I don't know what was wrong with the guys rifle that couldn't hit anything but dirt at 400 yards with a .30-06 but I harvested an Antelope with a rather uncommon old commercial Mauser model 96 (as in 1996 not 1896, a nice straight pull rifle that I got a number of seasons of use out of until getting an "offer I couldn't refuse" for the rifle. Anyway, though admittedly it was a rather irresponsible shot, I was living and hunting on public land in Wyoming a few years back and harvested an Antelope that my Son and I paced off and estimated to have been just shy of 800 yards. I simply aimed at the "vitals" of the animal and held over a "guesstimate" amount and fired a 180 grain off the shelf round, don't remember if it was a Winchester round or what, I do remember that back then I purchased pretty much whatever was on sale and I have always gone with the somewhat heavier load in .30-06. I "lost" the animal when the rifle recoiled but my Son said, "you got him". I thought he was lying and just wanted to make me drag my ass up the incline to where the buck had been leading his cows. We eventually made it and sure enough I had made a "textbook" shot on the animal hitting it right behind its left "elbow". When field dressing it the bullet had taken out both lungs and removed the top part of the Antelopes heart. It dropped where it was hit and never moved a muscle from the appearance of the soil. The small "pack" had been leading us for about 45 minutes and I was simply tired of being led by the animal. My actual intent was to put a bullet near enough to the critter to perhaps make it a bit smarter the next time out though again, I did align the shot and did ONLY "guesstimate" the holdover. I had no rangefinder and have never used one. Just "one of those shots". There was also an exit wound of some size so anybody claiming that the .30-06 is not capable of a 400 round shot must have a bent barreled rifle or is blind and cannot come to grips with that fact or get glasses. The gun was nice but had only an average trigger. I had planned on having a gunsmith lighten its pull a bit but ended up getting a purchase offer......a circumstance I regret to this day as those commercial straight pull Mausers, one of the last firearms imported by the former Interarms had free floated barrels and had the potential, with a little trigger work to really make superb groupings. At the range when zeroing the scope I think I remember averaging about 2.5 inch groups off of sandbags. Admittedly back then I was still drinking and might of had a mild case of the "shakes" as I do remember it being a crisp fall day when I got that rifle ready for that season. On another occasion I harvested another bull Antelope at a good 500 yards and this time it was a bit more responsible of a shot as I was shooting off the hood of an old Bronco I had and had a MUCH better scope and more familiarity with the rifle. I hit exactly to point of aim and again, shooting the 180 grain "whatever was on sale" round, also the same round of course that I had zeroed the scope with, the animal never knew what hit him and died before the sound got to him.
ANYONE that tells you that the .30-06 is anything but one of the top 4 or 5 calibers available and by way of bullet weight probably THE SINGLE MOST VERSITILE bullet available, is crazy. It will kill any animal found on this continent and do it very well. I have taken Elk, Antelope, Deer, both mulies and white tail, Moose and a brown bear with a .30-06 and have done so in 4 different states, Texas, Washington, Wyoming and Wisconsin and at ranges from 50 yards to the aforementioned approx. 800 yards (which if properly measure could have been anywhere from 750 to 850 yards and that was shooting standing up off hand and without even using the sling to help stabilize the rifle. I really didn't think I would come close to hitting the animal and honestly didn't believe my Son until I saw the animal laying on the Wyoming dirt. Great bullet, great gun. If anyone has one of those Interarms imported commercial straight pull Mausers in .30-06 and if it is in great condition I will trade you evenly for a new and unfired Windham Weaponry M4At and throw in a match grade trigger that has never been installed and even throw in whatever AR mags I have available of which I should have about 4 or so extras and include the almost $200 trigger that I purchased but have never installed from Brownells. The trigger assembly is still in its box. PLEASE SOMEONE LET ME KNOW IF YOU HAVE ONE OF THOSE INTERARMS STRAIGHT PULL COMMERCIAL MODEL 96 Mausers and I honestly will trade even for an unfired Windham 5.56Nato removeable carry handle, pickatinnie topped AR whose model number I think is the M4AT. It is a carbine but it has never been fired nor lifted out of its hard case. I caved in and bought one to save on freight when a buddy of mine just "had to have one". It comes with a surprisingly high quality factory hard case made of Polymer that is of much better than Plano quality and I will throw in an almost $200 match grade trigger assembly if you want it. I will also sell you 1000 rounds of .223 ammo if you issue a UPS call tag for it and only charge you $150 for 1000 rounds of 55 grain ammo. You MUST issue the call tag and pay for the freight. That is a great deal for an Interarms rifle that will never have any collectors value of significance but it does have quite a bit of sentimental value to me as in 2012 I lost my Son who died of an aneurysm in his sleep at the age of 34 leaving behind two wonderful granddaughters and leaving me without an heir. PLEASE ask your friends, ask whoever you know and if you find one contact me. My name is Dennis and I can be emailed at:
[email protected] I will provide an FFL and will have to have either an FFL or a photo copy of an official photo id from your end to accept the rifle. I will also provide a receipt for however much you want me to make it out for for the Windham Weaponry AR carbine who some call the best out of the box AR carbines being made in this country right now and whose employees certainly are enthusiastic about producing only the highest quality firearms that they can since it was the employees that "saved" the company when Bushmaster pulled out of Windham, Maine and eventually Windham Weaponry was founded by the hard working people that worked at the former Bushmaster plant that just didn't want to leave "home". PLEASE IF YOU CAN, HELP ME FIND ONE OF THESE RIFLES. My only requirement is that it be in great shape with a clean bore with superb rifling.......a gun that has been taken care of by a responsible owner. I promise in return to provide a rifle and trigger assembly worth quite a bit more than what I am asking for in trade I assure you and the possibility of obtaining 1000 rounds of new ammo at one hell of a great price. All you have to do is get my name and address and if you have a UPS account simply issue a call tag online. If you don't, simply go to a UPS terminal and make the arrangements. I will release the shipment of ammo only after receiving the $150 which is a LOT less than I paid for the ammo I promise you. I am willing to take a true beating to get a commercial model 96 straight pull Mauser (and again, that is 1995 not 1896 that the model number refers to. It pretty much looks like a regular bolt action rifle but it is a straight pull.......nothing at all special about it except to my heart. PLEASE ask around and help me out. If you find something let me know and we can work out how to do the trade after swapping an email or two. I would most certainly be grateful to anyone that can help me out on this.
