Beloved 30-06 Anyone?

sage5907 said:
I've been hunting with a 30-06 for more years than most of the High Road members are old. At one point in time I owned 6 of them but sad to say I'm down to only two. My favorite I call my "Hammer Gun" because it really hammers anything I shoot at. I have a good supply of Sierra and Nosler bullets that will keep me shooting for a long time.
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I once had 11 rifles in '06, counting a drilling, Valmet 412 12/30-06 and 30-06 DR. Why? Hellifiknow. I seemed to find some great deals and interesting rifles.

I am down to two now, a first year of production 3-digit Mdl 70 that once wore a side-mounted Lyman Alaskan and an FN actioned custom with a 3-position safety, light contour barrel, Pound'r stock with aluminum bottom metal, and a Timney trigger. The FN was my favorite rifle for high country tough mountain hunting. It has been on some real rough hunts. Since I can no longer do any of that it will go to a relative soon.

Poor pix of the FN...I'll try to get a couple of the Mdl 70:
heW4NlD.jpg

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.30-06 on the right.
If it doesnt sell in a couple.months proly just keep ( at a shop on consignment ).

The .280 Ruger has been gone a while LOL
Replaced w a .308.

The Remington pump in .35 rem aint going anywhere, unless i get a custom#1.

The Hawken Silver Elite is boxed and going to a gunshow. Am too old n cranky to mess w BP anymore.
 
45/30-06OKIE said:
Here's my 30-06!
View attachment 1204104
1944 M1 Garand from the CMP that I modified to use with a suppressor. Took a little bit of work but it runs great after I adjusted the Shuster Adjustable gas plug I put in it. Used a Fulton Armory threaded gas lock adapter. Sounds pretty good with a SilencerCo Hybrid 46M on it.
Wish the GIs in WW2 had these... would've been sweet.
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That's awesome. Any videos?
 
Hookeye said:
View attachment 1204500
.30-06 on the right.
If it doesnt sell in a couple.months proly just keep ( at a shop on consignment ).

The .280 Ruger has been gone a while LOL
Replaced w a .308.

The Remington pump in .35 rem aint going anywhere, unless i get a custom#1.

The Hawken Silver Elite is boxed and going to a gunshow. Am too old n cranky to mess w BP anymore.
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Dang, I'd keep the Hawken just to hang it on my wall and look at. Lovely wood!
 
Yeah, '95 special run called a Hawken "Silver Elite".
Bought it new, killed a 160 class buck (net) with it.
Sling buckle added some dings to it when cased.
Made it up to last couple yrs like new.
Oh well.
Hurt collector value, but I never bought it for that. I hunted it.
I just am too grumpy to mess with hassles anymore.

Ruger #1 scope stuff is too much these days.

My Steyr PH in .30-06 was boringly trouble free.
WW 150gr SP, dialed right in w the VX3i 3.5-10X.
Never even adjusted the trigger........not the best, but usable as is.
5 shots at an inch at 100 yds.

Its like a decent claw hammer............a basic tool that works so well its just taken for granted.
 
Of this trio of '06's, at bottom is my all time most beloved as it is the rifle I've owned longer than any other gun. It was tuned by the armorer of the Army rifle team, who sold it to me when I was about 15 and just getting in to high power rifle competitions. I plan to be buried with it. IMG_6911.jpg IMG_6913.jpg
 
When I was shooting competition seriously, I had another pre 64 set up as my #2 rifle in event of a malfunction of #1 below. Never had to call in the 2nd string so #2 has since gone down the road.
1712970714895.jpeg
I took one of my shot out 26" barrels off of #1, had it cut to remove eroded throat, leaving a 24" blank. Had it threaded to fit an A3 action fitted w/a Timney trigger and extended bolt handle to help make up for the heavier bolt lift than on the Winchester then finished a Bishop stock blank for it to very closely duplicate the feel of the Mod 70's.

