Hey guys, new to this forum and not sure if this is really the right place to post this. I have a new mossberg 4x4 30-06. I got this gun as a gift and want to be able to make this an 800 yard gun. Im pretty new to seeing guns being built so I'm just curious as to what all i would need to accomplish this. I've heard that the 30-06 isnt the most desirable gun for long range shooting but it is capable. Sp what would you guys suggest. New trigger, good scope and good hand loads or even a new action? All your advice amd help is appreciated. Thanks everyone.
mossberg 30-06
- Thread starter legette11
- Start date
Help Support Long Range Hunting Forum
You will end up getting all kinds of opinions on this from "you need to rebarrel it to 7mm STW" to "you need to send it off to have the barrel replace, trigger replaced, stock replaced, and action replaced" 
rolleyes. What you need to realize is that this is a budget (low cost) rifle and, like most cheaper things, are cheap for a reason. Does this mean it's not a good hunting rifle or junk? Not at all. Should you expect it to shoot like a match winning F class rifle? If you do you are probably setting yourself up to be disappointed. But if somebody gave me one as a present I would take it and shoot the crap out of it. Some of these lower priced rifles will flat out shoot! I have had several of the budget Savage rifles with the crappy wood stock growing up and all of them had great accuracy. I have a Marlin XL7 that I paid $150 for, I told myself to be happy if I could get 1" groups at 100 yards. The first load I shot through it was Lake City "factory" with 175 matchkings. It averages 3/4 moa...done! The only other load I can remember putting through it is some ball military rounds that I had pulled the bullets and seated a 150 grain Hornady SST into. It shoots just as well and makes for a really cheap hunting/practice round for my kids.
What you need to remember is that the rifle is just a launch platform for the bullet and the cartridge is the fuel system to get the bullet moving. Nothing wrong with a 30-06, very versatile. However, if you are serious about hunting at 800 yards you need an appropriate bullet. Several out there, you need to find one that the rifle likes. All opinions aside, only the rifle can tell you what that is and only one way to find out.
If that rifle has one of the Accutrigger clones then it is probably adjustable and not bad. Usually the so called stocks on these cheaper rifles just flat out suck, as in flimsy. There are ways to fix that. I don't know what stock you have. I have never seen a good bed job on a stock negatively effect accuracy so that might be an option.
More than likely this rifle can outshoot most guys, maybe even you. Find a load it likes and go have a good time.
As far as scopes; you don't need anything really expensive with 20x plus power and a bunch of fancy bells and whistles. If you are just starting out I would tell you to keep it simple. I will tell you that for shooting out to ranges like you speak of I think you should either have a scope with decent repeatable turrets or a reticle of sort that has holdover reference marks. Both never hurt and you can decide which one you want to use, or if you want to use a combo of both like I do. For the most part you need to realize that scopes are usually cheap for a reason as well, and if I was to use a cheap scope then I wouldn't probably trust the turret adjustments. With that said, I'm going to contradict myself and say that one of my favorite scopes is a 2-10 power made by Weaver that I ended up paying under $200 for when they had them on close out with a rebate. It sits on my daughter's .243 and has good glass and repeatable pop up turrets. I believe the same scope is being sold at Natchezss for about $300 right now.
I have a lot of bargain rifles and scopes, and I have some higher dollar stuff. They probably get used an equal amount. One thing I am not is an equipment snob. I use what I feel is appropriate for the job at hand. The difference between you and I is experience. My advice to new shooters (or LR shooters) is to build yourself up with equipment as your experience level grows. I know too many people that jump in and spend thousands of dollars right off the bat and realize they got in over their heads.
You will have to excuse the long post, it's about 3 in the morning and I'm bored.
rolleyes. What you need to realize is that this is a budget (low cost) rifle and, like most cheaper things, are cheap for a reason. Does this mean it's not a good hunting rifle or junk? Not at all. Should you expect it to shoot like a match winning F class rifle? If you do you are probably setting yourself up to be disappointed. But if somebody gave me one as a present I would take it and shoot the crap out of it. Some of these lower priced rifles will flat out shoot! I have had several of the budget Savage rifles with the crappy wood stock growing up and all of them had great accuracy. I have a Marlin XL7 that I paid $150 for, I told myself to be happy if I could get 1" groups at 100 yards. The first load I shot through it was Lake City "factory" with 175 matchkings. It averages 3/4 moa...done! The only other load I can remember putting through it is some ball military rounds that I had pulled the bullets and seated a 150 grain Hornady SST into. It shoots just as well and makes for a really cheap hunting/practice round for my kids. What you need to remember is that the rifle is just a launch platform for the bullet and the cartridge is the fuel system to get the bullet moving. Nothing wrong with a 30-06, very versatile. However, if you are serious about hunting at 800 yards you need an appropriate bullet. Several out there, you need to find one that the rifle likes. All opinions aside, only the rifle can tell you what that is and only one way to find out.
If that rifle has one of the Accutrigger clones then it is probably adjustable and not bad. Usually the so called stocks on these cheaper rifles just flat out suck, as in flimsy. There are ways to fix that. I don't know what stock you have. I have never seen a good bed job on a stock negatively effect accuracy so that might be an option.
More than likely this rifle can outshoot most guys, maybe even you. Find a load it likes and go have a good time.
As far as scopes; you don't need anything really expensive with 20x plus power and a bunch of fancy bells and whistles. If you are just starting out I would tell you to keep it simple. I will tell you that for shooting out to ranges like you speak of I think you should either have a scope with decent repeatable turrets or a reticle of sort that has holdover reference marks. Both never hurt and you can decide which one you want to use, or if you want to use a combo of both like I do. For the most part you need to realize that scopes are usually cheap for a reason as well, and if I was to use a cheap scope then I wouldn't probably trust the turret adjustments. With that said, I'm going to contradict myself and say that one of my favorite scopes is a 2-10 power made by Weaver that I ended up paying under $200 for when they had them on close out with a rebate. It sits on my daughter's .243 and has good glass and repeatable pop up turrets. I believe the same scope is being sold at Natchezss for about $300 right now.
I have a lot of bargain rifles and scopes, and I have some higher dollar stuff. They probably get used an equal amount. One thing I am not is an equipment snob. I use what I feel is appropriate for the job at hand. The difference between you and I is experience. My advice to new shooters (or LR shooters) is to build yourself up with equipment as your experience level grows. I know too many people that jump in and spend thousands of dollars right off the bat and realize they got in over their heads.
You will have to excuse the long post, it's about 3 in the morning and I'm bored.
Hey thanks for the great info, really appreciate it. I won't necessarily be hunting out to a range of that far, i just want to be able to reach out that far comfortably if need be. I'm a somewhat experienced shooter only out to about 400 yards though. The long range bug got me when i went out shooting with my girlfriends dad. I think this weekend i will probably go looking for a scope and experiment with some different loads.
