30-06 at 600 yards

[MudRunner2005]

really an easy answer here. Would you grab a 3030 out of you rack if you were heading out elk hunting and knew the shot youd get would be at 300 yards or even a big bull at 200? If yes then grab that 06 and go shoot some elk at 600. I have to doubt any ethical hunter would grab that 3030.

Yes, if it was all I had to shoot. With advancements in ammo technology today (Hornady LeverEvolution), and a good scope on your .30-30, you should have no problems dropping game at 300 yards, if your weapon is up to the task.

People have been killing animals with rocks and sticks since the caveman days, and killing big animals with muskets and black powder for centuries now... They must have been undergunned as well. How dare them for using what they had available to them to feed their families...

Don't ever call my ethics into question. I have only lost one deer, and it was with a bow and arrow, and I found it dead the next morning, because we ran out of daylight when I shot it the evening before...

 

[Trnelson]

you want to kill them cleanly or poke holes in them and wait till they bleed!!! Just posted In another thread some ballistics I looked up with the same bullet going 2600 out of a 308 and it had about the same energy at 600 as a 3030 does at 300 and how many of you would take your grandpas 3030 out in the corn fields and shoot deer at 300 yards.

Not to flame you sir,
I'll run down to the freezer and tell that whitetail I shot at 421 DRT on Friday that she should have slowly bled out. I bet she "knew" she was "only" hit with a 230g Berger at 1960 fps and 1963 lb-ft of energy when it liquified her lungs and left a two inch diameter exit wound. I just fooled her into falling dead, I used some trickery. If you aren't able to precisely PLACE a bullet to make a clean, ethical kill, at that given range,all the velocity in the world isn't going to amalgamate a higher velocity miss. I've personally STONED deer with that very 24" barreled .30/06 and load out to 680. At 1,000 it runs 1411 fps and 1017 lb-ft, which in Nebraska (where the majority of my hunting is done) a rifle must generate 1,000 lb-ft of energy at 100 yards to be considered legal to utilize in hunting large game. My "crappy" .30/06 still meets that requirement at 10x that range... FWIW, I limit my shots on game to 700, as I only regularly practice out to 800. Marksmanship, it really maters.

 

[lloydsmale]

not to flame you but one or two examples isn't anything to base absolute fact on. Shoot enough with that load and youll do some tracking and 421 yards is a far cry from 600 and in the case of one poster a 1000!!!!!!!!!!!!! About like shooting deer at 50 yards with a 9mm handgun. thts the problem here. A poster shoots a deer at 600 and it drops and they magicaly think that its the perfect load for the job. Ive dropped deer on the spot with a 22lr at a 100 yards. does that mean I was ethical doing it? In Michigan any centerfire rifle is legal. So you can even take a 22 hornet out and shoot deer at 600 yards here if you want. gun)Ill bow out of this bs now. I don't have anything to prove. I know better. Seen it with my own eyes

 

[roninflag]

Thanks for all the replies

After reading through all the posts and thinking it over I've decided that the 30-06 would be the best cartridge for me. The cheaper and plentiful ammo will keep me practicing till i can reload and really use the most of the cartridge. The rifle should be up to the task as it will be a custom build using a Stiller Predator, Shilen select match barrel 1-10 twist 24" and it will be pillar bedded in Manners EH-3.

I'm excited to start this build and most pictures showing of when its all said and done

with precision componets , that rifle should be awesome. 600 yards maybe further.

 

[gohring3006]

not to flame you but one or two examples isn't anything to base absolute fact on. Shoot enough with that load and youll do some tracking and 421 yards is a far cry from 600 and in the case of one poster a 1000!!!!!!!!!!!!! About like shooting deer at 50 yards with a 9mm handgun. thts the problem here. A poster shoots a deer at 600 and it drops and they magicaly think that its the perfect load for the job. Ive dropped deer on the spot with a 22lr at a 100 yards. does that mean I was ethical doing it? In Michigan any centerfire rifle is legal. So you can even take a 22 hornet out and shoot deer at 600 yards here if you want. gun)Ill bow out of this bs now. I don't have anything to prove. I know better. Seen it with my own eyes

Man, you can't stand that someone can take a 30-06 or a .308 and do things with it that you cant. Why don't you just read these post and learn something. There are people here that are better than you. Get over it.

