30-06

[Jim Almquist]

I guess that is reason why I feel there is very little kick with my 30.06 is I have always shot 165 grain and have no problems dropping a deer BUT I can't take a long shot ( over 100 yards )even if I wanted. ( Too many trees )

[looneyducer]

Why would anyone want a stainless automatic 30-06?

I would never buy stainless in anything but a bolt, the whole idea being to build a gun to hunt in the worst possible weather conditions at the edge of the civilized world. That rules out autos, even reliable ones.

Then again, I can't imagine buying an '06. I shoot a .270, a beautiful Winchester Model 70 Featherweight with a straight six Leopold, but I wouldn't even go that way right now.

Do yourself a favor. Look at bolt actions with short actions and go for all the stainless and synthetic you can get, even in the scope. Consider all the calibers carefully, including the short mags, and then buy a Ruger Model 77 in 7mm08.

That is, in my opinion, the best all around deer gun in production right now.

[lenny7]

I guess that is reason why I feel there is very little kick with my 30.06 is I have always shot 165 grain and have no problems dropping a deer BUT I can't take a long shot ( over 100 yards )even if I wanted. ( Too many trees )

That's what I've always shot. I've got 12 deer on 12 shots from my Remington 700 and I've never had to track any of those.

Maybe if i switch to 7mm they'd be deader?

[looneyducer]

Originally Posted By: jimalm

I guess that is reason why I feel there is very little kick with my 30.06 is I have always shot 165 grain and have no problems dropping a deer BUT I can't take a long shot ( over 100 yards )even if I wanted. ( Too many trees )

That's what I've always shot. I've got 12 deer on 12 shots from my Remington 700 and I've never had to track any of those.

Maybe if i switch to 7mm they'd be deader?

A 7mm08 is smaller than a 30-06, not bigger. It uses the shorter casing of a .308, necked down to accept a bullet that is a little over a half a millimeter narrower. Another way to look at it is to say it's a .243 with the neck expanded enough to take a bullet that is one millimeter broader at the shoulder.

Essentially, you are shooting, out of your '06, a 165 grain bullet at a little over 2800 feet per second. A 7mm08 shoots a 140 grain bullet at about the same speed. Both could (and should, in my opinion) be hand-loaded up to a Horandy SST (139 in the 7mm)at about 3000 feet per second, and both would be perfectly capable of cleanly killing an elk, let alone a whitetail. The 7mm08, however, takes full advantage of the leaps we have made in firearms tech over the last century. It's incredibly stable, even when fired from a short barrel, making the caliber virtually synonymous with tack-driving accuracy, and the shorter receiver allows the overall rifle to be shorter. It also kicks a whole lot less.

The original poster was asking about an automatic 30-06 in stainless, and somebody asked about 220 grain bullets. None of this makes sense. Stainless and synthetic are tough, and don't need the kind of carefull care that fine wood and blued steel do -- fine -- but automatics need that kind of care anyway. A 30-06 reciever is long, and putting it in an automatic only makes it longer, causing a shorter barrel if you need to swing the thing, and thereby reducing accuracy. It's far better suited in a bolt, especially in a beefy model like your 700. And it certainly doesn't need a 220 grain bullet. Holy Moly. That 220 can't be pushing much more than 2000 feet per second, and that with knocking the snot out of you every time you look at the rifle. What that essentially does is take the beautiful 30-06, near undisputed king of the 20th century (rivaled only by it's step-child, the .270), and turn it into a 19th century firearm, and not a very good one at that.

[Tim_Anderson]

I shoot a Remington 700 mountain (featherweight model) bolt action. Stainless barrel. Laminate stock. Love the gun. Have had good success with 150 grain hornady. I'm a firm believer in a small, fast bullet. I rarely shoot very far, but might weigh some other bullet options when I start hunting more out west. The light gun does kick a bit more, but you really don't notice it much when you're shooting the critters.

[JIGGIN']

Get a .270 and shoot 130 gr. out of it and you will be very pleased every time you see it drop the animal. Which is most all of the time for me... Stainless what??? Not needed IMHO.

Win. model 70 Bolt action .270

Leupold 3x9 Vari X 3

Federal 130 gr. Fusion bullets

Great results every time.

What more can you ask in a deer rifle out to 300 yds??? Maybe even further if I were to need to shoot that far?

[Hooliganz]

Get a .270 and shoot 130 gr. out of it and you will be very pleased every time you see it drop the animal. Which is most all of the time for me... Stainless what??? Not needed IMHO.

Win. model 70 Bolt action .270

Leupold 3x9 Vari X 3

Federal 130 gr. Fusion bullets

Great results every time.

What more can you ask in a deer rifle out to 300 yds??? Maybe even further if I were to need to shoot that far?

I second that Jiggn' I have a Howa .270 and is a tack driver with

the Federal 130 gr. Fusions.

[lenny7]

The original poster was asking about an automatic 30-06 in stainless, and somebody asked about 220 grain bullets. None of this makes sense. Stainless and synthetic are tough, and don't need the kind of carefull care that fine wood and blued steel do -- fine -- but automatics need that kind of care anyway. A 30-06 reciever is long, and putting it in an automatic only makes it longer, causing a shorter barrel if you need to swing the thing, and thereby reducing accuracy. It's far better suited in a bolt, especially in a beefy model like your 700.

That's a good explanation for the reasoning behind your previous post. Thanks for the follow up and please disregard my previous smart aleck remark.

[Fredd]

Go for the new BAR or Benelli and stay away from the Boss system. I have the Boss on my A-Bolt and have put the unported solid one on because of the noise factor.

