Author Topic: .30-06 to what? (Read 6534 times)

kiddekop · « **Reply #30 on:** May 14, 2009, 05:00:15 AM »

Go to www.rwhart.com for modification info and watch the videos!

brasskeeper · « **Reply #31 on:** May 15, 2009, 05:35:45 PM »

Quote from: billy_56081 on May 11, 2009, 04:07:03 PM

Quote from: brasskeeper on May 11, 2009, 04:04:40 PM
If you must use factory ammo 280 remington would be good choice. If you dont mind changing the blot head I would prefer 6.5x284 Norma. I hear its winning long range matches

The 6.5X284 uses the same bolt head as 30-06.

I stand corrected! Thanks for the help

I do think the 280 or 6.5x284 are good choices

shotgun31 · « **Reply #32 on:** May 17, 2009, 05:55:05 AM »

I shoot a 6.5-06 in an Encore, and bought a R700 BDL .270 Win thats going to get a 6.5-06 barrel on it pretty soon. I looked long/hard at the 6.5-284, and backed off because 1) I hear about feeding problems with the 284 in an -06 magazine and 2) 284 cases are expensive and hard to find.

I can find -06 cases are all over Sioux Falls, and the on-line distributors. I've looked all over creation and can't find .270 Win; I'm babying the 16 or so cases I found on the range this spring!

To compare the sectional density of a 6.5 140 grain one has to go to a 200 gr 30 cal, and there's not much in any lower caliber that compares; maybe a 7mm will, don't have any experience with 7mm. Not much will send the bullet out there with that much sectional density with less than an -06 case.

And, the 6.5-06 performs differently than the .270 or .25-06. Jez it hits out there at 300 with a 140 gr bullet!
Shotgun

no guns here · « **Reply #33 on:** August 11, 2009, 12:43:57 AM »

Don't know if you've made a decision yet or not. I don't see you going wrong with anything from a .25-'06 up to a .338-'06.

Just for punching paper I'd probably go to a 6.5-'06.

But as you know the .25 will take any deer walking. I know guys that used it on cow elk. Good for pronghorns too.

The 6.5 gets you up into elk, caribou, mulies etc.

The .30 will take anything walking.

The .338 gets you into bear gun territory.

Personally for $200 I'd probably leave it alone and use it as a "loaner" or for my kids to use when they come visit.

NGH

kix · « **Reply #34 on:** August 11, 2009, 04:14:19 PM »

I am another one for keeping it as an '06.But's it your money and time so make yourself happy. Kix

Drilling Man · « **Reply #35 on:** August 12, 2009, 03:16:18 PM »

Quote from: kix on August 11, 2009, 04:14:19 PM

I am another one for keeping it as an '06.But's it your money and time so make yourself happy. Kix

I'm with you, i'd leave it an 06 too...

DM

REDNKROG · « **Reply #36 on:** August 21, 2009, 07:10:26 PM »

I have a feeling this will go on forever and a day. Just shoot it. If you like the thing keep it.If you don't feel qualified to make the call on how well it does shoot. Just get someone you trust to shoot it.If you like it and it shoots well. Go to SWFA.com order you a Super Sniper 10x.Get someone to help you bed it. Go get you a couple of cans of paint and make it look like all the other cool guys at the range. Once it is painted nobody will know or care that it only cost you $500 to build.If it shoots 1/2" @ 100yrds thats cool. If it shoots 3'@100yrds (yes 3 feet)and you have fun shooting it.Thats even COOLER..... Have fun and Shoot it.

PS Probably not anything wrong with the scope and rifle you have. Just ask Carlos Hathcock......

wackmaster · « **Reply #37 on:** August 25, 2009, 05:09:09 AM »

If you wont to go long put a 338 ultra or 300 ultra in it shoot eather 225 or 250 accubonds, 180 b-tip or 190 match.
It only takes a good smith about an hour to open bolt face install a extracter, and open feed rails to ecxept ultra casses.

jlchucker · « **Reply #38 on:** August 25, 2009, 05:24:46 AM »

Lots of good comments today by 30-06 people. If it were me, and I didn't handload, I'd leave it 30-06 as well. Plenty of that factory ammo available and most of it's good stuff. See how the gun shoots, and if it were me I'd pretty much ignore what's written in gun magazines--especially if you get really good results with what you've already got.

Cabin4 · « **Reply #39 on:** August 25, 2009, 05:28:07 AM »

I would stick with the 30-06. Spend your money on accurizing and adding the components for the tactical look. For someone who does not reload like you (myself included) the -06 or a 308 is a great tactical round. If you want 300 mag performance, look at Horandy Lite Mag loads for the -06. You can get near 300 mag perofrmance with these and they are extremlly accurate. I shoot the 150 grain Lite mag loads in my 30-06 and they are some of the most accurate rounds I have ever put through it.