 

[lloydsmale]

and I suppose you consider yourself one of them. How do you even know what my skill level is. I never once even touch on the ability of someone to actually hit the deer. My argument is its very lacking in retained energy when it does. I could care less about shooting paper targets at a 1000 yards. Im not a sniper. Im a deer hunter who shoots a lot of deer at long range. I have never even shot at a target farther then 600 yards because I have no need to. that some military sniper can make a hit with a 308 at a 1000 yards on an enemy solder has not a bit to do with using the same gun to ethicaly take a deer. The deer is not your enemy and isn't going to fight back. So why even take a chance it will suffer. Why don't you take a gun out actually hunting deer and learn something. I was shooting deer at long range when most here were still in diapers. What I learned first was to put my ego away because I was shooting and killing live things not paper targets. It was my goal to cleanly harvest those deer as humanely as possible not to prove I was so good I could accomplish it with a less powerful gun then someone else. That's the problem with forums like this. You get some young egotistical guy who goes out and writes a check for some high dollar rifle and scope, puts a few rounds down range on a target and thinks there qualified to be a navy seals sniper. No respect for people who have actually killed a lot of deer at long range and no respect for the animal there killing. You cant buy experience and you aren't going to get it from a keyboard.

Man, you can't stand that someone can take a 30-06 or a .308 and do things with it that you cant. Why don't you just read these post and learn something. There are people here that are better than you. Get over it.

 

[gohring3006]

and I suppose you consider yourself one of them. How do you even know what my skill level is. I never once even touch on the ability of someone to actually hit the deer. My argument is its very lacking in retained energy when it does. Why don't you take a gun out hunting and learn something.

There are plenty of ballistic charts to show you that your wrong.
But its exhausting arguing about it. In the end it doesn't really matter.
I just know I can load a 178-180 gr. Bullet to 2800-2900 fps and a 208gr to 2600 fps all without pushing the gun very hard and that will never kill any thing past 300. Right?

 

[lloydsmale]

again where did this 300 yard thing come from Your mind I believe. Keep in mind too that this thread got twisted around to include deer. It originaly was about killing elk at those ranges and that's an animal that is at least twice the size of a deer. you keep killing things with those ballistic charts and we wont have a problem because youll never wound a deer and have it run off and suffer that way. I wish we could poll every elk guide in the country and using there experiences with different guns and ranges elk are taken and get a consensous as to what they feel is an adequate 600 yard elk rifle. Then ask about 800 and a 1000. Id be the percentage of those recommending an 06 for 600 would be small and when you asked about 800 and a 1000 theyd probably send you home. I kind of have a feeling more would side with me on this then you. Don't know why though, you get your info from the internet gun)

 

[gohring3006]

again where did this 300 yard thing come from Your mind I believe. Keep in mind too that this thread got twisted around to include deer. It originaly was about killing elk at those ranges and that's an animal that is at least twice the size of a deer. you keep killing things with those ballistic charts and we wont have a problem because youll never wound a deer and have it run off and suffer that way. I wish we could poll every elk guide in the country and using there experiences with different guns and ranges elk are taken and get a consensous as to what they feel is an adequate 600 yard elk rifle. Then ask about 800 and a 1000. Id be the percentage of those recommending an 06 for 600 would be small and when you asked about 800 and a 1000 theyd probably send you home. I kind of have a feeling more would side with me on this then you. Don't know why though, you get your info from the internet gun)

In your mind your always right.
Keep doing what your doing you'll be fine. I'm done arguing about it. I got to go to work. Good luck,
This is exhausting, I don't care to argue with a know it all. I do that with my wife.

 

[FEENIX]

LL!

 

[FEENIX]

point taken on barrel length for picking up the extra fps with a little longer barrel and I will look into that.

As for my situation with reloading it is not the price that is keeping me back rather an issue with spare time. As it is right now i struggle to go to the range as often as i would like. That being said my situation looks to be changing next year where i can further pursue long range shooting and at that time i plan to start my venture into hand loading

I am not new to firearms and have come to understand that when you buy quality first it will give you a platform that won't hold you back and save you money over the long run. On top of that having a firearm such as the one i plan to build instills the owner with a sense of pride that further encourages the cultivation of ones skills.

That's is just what i have found personally, others may have a different opinion. But that's why I'm here to learn from others opinions.

Sorry but I agree with the guys on investing in reloading. There is no short cut to accuracy. When done accordingly, reloading enhances your accuracy many folds. Having said that regardless if you reload or not, you need to find the time to spend at the range, esp. in longrange hunting --- PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE and more PRACTICE.

Good luck, cheers!

 

[lloydsmale]

you wont get any better advice then that.

Sorry but I agree with the guys on investing in reloading. There is no short cut to accuracy. When done accordingly, reloading enhances your accuracy many folds. Having said that regardless if you reload or not, you need to find the time to spend at the range, esp. in longrange hunting --- PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE and more PRACTICE.

Good luck, cheers!