FISH BOY
Well-Known Member
Looking at the Mauser M12 in 30-06. I have one in .243 and love it, but wondered how it handled in 30-06 due to its lightness?
XYZ
Well-Known Member
I don't have any problems with it, I don't use a moderator so you get the inevitable muzzle flip but I can't say I notice the recoil. Sure it kicks but not excessively and nothing that isn't manageable.
This is the best path.
If you have not had the opportunity to shoot different makes and models of .30-06, this is where to begin your shopping. Ideally, you should be able to take your time and fire at least 10 rounds from each rifle, from field positions. If you are not accustomed to a .30-06 or above, it can cease to be fun after 20 rounds for a lot of people. But the recoil is not bad, about 20 ft-lbs with a typical deer load.
The fit of the rifle is important, so that you are not forcing yourself into an unnatural position.
Realize that there is a wide range of factory ammunition for the .30-06, and with handloading, you can have effective deer loads from a 125-gr at 2,700 fps to really big and dangerous game loads with stout 180 and 200-gr bullets at 2,850 and 2,750 fps. That means the recoil ranges from 7mm-08 level to .300 H&H.
About half of my .30-06s wear iron sights as primary, and the half with scopes are QR. I still have my first .30-06, a 1967 Remington 700 ADL Deluxe with a checkered steel butt plate, weighing 7 lbs unloaded, 7.5 lbs loaded. I have a matching rifle in .270 Win with hard plastic butt plate. Recoil of the .30-06 with a 150-gr at 2,900 FPS feels about the same as the .270 with a 130-gr at 3,000 FPS. I also have a Remington 700 BDL SS with 24-inch barrel and the factory molded stock, which seems to have recoil I don't notice, even with the 165-gr at 2,950 and 180-gr at 2,850 which it shoots so well - same fit at the walnut 700s, but a good recoil pad, and 8.1 lb unloaded with its scope.
What I am getting to, is that the fit of the rifle ( and scope ), and how you mount it properly are the biggest factors in felt recoil. Weight and barrel length reduce the abruptness of the recoil and the muzzle flip and blast ( perception ). I have several 1903 Springfields, including three sporting rifles and Army sniper rifles, of varying stock dimensions and weight. My Tikka T3 Lite SS in .30-06 is a really nice rifle, only 7 lbs loaded with a scope, and I don't notice the recoil being any different than the same rifle in .308 Win. My Thompson Icon is heavy, 24-inch barrel, solid synthetic stock, 24-inch barrel, and it soaks up the recoil. Likewise my Browning B78 with 26-inch barrel and 9.7 lbs scoped.
You can become accustomed to heavy recoil if the rifle fits, even a 7 lb one. So my advice is to find a rifle which fits you well, by shooting mild cartridges like the .243 and 7mm-08, and a barrel 22 to 24 inches. If you buy it, start off shooting mild factory loads of 125 and 150 grains. Other SDUK members here can tell you which ones those are, which are easy to find and inexpensive. It is really a splendid cartridge, and can do so many things with reloads.
Definitely a good plan, I went in to Ivythorn pretty convinced on a mauser in 30-06, but after handling and trying out that and a few others, went with a Schultz&Larsen Victory because it fitted so much better. Very pleased I did, its a great rifle but most importantly handles beautifully for me
devon deer stalker
Well-Known Member
Firstly, have you adjusted the trigger?
I did,and after that is was a lovely crisp trigger, a very light weight 30-06 that worked great.
However I had some spare cash and upgraded to an R8 Blaser, awesome gun, but heavier than the x-bolt, something when you tramp up mountains in Montana you appreciate the difference!
Coincidence, I measured my 180 in 30-06 home load, IMR 4350 56 grains, 1850 fps
Cheers
Richard
Right, I’ve given my better half the heads up that I’m going to be out over the weekend to go and try a selection of different rifles!
I have an idea of the type of rifle fit that I’m looking for but I’m going to go into it totally open minded and see what transpires.
