what you think of the 30-06 cal

Hi

If precision target shooting at long range is the objective, I would not personally go for the 30-06.

The high BC bullets in .30 cal are pretty heavy. Running them up to the near 3,000 FPS that you need to get to generates a lot of recoil. If it's my shoulder, and any reasonable weight rifle, 40 to 60 shots is a bit much. I would much rather drop back to 7 or 6.5 mm for that kind of thing.

It doesn't take much of a bullet to get through a piece of paper.

Bob
 
well , if you reload the 300 wim mag will do 3141 with a 180 grain bullet. no 30-06 comes even close to that. so what is the argument? you either want a magnum or not. the 300 reaches out so far that you will be amazed. just no difference. the magnum is tops. kills like you wouldnt believe!
 
Hi

We've been going on for quite a while here with no input from the original poster. We seem to be headed off into a lot of different directions without much guidance at all.

This could easily run to 20 or 30 pages of completely disjointed comments without some guidance.

Bob
 
Hi

If precision target shooting at long range is the objective, I would not personally go for the 30-06.

The high BC bullets in .30 cal are pretty heavy. Running them up to the near 3,000 FPS that you need to get to generates a lot of recoil. If it's my shoulder, and any reasonable weight rifle, 40 to 60 shots is a bit much. I would much rather drop back to 7 or 6.5 mm for that kind of thing.

It doesn't take much of a bullet to get through a piece of paper.

Bob

Why do you need a 200 gr match bullet to make 3000 fps? I shoot 200 gr MK's at 2700 with good results (MOA) out to 1200 yards on a calm day. I may be able to shoot further, the experiments continue.

A note about recoil. Most target rifles are heavier than sporters, so recoil is mitigated by the weight of the rifle, mine for instance weighs 20 pounds with the bi-pod attached. Depending on the load, powder charges are most often reduced when loading heavy bullets. Therefore recoil is similar throughout the bullet weight range of the cartridge, due to the heavier powder charge under the lighter bullet, providing that the light bullet is loaded to pressure, equal to that of the heavy bullet.
 
30-06

If we are talking only about match shooting, please consider that there is an optimum velocity that most match bullet perform well at. Hunting is a different game and velocity counts big time, however, match shooting is an accuracy game.

Case capacity and the fill percentage of the charge will affect the accuracy potential of the cartridge. This is why the 308 is generally considered more accurate than the 30-06. This generalization was developed at a time when most people were shooting 168 Sierra Matchkings and lighter bullets. The 308 case has a higher fill percentage than the 30-06 case using these bullets. Now switch to a heavy bullet in the 200 grain range and Re22 powder with 100% fill rates and the situation changes. With the heavier bullets and slow powders, the 30-06 starts to shine.

All match cartridges are a compromise between velocity potential (case capacity), heat generation, and recoil. A 338 Lapua Mag is a very accurate cartridge but even in a very heavy rifle most people cannot shoot them accurately. Recoil is cumulative and more you shoot, the more it affects your ability to shoot well.

You burn out barrels very quickly using magnum case capacities due to the heat from the big powder charges. Also, most magnums have excess case capacity and need to be loaded down to shoot at the bullets operating sweet spot.

The 30-06 seems to be in a case capacity range that is somewhat about optimum for match shooting. Is it the perfect case, probably not, but it seems to be close.

The precision world puts a lot of value on short fat powder columns. The 30-06 obviously is not designed that way so perhaps the better case design is a 300 SAUM which has nearly the same case capacity (slightly more).

My 2 cents worth.

Steve
 
Hi

We've been going on for quite a while here with no input from the original poster. We seem to be headed off into a lot of different directions without much guidance at all.

This could easily run to 20 or 30 pages of completely disjointed comments without some guidance.

Bob


here your guidance :) im not interested in how well it will do in hunting as i know what it can do . Im interested in how well it will stand up in some precision shooting matches
 
here your guidance :) im not interested in how well it will do in hunting as i know what it can do . Im interested in how well it will stand up in some precision shooting matches

Hi

I think that if you take a look at what people are winning matches with these days, you will find very few being won with 30-06.

As mentioned above, there are a lot of categories of matches. If you are in one that limits rifles to 15 pound, things are a bit different than in ones that do not. We can go on for quite a while looking at different rifles for different matches. That's without getting into debates about weather 2700 or 2800 fps is nearly 3000 fps or not.

What kind of matches are you looking at competing in?

Bob



Bob
 
30-06 is a great round but if you are looking for long range competition shooting I would opt for something else. Not that it cant do it but not ideal.IMHO
 
Hi

Hunting and sniping have a lot in common. You need knock down energy at range for both. You also need suitable bullets that will expand properly over a reasonable range of velocities.

Precision target shooting simply involves getting a round hole in the paper. The energy has to be enough to keep you super sonic at the end of the trip. Expanding bullets are very much optional.

I assume we are talking about precision target shooting. If not then I'm confused ...

Unless you are looking for > 1200 yard ranges, the 6.5 mm's look very good for this kind of thing.

Bob
 
here is what my 30-06 can do at 300 meters, if I do my part

30-06300m.jpg


that is loaded with 168 grain Nosler HPBT match bullets in Lapua brass and IMR 4831 powder. and that is with a fixed 6x scope! :D
 
here is what my 30-06 can do at 300 meters, if I do my part

30-06300m.jpg


that is loaded with 168 grain Nosler HPBT match bullets in Lapua brass and IMR 4831 powder. and that is with a fixed 6x scope! :D

Hi

Nice shooting.

There's no reason to expect a modern rifle in 30-06 to *not* do as well (with the same qualifier ...:D).

Bob
 
has anyone here ever shot that 30-06 remington ammo its like 100 (or less)
grains and moves at 4080fps ?????


I know nothing about that particular ammo... never heard of it myself, but Unless the barrel was rifled to shoot ammo that light, the results would likely suck. Good chance of a 100 grain bullet flying apart in a 1:11 twist at that speed
 
I agree, anyone with a handle on high school math can see the advantage of the 7mm bullet for military service, although the .30 gave us a better hunting round IMHO. Neither do I understand why the Germans, who already understood the advantages of the 7mm projectile from a battle rifle, chose a .318, then a .32.
 
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