Of the two cartridges you listed and the application, I would go .280 without even thinking. I've never shot one in a mountain rifle, but I used to own a Winchester 70 Featherweight in 30-06 and I can't imagine the recoil being any worse than that. The recoil from that rifle wasn't bad at all.

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Got both of those already. My go to rifle for all my hunting is Remington 700 in 300 win mag. I took it last year on a mountain goat hunt and realized it was heavy as an anchor while climbing up and down the mountains. This rifle will be used specifically for mountain hunts where 400 yard shots may be the only shot your gong to get. I shopped around and decided on the Remington 700 Mountain rifle. There is limited number of calibers it comes in with 30-06 being the biggest. Since I already have a 30-06 and 270 win the only other calibers that appealed to me were the 280 and the 25-06. I was leaning toward the 280 anyway.

On a side note....at one point I was looking at a Kimber mountain rifle. They came in a much larger selection of calibers including several magnums. If I was going to get the Kimber I was leaning toward a 270 WSM. That should do it all........but the cost of the Kimber VS the Remmey was a deal breaker.

Maybe i should have given the background information on my first post to explain the two caliber options.

Thanks guys for all the imput. I appreciate it.

If you already have a .270 and a 30/06, I'd definitely go with a 25/06.

yup!

My Rem 700 Mountain Rifle in 280 is the most accurate commercial rifle I have owned. No reason to consider anything else.

Yep

I think the only solution is to get one of each.

But then you still have to decide which one to use. That's not such a terrible problem, though.

Dad has a rem 700 mountain rifle from the early 80's. Pretty gun, chambered in 280. It shoots great, recoil isn't bad, but you know when full power 150 grainers go off. Shot some of my first deer with it when I was 10-11 years old no problem.

Without muzzle break mine seems less than my 270. 280 has become my favorite caliber for NA hunting. Lots of room to load up or down. And get and Ackley Imporved, and you get real close to 7 mag performance in a lighter more manageable rifle.

Out of people I know who own, or have owned, a 25-06 I find people either love the caliber or don't, there's not much gray area on 1/4 bores. I've had one 25-06, twice. Disliked it the first time I had it because it was so picky on ammo and sold it to my dad who loved it. Got it back when he passed and never shot it, then sold it to a buddy and he loves it. It just never grew on me.

My Encore .280AI? Always in my truck when I'm hunting, if it's not in my hands. If I'm holding out for deer only, I take it, but if hogs are on the menu then I like to have a repeater.

As for which is better on Elk, my view is: I would not take a 25-06 elk hunting if I had something bigger I was confident using. Many reasons stated above which I agree with, and I'll add; I want a reputable caliber/bullet combination with the best odds of creating an exit wound, and of the two the .280 gets the nod in that area too. Elk, or mountain game in general, can run a long ways real fast, and they don't have to go far to make life miserable in rough terrain, even more miserable if they are only barely leaking out of one hole vs also bleeding better out of a 2nd hole.. Just my 2 cents.

I shoot a 280, and if you compare, the 280 reload specs are just shy of a 7 mag w/ same bullets. I reload w/ 140 tsx, 57 grains of reloader 19, and mag primer. and its got knock down power even on elk.. I would not and do not trust a 25-06 to do the same

Yep, neither round would be as easy to find in just any store should you ever screw up and leave your ammo at home.

I've seen this argument thrown out there many times. My findings, respectfully, disagree, but I guess that depends on one's definition of "just shy". Apples to apples, a 280 or even 280AI will never be a 7mag. Sure, if I reload for my .280ai I can get close to the ballistics of a factory 7mag offering, but let me reload that 7mag and the gap widens once again. Go to bullets above 140gr and the gap widens substantially due to the mag's powder capacity and it's ability to make better use out of the slower burning powders that would overflow the 280's case.

So in my findings based on experience with both, a 280 (ai or not) is not a 7mag, never will be, and shouldn't be looked upon as such. That's not to say somewhere, someone is not getting results that differ from mine, I've seen some wild claims out there. Mine is built on a Shilen barrel with a pretty tight chamber and I have yet to punish it enough to make it shoot close enough to numbers we've gotten from more than a couple factory 7mag rifles. Because that's what I'd have to do, punish it. Not enough for me to claim the two would be interchangeable, or "just shy", anyway.

Now, all that said, there are no flies on a 280. I know, I own one and love it. I could have just as easily, easier actually, gotten a 7mag. But I, like 99% of other hunters out there, simply don't utilize the advantages a 7mag offers often enough to justify all the additional expense involved in feeding one.

.277 vs .284?. If there is controversy about using a .270 for elk then I think there should be one using a .280 for elk. If you have one of them is there really a need for the other? Unless you just want both.

The .280 is FAR more versatile.

.25 and .277 are BC challenged...........the .280 has one of the best BC's.