Using 180g soft points. Had been using 150g soft point in 30-30. Killed two deer yesterday, it was if the hand of God reached down and slapped them. Bang - dead, bang - dead. Distance was about 125 yds. Could have got a third one but didn't want to have to deal with three at a time. Stalk hunting, standing, off hand. Was very impressed with the knock down power. I'll keep the 30-30 for old times sake but will hunt deer with the 30-06 from now on.
Upgraded to 30-06,
- Thread starter Roadkill
- Start date
- Status
caribou
Member
Kill 'em all!
Gotta love the 30-06!
Gotta love the 30-06!
ojibweindian
Member
Hey Roadkill!
What .30-06 did you get? Just recently bought a Marlin XL7 chambered in .30-06 from Larry's a month or so ago.
My son used it on our Skyline hunt this past weekend. Got skunked, but the weather was nice.
What .30-06 did you get? Just recently bought a Marlin XL7 chambered in .30-06 from Larry's a month or so ago.
My son used it on our Skyline hunt this past weekend. Got skunked, but the weather was nice.
charby
Member
Can't ever go wrong with a .30-06! You can load 'em heavy and you can load 'em light and get good performance all across the spectrum.
Nathanael_Greene
Member
I've had such good luck with my Savage 110 in .30-06 that I'm unlikely to switch.
MCgunner
Member
Well, I'd think about getting one, but I don't really need more'n my 12" .30-30 Contender where I'm hunting at the moment. I have a .257 Roberts and a .308 (the .30-06s short action cousin), but a .30-06, frankly, would be a downgrade from my 7mm Rem Mag. 
I'll probably get another rifle someday, too, only because I like rifles and like working up loads for new rifles. My .308 is all I "NEED" for hunting, but I like rifles. Frankly, if I didn't like rifles and hunting pistols so much, I probably wouldn't even deer hunt. I much prefer waterfowl and wing shooting in general and I could sell my property for a good profit right now even though real estate is down right now.
I hunt deer and hogs because I wanna use my rifles and handguns and then there's the meat. When I get a new firearm, I much prefer a new rifle or handgun because I like rifles and handguns and enjoy shooting them, but I own shotguns because love to hunt birds. Hmmmm. I much more get into a new rifle or handgun than I do a new shotgun, but I much prefer going duck hunting than deer hunting. I'd try duck hunting with a rifle, but, well, aside from being illegal, nah.
I'll probably get another rifle someday, too, only because I like rifles and like working up loads for new rifles. My .308 is all I "NEED" for hunting, but I like rifles. Frankly, if I didn't like rifles and hunting pistols so much, I probably wouldn't even deer hunt. I much prefer waterfowl and wing shooting in general and I could sell my property for a good profit right now even though real estate is down right now.I hunt deer and hogs because I wanna use my rifles and handguns and then there's the meat. When I get a new firearm, I much prefer a new rifle or handgun because I like rifles and handguns and enjoy shooting them, but I own shotguns because love to hunt birds. Hmmmm. I much more get into a new rifle or handgun than I do a new shotgun, but I much prefer going duck hunting than deer hunting. I'd try duck hunting with a rifle, but, well, aside from being illegal, nah.
Last edited:
MCgunner
Member
There, I fixed it for ya....
KillBoxAlpha
Member
And I fixed it for you!
41magsnub
Member
I will be getting a new (probably just to me) .30-06 before next season.
My lone deer worthy bolt rifle is a 7mm mauser that is one of the goofy early 70's Ruger M77's with the bad barrel. The only ammo it shoots reliably are the Federal 175gr ridiculously long soft points that have the ballistics of a .30-30. I could live with the ballistics, but I found those soft points failed on me this year. As far as I can tell there was no expansion, the round sailed right through the 7 deer I shot with it and the exit wound was only very slightly larger than the entrance wound. I didn't lose or have to track any, but my margin for error on shot placement was very small. All fell right where I shot them, but 4 of the 7 were not dead.
My guess is on a bigger critter there would have been expansion and things would have been more fine, but the deer were just not big enough. Also, if this were hunting from a stand where I could confidently take head shots it would have been fine as well.
My lone deer worthy bolt rifle is a 7mm mauser that is one of the goofy early 70's Ruger M77's with the bad barrel. The only ammo it shoots reliably are the Federal 175gr ridiculously long soft points that have the ballistics of a .30-30. I could live with the ballistics, but I found those soft points failed on me this year. As far as I can tell there was no expansion, the round sailed right through the 7 deer I shot with it and the exit wound was only very slightly larger than the entrance wound. I didn't lose or have to track any, but my margin for error on shot placement was very small. All fell right where I shot them, but 4 of the 7 were not dead.
My guess is on a bigger critter there would have been expansion and things would have been more fine, but the deer were just not big enough. Also, if this were hunting from a stand where I could confidently take head shots it would have been fine as well.
Last edited:
MCgunner
Member
I had the same malady with a 7x57 Spanish Mauser I bought and mounted a scope on. I was shooting 175 Hornady round nose in handloads with IMR4350 and it worked pretty well to 200 yards on deer around here, but I didn't like the gun that much and sold it. Its problem was a 1:7 military twist. The Spanish military round involved a 190 some odd grain spitzer FMJ and that's why the fast twist. 7x57 works a lot better with 140s with a 1:10 or 1:12 twist. It's a fantastic caliber, light recoil, and will kill any animal a .30-06 will kill just as dead. 7-08 is about the same ballistics and more IN now days, but it does nothing the old 7x57 didn't do. Either is powerful enough for anything that walks the lower 48.
NCsmitty
Member
41magsnub, I've said this many times before, you don't need a reason to get another rifle, you do it because you want to. Having said that, there is no reason that you couldn't have your Ruger rebarreled to 30'06 that I know of.
Food for thought.
NCsmitty
Food for thought.
NCsmitty
MCgunner
Member
Is that Ruger a long action? The Mauser I had was much too short of an action for .30-06 case length. Just rebarrel it to 7x57 except use a proper twist and a decent barrel like a Douglas or something, or 8x57 and have basically a better .30-06. Of course, you'd have to handload it for the best loads. For short actions, there's always the .308 cased calibers, 51mm case length.
41magsnub
Member
I've thought about the rebarreling and someday I might do that. If I do it will be a redo of the 7mm mauser or something else a little less mainstream. I'm more inclined to pick up an additional rifle just so there is less chance of having a problem. Financially I can't really take the risk this year, if I do something it needs to be guaranteed to work. Additionally, the M77 would be a viable backup gun since if I am careful it works just fine.
I have a son who is going to start hunting the year after next. I might get something with a youth and adult stock. He would carry the new rifle with the reduced recoil loads until he is big enough. Then I'll carry the mauser and just back up the kid if he has a less than perfect hit, let him do all the hunting.
I tried every 140gr round on the market I could find and at 100 yards the best it would do was an 8" circle where the 175gr rounds were about 1.5 MOA.
It is the long action so it could be rechambered into just about anything.
I have a son who is going to start hunting the year after next. I might get something with a youth and adult stock. He would carry the new rifle with the reduced recoil loads until he is big enough. Then I'll carry the mauser and just back up the kid if he has a less than perfect hit, let him do all the hunting.
I tried every 140gr round on the market I could find and at 100 yards the best it would do was an 8" circle where the 175gr rounds were about 1.5 MOA.
It is the long action so it could be rechambered into just about anything.
Last edited:
- Status