Thank you everyone for sharing all your thought and experiences, it’s been a huge help!
5pointer.
I have an idea of the type of rifle fit that I’m looking for but I’m going to go into it totally open minded and see what transpires.
Thank you everyone for sharing all your thought and experiences, it’s been a huge help!
5pointer.
Scotty99
Well-Known Member
My 30-06 is a Mauser M03 with a wooden stock. It is very accurate and handles recoil really well. It is a heavy rifle for stalking all day but I love it. It has the benefit of being a switch barrel so you can add other calibres very easily. The ideal combination for some is to add a .375 H&H barrel and you have an ideal combination for Africa. The Mauser QR mounts are expensive though at about £400 for a set, but they are really good and switching barrels and sights holds zero perfectly. As you are in Oxfordshire check out RJ Blackwell who stock Mauser rifles.
As its not been mentioned yet, ill suggest one other rifle, I bought a Browning Maral in .30-06 for driven boar. It wouldn't be my first choice of rifle for stalking, but its difficult to beat for speed of reload on driven boar and the 10 shot mage stop you worrying about needing magazine changes. It only comes with a wooden stock, but i had an adjustable comb fitted for £300 by bkwebstergunsmith (@gmail.com if you need e-mail) and I'm delighted with it. The browning Maral does take down (butt comes off, not barrel), it isn't renowned for its trigger, I've not had an issue for driven use and the MK2 is apparently improved but it is exceptionally fast to reload (even compared to Merkel Helix and Blaser R8) and much cheaper. Like I say, not necessarily a first choice for stalking, but mines in the cupboard for driven game. Best of luck with your purchase.
WildBoarHunter
Well-Known Member
I currently use a Blaser R8 in 308 win with 52 cm barrel. I've been hunting extensively for about 4 years with it. This rifle is really hard to beat. Accurate, rugged, 97 cm long so it's probably one of the shortest hunting rifles out there. With standard 58 cm barrel it's still just 103 cm long. As I'm a tall person, I really appreciate the 37 cm length of pull. The Professional plastic stock is also one of the best out there. Not a single scratch on mine as of yet. The action is smooth and lightning fast. One of the best triggers out there. Very easy to dissasemble, clean, maintain or change barrels. The caliber itself is accurate, effective, puts everything I hunt down cleanly and the best part is, it's not recoil heavy.
In the past I used a Browning x-bolt and Mauser M98 both in 30-06. Now, this calibre has a little more punch and also a little more recoil, especially from shorter barrels. The 308 behaves very nice even out of a short "20" barrel, while I would recommend you to use at least "22" or 56 cm barrel with 30-06, otherwise you are gonna loose too much velocity and both the recoil and blast become annoying.
As I also like rifles with nice traditional wooden stock, I have just ordered a Heym SR 21 Allround and it should be here in a month or so. I ordered it in 30-06, but only because it only comes in "long" bolt action lenght. The short 308 kind of a doesn't fit with the long bolt action. The thing to consider here is, that the SR 21 Allround has a barrel length of 55 cm , which is pretty short for 30-06. I hope velocities will still be good and the recoil and blast won't bother me too much. Will report when I receive the rifle.
In the past I used a Browning x-bolt and Mauser M98 both in 30-06. Now, this calibre has a little more punch and also a little more recoil, especially from shorter barrels. The 308 behaves very nice even out of a short "20" barrel, while I would recommend you to use at least "22" or 56 cm barrel with 30-06, otherwise you are gonna loose too much velocity and both the recoil and blast become annoying.
As I also like rifles with nice traditional wooden stock, I have just ordered a Heym SR 21 Allround and it should be here in a month or so. I ordered it in 30-06, but only because it only comes in "long" bolt action lenght. The short 308 kind of a doesn't fit with the long bolt action. The thing to consider here is, that the SR 21 Allround has a barrel length of 55 cm , which is pretty short for 30-06. I hope velocities will still be good and the recoil and blast won't bother me too much. Will report when I receive the rifle.
