Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles my new 30-06?

last spring i bought a model 70 classic fwt. in 30-06... have traded my way through several 30-06s over the last few years...
i have a m70 fwt in .243 that is easily the finest overall hunting rifle that i have ever used....

when i got the m70 30-06 i was excited about getting a rifle that would handle, and feel like my .243....
thing is, it just aint' that way....

the .243 balances perfectly, for me... fully loaded up and ready to shoot, it feels like the most natural thing in the world
the 30-06 balances well enough, too, with the magazine empty and the bolt removed.....

it is a darned nice looking rifle... decent, but not fancy walnut, stained dark like it should be... fitted out pretty well... if only winchester had put out this kind of quality across the board, i gotta feel like they'd still be upright today.....

it shoots well, too... with common loads selected from a manual it easily holds everything on a 50 cent piece at 100... i did do a little trigger work last spring....

i spend at least a little while shooting from the bench each week... most of my shooting though, is either from improvised rests, or offhand... i assumed that, because the rifle was a tad longer, and a bit heavier, that it would feel a touch different.....

and i was right, too...
problem is that it's different enough that i have found myself leaving the 30-06 in the case now sometimes and shooting just the .243...
i have carried the 30-06 coyote hunting some now, and it does all right, at least when i'm shooting off of a knee or off the side of a fence post or sapling....

the .243 has some serious use behind it now... barrel has been set back once, and is due to be replaced, but i'm spooked about doing anything to change it.....

any ideas???

Not really sure what you're asking here. I've tinkered with 4 of these rifles though, and my advice is to free float the barrel, bed the action and do a trigger job. Whatever groups you like now you'll like better after................Not a big deal to slap on a quality barrel in the process............2MG

I like eggs........

Yes

Yep.........

I'll buy it off ya...

Your rifle is an example of how balance and handling qualities affect your perception of the "rightness" (for want of a better term) of a particular rifle. Good handling qualities are pretty hard to pin down and are often subjective.

They don't get a lot of attention on the board, where posts usually focus on technical details like action type, stocks, finishes, etc.--as the previous helpful replies indicate. I took them to mean, "If it's a Model 70, then it must be good."

That's true to a degree, but you actually have two different Model 70s and have figured that out for yourself. Your .243 is a short-action. Your .30-06 is a long-action. They balance and handle differently, because the long-action is a little heavier and has a different balance point. You would not think this makes any difference, but it does. You proved it by noticing that the .30-06 "feels" better with the bolt removed and an empty magazine. In effect, you removed some weight from the action area of the rifle and changed its balance to something closer to your .243.

I have noticed the same thing with a couple of Browing A-Bolts. In my case, it was the other way around. I found that my long-action .280 Hunter suited me just fine, and from a standing position, I shot it well. I never had much luck with a short-action 7mm-08.

What can you do? Not a lot. You may in time become accustomed to the .30-06's balance and handling qualities. The Model 70 Featherweight is, after all, a pretty nice rifle. You could rebarrel the rifle with a "slightly" longer and heavier barrel. That might duplicate the balance of a standard Model 70, which in my experience are better handling pieces. Someone (sorry I can't remember who) wrote in Rifleshooter a couple or three years ago pretty much the same thing about the Dakota 76. In short, it was not a light rifle but never seemed heavy because it felt so right in his hands. Or you could sell it to one of the fellows hovering here on the board.

thnks, brad.. i think... but not yet....

actually, i got up this morning, and went for a little walk with it... before i left the house i wrapped the end of the barrel with camo tape, wrapped some lead solder over that, and then covered it again with the tape

called 4 spots with no luck.... shot a couple of rocks on a hillside though, behind the house....
i'll have to play around some more, but it seemed to hold better...

could be that a rebarrel is in store for both rifles..... john w

Did ya eat the rocks ya shot. I never shoot anything that I don't eat. Ain't ethical. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Paper targets need ketchup and lots of salt. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

been looking at this, when i have the time... seems like i could put a heavier contour barrel on it... although the rifle seems plenty heavy as is... or, i could lighten the stock...

i like the stock as is... it's a big part of what i like about this rifle... it looks good... looks just like what i think a rifle should look like...

and i may be able to live with it as is....

can anybody run down the options for lighter stocks, and tell me how much weight i can expect to save??? and how much jack i can expect to part with??? ... john w

johnw,

I own several Model 70s. One of them just didn't seem quite right as far as balance to me either. I'm of the opinion that sporting rifles should have open sights whether they are scoped or not. So, I decided to have some classic looking open sights installed on the rifle in question. I didn't really think about how these sights might affect the balance-point of the rifle before I had them installed. Wow, it changed everything. Now I love the way it balances. A nice looking barrel-band front sight ramp by NECG would be an option I'd consider. Just an idea.

Good luck, Leftybolt

I find putting those paper targets on the grill and BBQ'ing them they taste better...

You'll shoot your eye out kid!

Any ideas?

Yeah, Pac-Nor. Have them rebarrel the 243 exactly the same and keep hunting with it. If it ain't borke, don't fix it (just repair as needed).

BMT

It's the fashion to say that a bit muzzle-heavy will settle the rifle down when firing off-hand, and I have no doubt it's true for some folks. It isn't for me, however; I prefer a bit more neutral balance, right at or slightly behind the M70 front screw. A lighter, shorter scope could help that, or having an inch taken off the barrel.

Jaywalker

Dam, that's funny!!!! Caught me just right!!!