Modification suggestions?

[Gary Kaney]

If you want to change out the stock, give Stockade Stocks a call in Chadron Neb.They have a stock called the Monet Saver. It can bought for aroud 200.00. It's a piece that is right out of the mold, and is inletted. You have to do the finish work on them. As in sanding and paintind etc. I've got one on my 243. I Dura Coated mine OD Green. They are a good stock.

 

[Derek M.]

Your 30.06 does not have a bolt face for a 7mm Rem Mag. You can talk to a smith and see if they will open it up but you likely need a new bolt. I don't like modifying bolts. If I have a standard LA like a 30.06, I'm keeping the new chambered barrel in the same family. I love my 7mags but if you want to change less and get very close to 7mag ballistics, get a new bbl, have it chambered in 280 Ackley Improved and make barrel 25" long, even 26" if that floats your boat.

 

[Gary Kaney]

I'm setting here thinking. I bought my first hunting rifle in 1968. A Winchester Model 70 30/06. All i've done to that rifle is bed the stock and tune the trigger, and to this day it hold 3/4 MOA with my reloads. If i wanted i could fine tune those loads a little more, but i'm happy with the way it shots. Rocknwell give me a call around the first of may. I'll be P Dogging down aroud Draper. May lay over in Spearfish and go over to Beulah Wy. for a few brews.

 

[rocknwell]

Derek, I will have to look into this .280 AI. obviously, i am a newbie, but how do I know what calibers are in the same family? and when you say "same family", does that mean the casing is the same size and any cartridge in the same family will fit in the same rifle (as long as the barrel can support that cartridge)?

Gary, i'm always up for going shooting if I can make it. I'll try to remember! If i don't, give me a call.

 

[Scot E]

Here is what I would do. I am guessing you will be shooting mostly deer in SD right? And out to 500 yards the '06 can do anything you need it to, even on elk. So I would first find out if it is a shooter. Some stock guns are very good out of the box. And Remington has this potential.

I would get some 160-168 loads or even 150's and see if she will shoot. If you hand load, all the better. If your scope is at least good enough to hold zero you should be able to shoot groups at 1-200 yards and know what the potential is. Remember you may have to try a variety of loads to find one that shoots well in your gun before you can make this determination. Make sure the stock, base, and ring screws are torqued to spec so you can eliminate variables. If it is a shooter, under 1MOA, then I wouldn't spend a whole lot of money truing the action or adding a custom barrel. Just go shoot it and use your cash for lots of shooting. This will be your biggest learning curve anyway.

If you do want to tweak things a bit or if it doesn't shoot well. I would personally start with optics. Find a good solidly rated scope that is dead nuts tough and repeatable and make sure you get good rings and bases so you know there are no issues there.

If that still isn't enough I would personally look at bedding the stock and free floating the barrel, I don't think that stock has any bedding block or anything correct?, This alone can do wonders to accuracy all by itself.

Of course the flood gates open from here on. But the above is a good place to start IMO.

Good luck and have fun!

Scot E.

 

[Gary Kaney]

What Scot said. My 06 has a Burris that i put on it back in the early 80's. Don't need nothing big an fancy for deer and elk under 500 yds. The furthest i've shot elk with my 06 is 300yds. That's hunting. You don't to get them out to 1000. Just put the sneek on them and go.

 

[ICANHITHIMMAN]

New stock first and foremost, new trigger(unless your trigger is not an xmark then have it tuned) Scope base and rings.

 

[Joe King]

good glass#1, good stock #2 (Mcmillan A5) if money isn't an issue, A good trigger #3, and if you don't like the barrel then any of the top barrel makers.

Nothing wrong with an 06 or any cartridge based on it for where your at. I put together a rifle based on 280AI for a friend while he was in Iraq, very impressive caliber.

 

[Sully2]

You already know you need GREAT glass on it.

Id pitch the stock ( I had mine only 1 day before I had a new stock ordered) and unlike all that run around screaming about this and that newest "plastic" stock, Id look to Stockys laminated wood stocks. About $150 or less each ( let me see ya touch thta price with a high dollar syn stock!!) and they arent going to warp and are drop in's for that action.

As far as triggers go....you may have a good one or you might have bum luck. Out of 5 M700's I have 4 adjusted nicely and One feels like Im dragging across gravel. For that one, and Id recommend the same if yours is that way...a Jewell. And you can adjust it to your preference..and it DOES make a difference!!

Develop your own brand of medicine for that particular weapon and fire away. It will be chugging along when your grand kids have kids!!

 

[Derek M.]

Derek, I will have to look into this .280 AI. obviously, i am a newbie, but how do I know what calibers are in the same family? and when you say "same family", does that mean the casing is the same size and any cartridge in the same family will fit in the same rifle (as long as the barrel can support that cartridge)?

Gary, i'm always up for going shooting if I can make it. I'll try to remember! If i don't, give me a call.

Same family means anything based or spawned from the .06 case, such as:

6.5-06
25-06
270
280
338-06

and any Ackley version of any of the above. Here's one good article: The .280 Ackley

I've gone back and forth so many times for so many years on whether or not I'd ever own a 280, let alone a 280AI. I JUST received my 280 not long ago and it wears a Shilen barrel and it didn't take long at all to find a load, like ONE DAY. Every time I read about the AI version, I'm inclined to build one just because!

 

[Derek M.]

And here's a comment that is posted with that article in my above post that is worth noting:

Bob Jourdan · 50 weeks ago

Be aware...! Headspace differs between the new SAAMI spec .280 Ackley Improved and that of all the .280 Ackleys built in the custom shops over the years. When SAAMI specs were set up, they changed headspacing from the junction point of the cartridge neck and shoulder to that of a point on the shoulder where the shoulder diameter measures .375", the common method used on many SAAMI spec cartridges. Now the SAAMI spec brass is too short for safe use in older, custom .280 Ackley chambers.

Now we have two .280 Ackley chamber reamers, one the original Ackley version, the other is the SAAMI spec version. Customers should be careful not to interchange the two. If factory .280 Ackley brass is used in other .280 Ackley chambers, case separation near the head may occur. Therefore, if you load for any .280 Ackley, you should always start with new standard .280 Remington brass and fireform it into the proper dimension for the chamber you are working with.

Read more: The .280 Ackley

 

[meat head]

So, are we to understand you don't want to replace the barrel or have the action worked on at this point?

First I'd get the trigger reduced to about 2 pounds. Next, invest in a stock. I just saw 4 HS-Precisions for sale here on the forums tonight, and get it bedded properly by someone who knows what they are doing.

Until you are ready to move fwd and make more modifications, the above is a good start. Buy the best scope you can afford. I have several matte Leupold 4.5x14.40 AO VX-IIIs I'm willing to sell. They are used and I'm thinking around $350.

DEREK M which cross hair in them scopes

 

[Derek M.]

DEREK M which cross hair in them scopes

fine and standard duplex except one which had a target dot. All sold.