need general purpose 30-06

[justin22885]

absolutely no modern bolt action interests me except for the savage 10/110 series, id still rather have a mauser though

 

[CB900F]

Afrederick;

You might also take a look at the Tikka T3 Forest. SDak Sports had them on sale recently & they still might be on sale for all I know. You get a little better wood and the Monte Carlo comb if that's of interest to you.

900F

 

[Gtscotty]

I don't think you would go wrong with a Tikka, I've had 3, and all 3 were shooters. Some folks don't like the polymer trigger guard and bolt shroud, but I never had problems with either. Tikka T3s are only made in standard length action format, so in my opinion, since you're going to be carrying around the extra .5 in of receiver anyway you might as well stick with a standard length cartridges like 30-06, .270, 25-06, 7 Mag, etc.

For a general purpose rifle, I like stainless and and synthetic for durability and weather resistance. The synthetic stock on the Tikkas is pretty good in terms of stiffness, and if you live near a Sportsman's Warehouse they stock a special edition Stainless Tikka with a fluted barrel that is even lighter than the standard T3, and lists for $699.

 

[CB900F]

Afrederick;

I've got three Tikka's. The ought-6 in a blue/synthetic, the .338 Winchester magnum is blue/wood, and the third is a custom gun that only has the reworked Tikka action in a totally handmade Rob Smith stock. All of them range from quite accurate to spectacularly accurate. And all of them are left handed action also.

900F

 

[X-Rap]

To me an all purpose rifle is light, compact, detachable mag, economical to purchase, robust, probably both optics and iron sighted and in 30-06 I'd expect large game accuracy at 300+ yards.
For me my GP 06 is the Rem. 760 in Carbine length 16"-18". I know it's not a bolt gun but they are worth taking a look at as an alternative.
I'm confident that given some time I could put another together for under $650 including Bell & Carlson synthetic furniture and a quality 1.5-3x scope.
Mine will hold MOA with the right load and I've taken elk at 400 measured yards.

 

[Cee Zee]

I'd expect large game accuracy at 300+ yards.

I had my 30.06 in my hand getting ready to shoot the exact direction where a bear popped up at about 250 yards. I was 95% sure I could nail that bear with my Savage 110. I even had 220 gr. bullets in the mag and the chamber. But I couldn't bring myself to take that shot. It would have been legal because the bear was a threat to the livestock. It wasn't my livestock but we had the farm rented from time to time to people raising some cattle. No way I would have been rung up for shooting that bear. But I couldn't do it. 95% just wasn't a good enough percentage. The last thing I wanted was to unleash a wounded bear on the area.

I'm sure there are plenty of places where a 300 yard shot at a bear wouldn't be a hassle but on my farm it was. I would love to get another shot at that bear with a better shooting rifle. The Savage 110 shoots pretty good but the Savage 12 I have is insanely accurate. I could have put a bullet in that bear's eye from that distance if I was shooting a rifle as accurate as that one.

My point though is that shooting long distances at dangerous game can be a dangerous game. A wounded bear in a area not more than 2 miles from a state park lake (less than that to the park itself) should be reason to give anyone pause to wonder about making that shot. Obviously I want the rifle to have the accuracy of my 12 but for most situations the 110 is fine. I just don't think a bear at 250 yards is part of "most situations".

But I am a cautious person. I had a coyote in my sights with my 12 at about 200 yards one day. It just popped up right where I was pointing the gun. I had set out the leftover Thanksgiving turkey as bait for that coyote. That day I didn't have a round in the rifle. Dang my bad luck. But I wasn't 100% sure it was a coyote and not a dog. My scope wasn't that great. I was 95% or so again on that but it didn't matter. But if I had a bullet to fire I might have thought twice about that too. I wouldn't want to shoot some kid's dog. I bought a better scope for that rifle not long after that. The old scope had been fine for plinking and target shooting but not for shooting varmints in fairly low light conditions. These things do matter.

 

[OYE]

It's usually a good idea before making a rifle purchase to make sure that the scope mounts and rings that you wish to use are being made for that particular rifle.
OYE

 

[Bexar]

It's usually a good idea before making a rifle purchase to make sure that the scope mounts and rings that you wish to use are being made for that particular rifle.
OYE

Good point. Some of the tubular receivers most lower cost rifles are made with now days have proven interesting when acquiring mounts.

 

[Ash]

Oddly enough, getting high quality mounts for a Mossberg 800 or 810 are relatively easy to do. I've gotten Burris or Redfield mounts, NIB, for both actions without difficulty.

 

[Cee Zee]

It's usually a good idea before making a rifle purchase to make sure that the scope mounts and rings that you wish to use are being made for that particular rifle.

I don't think I've ever seen a rifle I couldn't find mounts for and rings are even easier. I take that back. I saw a stalking rifle that required custom mounts from the time it was made. Finding mounts for that would be pretty much impossible and that would have been true a week after it came out as a brand new rifle. The only way to get mounts for it was to make them yourself. But a scope for that rifle would seem like blashphemy anyway. It was a rifle meant to be fired from a free standing position where a scope might get in the way of a fast shot on a running target. It was a .22 hornet rifle so clearly it was designed for small varmints probably like coyotes or maybe feral cats. But AFAIK that's the only rifle I've ever seen that I couldn't find mounts for easily. I actually think some of the modern European rifles can be harder to put mounts on. My CZ wasn't exactly easy to find mounts for. I could have paid an outrageous price for CZ made mounts but I found some US made mounts that were half the price and every bit the same quality. I haven't had any hint of a problem with them.

 

[Sheepdog1968]

I once saw a 30-06 in a Manchlier stock on a used gun rack. I don't know who made it but had I been in the market for a 30-06 I would have bought it without hesitation. It was just beautiful. At least from my perspective, I worry a lot less about the function as almost any bolt action made is more than accurate enough for field work. When hunting, I want something that looks and feels good in my hand.