answer 5

For strictly varmint hunting and you dont do anything else, a .223 would be better. It's ammo is cheaper and it isnt as big a caliber, so it wont leave a huge hole. not that a 25-06 leaves a big hole, but the .223 is a smaller bullet.

Answer 6

I would pick the .223. It is a 22 cal while the 25-06 is a 25 cal. bullet. The 25 cal will do a little more damage and probably leave an exit hole. The .223 Rem loaded with a hollow point does not normally leave an exit hole. Especially on coyotes.

Answer 7

Depending on how far you are going to be shooting at varmints I prefer the 22-250 myself.* If you become a head hunter and by that I mean always aim and hit them in the head you don't have any damage to the meat, and its a greater challenge and a cleaner kill shot.* I very rarely miss, but if you do you have another chance to hunt them another day.* I also like the 22 Hornet, 218 Bee, 222.* I have harvested Deer with all of them with no problems whatsoever.*

Answer 8

I have both calibers. Among several others.
And have had excellent success shooting varmints with both. I do prefer the .223 though.
Keeping both at about 3-4 inch’s high at 100 yards works very well. For me that is.

If you’re going to perhaps combine varmint hunting with that of larger game. Then
the 25.06 gives you the best of both worlds. Based upon the calibers you have mentioned.

Answer 9

the 223 is the one I would choose for varmints as it has less recoil and are cheaper to shoot
If I wanted a dual purpose cartridge i would go with the 25/06

Answer 10

Quarter bores are going to buck wind better, and 25-06 will give you better range, but you'll get tired of being banged if you're burning that much powder all day long. You might consider a compromise, like 257 Roberts, 6mm Remington, or 243 Winchester. A lot really depends on what varmints and what conditions you're planning for.