I have a M700 SPS SS I picked up from my brother in law when he quit big game hunting. It’s been collecting dust in the safe ever since.

A couple years ago I picked up a SWFA 10x on a Black Friday whim. This last fall on another whim I bought an Arken SH4 Gen2 4-16x50.

Say you’ve never dabbled in LR shooting and wanted to do something with this 30-06. Which scope would you mount?

Thoughts on a couple factory loads to get me started?

On my long range 30-06 I've got a SWFA 12X mounted with a Badger Ordnance 45 MOA rail. Enough elevation to get to a mile with a handloaded 208gr AMax at 2700 fps.

I couldn't really offer any factory load advice.

Semper Fi!
Good looking rig, Marine.

That 06 is getting it done.

Very nice.

I use a load similar to Montana Marines, 212 ELDs and use a 3-9 SS on it. Haven’t shot it past 800 yet but it’s a decent set up. Not sure what’s out there for factory 30-06 LR target ammo.

The Arken


What distance would you like to consistently hit steel at?
Will it also be used for hunting?

To the OP, SIG has, or at least did have, a 30-06 load with the Sierra 175 MatchKing that should get you to 1000 yards pretty well. 10.5 or so mils of elevation to get to 1000 yards with a 100 yard zero.
As far as the Scope, SWFA would be my choice, bit either should work as long as the turrets and reticle match (mil / mil or MOA/ MOA).

Neither the Arken or SWFA are mounted. Just sitting NIB in the safe.

I don’t have a budget for a scope. As in I’d like to use one of the two I already have.

I don’t have a distance goal. This is just for fun. If I could eventually get out to say 800 yards that would be satisfying.

No hunting, strictly steel

I see Winchester has their 190 ABLR, the Hornady 168 and 178 ELD and Federal with MK and ELDs out there. If I was trying to reach out with factory I’d grab a few of those to see what shoots.

I would try the Arken first.

Did that a few years ago with my "hunting" 700 in 06. Utilized the 10x SWFA I have, 175grn Bergers and good to go to 1K. Don`t need to be too fancy, if you can shoot.

I don't have any experience with the Arken, but I do have experience with the SWFA 10X and 12X.

So what I should have conveyed in my first post is that the SWFA 10X is a very capable long range scope. It tracks very well, and has a ton of erector travel. Also the milquad reticle is very nice.

I was just looking over the specs on that Arken. Looks pretty nice too. A lot of great features, travel, etc. A little on the heavy side at 35 ounces, but that's not really a deal-breaker on a long-range play toy.

I've compared my 4-16 to another range member's 6-24 and I definitely preferred my 4-16x50. The adjustments work great. The "glass" is OK, but I don't expect "alpha" glass at the price point. At least on my sample the distance scale on the parallax adjustment is a fairy tale.

If you wanna try out the 4-16 MM, shoot me a message, I'll gladly send it out for you to try. I think I'll go with the small variant next time. Good scopes and all but they are huge..

They are huge, but mine looks a bit less huge sitting on a Rem 700 with a 26" Varmint contour barrel in a 5R model stock.

Geez Scotty. That reminds me of you on that yellow snowmobile. I think your camera is fugged up!!! Making things look huge. Oh wait, you probably like that. ha ha.. carry on.

On to the subject of "longrange" 30-06. That would be fun, for a while.

For sure. Probably right at home there.

Live and learn.. My brother has a couple of their smaller LW ones and it's a good enough scope.

It still don't look small

I didn't say small, just less huge.

True, you did

Be sure to mount the scope using at least 20 minute look down bases. 30 might be better at 1000.

I've always been happy with non-alpha glass. At long distances, mirage doesn't care how clear the glass is.

Thanks for the nice offer, but I'm good.....(grin). I could see putting one on a heavy long range bomber.

No sweat, It's coming off that and I have no clue what I'll put it on next..

https://www.amazon.com/Arken-Optics-6-24X50-Illuminated-Reticle

watch the tracking vid. Have one on my 6.5 creed, hard to beat for the money

How fast are those 212’s going?
Barrel length and what powder?

Thanks

It’s a 22” barrel on the rifle and I used SB6.5 in Lapua brass.

I’ll have to recheck my notes when I’m home but around 2675-2700 if I remember right. I used the data from Hodgdon for the 208 AMax to start.

Thanks, thinking of doing something similar with a 24” barreled Ackley when I get it put together.

That combo really made me take notice of the old 06.

My range is 300 to 700, I have tried many scopes on the '06, keep going back to good ol SWFA 12x mil quad...as a result, I gave up dialing...just use the reticle, fast easy. I gave up fancy match bullets too, just shooting surplus cup and core hunting bullets (copper only here now) and the last few hundred 173gr military ball pulled bullets. Fun, easy, cheap. It's surprising how little elevation deviation there is in real world shooting between different bullet styles. But my targets are big, 3 moa or so....and I'm not shooting past 700.

I have both of the scopes mentioned in the OP, and I'd use either one, with a preference to the 10x if just shooting steel. The Arken ain't all that great past 12x or, at least in my opinion.

Not sure on factory loads.
But I'm shooting hand loads 180 game kings at 2850 + out of the old 06. I'm limited by my 10x scope to about 600 with the thick cross hair. But my other scope at 12x I'm good to 800 on a 12" gong .
It's a hunting rig, not a long range bench rifle

How is that combo on game at 600 yds?

Good on elk and deer for me, when I used them-My MV was around 2750 fps

Thanks for the info. What do you figure your maximum distance was for game at that velocity?

I can't remember for sure if my MV was 2750ish or closer to 2775 ish.
At 8500 feet elevation, where I was hunting elk back then, it would take me out to about 775 yards, with a minimum impact velocity of 1800 fps. MV at 2750

15.75" 7.82 Patriot center-grip XP-100.

Very cool XP and great picture.

Thanks.
That was a number of years ago, when we were hunting in SW Colorado, near Bayfield.

If I am jumping to a L/A,it has to be something that will whip a Kreed’s .697 BC 147 at 2700fps and/or a 7-08’s .796 BC 180 at 2600fps. That dismisses the ‘06. Hint…………..

No long range kills, but The bullets holds together at close range and I'd have no issue shooting something at 600.
According to my ballistic calculator the 180 is going at 1960 fps. At 600. I'll take it

That should work.

If it’s as big as it looks in that pic, that thing is a monster.

It is JM. It’ll be fine on a big gun just way too much on the mini.