As far as I've seen the synthetic stock on the sauer 202 is the best built out there. Not at all flimsy and hollow sounding, but feels solid and of a comfortable weight. For the 3006 calibre I would go with the steel reciever rather than the alu one. Purely to help soak up some of the recoil. I have 202's in 6.5x55, .308 and 3006. Obviously the 6.5 is by far the mildest in recoil, but the .308 and 3006 have very little in them using 150gn bullets.
I find the 3006 give more of a shove rather than a whack in the shoulder. Mounts for the 202 are quite reasonable in leupold QR. The open sights are pretty good too.
I find the 3006 give more of a shove rather than a whack in the shoulder. Mounts for the 202 are quite reasonable in leupold QR. The open sights are pretty good too.
diverdave
Well-Known Member
My 3006 is a schultz and larson set up, with S&L rings and Mod, and a Z6i. A wonderful traditional looking and smooth feeling rifle. Firing 150gn game kings it is sweet shooting and a gentle recoil, basically the same as the 243 but louder. The trigger on these rifles is as near perfect as i have tried. I find it a very efficient can do set up, and if in any doubt i take it, in preference to the same set up but in 243.
I like the idea of a synthetic stock on my S&L rifles, but when i scratch them a touch with a steam iron and some linseed oil and it is back to new, but my Mannlicher prohunter 3006 plastic stock looked like it had been in a war, so though i love the look of wood, and like the idea of synthetic, i do wonder if wood is better overall. i went wood, then synthetic, and now back to wood. My only comment on the S&L rifles, only tiny criticism is the floating barrel needs more space, it is just too close and touches from time to time.A couple of strokes with sand paper and it is perfect.
Back to 3006, i got it to stop red stags on forest edges and so far it has done exactly what was required of it. Damage with a red is minimal with 150 gn game kings, it is probably too much for roe, the offside shoulder becomes dog food. I tried A max, and was disappointed, it killed deer very well, but often took a 2nd shot, the were dead deer walking, never able to run, but on their feet. but the worst thing was the shrapnel, literally little bits of copper all through the carcass. Game kings to chest, head and neck has always dropped them within 5 yards, and this was my plan. open hill shooting but often with deer on the edge of commercial pin forest, if they get into the forest we can find them with thermal and dog, but dragging them on my hands and knees will be nearly impossible, and i feared the 243 may allow them to get into the wood. The argo may be able to drag them out, so the 243 has it place, but the 3006 just drops them soundly.
I like the idea of a synthetic stock on my S&L rifles, but when i scratch them a touch with a steam iron and some linseed oil and it is back to new, but my Mannlicher prohunter 3006 plastic stock looked like it had been in a war, so though i love the look of wood, and like the idea of synthetic, i do wonder if wood is better overall. i went wood, then synthetic, and now back to wood. My only comment on the S&L rifles, only tiny criticism is the floating barrel needs more space, it is just too close and touches from time to time.A couple of strokes with sand paper and it is perfect.
Back to 3006, i got it to stop red stags on forest edges and so far it has done exactly what was required of it. Damage with a red is minimal with 150 gn game kings, it is probably too much for roe, the offside shoulder becomes dog food. I tried A max, and was disappointed, it killed deer very well, but often took a 2nd shot, the were dead deer walking, never able to run, but on their feet. but the worst thing was the shrapnel, literally little bits of copper all through the carcass. Game kings to chest, head and neck has always dropped them within 5 yards, and this was my plan. open hill shooting but often with deer on the edge of commercial pin forest, if they get into the forest we can find them with thermal and dog, but dragging them on my hands and knees will be nearly impossible, and i feared the 243 may allow them to get into the wood. The argo may be able to drag them out, so the 243 has it place, but the 3006 just drops them soundly.
UPDATE:
Hi all, just thought you might like to know what I ended up doing.
So over the weekend I went to try and look at as many of the rifles that you all recommended as I could.
