New Hunting Rifle ?

Brux

Sergeant
Full Member
Minuteman
Nov 12, 2013
828
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GA
Thinking about building a new hunting rifle.
EH2,EH3,EH6 stock probably
30-06 caliber
Rock,Brux, Bartlein?
I have a new 700 action.
KDF Brake?
Opinions?
 
It will be a good gun. My only qualms are with the 30-06 caliber, while capable of good stuff, it's a bit outdated, I'd much prefer putting in either a .300 WM/WSM or something of the hotter 7mm variety for a bigger game hunting gun. However, you probably already have the action based on your post.
Any of the stocks you mentioned will work for accuracy, just make sure they're comfortable for you.
Bartlein barrels are a great choice. Don't go too heavy on contour.
Lots of good brakes out there. I like the Little Bastard and Hellfire brakes.

The biggest key is a great 'Smith to put it all together. Goes without saying but, spend the money and have that 700 action all trued up.
 
I have a different opinion of the .30-06. It it very capable of taking any NA game with the exception the Grizzle. Depends on the range you are shooting. Within 500 yards, it is an excellent cartridge and accurate. Not the best but not the worst. I have hunted with a .30-06 since I was 16 and still have a .30-06 today. Plenty of factory ammo. I normally shoot 150 - 180 grain depending on the game I am hunting. I like the 165-168 as a do it all bullet. If you need a long range rig past 500 yards, go with a magnum.
 
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Unfortunately, you guys are all using straw man and fallacious arguments for the 30-06. While I didn't back my post up with the hoards of ballistic and statistic data out there, the post still stands: Today, there are a quite a few calibers much superior to the 30-06 in both ballistics and energy, whilst maintaining similar cost/recoil etc.

The 30-06 is of course very capable. Many animals and humans can tell you that if they could. If you already have it, it works, and works well. But if you are starting from scratch and have the choice of ANY caliber out there, why not step into a superior caliber? That's all I'm saying.
 
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In 2019 .30/06 isn’t sexy or the hot new thing for this week until someone tweaks the shoulder angle a degree or two and moves the neck length a few thousandths of an inch, attaches a cool name to it with a metric designation. The upside to .30/06 is it works and it’s pretty universal - it’s everywhere in hunting country. Ammo is in every gun shop, Wal Mart and hardware store.
Ought Six is far from dead, I’d venture to say that at least 50% of the hunters in the US have at least one rifle chambered in the old Govt. cartridge.
 
What do you hunt and at what distances?
30-06 might be just the thing if you need a heavy(ish) bullet. Small prey far away might be easier with something else.
 
My factory M700 CDL gets the job done out to 500 (my limit on game) using Berger 185 VLD Hunting bullets and Ramshot Hunter powder. It will consistently shoot under 1 inch groups at 100.

As far as barrels, pick what you like. We all know Bartlein is good, and so is Rock. I've never heard anything bad about Brux either.

I like the McMillan HTG stock or the Grayboe Terrain. Mine is still in the original wood stock, but hopefully soon I'll get a fiberglass one
 
500 yds is pretty far with any cartridge, for hunting. Far enough that velocity and BC matter.
Elk is pretty big, so you want to hit it with some authority.

Maybe something with more velocity and slightly less diameter than 30-06?
 
With my load there is still over 1700 ft lbs of energy at 500 yards. Plenty to drop an elk.

The commonly accepted minimum amount of kinetic energy for elk is 1500 ft lbs. My ammo doesn't drop below that until just over 600 yards. Shot placement has a lot to do with an ethical harvest as well.
 
Have several of the eh6, adjustable and non adjustable. Has supplanted the McMillan Edge hunting stocks as my favorite on a hunting rifle.

I’d go no bigger than a 2b Bartlein.
 
With my load there is still over 1700 ft lbs of energy at 500 yards. Plenty to drop an elk.

The commonly accepted minimum amount of kinetic energy for elk is 1500 ft lbs. My ammo doesn't drop below that until just over 600 yards. Shot placement has a lot to do with an ethical harvest as well.
Interesting. My bow generates around 80ft lbs of KE. Probably marginal for squirrels...:unsure:

There are few things a 30-06 can do that a 308win with modern powders cannot. And, where a long action 30-06 is superior to a short action 308win, a 300 win mag is superior to the 30-06 in the same action.

There are a few things that a mag cannot do that the -06 can, like be shot from a Garand, but they are few. A win mag will be more expensive to load to 30-06 velocities, but you can't load an -06 to win mag velocities.
 
I’m building something similar. Basically a custom 3006.

For hunting I don’t want nor need win mag power, yet. If one day I can shoot far enough to need that difference maybe I’ll build a new one

Got an eh1
Bartlein 3
Defiance tenacity on order
Planning on threading it 9/16x24 and running a brake when I want and a thread protector when not.
Bdl

Planning on it being 11-12lbs all up, and will be my hunting rifle for deer, elk antelope out to hopefully 5-600