I know this has been discussed 20K times, but I'm old and have CRS, have a question. Old retired man, not looking to get beat up so......., looking at getting .25-06 or .270 any suggestions or info
would be great.

Thanks for your time

Are you opposed to muzzle brakes? Because there many ways to mitigate the recoil but it usually means weight and/or smaller caliber. These two features are usually undesirable in a hunting rifle, which I sort of assume based on your caliber selection. So if you could tolerate the noise...then a nice muzzle brake will help. Or possibly a suppressor.

Of the two the 25-06 would be my choice. Relatively mild recoil compared to the 270 and still very adequate for killing pigs and deer. You didn’t state your purpose but I assume hunting. The 25-06 can also double as a very impressive varmint round.

I own one of each and found the recoil to be about the same, which makes sense when you consider both cartridges use the same casing. The biggest difference by far is availability of ammo, with the .270 being far greater. That also makes 25-06 ammo to be more expensive as compared to the more popular .270.

Now having noted all that, the 25-06 is a great shooter and IMHO, outperforms the .270 when it comes to being a flat shooter. That only makes sense when you view it as a necked-down .270 of sorts (same casing as both the .270 and 30-06). And for what it's worth, I've found my Winchester Model 70 groups better with 100 grain loads than it does with 120 grain bullets.

Here's the link to a good article that offers a honest comparison between the .270, 25-06, and 6.5 Creedmoor.

As you can see, the .25-06 Remington has the highest muzzle velocity and flattest trajectory of the three cartridges with the .25-06 110gr ELD-X hitting 2.6″ higher than the .270 ELD-X and 9.4″ higher than the 6.5 ELD-X at 500 yards. The .270 Winchester also has a flatter trajectory than the 6.5 by several inches with each load and carries more energy downrange than the other two cartridges.

Link

I took the "not looking to get beat up so.." to mean not to get verbally beat up.

I would go with a 7mm-08 and forego the other choices, no brake needed. You can shoot 120 Barnes ttsx and recoil is minimal.

7mm-08

They ALL recoil, maybe a .243 with faster twist. it will kill

I have both also like Dan, along with a .243 win.. I have also bought a 6.5 Ceedmoor in the last couple years. I do not like recall either and do like accuracy.My 25 BDL is my baby, I have killed Mule Deer, whitetail, and more hogs than I can count. Other than replacing the crappy Remington trigger it is to this day a factory gun and I have had it since the mid 90's. I bought (drank the kool-aid) the creed because I had never owned a stainless or synthetic rifle and I got a very good deal on it. The .270 win. is nice and does recoil more than both the 6.5 or the .25 and as a result I don't shoot it as much. Yes the ammo cost a little more but damn it's a shooter, I'm not one these modern day snipers that try to take long range shots at an animal but I have made shots on deer over the years that have surprised me to the point that sometimes I think the gun goes into auto pilot when I pick it up. By the way did I say I prefer the 25-06!!!! Good luck.
Oh and by the way the recoil aint squat especially when your driving nails.

7mm-08

Those are both long actions. Long actions have more powder, therefore will beat you up more. Go to a short action, to reduce recoil.

6.5 Creedmoor or 7mm-08

Thanks to everyone who replied and gave your input, lots of good info just what I needed, for some reason the 7mm-08 never crossed my mind, and usage would be killing paper,deer and hogs
gonna do some more research, esp. the 7mm-08. Deep down I have the hots for a 25-06 though. Thanks again

If you are recoil sensitive and are willing to deal with the time and the expense, a suppressor over a muzzle brake is amazing. With that set up, you can shoot just about any reasonable caliber and it won't matter.

Get what you have the hots for.

25-06. Love the Sako

I think you just answered your own question. All of the cartridges mentioned are excellent choices, but I would get what you are wanting to get. If you don't like it you could easily sell it and get one of the other short action rifles to replace it. I'm betting if you get the 25-06 you'll stick with it.

This. My first deer rifle was a 270, every animal I squeezed on was a one shot kill. The 270 is a great do-it-all round IMO, but so is the 25-06. I have a sweet spot for the 25-06. I guess maybe it's because it was my Dad's favorite deer rifle (Dad was a big gun collector/builder/re-loader/hunter). Over 130 guns in the house and he almost always grabbed his Remington BDL 25-06 when we went deer hunting. I was a little pipsqeak sitting in a blind with him and watched him shoot some really nice deer with that gun. The last one was a huge 8 neck shot at 200 yrds. Deer dropped and never moved. So anyway, there's that.

Here is buck I shot with my new 25-06 in 2018. First centerfire thumb hole stock rifle, shoots like a dream. Buck was 115 yards walking away when I made the decision. High shoulder, went straight to the ground and never moved. Shot some pigs and javalina with it too but didn’t take pics.

Have a 270 and love it to pieces, it’s never done me wrong.

I was never a fan of 25-06 and in fact disliked them for most of my life. My FIL inherited one from his dad and asked me to clean it etc and we shot it some. I stand corrected, it was a very sweet shooting mild recoil compared to the 270. But then again I shoot 150 grains in my 270 and the 25-06 was 115 or 117’s. Don’t really think you could go wrong with either.

Very similar calibers. I would choose the 270 just because it a more common.

If you are wanting minimum recoil and a long action, the 25-06 is a great choice. I have one and it has long been my favorite cartridge for mule deer and smaller.

If you have the hots for a 25-06, then I would say go for it.

If you are willing to look at the brunette, then I would suggest the 7mm-08. It will do everything the 25-06 will do and a bit more.

270