Nominations please for best handling 30-06 for hunting

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Dogger

New member
OK, here I go again. In your opinion, which 30-06 rifle, and which scope, provide the "best handling rifle" for hunting at ranges from 0-300 yards? By best handling I mean balance and heft and that sense of "its all together" when you throw it to your shoulder and take aim. Not looking for something ultralight that you can hump up Everest. But if that is your candidate so be it. Not looking for the 600 yard gnat shooter, but it that is your nomination so be it.

Please qualify your nominations by telling me if you actually own that combination. Thanks :)
 
A

Art Eatman

Staff in Memoriam
No way I could recommend any particular brand. Fit and feel is strictly up to the handler. Kind of a Zen thing, I guess.

My pet rifle is on the heavy side, fully dressed at some 9-1/4, 9-1/2 pounds. But, it's steady to hold after puffing up a hill to try to get a shot at Ol' Bucky.

The odds are you'll be happier with the feel of a rifle with a standard weight barrel of around 22" or 24". For the ranges you're talking about, a Weaver K4 would work as well as any; or, if you like, a Leupold 2X7 is darned good. More scope = more weight, and you don't gain any "seeability" for garden variety hunting.

If you come out around eight pounds with scope, sling and ammo, you'll have a good handling package...

My $0.02,

Art
 
T

TABING

New member
My favorite '06 is a Ruger #1-b, with a 2-7 Redfield scope. The short action allows for a 22" barrel, but short overall length, great handling is the result.
 
S

STEVE M

New member
The Mauser that I have at the gunsmiths right now.:) The barrel is being cut to 20" and I will put a LER 2X7 Burris on it with Ashley gostring for back up us. When I am done with it It should weight around 7 to 7-1/2lbs. Your question sounds like what I asked myself before I got the Mauser. I wanted a rifle good for any non-dangerous game inside of 350yds.
 
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Paul B.

New member
Like Art said, try them for feel, as a Remington may feel clubby to you while a Ruger, or something else may feel like a magician's wand to you. I don't have one in 30-06, but my Winchester Mod. 70 Featherweight in 7X57 has that feel for me. AAnother would be a Ruger RSI in 06. Mine is a .308, and it feels great to me. Get what feels best to you. I think most main brands are good guns. be sure to try it with a scope on it though. That radically changes the feel and balance.
Paul B.
 
M

mcshot

New member
best huntin 06

Having four of them rifles I'd have to say the Weatherby Fibremark is #1 followed by the Rem Mt. rifle; equipped with Kahles and Burris scopes respectively.
 
W

WalterGAII

Moderator
You'd be hard-pressed to beat the Tikka Whitetail Hunter. Detachable mag; free-floated barrel; fully adjustable trigger; sub-m.o.a. accuracy, out of the box. (Local dealer has 'em in synthetic for $390.)
 
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Nevada Fitch

New member
I don't have an 06 anymore but my vote goes for the Remington 700. My favorite configuration is the Classic model. I have two of them one in 350Mag and the other in 375mag.I used a couple of BDLs for years in both 270 and 3006.Lots of the other boltactions never felt quite as good to me but I was already used to the Rem.700.I will say this though I have handled and shot lots of different boltactions over the years and the 700 seams to have a smoother action that doesn't bind like some of the others.
 
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abrahamsmith

New member
Well, the best handling medium bore rifle I have *ever* held is my family's .30-06.

It's a Springfield 03 (not sure of the serial number) with something like a 17" barrel. The barrel is original, military weight. The stock is a custom made by my great grandfather and has been fully glassed.

This rifle is far more accurate than it has any right to be, and we don't really know why. It's not sub-MOA, but more than sufficient for any shot a hunter would ever take.

Anyway, because of the accuracy and a good scope (1.5-5x wide-angle Redfield, IIRC) , it is great for deer/elk/etc at long distance, but because of the short barrel, it's not very heavy and can quickly be shouldered in thick brush and marshes (which he have a lot of around here)
 
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k in AR

New member
I really like my Weatherby "Ultra Lightweight" 30-06. I have a leupold 3x9 on it right now, but also use a Leupold 1.5x5 if I'm going hunting in heavy cover.

Yes it is "lightweight" at 6 to 6 1/2 lbs with scope, but it handles very well, is more than accurate enough, and between the Bell & Carlson stock / Pachmayr Decelerator recoil pad it is real pleasant to shoot, even from a bench.
In fact the only complaint I have is it was rather pricey. K
 
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PDshooter

New member
I've got a Win,70 Feather weight in 30-06.With a leupold 2X7Vari,II VERY HANDY! Most of the time scope is set on 2power!
 
