bdan68
Active Member
What bullets are you using in the 30/06? Try going lighter, 150 grain or even 130 grain. Being a handloader allows you a lot more flexibility than those who shoot factory loads.
It is a great gun! I have been searching gun brokers and Cablela's gun library every couple weeks. I originally purchased the same rifle in 280 rem and really liked it. When the kids got old enough to hunt I started looking for one in 7mm-08. Finally while we were on our way home from a family trip to Yellowstone I stopped at the Cablela's in Billings Mt and spotted one on the used gun rack from across the store. I purchased the gun and it became one of my son's rifle. He absolutely loves the gun but when his sister became old enough to hunt she got the 7mm-08 and he moved up to the 280. I don't know why they stopped making it, it is a very well balanced handy rifle. Your grandson is going to love it.Dan, that is the exact rifle that I recently passed on to my grandson. It was my go-to deer rifle for a number of years, and always did the job, plus several antelope does out to 200 yards. My grandson is only 120# and not likely to get bigger at age 21, so this rifle was a great fit for him. I would search the internet gun outlets, local gun stores, and especially the gun shows for that DM model. I only go to one large gun show once a year, and it amazes me what pops up sometimes.
On heavy game I have as well. However on deer size game, I have yet to see a failure. Out of our youth 243 we are up to 13 deer and all have been very quick, ethical kills. I will say that none were marginal hits though. I work very hard with my boys on shot placement and I have them practice a lot and then limit to their effective range. Here is an exit wound from this past weekend. This was an adult doe mule deer shot at 210 yards. The bullet broke ribs going in and going out. She made it about 15 yards after the shot.Go with the Partitions and forget the SST's in the .243. I've seen numerous failures with that Hornady SST bullet. IMO they perform like an early Nosler ballistic tip.
It is a tough choice....so many good calibers to choose from. The 6.5 Creedmoor is tough to beat for most North American big game and it has very little recoil. I do love my .30-06 though. I love having one gun that can do it all and the -06 is it. I don't reach out and touch things from a long distance so it works fine for me and everything I hunt. Shooting Hornady's Custom Lite loads reduces recoil substantially and work great for deer-sized critters and smaller. My son saved up his lawn mowing money when he was 13 and shot those rounds out of his self-purchased .30-06. He shot it great and it helped him build confidence with the rifle he will probably use until he is an old man.Getting tired of shooting 30-06 - I shoot 243 a lot better and ultimately shot my muley this year with the 243. What I didn't like was the buck shrugging off a high shoulder shot - 100 gr Federal blue box soft point at 215 yards. Upon cleaning him, there was a pencil-punch hole in the shoulder and some shock evidence but it should have leveled him. 30-06 (165 partitions loaded at 2800 fps) would have blown out both shoulders, thrown him to the ground, and kicked him when he was down. Big diff between the 2 calibers.
So, guess I'm getting soft in my old age. 243 is good enough for antelope and the small southern deer we have around here but I'd rather have more damage with the shot. 30-06 is gonna get some safe time waiting for a late season elk hunt somewhere in the future.
Between the 243 and 30-06 are calibers like 25-06, 7mm-08, 260, 6.5 creed, 7x57, and I know not what. These guns run 12-15 pounds recoil, 243 has 10 pound recoil, my 30-06 home loads are likely over 20#. 308 is questionable - over 15 pound recoil with 150s.
Do I scale back on the 30-06 loads and shoot em slower? Load up 243s with more velocity, better lead? Get another cartridge/rifle?
What Prerylyon said! The 280 Rem if you want to stay tradition or the 280 AI.. I have one of each. The AI can literally do everything and you can load them down or put a break on your gun if you're not liking the recoil. I have a Kimber Subalpine in 280 AI shooting a 154 grain interbond at 3050 fps. It also has a break so it weighs 8 lbs ready to hunt and kicks like a 7mm-08!.280 REM or .280 AI; use a 140 gr pill the rifle likes and that you have confidence in.
On 2nd thought, after referring to this:
Scratch the .280 REM, it has ~ the same recoil as the ought-six.
.280 AI, 7mm-08, 260 REM worth a look.