Back to the old 30-06

[Don A Parsons]

The Aught-Six became the middle ground cartridge that became the stepping stone that other cartridges base them selves off of...

Either it's to much for some shooters,,, or not enough for others... I like the idea of a cartridges that fit into the old school category...

Its nice having the middle ground...

 

[greenejc]

What, pray tell, is a "drinking gun?" Drinking and guns are mutually exclusive; I have never heard the term before.

A drinking gun is a gun that drives you to drink-much like some wives, girlfriends or kids.

 

[greenejc]

It's easy for me to be nostalgic about the '06. My father was a two time Bronze star recipient in WW2. We didn't have guns in our house till I was 12. For his birth day that year Mom bought him a sporterized Springfiled 03 in 30'06 that had been modified for a "Pedersen's device" so I was told. I got the gun at 14 when he passed. Shot my first deer with it. Some one stole it in a house burglary the same year I got married, 1977. Mom bought me a Remmy 700, 1960's era receiver out of a pawn shop in Monahans, TX for $125 for MY 27th b-day, in 1977. I still have it. Has a new Bartlein bbl. on it, and had a smith work over the action and the old trigger at 2lbs. Shoots 200g Accubonds at 2720fps into 3/4" at 200 yds. Killed what PROBABLY will be my last elk with it in Colo. in 2017. My son will get it when I go and promised that my grandsons will get when he does. Gives me comfort in that thought.

Was your dad in the Pacific, the European or the Burma theater? Mine was in the European, and both my uncles were in the Pacific, one Navy and one Marine. I don't know how old you are, but I'm 68, and I'm going elk hunting again this year. Of course, I live here in Colorado, so the cost of a tag is notably less that yours would be if you're currently living in THE GREAT STATE OF TEXAS (I was born in Crosbyton, Texas and raised on a farm on the Panhandle). If you change your mind and want to go this Fall, I have a buddy (Retired Air Force) who is coming up this Fall to go with me (second season) and you'd be welcome. Bring the -06. It won't be alone.

 

[greenejc]

Great thread. The 06' is simply iconic in the hearts and minds of any aspiring or seasoned rifleman. The fact that the OP is "coming back" to the cartridge is really cool, as I can relate, having experience with
03 Springfields, 700s and M1's that sat idle in my safes while I was out chasing greener grass. It has never been disappointing coming back to the benchmark. I don't think it ever will.

Oh, I agree. I have several 30-06's and I enjoy shooting them all.

 

[Gibbshooter43]

I started out with the 03 06. Restocked it with a hand made laminated stock with good recoil pad, new trigger and scope and gave it to my son with which he shot his first elk. We're both happy campers

 

[greenejc]

I bought my 1903-A3 here in Colorado Springs when I was stationed here in 1991 or '92. It had a Ramline synthetic stock on it, and someone had threaded the barrel and put an M14 muzzle flash suppressor on it. My youngest brother put an S&K scope mount on the receiver and it sports a Shepherd scope now. Nothing else has been done to it, but nothing has had to be done. It will put 5 rounds into about .75 inch at 100 yards with any bullet weight or brand I have tried so far, and will go tighter with Sierra 180 grain GKs or PH's and Speer 180 grain Hotcors or BTSPs. Trigger pull is the standard two stage 4lb trigger, with no creep and no over-travel. I haven't done anything to it except the scope and mount. It is the most un-finnickey rifle I've ever had. It will shoot 200 grain Speers and Sierras into an inch or less, too.

 

[Alibiiv]

What, pray tell, is a "drinking gun?" Drinking and guns are mutually exclusive; I have never heard the term before.

Maybe a typo?? I'm hoping "plinking" gun!!???

if you are getting one hole groups out of any stock factory rifle at 300 yards, go buy a couple lottery tickets. mine will shoot a single hole at 300 yards if I only fire one shot. no offence intended.

