Looking to replace my moose gun - ideas?

west250

west250

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Went to the range today to tune up the new .243 that I fell on last weekend (while scrambling through the timber), play with my new (to me), pre 64 model 94 and to tune up the Husky 30-06 that is the source of this thread posting...

After enjoying the accuracy of the TC Icon .243 , I've become less than impressed with the 30-06 Husky's performance. Now, thinking that I might just get my moose LEH draw next year brings the question of what to replace this rifle with. Any suggestions as to what might work would be helpful. I like MOA accuracy and wood stocks.... Ideas?
 
"...like MOA accuracy..." Not required for a hunting rifle. Two to 3" at 100 is accurate enough. What kind of groups are you getting with whatever ammo you're using in your Husqvarna? Trigger job done?
"...less than impressed..." You reloading? If not you need to try a box of as many brands and bullet weights as you can to find the ammo it shoots best. The price of said ammo means nothing. I'd be trying 165 grain bullets first.
 
Was using Federal premium's at 150 grains , in a lead sled... No I do not reload. 3 inch at 100 yards puts me off an 8x8 square at 200. That's not acceptable. In this day and age I believe that a shooter should be able to buy premium ammo and drop 3 into an inch at 100 ... The TC was MOA at 100 and within 2 inches at 200 so it isn't the bubba pulling the trigger. Both have Leupold scopes, the 30-06 is a 2-7 VX-1 , the TC has a 3-9 VX-2.

My other options are to take it into the local gunsmith for bedding or other accuracy mod's. I cannot slide a piece of paper down the stock so it's not floating. This could be throwing good money after bad though. My budget for a new smoke pole could go up to $1500 if I had to. An older model Sako would be a bonus I'm thinking... The TC's a dream too and cheap compared to the new Sako's. I don't like the Tikka's feel - they feel cheap like Browing's, Remmington's, offerings (I don't mean to offend!). Weatherby feels ok, Savage feels good - especially with the acutrigger.

The rifle is a 1600 model (I think), and it's a very pretty gun... Thanks for chewing on this piece with me folks! Pat..
 
Well, I do have 165's , 180's and this tail end of 150's from when I used it for island deer. Thought I would blow off the 150's cause I would'nt need them... I do have some handloaded 165's and 180's so maybe a trip to the gunsmith's in order to tune this gun up. I do like it, just not impressed by the accuracy or consistency. I'm not a fan of light barrels or guns - I like em heavy! Maybe a 3-9 as with the TC too...
 
Well, like was mentioned before - try different weight bullets and other brands of ammo. Or wait a minute - the Husky is probably no good. How much are you asking for the junker? :)
 
Before you go and throw the HVA away,check the trigger guard screws for tightness. Also I'd post a new question about how to get the Husqvarna to shoot better. You might want to do it over at the Swedish Civilian forum at Gunboards too.
 
west250 said:
Well, I do have 165's , 180's and this tail end of 150's from when I used it for island deer. Thought I would blow off the 150's cause I would'nt need them... I do have some handloaded 165's and 180's so maybe a trip to the gunsmith's in order to tune this gun up. I do like it, just not impressed by the accuracy or consistency. I'm not a fan of light barrels or guns - I like em heavy! Maybe a 3-9 as with the TC too...
Click to expand...

I have a .30-06 (happens not to be a husky, but I think that's largely beside the point) that hates 150 grain bullets. No good reason twist rate-wise, almost certainly merely a quirk of that particular gun. Have you assessed accuracy with the other loads (165s and 180s) you mentioned (and a broader selection too before giving up on the gun)?

RG

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If you find the '06 isn't doing it for you, stay with the Husky and buy one in 9.3X62. The bigger the holes in the paper, the less important MOA is. Try measuring your shot string rather than your group size and you might surprise yourself. This is where you measure the distance from the center of each bullet hole to your aiming point; then divide that sum by the number of shots you've fired.
 
30-06 on Moose

As mentioned by many before this post, try heavier bullets and maybe different brands. The 150 grain bullets in 30-06 are lighter jacketed, and more designed for Deer. The 180 has a heavier bullet jacket construction for Moose and Elk. The 165 is a compromise between the two, and work well on game. I shot 165 grain Speer Hot Core and 165 Hornady Interlock on a lot of Elk, and had no problem with them. Usually one shot was enough.

The 1600 Series Husqvarna is one of the best of the 98 type Mauser rifles for hunting. You might make a shim from an old business card, about 1 1/2 inches long, and put it under the barrel about 2 inches from the fore end tip, and then try shooting the rifle. This will put a slight upward pressure on the barrel, and a lot of sporting rifles of this design have a small wood pressure pad at that location. Also, the recoil lug on the front of the receiver MUST bear evenly on the wood to absorb the recoil. This is one area where a small bit of glass bedding is a great help. If the back side of the recoil lug does not touch the wood or only a part of the wood, the rifle will not be accurate.

For a Hunting rifle, a three shot group is a measure of accuracy. The first one out of a cold barrel, and two more. The biggest thing is where the first round will land on the target. If you are shooting five round groups for accuracy, then this is a bit of an excess. On a Varmint rifle, yes, but a Hunting rifle is carried more than shot. Usually only one or two shots a day are normal, with maybe a follow up shot needed. If you have done a lot of hunting, you will know that most game is shot well under 200 yards, and the biggest percentage is under 100 yards. You have enough accuracy for that right now, but try some heavier bullets.

If you look at some of the bullets used for 30-06 for shooting targets, they are in the 165, 169, 172 grain weight. If the target shooters thought the 150 grain bullets were more accurate, they would use them more. The original 30-03 and 30-06 loads were 220 grain bullets, then 172 grain for the Military.

There is nothing wrong with the 30-06 for Moose Hunting.....just needs a bit of tweaking on your part.
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