06 calibers

[trentcwwilson]

25-06, 30-06, 270, all the AI stuff. What would be the best to reload for as far as accuracy/economy goes?

 

[MaterDei]

Can't go wrong with any of these and not a lot of difference cost wise in reloading for any of them. Whichever you have the most economical access to once fired brass for would be my choice.

 

[trentcwwilson]

What about the best target wise? And this topic is open to the weird ones like 6mm-06 and what not.

 

[WestKentucky]

I like .270 but I feel something 6.5 coming in the near future

 

[MaterDei]

Hopefully others with more experience will respond. In my experience, target accuracy is a function primarily of 1) the rifle having a true, well bedded action, good bore/crown, etc. and 2) consistent loads. The choice of any of these 06 calibers shouldn't dictate accurate vs. non-accurate.

 

[Jim Watson]

.30-06 gets you the benefit of years of work by the Army, hunters and shooters before .308 and .223 came along.

MY .25-06 was not as accurate as MY .30-06.
A couple of friends are very happy in .270.

I don't normally do wildcats, improved or proprietaries, but if setting up a long action hunting rifle from scratch would look hard at .256 Newton.

 

[chiggerdigger]

as far as brass go's ..if you have 30-06 , you have the rest .

 

[JimKirk]

If you are sticking to the /06 case ... accuracy wise the better "target" bullets are going to be .243"(6/06), .264"(6.5/06), .284"(.280 Rem) & .308" (.30/06) ....

Economy wise the .30/06 ...

If you add in dies and barrel cost in some of the others ... the $$ add up ...

If $$$ was not a concern then the 6/06 would be good ....

 

[joneb]

I am mostly intrigued with the 280 rem. 338-06 and 35 Whelen. Not sayin the 30-06 isn't perfect.

 

[trentcwwilson]

Hopefully others with more experience will respond. In my experience, target accuracy is a function primarily of 1) the rifle having a true, well bedded action, good bore/crown, etc. and 2) consistent loads. The choice of any of these 06 calibers shouldn't dictate accurate vs. non-accurate.

Some cartridges are more naturally accurate than others. Take 222 for example. And I'll smack anyone that says 6.5CM. Not an 06 parent case. I'm wanting this thread to stick to any cartridge that is based off of the 30-06. Please?

I like .270 but I feel something 6.5 coming in the near future

 

[rcmodel]

30-06 has won every major long range accuracy match in the would between 1903 and 1954-55 when the .308 became the new U.S. Military caliber.

Now, other calibers have replaced them both due to more streamlined bullets possible in 6.5, and .338.

There really are no .25 or .270 Match grade bullets available.
But there a whole lot of .30 cal ones!!!

AE is a bad idea that really has no bearing on reality.
Once modern pressure testing and chronographs proved they got most of their increased velocity by running excess pressure to do it.

Some cartridges are more naturally accurate than others.

No, they aren't.
The guns they were normally chambered in, and refined for accuracy in are though.

rc

 

[trentcwwilson]

AE?

 

[ArchAngelCD]

Economy? I would salty the original, the 30-06.

Accuracy? All of them.

With a Howa 1500 rifle and my reloads I was able to shoot a .33" group @100 yards and backed it up with a .43" group. They are all accurate IMO. My groups were shot with either a Sierra or Hornady 168gr match bullet. I was shooting both at the time and can't remember which I shot that day but both are equal in my guns.

 

[joneb]

AE?

AI?

 

[trentcwwilson]

ackley improved. And I'll be buying/building around a caliber. Just got to decide.

 

[ArchAngelCD]

If you are building a rifle for accuracy alone everything says use a short action for accuracy but I still like the 30-06.

If you aren't stuck on an 06 offspring I would build a 6.5 Creedmoore for targer/longe range target work.

 

[trentcwwilson]

If you are building a rifle for accuracy alone everything says use a short action for accuracy but I still like the 30-06.