Recently I bought a Ruger 77 tang safety in 30-06 to use as a donor rifle for $300 off of GunBroker; came out of a PD in Kentucky. The stock looked like it have been in a fire and then dragged behind a truck down a country road for about a mile!! I decided that I was going to play with the stock, try clean the rifle up and then send it out to have the rifle blueprinted and rebarreled. I got the stock to clean up really nice, my son then put a couple of coats of clear on it to dress stock up. I also pillar bedded the stock, glass bedded the stock and floated the barrel, then did a couple of adjustments to the trigger and put an old Leupold scope that I'd had kicking around. I had some 168gr, (Hornady??) match HPBT bullets and some SuperFormance powder and put them through the stock barrel at the range. To my surprise the rifle consistently made five shot bug holes. I know that with a better piece of glass the rifle will shoot just as well at 300 yards. And......after I wrote this entire paragraph, I realized, "if you are getting one hole groups out of any stock factory rifle at 300 yards, go buy a couple lottery tickets"; guess the rifle isn't a stock rifle now is it??? But....it still shoots really well with a stock barrel; and.....there will not be a new barrel or blueprinting for this rifle.

 

[greenejc]

Maybe a typo?? I'm hoping "plinking" gun!!???


Recently I bought a Ruger 77 tang safety in 30-06 to use as a donor rifle for $300 off of GunBroker; came out of a PD in Kentucky. The stock looked like it have been in a fire and then dragged behind a truck down a country road for about a mile!! I decided that I was going to play with the stock, try clean the rifle up and then send it out to have the rifle blueprinted and rebarreled. I got the stock to clean up really nice, my son then put a couple of coats of clear on it to dress stock up. I also pillar bedded the stock, glass bedded the stock and floated the barrel, then did a couple of adjustments to the trigger and put an old Leupold scope that I'd had kicking around. I had some 168gr, (Hornady??) match HPBT bullets and some SuperFormance powder and put them through the stock barrel at the range. To my surprise the rifle consistently made five shot bug holes. I know that with a better piece of glass the rifle will shoot just as well at 300 yards. And......after I wrote this entire paragraph, I realized, "if you are getting one hole groups out of any stock factory rifle at 300 yards, go buy a couple lottery tickets"; guess the rifle isn't a stock rifle now is it??? But....it still shoots really well with a stock barrel; and.....there will not be a new barrel or blueprinting for this rifle.

Yep. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. I tend to agree with that policy.

 

[Msgt William Toprock]

nowadays ive hung up my drinking guns and spend much more time with my actual rifles. I have alot of affection for the 30-06 and have spent time making very accurate loads for my 760 gamemaster. I have one hole 165, 180, and 200grain 100 yard loads. This year i'm going to carry it for deer, black bear and florida hogs/ yotes . In years past ive been shooting , 6.5's 7mm's 300 mags, 375 h&h ect As i look through my safe , i could in my opinion honestly sell everything else i have and still be pretty well equipped. I would not actually do this as i do love variety, but man the 06 is great. Anybody that has one and hasn't given it a chance with todays powders and high bc bullets, it may be worth a day or two of fiddling around with the old girl to see that she can still tear up the dance floor. I live here in new york so many of you guys out west may have a need for the big magnums more than I, so don't beat me up too bad for being tender this morning about my old reliable -06.
Ive been loading 165 speer btsp
180sst 180 accubond
200 partition.

Good evening.
I've been sitting here, during a rain storm, reading the articles when I came upon your post. I know what you mean about the 06, I carried one for a few years, though mine did not have a steel butt plate it did have a hard plastic one which really raised a lot of black and blue shoulders when I went out shooting in a T shirt. When my son was stationed in Anchorage Ak, I gave him the 06 with it,s 4 power Weaver Steel lite scope along with my Remington 12 gauge, 870 Magnum Wing Master. A few months later, when he was short of cash, he sold both the rifle and shotgun. It was a shame but they were his to do with as he pleased. Now that I am older, 75 years old, I no longer appreciate the recoil of the 30-06 so I now carry the Remington 700 BDL with a custom stock, shown on the left, in 270 Winchester. I also have a SR-762 in 308 Win. Both are proven long range guns and would take just about anything in North America.