From the bench or prone it shoots as well as the Mod. 70. Offhand, however, due to the noticeably longer lock time, I can count on being one ring outside my call w/the A3. For various reasons I did not want to alter the cocking piece and add a heavier spring to achieve a bit better lock time. Since I built the rifle for offhand practice only, it served me well and saved a lot of wear and tear on my match rifle barrels. I'm told I can expect up to 4000 rounds of life from this barrel.
1712970668754.jpeg
1712972587796.jpeg 1712972645262.jpeg
 
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I hunted almost exclusively with a Rem 700 ADL in 30-06 that I bought new in high school (1974 production rifle bought in 1975) for most of my hunting career. That rifle has taken most of my big game. After I started hand loading I drifted to 308 though. I can get about 95% of the speed of my 30-06 ( 2850 vs 3000 fps with 150's) with only 47 gr of powder vs 60 gr in the 30-06. Recoil is about 25% less in equal weight rifles. That makes powder go a bit farther and there is enough less recoil that I can tolerate more range time. Or I can shoot a significantly lighter 308 and get about the same recoil. But my two 30-06 rifles aren't for sale.

Where the 30-06 separates itself from 308 is with heavier bullets. I found this SS Winchester Classic in 30-06 used at a gun show about 15 years ago. Over time it has evolved into what I think is the perfect all around, do anything, anywhere, anytime, no excuses big game rifle. The Winchester Classics retain all of the advantages of the Pre 64's including the most foolproof trigger out there with modern machining.
I picked up a used McMillan Edge stock for it but since the stock was designed for 1 piece bottom metal, and my rifle came with 2 piece steel bottom metal I swapped it out for aluminum PTG bottom metal. Between the lighter stock and bottom metal it weighs 7 1/2 lbs as shown with the Zeiss scope. Its an honest 1 MOA rifle with a variety of loads. With 200 gr bullets there isn't anything in North America I wouldn't hunt with it.

005.JPG
 
A couple '06's that are not my favorites but I enjoy having them: Top is Rem 700 BDL I bought because it has the prettiest wood I've ever seen on a 700 and I can't resist pretty lumber. Bottom is 1950's FN that I think is rather interesting because of factory mounted receiver sight, which is unusual for a European rifle of that era and no preps for scope mounting, even as scopes were becoming popular at that tme. IMG_6931.jpg IMG_6933.jpg IMG_6955.jpg IMG_6950.jpg IMG_6946.jpg
 
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Litetrigger said:
A couple '06's that are not my favorites but I enjoy having them: Top is Rem 700 I bought because it has the prettiest wood I've ever seen on a 700 and I can't resist pretty lumber. Bottom is 1950's FN that I think is rather interesting because of factory mounted receiver sight, which is unusual for a European rifle of that era and no preps for scope mounting, even as scopes were becoming popular at that tme.View attachment 1204871View attachment 1204872View attachment 1204873View attachment 1204874View attachment 1204875
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And the stock was made for the peep
 
"Anyone who claims the 30-06 is not effective has either not tried one, or is unwittingly commenting on their own marksmanship!"
Phil Shoemaker of Alaska commenting on hunting Brown Bear.
I have a pic somewhere of him in Alaska, beside his plane, and "Old Ugly" leaning against the plane, his old, I believe Mod 70 30-06 which he has I think used more than any other rifle for Brown Bear guiding.
 
I have a Savage 110 scoped with a beautiful 2x10. It's very accurate, beyond reliable and I love wood stocks with a quality sling. It's my heavy gun for large game now a days. My Savage 243 is my light to medium gun since 2012.
But the old Savage 06 has bagged 2 bull Elk in AZ. Both shots no further that 200yds
Bagged 4 mulies with it, 1 pronghorn, 10 + ferrel hogs and countless varmints.
All took one hit, dropped dead within 5 yrds of being hit.
 
Love my 30-06's. There are rifles with better numbers for velocity, drop, etc with more and less recoil. But I killed my first deer with a 1917 Enfield that my dad sporterized. I now have my grandfather's sporterized 1917 Enfield that between him and I have killed a ton of deer with.
I semi-retired granddad's rifle because if that stock ever got broken I would be sick and can't replace it. So about 20 yrs ago I bought my first dedicated LH BDL in 30-06 and is my current go to rifle hands down.

Why, because they work just like an old reliable war horse that it is.
 
Nice rifle! I am a huge 30-06 fan. I have 4 of them and reload for all of them. I use a Remington 721 carbine with a Burris scope for hunting. I also have the M1903A3, M1 Garand and the M1917. The 721 is sub-MOA capable and the milsurps are sub 2 MOA or better. The M1917 is the best of all 3 milsurps. I think the original barrel saw little use and is in amazing condition.
 
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