Description

The .25-06 Remington had been a wildcat cartridge for half a century before being standardized by Remington in 1969. It is based on the .30-06 Springfield cartridge necked-down (case opening made narrower) to .257 caliber with no other changes. Nominal bullet diameter is 0.257, and bullet weights range from 75 to 120 grains
The cartridge is capable of propelling a 117 grain (7.6 g) bullet at up to 3,200 feet per second (980 m/s) and energy levels up to 2,500 ft⋅lbf (3,400 J). Bullets lighter than 75 grains are available in .257 caliber, but were designed for the smaller .25-20 Winchester and .25-35 Winchester cartridges and are too lightly constructed for the high velocities of the .25-06.

The cartridge has less felt recoil than a .30-06 in a similar weight rifle, due to the lighter weight bullets used. Shooters who are recoil sensitive will find the recoil from the .25-06 bearable, but not pleasant enough to shoot all day long. This cartridge is not quite as powerful as the .257 Weatherby Magnum, usually running 200–300 ft/s (61–91 m/s) slower with a given bullet weight.

SAAMI pressure limit for the .25-06 is 63,000 PSI.