Thread: 30-06 questions

Gidday Guys, rainy day here, much contemplation (navel gazing if you must) taking place.

Who's shooting and reloading for a 30-06?? Especially ones with a shortish barrel (say 20" plus/minus a few inches)

What sort of velocities are you getting with 175's/180's - I like to think the new Federal Edge would be pretty good to at least 500 in one of these . . . .

I have shot 185 gr lapuas out of my parker hale at 2730 fps, punishing is how I would describe them 2209 was the powder

I have some 30-06's. One old and one new. Vety accurate 155 gn at around 2850'/s with 4064 or 4320.
180grn 2720'/s with IMR4350 or 2209. 2650'/s with Re22 is one of my favourites. All sub moa at ranges out to 600. Just remember though that is you kick a 180 gn pill out at 2700 from a lightish hunting rifle then expect a boot. IMO the venerable 30-06 is THE do all cartridge for NZ.

Tentman, .30/06 is the itch I've returned to this year after a brief fling back in the late 90s. I shooting 180's BT's and have just loaded some 178 ELDx's. 2700 fps is about where it is with 2209, RL22 and 2213SC maybe give you an extra 100+ fps. 22-24 inch tubes on R700s.

I used to shoot .30-06 with 178 A-Max and RE22 for whitetail when I lived in Missouri. A-Max was great but RE22 was very temp sensitive.

178 ELD-M would be the go too.

Originally Posted by Tentman

Gidday Guys, rainy day here, much contemplation (navel gazing if you must) taking place.

Who's shooting and reloading for a 30-06?? Especially ones with a shortish barrel (say 20" plus/minus a few inches)

What sort of velocities are you getting with 175's/180's - I like to think the new Federal Edge would be pretty good to at least 500 in one of these . . . .

@Brian is your man. Shot more deer with this caliber than you can shake a stick at.

I have used 150's for hunting in my various .30/06's since 1967. Nothing gets up and runs away! With a short barrel you would need to go to faster burning powders such as Bench Mark 2 or AR2206 to get complete combustion. I also run a .30/06 long barrel long-range rifle that performs well past 1000 metres pushing a 167 grain Lapua Scenar at 2950 fps. The combination of a long barrel and a slow powder gives the velocity at safe pressures. .30/06 is not the question, it is the answer!

Gun doc, how long a tube and what powder for your range rifle?

Originally Posted by Tahr

@Brian is your man. Shot more deer with this caliber than you can shake a stick at.

Yep and his 8/06, I had a short flirtation with a 3006 AI with 205 amaxs I shoulda kept it built by Din Collings, recoil was brisk but not uncomfortable.

So here is what I'm thinking . . . been watching a few videos of the big name guys (Duley's, The Hunters Club guys etc.) and thinking about some of the places I'd like to poke into. They nearly always involve climbing up through bush with a full pack, and a "bust out" through the monkey scrub at some point. Seeing the aforementioned guys (all pretty young) battling along with bloody great long cannons on thick stuff got me thinking there must be a better way - I've been there and done it and is never actually much fun. I hauled "our" ( @nor-west ) 7x64 along on several such trips, and while it was nice to have a "big hammer" once you got up in the open where ranges get a bit longer, even with a 23 1/2" barrel it was tiresome in the bush and thick stuff - like when you are coming down in the dark and strike a matagouri belt 150M above the riverbed. Managing a rifle and a hill stick or walking poles on big descents with the rifle still slung is a pain, get into some thick stuff and thats when the "fuse blows" and you end up doing something that can lead to a wreck.

So - a 30-06 (or 280, or even 270) with a nice long barrel (26" at least eh?) would be even better it it would go in your pack when you need it too.

I've been offered a TC Encore in 308 with a 28" barrel, but of-course I got sprung by Nor-west (who I swear sometimes reads my mind) and if it got a 30-06 AI reamer poked up it then it might be "just the ticket" - it'd do 3000 fps with 180's with RL-26. Put a brake on it - the Encore's are around 7 lbs so recoil would be starting to get up there. So - who has the 30-06 AI reamer now?

I've got an 06 barrel with I'd say less than 100 rounds down it

Originally Posted by Tentman

So here is what I'm thinking . . . been watching a few videos of the big name guys (Duley's, The Hunters Club guys etc.) and thinking about some of the places I'd like to poke into. They nearly always involve climbing up through bush with a full pack, and a "bust out" through the monkey scrub at some point. Seeing the aforementioned guys (all pretty young) battling along with bloody great long cannons on thick stuff got me thinking there must be a better way - I've been there and done it and is never actually much fun. I hauled "our" ( @nor-west ) 7x64 along on several such trips, and while it was nice to have a "big hammer" once you got up in the open where ranges get a bit longer, even with a 23 1/2" barrel it was tiresome in the bush and thick stuff - like when you are coming down in the dark and strike a matagouri belt 150M above the riverbed. Managing a rifle and a hill stick or walking poles on big descents with the rifle still slung is a pain, get into some thick stuff and thats when the "fuse blows" and you end up doing something that can lead to a wreck.

So - a 30-06 (or 280, or even 270) with a nice long barrel (26" at least eh?) would be even better it it would go in your pack when you need it too.

I've been offered a TC Encore in 308 with a 28" barrel, but of-course I got sprung by Nor-west (who I swear sometimes reads my mind) and if it got a 30-06 AI reamer poked up it then it might be "just the ticket" - it'd do 3000 fps with 180's with RL-26. Put a brake on it - the Encore's are around 7 lbs so recoil would be starting to get up there. So - who has the 30-06 AI reamer now?

Sorry I must be thick - are you saying a short barrel is worse in the tight stuff and you want a longer one? Que?

An Encore is a take-down like a Bergara etc - goes inside a pack

Originally Posted by northdude

I've got an 06 barrel with I'd say less than 100 rounds down it

For a TC Encore ??