 

[TOM H]

nowadays ive hung up my drinking guns and spend much more time with my actual rifles. I have alot of affection for the 30-06 and have spent time making very accurate loads for my 760 gamemaster. I have one hole 165, 180, and 200grain 100 yard loads. This year i'm going to carry it for deer, black bear and florida hogs/ yotes . In years past ive been shooting , 6.5's 7mm's 300 mags, 375 h&h ect As i look through my safe , i could in my opinion honestly sell everything else i have and still be pretty well equipped. I would not actually do this as i do love variety, but man the 06 is great. Anybody that has one and hasn't given it a chance with todays powders and high bc bullets, it may be worth a day or two of fiddling around with the old girl to see that she can still tear up the dance floor. I live here in new york so many of you guys out west may have a need for the big magnums more than I, so don't beat me up too bad for being tender this morning about my old reliable -06.
Ive been loading 165 speer btsp
180sst 180 accubond
200 partition.
Mostly rl-22 powder
Imr 4831 and oddly h-335 for the 165
All with rem 91/2 large rifle primers and R-P brass
I think i might try to load a real light weight 120ish bullet just for ships and jiggles.

My first service rifle Marines was M1 Garand and that was 1960. When I got out, I purchased 30-06 and couple others.

I redid mine, one has 26" Bartlein barrel and been shooting 180gr Partition other has 25.6" Shilen barrel and been shooting 165gr AB. I had chambers cut same reamer and I've taken elk/deer with them.

I don't hunt with them every year, like you I have few others.

 

[Snookkatcher]

If i have to explain, you wouldn't understand

I understand exactly. Been sober 20+ years.

 

[Snookkatcher]

I love '06's! I have 3, a '71 vintage Rem. 760, a new Ruger American Wolf camo, and a 1905 Springfield '03, totally untouched GI. ( Low number, but rebarreled and re-proofed in '42.) The 760 I use as my primary hog gun, with a Leupold VX-R 2x7 30mm scope, with the 1 MOA LED red dot in the center of the crosshairs. Perfect for black hogs at dusk in the swamps, you can see that dot no matter what. It shoots Fed. 150 gr. Fusion and Rem. CoreLoct 165 gr. into 1 1/4 in. at 100 yds. Great for a pump gun, in my book. The Ruger American is a great relatively light '06, with a 3x9 Leupold VX-2 it will shoot MOA with a couple Factory loads, like the Fed. 150 Fusion and Fed. Premium 165 Ballistic Tip.
The Springfield '03 I still have not shot in the couple years I have had it, the low number still bothers me.

 

[walleyerod]

Going back to my first rifle as well. Winchester Westerner 30-06 purchased in ~1978. Hunted elk, deer, bear, dogs with it for many years. Lot's of different loads worked up. Last 20 years it's sat in back of the gun closet collecting dust. Been using a 270 WSM, 22-250 and 300 win for years but now it's time to simplify, back to the basics. Was thinking of selling the other large rifles and buying a new 06 but worked up a load last year that really shoots well; very, very, well. So I had the trigger done and it's my hunting rifle again, probably the last one and the one that is passed down.

The recipe is nickle plated brass filled with 53 grains of varget, CCI primer, and a 150 grain Hornady SST sitting about 20 thousands off the lands. Ten shot average for this load was 3006 fps and average of five, three shot groups was right at one inch, actually just a tiny bit under an inch! Sweet load. Flat shooting. Five inches low at 300 and only 17 inches low at 400, my outermost range. Loving my 30-06 again!

 

[Oldschool280]

Going back to my first rifle as well. Winchester Westerner 30-06 purchased in ~1978. Hunted elk, deer, bear, dogs with it for many years. Lot's of different loads worked up. Last 20 years it's sat in back of the gun closet collecting dust. Been using a 270 WSM, 22-250 and 300 win for years but now it's time to simplify, back to the basics. Was thinking of selling the other large rifles and buying a new 06 but worked up a load last year that really shoots well; very, very, well. So I had the trigger done and it's my hunting rifle again, probably the last one and the obe that is passed down.

The recipe is nickle plated brass filled with 53 grains of varget, CCI primer, and a 150 grain Hornady SST sitting about 20 thousands off the lands. Ten shot average for this load was 3006 fps and average of five, three shot groups was right at one inch, actually just a tiny bit under an inch! Sweet load. Flat shooting. Five inches low at 300 and only 17 inches low at 400, my outermost range. Loving my 30-06 again!

I had a great model 70, but had to let it go when times were tough. I know if i check out one of the new ones, there is a good chance it will be in the safe