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Fatcat

New member
I guess I'll be different and say that I like my Savage 110 30/06 very much. Thing is about 6 1/2 pounds, and I hunt without a scope, so that shaves off some weight. It's very handy in the brush and through the forest.. accurate as heck too.
 
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fubsy

New member
I pretty much just agree with what Art has said above.....
Imo,
There is no ultimate rifle, cept the ole 1903 that I use...lol.....find one that fits you and your budget, buy as much quality as you can get, a good low power fixed scope would be the best, that k4 weaver would be good for what you want......with my tired eyes anymore Id opt for a 6 power......As far as rifle weight, Ive never weighed the package so I dont know the weight I spend more time concerned with fit, balance and feel, getting the objective down on the barrel, and adjusting the scope so that with my head held upright onthe stock the eye relief is corrrect, the cross hairs are centered with the eye, when you shoulder that rifle you ought to have an instant picture that is full centered within the scope so you do not have to crawl the stock.....If the setup that you have does not allow you to shoulder a rifle and have a clear, full view within the scope, you are handicapping yourself, a good gunsmith can set this up for you and is worth the time and money imo........fubsy.
 
H

Herodotus

New member
The best 30/06 I ever saw was a Dakota 76 that was for sale used in a local gunshop for a couple of months. It sold slow because it was expensive ($1,800) and just about everybody has one or more in this caliber, but it was beautifuly balanced and of flawless quality throughout. I kind of felt that I would be wise to sell of a bunch of my motly collection of dubious antiques and just be happy to have one fine rifle but I didn't buy it either for the reason listed above. But I drooled over it several times and was sorely tempted. It didn't have it's scope on it and I think the stock would need to be cut down just a little for me, but after that, it would have been near perfection in an American hunting rifle.
My favorit 30/06 is the FN 1935 Peruvian that I bought it back in the '60's as my first large caliber rifle when I was 16. It has been through many incarnations over all these years and currently wears a Fajan classic 98 Mauser stock meant for a scoped rifle and a Nikon 2-7 scope. This works good.
It is not just sentiment that binds me to this rifle, for it has always been exceptionally accurate for a Mauser rifle with an original military barrel and it can hold 5 rounds to about an inch at 100 yards with the scope as long as they are Federal Gold Match. cheap hunting ammo will do markedly worse and I have never gotten around to trying the new and expensive premiun stuff.
A couple of years ago, I saw another one of these rifles in fine original condition at a gun show and bought it. And what do you know, this rifle turned out to be excceptionally accurate as well, holding close to 1 1/2" for 5 rounds at 100 yards. It is my favorite military Mauser.
The first cost me $16.98 and the second $285 and that is more in my price range.
The Peruvians must have done an exceptionally fine job in rebarreling these for 30/06 back in the 50's as they were origninally in 7.65 Masuer. The replacement barrels were made by FN, and they probably supervised the work as well, as they offered this service back then. Very few old Mausers will actually shoot this well, so if you find one that will do as good as these, it is a keeper for sure.
 
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Mike50

New member
Yeah, I guess it is subjective.

I think the Winchester Featherweight is perfection when it comes to "feel" and "handiness". It is just made for hunting!

By comparison, the Remington 700's feel clubby. Their forearms and wrist are too large and poorly shaped (in my opinion, which, of course, is the correct one). They do work better off of sandbags, but then that is not what we are talking about.

The Rugers are OK, but I wish they would finish shaping the stock before letting them out of the factory! Their general shape is great, but they need to remove a lot of wood yet.

Browning A-bolts are pretty good except for their extreme curved grip which is not classic at all. It ruins the "feel".

Yeah, it's all subjective. I'm sure I'm completely wrong about all this.

Mike
 
F

Flashman

New member
Ruger M77MkII

My All-Weather is relatively light and very accurate, not to mention extremely reliable and durable. The stock is ugly but very stiff. It will be improved upon by the addition of the new Ruger synthetic stock once it becomes available and if it has the same bedding attributes of the old ugly paddle stock.
 
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Flashman

New member
Ruger M77MkII

My All-Weather is relatively light and very accurate, not to mention extremely reliable and durable. The stock is ugly but very stiff. It will be improved upon by the addition of the new Ruger synthetic stock once it becomes available and if it has the same bedding attributes of the old ugly paddle stock.
 
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