I was mostly looking forward to having a look at Sako and Mauser. I like classical lines on a rifle from an aesthetic point of view but, as you all know, my biggest concern was finding a .synthetic 30-06 that had the weight and feel that I had in my imagination.
So, I had a look at several mausers and also a couple of nice Sako rifles but for whatever reason they just didn’t ‘feel’ like I’d hoped. This was a little disappointing as I’d almost decided before going to look at them but, through no specific reason as they were all nice rifles, I just didn’t get the feeling I’d hoped for.
I looked at several other rifles and wasn’t impressed with the quality of some of the stocks and various bits and then I ended up doing something I couldn’t have envisaged...
I had decided before I went that I really wasn’t going to get on with the Blasers so what was the point in looking at them. They didn’t appeal and I had imagined all sortable of things about them. Regardless, as I was running out of options I though I might as well look at one. I couldn’t believe it but something about the weight and the feel of the rifle immediately clicked. I was genuinely shocked and even after going back around all the other rifles I only had the feeling I had hoped for in the beginning when I handled the rifle. I decided to take the plunge and bought a R8 Professional Success in .30-06.
I have a couple of other rifles, both of which I think would be largely considered ‘pretty’ so I justified the blaser by remembering that it’s function was solely as a tool. I took it home and got it Zeroed and can honestly say that it is one of the nicest rifles I’ve shot. It keyholed 4 shots at an 1” high at 100yds after only minor tweaking and it has the right weight and feel that I’d been looking for in the beginning.
I honestly didn’t ever think I’d get one but I couldn’t be happier with it!
I suppose the the lesson is to be open to ideas you might not normally consider and you might just be surprised!
5Pointer.
Hi all, just thought you might like to know what I ended up doing.
So over the weekend I went to try and look at as many of the rifles that you all recommended as I could.
I was mostly looking forward to having a look at Sako and Mauser. I like classical lines on a rifle from an aesthetic point of view but, as you all know, my biggest concern was finding a .synthetic 30-06 that had the weight and feel that I had in my imagination.
So, I had a look at several mausers and also a couple of nice Sako rifles but for whatever reason they just didn’t ‘feel’ like I’d hoped. This was a little disappointing as I’d almost decided before going to look at them but, through no specific reason as they were all nice rifles, I just didn’t get the feeling I’d hoped for.
I looked at several other rifles and wasn’t impressed with the quality of some of the stocks and various bits and then I ended up doing something I couldn’t have envisaged...
I had decided before I went that I really wasn’t going to get on with the Blasers so what was the point in looking at them. They didn’t appeal and I had imagined all sortable of things about them. Regardless, as I was running out of options I though I might as well look at one. I couldn’t believe it but something about the weight and the feel of the rifle immediately clicked. I was genuinely shocked and even after going back around all the other rifles I only had the feeling I had hoped for in the beginning when I handled the rifle. I decided to take the plunge and bought a R8 Professional Success in .30-06.
I have a couple of other rifles, both of which I think would be largely considered ‘pretty’ so I justified the blaser by remembering that it’s function was solely as a tool. I took it home and got it Zeroed and can honestly say that it is one of the nicest rifles I’ve shot. It keyholed 4 shots at an 1” high at 100yds after only minor tweaking and it has the right weight and feel that I’d been looking for in the beginning.
I honestly didn’t ever think I’d get one but I couldn’t be happier with it!
I suppose the the lesson is to be open to ideas you might not normally consider and you might just be surprised!
5Pointer.
Well great news you have a rifle you are happy with. Only problem now is you have to buy all the other fancy gear else you won't be allowed in the club. New soft top car, tweed everything, a man bag, nice smelling aftershave. Then you'll be fit for a pose in one of them Harkila adverts.
Happy hunting.
Happy hunting.
WildBoarHunter
Well-Known Member
R8 Professional is not a pretty rifle, it's a tool, a very thought out tool. It will do it's best to help you achieve your hunting goals.
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