Art, tell us more about your 26 inch barreled 30-06 and how "Od Men Cheat"

[Dogger]

Art, found one of your previous replies very entertaining. Please tell us more about your set-up on your 30-06. Am curious to know more about the 26 inch barrel and the performance you achieve with it. What is your favorite handload?



[This message has been edited by Dogger (edited July 08, 2000).]

 

[Art Eatman]

"Loads" is easy: Sierra 150-grain SPBT, 52.5 grains of 4064. Hornady 110-grain spire point, 53.5 grains of 3031. My uncle put me on to those loads in 1950. Usually, Winchester brass for no particular reason. I've used Remington 9-1/2 primers as well as Winchester "Standard or Magnum" primers.

As to the 26" barrel: I had seen articles in "The American Rifleman" about the velocity loss per inch of barrel length of shortening. Somebody reinvents this wheel every ten years or so. An average for cartridges in the '06 class runs about 70 ft/sec/inch.

Published data on velocities state that, generally, 26" barrels were used in testing. Most rifles come with 22" or 24" barrels. It seemed to me that with my handloads being a bit faster than the factory loads, I could get fairly close to a 24" .300 Win Mag, if I got a 26" '06.

This was back in 1970 or 1971. I ran across a Weatherby catalog; it said that their Mark V was available with a #2 profile barrel of 26", in .30-'06, among other cartridges. The #2 profile is a bit thicker than the usual thin-walled Weatherby tube. So I bought one.

Mr. Hodgdon sez that the WinMag will drive a 150-grain bullet at about 3,300 from a 26" barrel; about 3,050 in the '06, same length. So, knocking off some 140 ft/sec or so for a WinMag's 24" barrel, and I'm within 100 ft/sec, roughly, with a lot less powder, cheaper brass, and a more versatile cartridge for general fun.

I still like the 60-degree bolt-opening on the Wby. The original trigger sucked, so I put on a Canjar. The bedding sucked, but I cured that with my un-patented wax-paper-shim fix.

So that's how it all came about.

I tease about "cheating" because folks show up with factory or military .308 ammo for their 19" to 22" barrels. They do fine at 100 or 200 yards, but rarely have they shot much at 400 or 500. So, it's my boat-tail handloads against their flat-bases; and I have up to a 400 ft/sec advantage at the muzzle and relatively more out at 500 yards. Estimating windage and holdover is thus much easier for me. Old age and treachery...

Regards, Art

 

[retpo]

Hi Art, I also favor your long bbl. theory, but could you reveal the secret of the "wax-paper shims.Thanks.

 

[Dogger]

Very interesting, Art. makes me wonder if your #2 gun is a 26 inch barreled .270 Winchester. Although, given the reputation of the .270 for flat shooting, you might have the unsuspecting quarry catch on!

 

[Robert Foote]

A few years ago I decided that I would build up a rifle for my then 16 year old 6'1" son, and got an old gunsmith friend to supervise me in the process. I ordered a short-chambered pre-threaded barrel from Brownell's and happy to say it turned out very well indeed--just tons more hours than I would have ever expected at my glacial speed. It was only after we had the barrel on, chambered and headspaced that we thought to measure it. You guessed it--a full 26". Luckily my son has long, long arms, and as it came out the 26" barrel proportions out just right. Some day I will have to run some chronograph comparisons with my 22" '06.

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[Solitar]

And thus when a 26 inch barrel is better, would a 30" bring the 30-06 up to par with the 24" 300 Weatherby Magnum? This is for bench rest or solid stance long distance precision shooting and not for toting all over hill and dale for an elk.

 

[Solitar]

Oops, make that up to par with the Win. Magnum. The Weatherby Magnum might be too much to come close to with a 30-06 - not even with a 34 inch barrel. Though barrel life ought to be better with the '06.

 

[Art Eatman]

retpo: I free float the fore-end of the stock, fairly open until the last inch. I cut a strip of kitchen wax-paper about 3/4" wide. I fold it back and forth until it takes about a five=pound pull to get this "shim" between the barrel and fore-end tip.

Trim with razor or X-acto. Shoot a few quick rounds to heat the barrel and make the wax stick together.

My uncle's theory was that the shim acts as a vibration damper, much as the shock absorber on a car. Makes the vibrations uniform. I've done this on--I dunno--15 or 20 rifles, through the years; I've had improvements in group size, every time.

The little insert dealies with the nylon screw which can be adjusted with a screwdriver would probably work just as good, if not better...

Solitar: Somewhere beyond 30", friction begins to outweigh the pressure of the burning powder. It has been shown that the velocity is higher in a 30" barrel than in shorter barrels; one of the "cut-off" tests began with a 30" barrel. It is my purely speculative guess that a 30" '06 might get somewhere between 200 ft/sec and 300 ft/sec more than a 26" '06. But that's a guess.

My primary focus is hunting, and 26" can be a bit unwieldy in thick brush. In country where shots are mostly under 100 yards, I'm happy as can be with a carbine-length barrel.

Dogger: Gimme a break!

Later, Art