30-06... Looking for Recommendations

You have opened a can of worms here. Many will chime in with their favorites and why. In all actuality any difference in the brands will be in the details. I have owned centerfire rifles from Ruger, Savage, and Remington. All have shot 1 1/4 or less at one hundred yards so plenty good for most purposes. My recommendation is to find a bolt action that looks and feels good to you. If you go with any of the cheaper models you can put an aftermarket stock on it later. Not any options with twist rate. Pretty much you are going to get a 1-10 whether you want it or not. With that twist you can shoot any bullet from 130-200 grains. Depending on individual rifles some will shoot heavier or lighter well. The 30/06 has been around for 108 years and pretty much all the bugs are worked out.

I had a Browning A-bolt, simply because it felt best in my hand versus Remington and Ruger - because I liked the action of the bolt better. As with handguns, try out a few and see what best fits you. I mounted a Nikon ProStaff scope and was hitting the 10 at 200 yards all day.

I can tell you what I'd buy and why.


My #1 pick is one of the Winchesters.

I'm not quite sure you can get one at your $800 limit, but I'd find a way to come up with a bit more if it runs over a little. I like the Featherweight. It is not a true Featherweight, but by modern standards a standard weight rifle. It is heavier than the Mossberg and Ruger American you've looked at. A good balance between being light enough to carry, but not too light to shoot well.

http://www.winchesterguns.com/products/catalog/detail.asp?family=001C&mid=535200

#2, and street prices are well within your budget, is the Ruger Hawkeye.

Both are Controlled Round Feed rifles, and that is important to me. Both are plenty accurate enough for your needs. Both weigh about the same. Either should be able to place 3 shots under 1" at 100 yards, but if looking for pure accuracy there are other better choices.

http://ruger.com/products/HawkeyeStandard/models.html

A 22" barrel is plenty for 30-06. With the better factory loads or handloads you can shoot 150's to a bit over 3000 fps with a 22" tube. Going up to 24" might add 30-50 fps, maybe less. Make your choice based on which looks and balances best to you and don't worry about losing bullet speed with a 22" barrel.

Unlike AR's, 30-06 rifles don't have multiple twists to worry about. Virtually all are 1:10 or very close. That seems to work just fine for most folks.

I appreciate a good stick of wood as much as anyone, but I use my rifles hard. Most of my go to rifles are SS and have McMillan synthetic stocks on them. The SS/Synthetic Kimber didn't need a stock replacement. That is the way I'd go, but it sounds like for your uses walnut would be an acceptable choice. I wouldn't touch laminate. It is only marginally more stable than solid wood, but much heavier and ugly.

You don't give a budget on your optics.

I wouldn't waste money on anything that retails much under $200. Some cheaper scopes are decent, but at about the $200 level you get a lot more than at the $150 and under level. Good options are the Redfield Revolution, Leupold VX-1, and Burris FF-II.

I really like the Leupold VX-2 at around $300-$350 as the best buy. More than good enough for 99% of shooting needs and within reach of most budgets. You can move up to the VX-3 or Zeiss scopes at around $400-$500 if you have the money and just want to. But the small difference in performance is just not worth the added expense to me.

One of these would be my top picks.

http://swfa.com/Burris-3-9x40-Fullfield-II-Rifle-Scope-P187.aspx
http://swfa.com/Redfield-3-9x40-Revolution-Rifle-Scope-P44468.aspx
http://swfa.com/Leupold-3-9x40-VX-2-Riflescope-P51797.aspx
http://swfa.com/Leupold-3-9x40-VX-2-Riflescope-P51800.aspx

The '06 is a bit overbore, so longer barrels and slow powder work well. 24" barrel, at least. My pet '06 is an old Weatherby Mark V with a 26" barrel.

With 4064 and a 150-grain bullet, I get right at 3,100 for muzzle velocity.

Messing around in reloading, five grains of pistol powder and a 00 Buck is a good squirrel load. An 80-grain pistol bullet and a bunch of 3031 comes out near 4,000 ft/sec. 110s at about 3,400 to 3,500.

That flat-nosed .32-20 bullet, swaged to .308, does horrible things to a jackrabbit. Think "disassembly".

54.0 grains of H414 and a 180-grain Sierra SPBT gave me a three-shot group of 0.4. Not bad for an Olde Phart with a rifle that had about 4,000 rounds through it.

FWIW, I set up a 500-yard range at my house. Messing around one day, I discovered that the Sierra 150-grain SPBT, the 165-grain HPBT and the 180 SPBT all have about the same trajectory, give or take a couple of inches.

Art, what 80 grain pistol bullets are you using? And I thought 00 buck was a .32 caliber ball?

As per the question, I highly recommend one of the FNH Winchesters, besides the fact that their now assembled in Portugal, their fine rifles. The Portugal factor though turned me away (mine was pre-Portugal).

CZ rifles are beautiful, I handled a 550FS in .308 and it pointed effortlessly, though the action was not as smooth as my Winchester, but it would smooth out over time.