Keep your ammo options open, plentifull and affordable. Stay with the 06. It should do everything you need from a tactical standpoint.

teddy12b · « **Reply #40 on:** August 25, 2009, 08:59:20 AM »

Quote from: Cabin4 on August 25, 2009, 05:28:07 AM

Keep your ammo options open, plentifull and affordable. Stay with the 06. It should do everything you need from a tactical standpoint.

Well said.

kiddekop · « **Reply #41 on:** October 11, 2009, 12:42:31 PM »

Quote from: 1911bmw on December 02, 2008, 03:31:51 PM

I just bought a remington 700 adl in .30-06. I am looking to build a tactical/ target rifle. I like the whole sniper rifle look. I am thinking of going to a .300 win mag but don't know where to start. Is there a better caliber choice for this length action? I mostly be punching paper, but I want to be able to punch it a long way off.

30-06 ackley improved will give you performance just under a 300wm w/o using as much powder,I have a friend who converted his 06's to ackleys he used them for mule & blacktail deer,elk & black bear.

Frank46 · « **Reply #42 on:** October 11, 2009, 07:25:21 PM »

If the choice were mine I'd keep the '06. Why?, because the '06 was punching holes in paper, game and other things since 1906. Off the shelf components are relatively cheap, powder charges easy to do and even mil surp cases are available. i've a sako 75 that loves '06 match ammunition, and my other '06's shoot without all the special tricks used with other calibers.
think I have about 5 '06 rifles. Its just a good accurate caliber that just keep on truckin. Frank

mannyrock · « **Reply #43 on:** October 14, 2009, 05:08:22 AM »

Hey 1911,

Here is a slightly different take on this.

I can totally understand why you snatched up that Remington for $200, and I can totally understand how, at that cheap price, you would have initially thought that you could use that action to create a reasonably priced long-range shooter in a different (perhaps magnum) caliber. Probably everyone over 50 on this board thought the same thing once upon a time, way back when, when we were younger.

But, what I think everyone is telling you is that we were wrong, and we are trying to save you from the same frustrating, expensive mistakes. Your rifle was specifically engineered for the .30-06, an absolutely perfect long range tactical round. To take this piece of finished engineering, and try to make changes to it to convert it into something it is not (such as a .300 Winchester Magnum), will require lots of money, bolt alterations, and frustration, all to end up with a rifle that may or may not shoot well, after spending hundreds of man hours and very likely well over $1,000.

In common vernacular, this is called "re-inventing the wheel." We have all done it, and we all regret it!

Here is the best advice I can give you.

1. If you want a .300 Magnum, then take your current rifle to a large gun show, find a used Remington 700 in .300 Magnum, and trade your current rifle towards the price. With some good bargaining, you should be able to get $300 in trade towards the Magnum, and you should only have to throw in another $100 in cash to buy it. Presto, for $100 in extra cash, you have instantly acquired your Magnum action and bolt, without spending $400 in bolt alterations and without waiting 4 months for the gunsmith to do the work. This same advice would be true for any standard magnum caliber, including the 7 Mag, or the .300 Winchester Short Mag.
(Personally, I can't imagine why anyone would consider any magnums other than these 3 standard calibers for a long range tactical rifle.)

2. If you decide to go with a short action round, then go with a round that is either the .308 Winchester, or a derivative of it. Go to the gunshow and trade for a Remington 700 in .308 Winchester or .243 Winchester (very very easy to find). (By the way, the .308 Winchester is a superb long-range tactical round.)

3. If you decide to stay with the current action, then stay with the .30-06, or a .30-06 derivative round (such as the .25-06 or the .270 Winchester, or the .30-06 Improved etc.) I am not sure where the .280 Remington fits into this mix, but I believe you could easily convert your .30-06 to a .280 Remington as well.

By following the foregoing parameters, you are going to save hundreds of dollars, and lots of headaches. The money you save can be put towards your new barrel or stock. And also remember this, when you get complicated gunsmithing work done, there is better than a 50% chance that when you get the rifle back, it will NOT work as nicely as you expected, and you will be taking it back for more tweaking (which results in more waiting and often more expense).

I hope that this info is helpful to you.

Regards,

Mannyrock

Mikey · « **Reply #44 on:** October 14, 2009, 02:03:56 PM »

Mannyrock - now that's good advice.

Brithunter · « **Reply #45 on:** October 16, 2009, 07:22:28 AM »

Hmmm I have been following this and wondering what the orignal poster has decided on which was to go

meanwhile if it was me I would more than likely go with the 30-06 AI so std 30-06 ammunition could be used yet handloads would inprove on the performance.

It will be vey interesting to see the outcome.

Tonk · « **Reply #46 on:** November 14, 2009, 02:04:02 PM »

I once knew a couple of Marines who thought the 30-06 was Chocolate cake on a silver plater, when it came to hitting targets down range at 800 yds or so. I still vote for the 30-06!

