Most Accurate 30-06 Under $1000.00

[Master of Arms]

I`m about to be on the hunt for a 30-06 to both hunt and shoot at paper with. I would like an opinion on exactly what I`m looking for and where to find it. I ask this question here on THR because this is the place to ask such a question so any opinion is welcomed.

Also,whats the most accurate production bullet that you`ve ever shot.

 

[Dksimon]

Great idea for a thread. I will be watching closely to see the suggestions. Looking to upgrade from a 25-06

 

[R.W.Dale]

Keep an eye out for a used Winchester

I've owned a bunch of 30-06'es Everything from Savages to Encores but by far the most accurate of all is a used Winchester model 70 Ranger that I paid $270 for. For an ugly rifle this thing shoots like a house on fire, for this gun a "BAD" 5 shot 100yd group still won't be larger than 1.5"

If accuracy is your main concern you don't want to get too tied up in the rifle alone. In this day and age it's actually pretty much impossible to buy a crappy bolt action rifle. You might very well buy a $370 bargain bin rem 700 that will outshoot a $1200 Steyr

Your choice of optics will be almost as important. The most accurate rifle in the world won't shoot worth crap with a junky scope. If $1000 is your budget you need to be looking for a $600 rifle and spend the rest on optics and mounts.

 

[rangerruck]

Wow!!! thousand bucks is a bunch of money; to be honest, most any brand that is out there will be pretty accurate nowadays. So I am going to make some assumptions; You want an avg length bbl, sporter contour, with decent stock, wood or synthetic. Then the answer is simple, a cz first, and foremost, with a set trigger, then a Savage classic in wood stock, such as a 114 model.
next would be varmint or heavy contour bbls, with synth stocks, that have some type of pillaring or bedding to them, and now the choices will be wild and hairy. Let me also add, a nice Weatherby, in a beaut of a wood stock, or a remmy in bdl , or cdl model, will also be quite nice, and all of these will be classice wood, american design.

 

[skinewmexico]

Under $1000? I'd buy a Stevens 200 for $300, put a Shilen Supermatch barrel on it for $350, a SSS trigger for $100, and a B&C Duramaxx stock for $100. Then I'd sell off the original stock, trigger and barrel for $150, and buy a Farrell base and Burris Signature zee rings. But that's just me.

 

[rangerruck]

Also , do not dismiss a nice Howa if you find one, or a browning, in a fabulous A-bolt or T- bolt design. you could get all of these, with some nice glass, rings , mounts, and several boxes of diff type ammo, to see which ammo it likes best,sling, carry bag, and cleaning equipment, and you could do the whole thing for 1000 bucks.

 

[rangerruck]

for bullets, a nice federal matchking, or a winchester silvertip, though both expensive, are good accurate bullets. But surprisingly, I have had very good results with remmy and winny baseline bullets, at about 16 bucks a box. good for paper, and for hunting as well, as the bullets mushroom nicely, and hold together pretty good.

 

[glockman19]

Remington 700 CDL should run around $700 leaving money for glass or ammo.

 

[ScottG1911]

Savage 111 30-06, $350 give or take. Will be one of the most accurate out of box factory rifle you can buy. But unlike most other rifles, it is pillar bedded, free float barrel, and Accu-trigger

 

[jmr40]

Buy a Tikka, mount scope in the supplied rings and go shoot. If you like to play around with a rifle and change a bunch of stuff to get it to shoot this is not the rifle for you. There is nothing else to do. Mine is very boring. It shoots cheap factory ammo into 1" groups and good ammo into 1/2" groups consistently. Price is $500-$600 depending on blue/stainless. As a bonus they are very light. Mine weighs 7lbs. 1 oz. scoped.

 

[gcrookston]

+1 for Savage

 

[USSR]

MoA,

Unlike in years past, there aren't alot of production match quality .30-06's available. Savage used to make one, but I'm not sure if it's still in production. I had a custom built '06 made for me 8 years ago, and am extremely pleased with it. IMHO, the most accurate, commonly available production bullet is the 190 grain Sierra MatchKing. I use this bullet exclusively in my LR .30-06.

Don

 

[plexreticle]

Well your on the right track with 30-06.

 

[Jim Watson]

Any of the above will shoot well, but I think you will either get tired of humping a target rifle in the woods or get tired of getting kicked at the range by a hunting rifle. You really need to save up and get two rifles. And even if the same caliber, don't expect to be able to swap ammo or even brass around promiscuously.

