Stevens .30-06 help

[DragonsBane]

This is a new one for me. My wife bought this for me for a Christmas present so it has to stay a .30-06. The plan is to AI this cartridge and add an Accurate Mag 3.85" bottom metal to be able to seat 210 grain Berger's way out there and add a 26" barrel to take advantage of the slower powders.

To give an idea of what I am used to, the "smallest" rifle I had before this was a .338 Win Mag so the '06 is new to me since I typically shoot 1000+ yards on a regular basis.

My wife really tried to do this for me, since I tore a rotor cuff and shooting the big bores really hurts now, even with a brake. This came as a complete surprise for a Christmas present so it has to stay an '06 so it doesn't hurt her feelings or make her think she did something wrong, but I am used to hard hitting rounds at both ends.

[handirifle]

While I do not have your long range experience, you might consider leaving it the plain ole 30-06. With the slower powders and longer barrel, it might surprise you. I read an article a few years ago by a well known writer, Sam Fadala, that put a long barrel on his '06 and was getting 3000fps with 180gr bullets from it. He used it (with special permission) to take a cape buffalo. That 3000 is dead in the middle of 300 Wm speeds.

He did all of this because of a shoulder injury also. My guess is with a similar load, you'd still be able to get about 2700-2800 with a 210gr.

[GaCop]

While I do not have your long range experience, you might consider leaving it the plain ole 30-06. With the slower powders and longer barrel, it might surprise you. I read an article a few years ago by a well known writer, Sam Fadala, that put a long barrel on his '06 and was getting 3000fps with 180gr bullets from it. He used it (with special permission) to take a cape buffalo. That 3000 is dead in the middle of 300 Wm speeds.

He did all of this because of a shoulder injury also. My guess is with a similar load, you'd still be able to get about 2700-2800 with a 210gr.

+1, good advice. The 30-06 AI is really not worth the bother in the long run, very little gain in performance and it may not feed reliably from the mag box. The only gain is zero case growth.