Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles after chasing the dream...

... by chasing this cartridge and that cartridge and then this cartridge and then that cartridge and then that bullet and this bullet and that powder and this powder and that primer and this primer and that scope and this scope and that stock and this stock ... for the "perfect" cartridge for "that" application, anyone just go back to a reliable accurate 30-06 for all your big game chores?

or have i been indoors too long? haven't been out to hunt once yet this season

Dogger,

After chasing the dream what I learned for me is there are cartridges I consider to kick a little and kill a lot. There are also cartridges that kill a lot and kick a lot. Because I am a very avid shooter the recipe of kicks a little but kills a lot is important to me because I might shoot several hundreds rounds every week through my big game rifles. I've hunted with the 300 win mag and the 30/06 and the conclusion I came to is I don't want to shoot either of those cartridges 200, 300 times every week. I also don't like to hunt with a rifle I'm not always shooting. My personal preference has been I've settled on any 6.5 caliber that pushes a 120 to a 140ish bullet between 2700 to 3000 fps. Recoil is much like a friendly pussycat and several hundred rounds a week are not out of the question. Lots of rounds down range translate to an effective shooter and in my opinion the right bullet combined with shot placement is the single biggest factor to being successful in the field.

I've been at this enough years that I know what I want or what works for me. I've sold off most of my big game rifles and I'm down to doing most of my hunting with a 6.5X55 Swede. Not only is that rifle a real hoot to hunt with but it is a pleasure to shoot at the range of which it sees often. I see myself using this rifle for the next 30 years. My biggest concern presently is who I'm going to use when its time to put on a new barrel.



Trystan

Trystan, thanks, ... 6.5x55 or 7x57, yea verily

No, noone.
Everyone with any brains went to .308wina and the 165 SP.

there are several savvy hunters here who favor the 308 and a good 165... (someone will soon counter with a 7mm08 and a good 140)

You go there for a while and then you move back to the magnums. The Tlingits used to burn their "treasure" house when they got to rich and start from scratch. This made them more aggressive and they learned from the process of building back your resources. I think 9.3X 62, 35 Whelen, 358 Win and 35 Remington have potential to slow the search for the grail but there is little to stop the endless journey that is searching for the "perfect" cure. Some say that when you get smokeless figured out that you move on to black powder cartridges and then to muzzleloaders or to traditional archery.

I can relate.

I've been buying and trading up and/or collecting rifles for close to 27 years now. Always chasing the dream. Three or four rifles it took 10 years or more to find at the price I was willing to pay. I

I've wanted the rifle below for at least 10 years, but the price or the timing or the caliber was not right. I' ve owned 4 Merkel K1's and K3's and am wont to make the statement that my Merkel's want to be Blasers when they grow up.

A couple of months ago I finally was able to close the deal!





Blaser K95, in 30-06 Springfield! (of course)







and it's a shooter with of all things, 180 gr. Cor-Lokts (of which I was given five boxes)





and it does thump.





A double on its first blood-letting and a single a week later.

It will not be used for all my big game chores, but I will see plenty of service!

ya!

GWB

I have.

In the last 10 years, I've been through a divorce, a couple of breakups, and several moves. As a result, I travel pretty light. Handloading is problematic for me right now, so after I recently snagged a stainless 30-06 Model 70 in a Bansner stock, I bought 1,000 rounds of 180-grain factory ammo and called it good. Still figuring out the right glass, but even with a fixed 4x this rig could take me a long way down the road. I might arrange for a twin in a lighter caliber if the opportunity presents itself, or I might just build a clone in 30-06 so I'll have a spare.

I hope to hunt all over the US in the next few years, and it's still a little easier to find 30-06 ammo than almost anything else, so that drove my choice. I've tested a lot of factory loads in this rifle and only ONE shoots so poorly that I'd hesitate to hunt with it.


Okie John

as i believe Col. Townsend Whelen said"the 30-06 is never a mistake" and i tend to agree. i don't have an ole '06 at the moment. i'm still looking for a NIB CZ-550 American in 30-06 and then i will have one.

90% of the time I grab a 30-06 with 165's. Ive had/have model 70 xtr & crf supergrade, browning medallion and gold medallion, rem 700 & 742, steyr mIII professional and SBS, Colt/nula, Tikka 695, Colt Sauer, 03A3, Garand, valmet O/U.
Killed my first deer with one. More than likely will kill my last with one. Never thought the recoil was that stiff..... Guess I'm not as sensitive to such things as some "men"? The venerable 30 govt in a 7-8 lb rifle is a pussy cat. For Christ's sake, women pass a 6" diameter 9lb baby through their crotch and grown men are whining about recoil from a mid range round.

Actually, I started with the 30-06 improved 45 years ago, and keep going back to it again and again..............It kicks less in a light rifle and shoots flatter than the 06........

Hey,

Leave the woman and children out of this argument sir! 😁


Trystan

Love to fart around with different rifles and loads while at the range. When the rutt is on it's back to my original 7mm-08 Mountain Rifle with Core-lokts!
I've not been let down yet!

G

Oooops, my 30-06s aren't going anywhere but will be out of the line-up until upcoming rotator cuff surgery next week and rehab are completed 😖

The boys on my lease say if you don’t own a 30 06, you aren’t an American.

10/4

I'm down to only three at present......

The Blazer K95 pictured above,



A Sauer 200

and



a Sako 85 Bavarian Carbine!

ya!


GWB

And all in German/ finnish rifles! Waidmannsheil!

I'm lucky. My rifle is the dream rifle and cartridge is my 6.5 wildcat.

Hunting deer, antelope, and elk, I could be perfectly happy with my 308 or 6.5x55. Take elk out of the equation and I'm good with my 250 savage.

I like the quote attributed to John Barrymore..........

A man is not truly old until regrets take the place of dreams.

I tell folks that when I was born my folks were so broke that they could not afford a name, only initials.

My dad was not a hunter and only owned one fire-arm in his life.

As a boy (circa 1962) I'd read hand-me-down gun rags that I got from the kid down the street who's dad owned a manufacturing company, hunted and took numerous gun publications.

I swore at a young age that if I ever had the chance I would own some rifles. I would dream of rifles and hunting while growing up!

At 66 I still have dreams!

Having said that,

I'm a fan of the craftsmanship of different Euro rifles such as Blaser, Merkel, Sako, Sauer and Steyr rifles! Most any time I have the financial wherewithal to acquire one pre-enjoyed at a value, I do!

ya!


GWB

Yep. Hard to beat the old world craftsmanship. I've had a few sauers and thinking a 202 in 30-06 would be sweet.
Really like to find another MIII professional in 30-06 with single trigger. Mine has double triggers (2nd one I've had so configured). And I'm not a fan.