30-06 love...

[adcoch1]

Got to take my 8yr old son out shooting the other day. Shotguns and an ar15 pistol, and my 30-06 Mauser custom. Watching my son blow up some wood 2x6 scraps with slugs and buckshot and the ar pistol was priceless. But I also had to try out this 30-06 I picked up a while back. Pictures first.


The 30-06 is an fn mauser commercial action put together by Chet Paulson in Tacoma WA. From what I've heard he was a whiz with colt single actions but also built rifles for some people. This one was from the late 70s, just like me.

It came with a 4x scope in a twist off mount.


Here is Chet's stamping on the barrel, and a little example of the blueing on this rifle.
To say the least it is beautiful. Just a very well done classic hunting rifle. But looks aren't all this old girl has to offer!

I took a box of 220 grn rem core-locts to our informal shooting session and positively hammered the targets with it! At 60 yards I shot a tall blade of grass by the logging road we were shooting at, and did it again after swinging the scope off and using the backup folding ghost ring! It was positively a pleasure shooting this old rifle in my favorite cartridge. I will be using this rifle a lot more in the future, and can't wait to get it on a real grid target for groups.

 

[Alaskan Ironworker]

FN mausers give me a nice warm fuzzy feeling.

 

[ms6852]

Handsome kid and beautiful rifle. Mausers are simply great rifles.

 

[adcoch1]

Handsome kid and beautiful rifle. Mausers are simply great rifles.

I've been looking for a nice one in a decent price range for several years, passed on a 7mm mag last year, so when this one came up I had to have it. It really suprised me how light recoiling it is even with 220 grn ammo. Can't wait to try out some 165s in it.

 

[GooseGestapo]

I’ve got two MkX mausers. One in ‘06 another in .270. Killed my first deer with the ‘06 44yrs ago.
I’d love to have that scope base, but then again, It’s worn a Leupold it’s whole life, so never a need for the open sights!

You need to invest in a good checkering job. That would “finish”, that rifle.... IMO

 

[ms6852]

It has been my experience in my rifles that the 165 grainers are the most accurate and deliver enough energy for elk and deer at relative long distances over 200 yards easily. My rifle shoot sub moa at 200 yards when I check zero and that is using factory loads such are Remington Core-lokts. Good Luck!

 

[WisBorn]

Nice rifle!

Does a 30-06 preform well with 220 grain bullets? Are they a worthwhile option?
I have and owned a few 30-06s but never shot anything with a 220. Everyone mentions them when talking about how diverse the 30-06 is.

 

[gotboostvr]

Nice rifle!

Does a 30-06 preform well with 220 grain bullets? Are they a worthwhile option?
I have and owned a few 30-06s but never shot anything with a 220. Everyone mentions them when talking about how diverse the 30-06 is.

With 165gr bullets, the -06 and 308 are close enough to not worry about the difference.

With 180gr the -06 starts to have an appreciable difference.

When you step it up to the 220gr the -06's greater case capacity allows it to handle those bullets well and it's a whole class difference practically.

Much like a heavily built 44 special Six gun can cover just about anything you'd do with a 180gr-240gr 44 magnum. Once you step up to the 300gr class, the bigger case capacity takes it to a whole 'nuther level.

 

[Vern Humphrey]

Nice rifle!

Does a 30-06 preform well with 220 grain bullets? Are they a worthwhile option?
I have and owned a few 30-06s but never shot anything with a 220. Everyone mentions them when talking about how diverse the 30-06 is.

The M1903 was designed for a 220 grain bullet -- in 1906 we switched to a 150 grain bullet, and slightly shortened the cartridge neck. So the .30-03 became the .30-06. The rifling twist was never changed, though, so 220 grain bullets (and some even longer and heavier) shoot well in the '06.

Back in the day when all hunting bullets were cup-and-core, there were a lot of "bullet failures" on game, and people like Elmer Keith used the heaviest bullets they could get -- on the theory that when the bullet came apart on impact, some fragment would be big enough to do the job. Ernest Hemmingway killed a rhinoceros with a 220 grain bullet from a .30-06.

Today, with premium bullets, I don't see any reason to go above 180 grains, and as someone else said, the 165 grain bullet is probably the best balance of mass and velocity -- with the right bullet.

 

[adcoch1]

I’ve got two MkX mausers. One in ‘06 another in .270. Killed my first deer with the ‘06 44yrs ago.
I’d love to have that scope base, but then again, It’s worn a Leupold it’s whole life, so never a need for the open sights!

You need to invest in a good checkering job. That would “finish”, that rifle.... IMO

I have thought about it, it would set it off...

 

[ms6852]

The 30-06 performs well with 220 grainers. I switched to only 165 grainers years ago simply because it was for me the best balance for both elk and deer. I hunted a couple of years with 220's and 180's out of curiosity and did not enjoy the recoil I felt from those cartridges. I did carry an extra magazine for my rifle loaded only with 220's in Grizzly country where I could switch quickly from the 165 grainers in case of encounter with a grizzly.

 

[Offfhand]

It's hard not to love .30/06's and Mausers, especially vintage issues like these '06's from the FN works back in the 1950's.

 

[P5 Guy]

.30'06 is my favorite rifle round.

 

[Vern Humphrey]

Amen!

I have 2 '03A3s -- a Smith-Corona and a Remington, And an H&R M1 made in the mid-'50s with all the latest bells and whistles.

 

[Offfhand]

Here's a couple more 0'6's: I bought the C-style '03 from an army armorer when I was a teenager and used it in high-power competitions for several years, shooting about a jillion cast bullets through it, which I cast in a Lyman single cavity mould back when wheel weights were free for the asking. The other is an '03 conversion by R.F. Sedgley back in the 1920's. Sedgley was know as the Poor Man's Griffin & Howe because of his classic rifles at affordable prices...

 

[adcoch1]

Here's a couple more 0'6's: I bought the C-style '03 from an army armorer when I was a teenager and used it in high-power competitions for several years, shooting about a jillion cast bullets through it, which I cast in a Lyman single cavity mould back when wheel weights were free for the asking. The other is an '03 conversion by R.F. Sedgley back in the 1920's. Sedgley was know as the Poor Man's Griffin & Howe because of his classic rifles at affordable prices...View attachment 947811 View attachment 947812

Those are a couple of beautiful rifles!

 

[cdb1]

There are a number of iterations of FN Commercial Mausers. Even Sears got in on the act with the JC Higgins Model 50. I like them all.

 

[Offfhand]

Here's another mil-surp Mauser converted to .30/06, with the once bulky receiver ring turned down and gracefully flared into the scope base by Dave Talley, and a spectacular piece of wood sculpted by the late Dale Goens.. .

.

 

[adcoch1]

Here's another mil-surp Mauser converted to .30/06, with the once bulky receiver ring turned down and gracefully flared into the scope base by Dave Talley, and a spectacular piece of wood sculpted by the late Dale Goens..View attachment 948476 View attachment 948477 View attachment 948478 View attachment 948479 .

.

That thing is beautiful Offhand! Great pictures of a great rifle.

 

[1KPerDay]

WOW. *drool*