With an $800 or so ceiling, you have a lot of choices and I recommend you spend a lot of time handling all of them to find the one that feels like it belongs with you.

Some examples I have or have shot are the Remington 700 BDL, Browning A-bolt, Browning X-bolt, Savage 110, Weatherby Vanguard and Weatherby Mark V, CZ 550 American, Kimber 8400, Winchester Feather weight, Tikka T-3 Hunter and the Sako 85.
Of all of them, I am most partial to the Sako 85. Beautiful, excellent fit and finish, smooth, reliable and awesomely accurate. Did I mention how pretty they are?

My optics recommendation would be something like a Weaver Grand Slam, Leupold VX-II, Burris FF-II or Nikon Monarch in a 3-9x40. A Zeiss Conquest or Swift Premier would be just fine, too.

Happy shopping!

Poper

Poper said:

.......
Of all of them, I am most partial to the Sako 85. Beautiful, excellent fit and finish, smooth, reliable and awesomely accurate. Did I mention how pretty they are? Poper

Click to expand...

This ^^^^^. Sako = Gorgeous

800 to spend. I think the Remington 700 CDL should fall in that category. It would be my pick because I love the look and feel of the wood stock/satin finish.

This pick is strictly due to the "look and feel" of the rifle. My suggestion is to pick and cycle as many rifles with the stocks that fit your individual taste. With your budget and tastes you should end up with a very fine rifle.

The suggestion of a 200 dollar or higher priced scope is a good one. I lean myself toward a Redfield or Leupold that is made in the States. A 3-9 scope is ideal for the 30-06.

22' barrel length should suffice. Trying to get every bit of velocity by going to a 24 or even longer barrel doesn't make sense to me. Go to a magnum if more velocity is your game (which it doesn't seem to me to be). With the 30-06 most ammo companies make a "light" magnum load if you need a little more speed and power. They also make lighter recoil loads for that matter which just adds to the versatility of this great caliber. And because you reload you are getting a caliber that has the most loads tailored to every need imaginable.

Savage 110 with Nikon scope $537
Tikka T3 Hunter $678
Remington CDL $798

add ffl cost

Winchester model 70 with wood will be closer too $850 .

I would take any of them in that order and the Winchester first if it were in my budget . I also like my hunting rifle in synthetic & stainless . They show less wear in bad conditions and give me less worry . Wood sure is pretty and traditional though .

If you want a nice one I would buy a Kimber. If you want a nice synthetic I would buy a Vanguard. Both excellent rifles.

I would go with the Tikka T3. You won't get the beauty or refinement of a Sako, but you do get a Sako barrel and buttery smooth action.

CZ 550 Full Stock .

I have owned Rem 700s, Ruger M77s and Savages. I have now replaced all of them with FN Winchesters. Took some money to trade em out, but ddefinitely worth it!! They are FINE rifles!

i'd look hard at the winchester featherweight, or the cz 550fs. those would be my choices, and both are very pretty rifles with plain walnut.

P.B.Walsh, my uncle used a swager on .32-20 bullets, the old flat-noses, as a "have fun" jackrabbit load. Somewhere around 53 or 54 grains of IMR 3031.

80-grain pistol bullets should be run through a swager on general principles. Whatever .32 jacketed bullets you find, I guess.

The 00 Buck is soft lead, and deforms easily in the .308-diameter barrel. With only five grains of pistol powder, it doesn't even expand the case neck.

This was stuff I messed around with when I first started reloading, some sixty-plus years back.

Heck, I even took a 220-grain lead gas-check, drilled it out to accept the case and powder of a .22 LR and tried it. Waste of time, but when you're 16, you get curious.

FN Winchester Featherweight. You can find them right around $800-900 on Gunbroker. If you must go lower on price, I like the Rugers quite a bit.

Winchester M70...slightly customized...Vortex Viper HS scope

stainless action,synthetic stock 22 inch bbl w/gentry custom brake to reduce recoil.try to find the lightest rig you can get.brake will help in reducing recoil due to light weight.as we get older,weight becomes an issue.ruger has that nice 7123 in 308 you might also want to look at. pretty much same ballistics as a 3006.http://www.ruger.com/products/m77HawkeyeAllWeather/specSheets/7123.html
http://www.gentrycustom.com/

check nikon/redfield scopes

they are all good.the reason i like stainless/synthetic,is if you scratch it who cares.cold sloppy weather does not cause the stock to swell,affecting accuracy.keep it light.if your hunting method changes,you already have the perfect rifle.laminate is nice,but heavier.going from outside freeze to inside warm cabin,won't mess anything up.

redfield revolution,3x9x50 is better. more light gathering in low light conditions,but 3x9x42 is good also.don't need anything fancier.
http://redfield.com/riflescopes/

For you second question, I have really liked a Burris fullfield II on my savage 30-06. You might want something classier on your pretty rifle but as jmr40 as suggests that should be the bottom end of your options.