25-35 on a big buck

[M. M. Wright]

86ers query about 250-3000 reduced loads made me think what he described as being about equal the the 25-35. Here is the story that that prompted me to go to the 308 Win.

In about 1963 or 64 I was hunting during Oklahoma's regular rifle season which fell during the week that contains Thanksgiving plus a weekend for a 9 day season. The weather had been very dry and the leaves had fallen which made walking a very noisy business so I employed a subterfuge of taking a couple of quick steps and then sometimes wiggling my toes under the leaves to simulate the sound of a squirrel hunting for acorns. I had gone about a half mile up the bottom of a big hollow when I heard something coming off a point and down into the bottom where I was. It was a very large whitetail buck wearing a very impressive rack and probably going 230 lbs. live weight. Quite large for northeast Oklahoma. I was carrying my Winchester model 94 SRC chambered in 25-35 loaded with 117 grain Remington Core Lokt factory ammo. I squatted down on my heels and looking through the Pacific receiver sight put the front post behind his front shoulder for a quartering shot. The sight picture was perfect when I squeezed off the shot and he clamped his tail a ran up the side of the hollow out of sight. I wanted to give him to die even though I was pretty sure he was shot through the heart as I had held really low on the chest where the heart is. I sat down next to a big stump and rolled a Prince Albert cigarette which I lit and enjoyed. When I was through smoking I field stripped the butt and got up to go get my deer when what do I hear? A motor vehicle has started up at the top of the hill and is leaving down a road under some power transmission lines. I quickly climbed the 150 yards or so and found big bloody spot under a deer stand where my game thief had no doubt sat while watching my buck fall dead at the bottom of his tree.
That gun and load has accounted for several other deer for me and is no doubt adequate for smaller, less determined deer but isn't up to stopping a big buck.

[cshold]

The 25-35 win. more than did its job.
Your problem was a total scum-bag.
I won't use the word (hunter) he doesn't get close
to being classified as such.

[Sixgun]

MM,
That really sucks. I remember as a kid the old timers talking about game thieves being rather common.
At the hunting camp, several deer were stolen from the hanging rail. This was in the fifties and early sixties.
I also remember the old timers talking about why they were going to the high velocity numbers like the 7 mag so some other thief could not claim the deer.----6

[wolfdog]

Couple of years ago my brother Don had a handing deer stolen from camp in Mi. he was pretty poed about it.

[t.r.]

My Aunt Lillian (1920-2002) hunted with an older Remington pump action in 25 Remington for several decades. She toppled several dozen whitetails with her rifle. None got away.

25 Remington is the ballistic twin of Winchester's 25-25 cartridge.

TR

[dixie cat]

[img][IMG]http://i.imgur.com/10ChQco.jpg[/img][/img] here is my 25 rem. it is a model 8 remington made in 1908 and marked 25-36 a very nice shooter and BIG BUCK killer.

Welcome Dixie - something not quite right about the picture posting code - give that another try - Old Savage. Certainly like to see that old rifle.

[3leggedturtle]

The 25-35 win. more than did its job.
Your problem was a total scum-bag.
I won't use the word (hunter) he doesn't get close
to being classified as such.

My sentiments exactly. Have you described the M94 before? What great looking piece.

[Snaketail]

Well, you did say it was Oklahoma. Nice rifle though, I hope to find one some day.

[Mike Armstrong]

The older .25-35 factory loads had the reputation of NOT dropping deer DRT, and, as your story clearly shows, that can be a problem. Where I was raised thieves weren't a problem, but really rough terrain and brutally thick chaparral was. A deer that died 100 yards straight line distance away might be a whole afternoon's walking and dragging distance. And it's REALLY HOT in Northern California during deer season, which doesn't help, nor do the plentiful rattlers.

But using a single shot rifle or a Savage 99 with pointed, slightly lighter bullets, and a slightly hotter load than usually recommended for 94s or 36s makes the .25-25 a little better stopper. Or just loading your 94 with TWO handloads with pointed bullets--if two won't do it, more probably won't help. I've dropped larger deer, whitetail/mulie hybrids in Eastern Washington, with a Contender Carbine .25-35 and more modern loads than factory standard. They didn't go more than one and half jumps; one just went straight down.

Wish I could afford to have C. Sharps make me a .25-35 Hiwall replica!

Neat story! My own education in .25s involved shooting a running blacktail fork with a .25-20 my junior year in high school and taking literally all night to get him home. Boy, did I pay for that.....

[tman]

86ers query about 250-3000 reduced loads made me think what he described as being about equal the the 25-35. Here is the story that that prompted me to go to the 308 Win.

In about 1963 or 64 I was hunting during Oklahoma's regular rifle season which fell during the week that contains Thanksgiving plus a weekend for a 9 day season. The weather had been very dry and the leaves had fallen which made walking a very noisy business so I employed a subterfuge of taking a couple of quick steps and then sometimes wiggling my toes under the leaves to simulate the sound of a squirrel hunting for acorns. I had gone about a half mile up the bottom of a big hollow when I heard something coming off a point and down into the bottom where I was. It was a very large whitetail buck wearing a very impressive rack and probably going 230 lbs. live weight. Quite large for northeast Oklahoma. I was carrying my Winchester model 94 SRC chambered in 25-35 loaded with 117 grain Remington Core Lokt factory ammo. I squatted down on my heels and looking through the Pacific receiver sight put the front post behind his front shoulder for a quartering shot. The sight picture was perfect when I squeezed off the shot and he clamped his tail a ran up the side of the hollow out of sight. I wanted to give him to die even though I was pretty sure he was shot through the heart as I had held really low on the chest where the heart is. I sat down next to a big stump and rolled a Prince Albert cigarette which I lit and enjoyed. When I was through smoking I field stripped the butt and got up to go get my deer when what do I hear? A motor vehicle has started up at the top of the hill and is leaving down a road under some power transmission lines. I quickly climbed the 150 yards or so and found big bloody spot under a deer stand where my game thief had no doubt sat while watching my buck fall dead at the bottom of his tree.
That gun and load has accounted for several other deer for me and is no doubt adequate for smaller, less determined deer but isn't up to stopping a big buck.

That can happen with a .308 or a .338 Mag. Some deer don't know when they are dead, some do

[rjohns94]

Nice looking rifle. I love the features like 2/3 mag and the rear peep. Looks like it shoots great.

[BigSky56]

MM I believe you killed that buck, thief aside, heart/lung shot deer do run abit till they bleed out how far depends on how the bullet performed or shot placed. As far as the 25-35 theres a forum member on here that killed a nice griz with a 25-35. danny

[6pt-sika]

MM,
That really sucks. I remember as a kid the old timers talking about game thieves being rather common.
At the hunting camp, several deer were stolen from the hanging rail. This was in the fifties and early sixties.
I also remember the old timers talking about why they were going to the high velocity numbers like the 7 mag so some other thief could not claim the deer.----6

The first year I hunted the Poconos with my Philly buds they told me some stories about sorry individuals pulling stuff like that up there . But fortunately I never experienced it !

[6pt-sika]

MM I believe you killed that buck, thief aside, heart/lung shot deer do run abit till they bleed out how far depends on how the bullet performed or shot placed. As far as the 25-35 theres a forum member on here that killed a nice griz with a 25-35. danny

Why certainly he killed the deer !

At only 150-200 yards he most certainly would have heard the other guy shoot . But he heard no shot just the sound of a vehicle !