If you aren't stuck on an 06 offspring I would build a 6.5 Creedmoore for targer/longe range target work.

Let's not go there tonight. I'll build a 17 hornet before a 6.5CM. Besides, it won't be for 1000yd work.

 

[Walkalong]

Why don't you just tell everyone exactly what this is for and what you want/don't want, and what rifle you will likely buy or have instead of dragging it out.

That will help folks give you answers you are happier with.

 

[SVTOhio]

My interest lately has really been focused towards a 338-06. Can be built and shot for a whole heck of a lot cheaper then 338 lapua. Plus you only loose 2-300fps with a 250gr bullet and use 30-40% less powder.

 

[Bart B.]

The .30-06 has not won every major long range accuracy match in the world between 1903 and 1954-55. Ben Comfort won the 1000-yard scope match at the Nationals in 1935 with a .300 H&H Magnum; same round has won several between then and the late '50's when the .30-.338 out scored it for the top long range matches in the USA. The British .303 won a lot of Palma matches in international long range competition in that time frame. The .30-06 started dropping off the "favorite" list as a long range cartridge in 1963 and fell off completely by the 1970's. Yes, I know it was used a couple of times in the 1980's to win a long range match at the USA NRA Nationals, but it was loaded down to almost .308 Win velocities with Winchester match bullets.

The standard .30-06 may well be best for both accuracy and economy. The smaller the bullet diameter is for the same case, the less barrel life you get. That's why a 6mm-06 has about half the barrel life of a .30-06. If a 6mm-06 and .30-06 were built the same and had equal accuracy, the 6mm version would be a little better to shoot precisely with its milder recoil; bud at the expense of shorter barrel life.

It's a well known fact amongst top level competitive shooters that some cartridges are more accurate than others. Best example I know of in the 30 caliber ones happened from 1963 to 1966 when those few dozen match rifle shooters holding all the records shot with their .30-06 cartridges switched to the .308 Win. Only differences in their rifles and ammo were the case and chamber; all else the same. During that time, all the records held by the .30-06 were broken. Proper tests showed those rifles shot 25 to 50 percent smaller test groups with the .308 compared to the .30-06. Sierra Bullets saw the same difference testing their 30 caliber bullets in each and the .308 case became the one used to test most 30 caliber bullets for accuracy. Pressure curves are more repeatable with short, fat cases such as those popular in benchrest disciplines.

While short receivers are a bit stiffer than long ones, there's no difference in the accuracy a barrel in either can have. There's a bigger "base" in long receivers for the barrel to fit in. The first .308's were built a long action. Both twist, bend and wiggle very repeatably from shot to shot.

Wildcats from 22 to 38 caliber have been made with the .30-06 case. All do well in various hunting disciplines.

 

[spitballer]

While short receivers are a bit stiffer than long ones, there's no difference in the accuracy a barrel in either can have...

I'm inclined to agree with this. I would think any weakness in this area could be maximized/minimized by other components and by controlling operating pressure. I saw a recent article on the .280 (yes AI) which seemed to confirm this, however I don't have any practical experience or anecdotal data for anything of that size.

 

[trentcwwilson]

I'm looking at either a savage or a howa. Stainless of course. Shorter than 400 yards.

 

[ArchAngelCD]

I'm looking at either a savage or a howa. Stainless of course. Shorter than 400 yards.

I have a Pre Hogue overmolded stock Howa 1500 in 30-06 and in .223 and both are sub 1/2MOA rifles @200 yards. (no longer ranges near me) That receiver is/was used in the Smith&Wesson 1500, Mossberg 1500, Weatherby Vanguard and probably other quality rifles too. I recommend it. that said I'm also a fan of Savage rifles and I'm sure they will do what you need done too. I both both my rifles used at a great price and was also looking at Savage at the time.

 

[trentcwwilson]

Decisions, decisions

 

[ArchAngelCD]

The fix? Buy both lol... Yeah baby!!!