JASmith · « **Reply #47 on:** November 14, 2009, 02:54:03 PM »

Your plan is to mostly punch paper and use factory ammo -- Truly hard to beat the 30-06 since you already have it.

My advice: Use your '06 for the few hunting trips and go with a fast twist .223 using factory 75-77 grain ammunition. The trajectories, including wind drift, are so close to those of 180 gr '06 ammo that you'd be astounded!

If you use similar scope reticles for both sports, you'll be better able to transfer learned skills from the .223 to the '06 and be a better field shot.

bigswede · « **Reply #48 on:** January 08, 2010, 12:18:58 AM »

start reloading and turn it into a 6.5-06. done and done

crash87 · « **Reply #49 on:** January 08, 2010, 06:58:13 AM »

WoW

I cannot believe there are 48 responses to a question only you can answer. Sell it, you should make a profit, and buy something you really want.
"In common vernacular, this is called "re-inventing the wheel." We have all done it, and we all regret it!"
I concur..............CRASH87

Dixie Dude · « **Reply #50 on:** January 08, 2010, 08:45:46 AM »

I read somewhere that this person hunted turkey with an 06 by using 10 grains of Unique powder and a 180 gr cast bullet. Said it was quiet and didn't do much damage, just plowed through the turkey.

Varmintnut260 · « **Reply #51 on:** February 03, 2010, 03:00:09 PM »

Why not a 25-06? It's recoil is low, and the bullet trajectory is pretty flat, and the bullets are light. With a heavy barrel you'd almost be able to see the bullet impact the target. If you sold it you could buy a tactical style rifle in a 300wm, 300wsm or 308.

WL44 · « **Reply #52 on:** February 03, 2010, 08:30:50 PM »

I would also maybe stick to the 06. Not glamorous, but proven and your cheapest alternative.

You've got one of the right rifles in the 700 Rem (although I like the M70 better

) which is why I chose one for a project too. It's like the 1911 of the rifle world with a bunch of aftermarket extras to pimp it up.

If you intend swapping out the barrel for something heavier to get your look and performance, you may consider the 6.5-284, or the straight 284 Win which is making a comeback in things like F-Class. You could probably make a 7mm WSM, 7mm RSAUM or 300 WSM work with some effort to get it feeding (although you could just shoot it as single shot if you are after tactical type rifle). The long actions work well with all of these chamberings (which are traditionally short action calibers) as they permit seating the heavier bullets further out to utilise the powder space of the case. You will want to cut the throat to permit for this. The RSAUM and WSM would need the bolt face reworked.

For my money, if I were to rebarrel, I'd do a 284. Those high BC 7mm bullets are awesome at long range. It's a very underrated chambering.

retrosub · « **Reply #53 on:** March 14, 2010, 05:03:39 AM »

The cheapest way to make a 30-06 more accurate is to handload. My Handi shoots 1.5" groups using various factory ammo but I can get less than .5" using handloads. I only started loading a couple months ago, so it doesn't take too much experience. A Lee Loader and a few other hand tools can get you more accurate on the bench than most anything you can do with your rifle and factory ammo.

charles p · « **Reply #54 on:** March 14, 2010, 12:31:29 PM »

"I am looking to build a tactical/ target rifle. I like the whole sniper rifle look". Which is higher on you list - the sniper look or long range accuracy without reloading?

A trip to a LWE supply could fix you up with the "look". Get a mag light, cuffs, fingerless gloves, and a revolving light for your car. The right hat and belt are very important.

Long range accuracy is not yet available as an add-on. Some say it starts with accurate reloading. It's not a "look".

jlchucker · « **Reply #55 on:** March 15, 2010, 04:00:12 AM »

Quote from: charles p on March 14, 2010, 12:31:29 PM

"I am looking to build a tactical/ target rifle. I like the whole sniper rifle look". Which is higher on you list - the sniper look or long range accuracy without reloading?

A trip to a LWE supply could fix you up with the "look". Get a mag light, cuffs, fingerless gloves, and a revolving light for your car. The right hat and belt are very important.

Long range accuracy is not yet available as an add-on. Some say it starts with accurate reloading. It's not a "look".

And don't forget the woodland Camo clothing for those dangerous forays into the mean streets of the big city.

glazer1972 · « **Reply #56 on:** September 30, 2010, 08:53:51 AM »

.30-06, 6.5x55 or 7x57.

Frank46 · « **Reply #57 on:** September 30, 2010, 07:20:04 PM »

The '06 has been around for over a hundred years. Been used as a target round for almost the same time. Think I have about 5 of them. But I would seriously ask you to consider starting reloading as factory ammo will get expensive very fast. And seriously limit your range time. I started reloading with a '17 '06 enfield. Wanna shoot at long distances use the 175 sierra matchking. You can a reloader's kit from just about any of the bignames. RCBS, hornady just to name a few. Frank