[looneyducer]

Originally Posted By: looneyducer

The original poster was asking about an automatic 30-06 in stainless, and somebody asked about 220 grain bullets. None of this makes sense. Stainless and synthetic are tough, and don't need the kind of carefull care that fine wood and blued steel do -- fine -- but automatics need that kind of care anyway. A 30-06 reciever is long, and putting it in an automatic only makes it longer, causing a shorter barrel if you need to swing the thing, and thereby reducing accuracy. It's far better suited in a bolt, especially in a beefy model like your 700.

That's a good explanation for the reasoning behind your previous post. Thanks for the follow up and please disregard my previous smart aleck remark.

I should have been more clear from the get-go. My bad.

It really does make the most sense as a set-up, not that even that is going to make me stray away from my .270 anytime soon. Those other two guys make a good point about their 270s and 130 grain bullets. Again, 3,000 feet per second, ballpark. Almost all the killingest loads run right in there: 100 grain in a .243, 130 in a .270, 150 in a .30-06, 180 in a .300 Winchester... Those are the standard loads for four out of the five most popular calibers in North America. I don't think that is coincidence. You watch: the 7mm08 is going to join them. It's ballistically smack dab between the 270 and the 06, but with the cartridge length of a .243. How could you go wrong?

Personally, I want one in a Remington Model 7 just for starting all my neices and nephews out on.

[lenny7]

Personally, I want one in a Remington Model 7 just for starting all my neices and nephews out on.

I'll have to check them out when it comes time to buy son a high-power rifle.

[LMITOUT]

I've been rolling around the idea of purchasing a rifle for whitetail but not quite sure what cal to go with. I'd be hunting in ND so longer distance shots are a very real possibility, and most likely the norm rather than the exception. My dad has been shooting a 25-06 for years and it knocks them down quite nicely, yet you hardly hear any discussion about that round. I'm thinking 25-06, 270, or 7mm-08 is where I'll end up. Not sure which of the three will be the winner in the end.

[paul pachowicz]

here's where we could debate til we're blue in the face about calibers. The 25.06 has been around since 1920 in custom made guns and brought onto the market around 1969 by Remington. .06 brass can be full lenght resized in the 25.06 dies as well as .270 brass with some lenght trimming. It does give a shooter some good varmit rounds and up to 120 grain for deer, antelope but, alittle limited on ranges over 250 because of downrange energy loss. Muzzle velocities of 2700- 3000 can be reached with judicious loading practices. It is a pretty popular caliber out here in SoDak. I'm goin to say that overall, the 25-.06 is somewhat snubbed because the big boys in the magazine publishing business and TV sponsors push the BIGGER belted and short Mags. It's called commmercialism. After the market is saturated with common calibers they have to come out with something to move new and "improved" products. I shoot .270, .06 & .243 depending on where I am goin to be. After that being said, the 25-.06 is an excellent choice within it's limitations. I'll say this again, a 20.00 investment in a reloading manual will give a person all he needs to know about particular calibers, the history and ballistics.

[LMITOUT]

Thanks for the reply. I never thought about a reloading manual for ballistic information. I'll have to do some snooping around for one.

A few years ago I was hunting with my dad and we spotted a buck almost 400 yds out. He was looking at it through his scope and I through the binoculars. I told him not to shoot because it was too far. I think I unintentionally issued a challenge because a few seconds later I heard the single-shot 25-06 bark and a split second later the hide on the buck ruffled and down he went after a short hop to his right. I wouldn't have believed it unless I saw it with my own eyes. Factory ammo too. I still remember the delay in what seemed seconds from when the gun fired until the buck was hit. Dad was sure proud of that shot, and he should be!

[The_King48]

I decided to go with a .270 WSM. I got that cal. in a Browning Stainless Stalker. I can't wait to shoot this rifle. I topped it with a Zeiss scope. I will post a pic when the wife opens her x-mas gift. I new digital camera.

[looneyducer]

Nice choice, and a great caliber!

I think I might be just a little jealous...

[87racer]

hi, new poster here!! '

just wondering if you knew where i could get help/ info on tearing down my 742 auto. its older and is past due i am sure. also the forearm is cracked and i need a replacement (used?) THANKS IN ADVANCE FOR ANY INFO!

[LMITOUT]

Welcome to Fishing Minnesota 87racer!

Sorry, I can't help you with your question but I'm guessing someone else will chime in with some suggestions.

Just wanted to say

[looneyducer]

If you drop the magazine and push out both pins holding the trigger assembly in, you can do an effective enough job cleaning out the bolt mechanism with some gun scrubber and Q-tips. You'll also want to use gunscrubber on the tube and spring assembly inside the forearm, but you do want to make sure you put plenty of oil back on there, as both the rod and the spring have a tendency to rust.

[87racer]

thank you both. this seems to be a great forum!! are the pins suppose to be tapped out with a punch?? also are there any special tools needed to fully disassemble to get to the gas ports?? thanks again!

[looneyducer]

The last one I had here we pushed the pins out with the backside of the actual pen cartridge from a ball-point.

If you do a google search on the 742 you'll hit a long description of disassembly about halfway down the first page, but I wouldn't recommend it unless the gun quits working entirely. Once you have the trigger assembly out and the forearm off, you can get at almost everything, given a little time and patience, solvent and q-tips. Just keep running the bolt back and forth, and cleaning over and over, until it's pretty clean.

Oh, and afterwards, don't leave that thing dry. Lightly oil EVERYTHING. If you ever get rust in the innards -- you don't want to know.