The most accurate .30 bullet I have found is the Lapua Scenar. (Shot in .308 rather than .30-06, but that should not matter much.) But I am going to try some Bergers; they and the JLKs are very good in my long .223.

 

[skinewmexico]

What weight JLKs? (shameless thread redirection)

 

[jimmyraythomason]

I would include a Kimber 84M in this list as long as you already have a scope to go on it,otherwise you will go over budget.

 

[Franco2shoot]

My personal favorite is Model 7 Remington in .308 it is a tack driver. Its light and easy to hunt with and matched with a 165 grain bullet I can take the orange dot outta a shoot-n-see @ 100 yards. The recoil is heavy when shooting 308 so moving to 30-06 might be a bit uncomfrotable.
KKKKFL

 

[oldgold]

I bought a Savage 110 for $250. A little work on the trigger and a Tasco world class scope and my handloads with Sierra 2110 bullets will give five shot 3/8" groups. I have never shot a factory round out of it since my shoulder is a mess.

Can't imagine paying $1000 for a rifle unless you are more into 'pretty'. 'Status' to me is very small groups.YMMD

goldy

 

[Master of Arms]

Great suggestions guys. The Kimber rifles are "out there" with their prices but they`re great rifles. I have a Savage in the 7mm mag and I`m not really happy with it out of the box. The recoil is extreme and the barrel gets HOT FAST. I`ve not seen any suggestions including Ruger which surprises me because my Ruger M77 300 mag is awsome. My Ruger has a thicker barrel than my Savage and is deadly accurate. I have video of shooting at the range at a 3 inch by 6 inch target at 400 yards and hitting it dead center on two back to back shots. USSR I really like that rifle in the pic and I`d like a little more info about it like where you had it done and exactly what parts you`ve used.

Can't imagine paying $1000 for a rifle unless you are more into 'pretty'. 'Status' to me is very small groups.

I`m not into pretty but pretty isn`t the only thing that makes a rifle more expensive. Thickness of the barrel and the type and material used for internal and external parts have alot to do with the cost of a rifle.

Well your on the right track with 30-06.

Yeah, check my other threads and look at the poll I`ve started on one of them. There are lots of 30-06 owners out there. I chose the 30-06 as my next rifle because I shoot alot both rifle and pistol and the cost of ammo along with availability of different loads and reloadable surplus ammo.

Buy a Tikka

I hear ya!

KEEP`m coming guys!

 

[skinewmexico]

Well, barrel thickness is something you know up front, and choose to live with. You can re-barrel a Savage in 30 minutes in your own garage, so that's easy to fix.

 

[cracked butt]

I'd get a used win model 70 or Browning A-bolt- either of them with the Browning Boss brake. They are loud, have very little recoil, and are easy to tune to whatever load you are shooting. I've shot a few rifles with this system and have been very impressed with how easy it is to get factory ammunition to shoot moa or better. A friend of mine has the Model 70 with the brake- we did a range outing a few years ago to get it dialed in (he's not much of a shooter, more of a hunter than an avid shooter), once it was zeroed, 3 of us took turns shooting pennies taped to a target at 100 yards with a $1 ante per shot- you miss, you're out, I remember the ante getting up to around $8.

Other than that, I'd go with a Tikka T3.

 

[jimmyraythomason]

Kimbers certainly are high priced but retail for about $800.00 locally. Add the 10% sales tax and you still come in under budget (slightly). Still it doesn't leave enough for decent optics.

 

[USSR]

USSR I really like that rifle in the pic and I`d like a little more info about it like where you had it done and exactly what parts you`ve used.

MoA,

Well, it ain't particularly "pretty", but it does pretty well for it's intended purpose (LR target shooting).

Winchester LA pushfeed action
Krieger fluted 26" MTU barrel
McMillan A2 stock
Williams steel one-piece bottom metal
Jewell trigger
SpeedLock firing pin and spring
Badger 20MOA base and rings
Leupold 6.5-20x50LR M1 Mildot scope

Smithing done by Jack Krieger (action trued, pillar bedded, match chamber). The load used consists of a Sierra 190gr MatchKing propelled at 2900fps by 60.7gr of RL22. About 30MOA out to 1k.

Don

 

[USSR]

Thanks, although I must admit, my 6.5x55 F Class rifle gets more use due to a flatter trajectory and less recoil.

Don

 

[skinewmexico]

I have a feeling that didn't make the $1000 limit. I wanted a 6.5X55 for F-Class, but stumbled across a 6.5x47 Lapua Savage barrel cheap, and couldn't resist.