Max. effective ranges

[joncutt87]

I am curious to know the maximum effective ranges of the .30-06 and the .303 british.

[H-D]

idk about the .303 but the -06 is what famed sniper Carlos Hathcock used
following from wikipedia

Hathcock generally used the standard sniper rifle: the Winchester Model 70 .30-06 caliber rifle with the standard 8-power Unertl scope. On some occasions, however, he used a different weapon: the Browning M2 machine gun, on which he mounted a 10X Unertl scope, using a bracket of his own design.[5] Hathcock made a number of kills with this weapon in excess of 1,000 yards, including his record for the longest confirmed kill at 2,286 yards.[5][26] Hathcock carried a Colt M1911A1 pistol as a sidearm.[10]

pretty sure he popped someone over 800 yds with the -06 but can't find the info rite now

[joncutt87]

I know hathcock used an m14 on occasion as well. I guess I need to break down and pay for a range membership

[hunter29180]

have heard of the 06 being used for antelope hunting, ranges there usually run to 600 to 1200 yds. wary bunch of critters, but fun to hunt, lots of pacience needed.

ok, how about the 30-30? whats its max and effective ranges?

[cycloneman]

Originally Posted by joncutt87

I am curious to know the maximum effective ranges of the .30-06 and the .303 british.

Wait a min. What are you asking? Are you wanting to know military facts or are you considering hunting?

YOu can punch paper or effectivly shoot much longer than what a responsible kill shot is on a deer.

This is also going to depend on the rifle at hand, bullet used and speed of the bullet.

For ex and i am using a 308 which is comp to the 3006. According to Hornady personnell I have talked to the most they would expect you to responsibly take a deer size animal.

308.165gr sst moving at 3100 fps at the muzzel is good for up to 600 yrds. Sure you can shoot past that and kill but not recommended.

[joncutt87]

Long distance paper punching. I'm hard pressed to find a kill shot around here past 125 yards.
.30-30 is going to depend ob your projectile. I wouldn't trust a flat nosed bullet past 150 yards.

[308 at my gate]

Originally Posted by cycloneman

Wait a min. What are you asking? Are you wanting to know military facts or are you considering hunting?

YOu can punch paper or effectivly shoot much longer than what a responsible kill shot is on a deer.

This is also going to depend on the rifle at hand, bullet used and speed of the bullet.

For ex and i am using a 308 which is comp to the 3006. According to Hornady personnell I have talked to the most they would expect you to responsibly take a deer size animal.

308.165gr sst moving at 3100 fps at the muzzel is good for up to 600 yrds. Sure you can shoot past that and kill but not recommended.

And let's not forget that at 600 yards you have about 66 inches of drop if you are zeroed for 100 yards.

[cycloneman]

Originally Posted by 308 at my gate

And let's not forget that at 600 yards you have about 66 inches of drop if you are zeroed for 100 yards.

yep you made me look at my cheat sheet. 64.2" with a 200 yrd zero. I dont take animals out that far but I will shoot them at 400yrds with no problem, even with the wind blowing.

Reminds me of a hunt in new mexico I made. Just under 400 yrds. This buck antelop had a heard of does. The wind was really blowing. When I shot him the does could not tell what happened. They didn't hear a thing, didn't see me or know where I was. All they knew is daddy just hit the ground. So what they did was form a circle with eyes peeled for danger. Neat to watch. Had never seen that before.

[308 at my gate]

Originally Posted by cycloneman

yep you made me look at my cheat sheet. 64.2" with a 200 yrd zero. I dont take animals out that far but I will shoot them at 400yrds with no problem, even with the wind blowing.

I am with you I usually will not take a shot past 300 yards. I use the cross hairs in my scope to measure the animal to get a rough idea of the distance. Like you I did take an antelope one time at around 380 yards. I was guessing at the distance when I took the shot and held at the top of the back and struck the antelope through the spine, but most of the antelope I have taken have always been less than 300 yards.

[cycloneman]

I was hoping to get to NM this year for a hunt. Haven't been in 2 years now but with the ecomony in the toilet I just could not make it this year. Boy I sure do miss it tho. I leave Louisiana in the 80's and get up there at night and its not uncommon to be in the 30's. Nice change. Maybe next year.

[JLA]

On game, both rounds would be considered an effective 800 yd round. As are most other medium .30 cal centerfires. I read it somewhere but cant remember where.

[308 at my gate]

Originally Posted by cycloneman

I was hoping to get to NM this year for a hunt. Haven't been in 2 years now but with the ecomony in the toilet I just could not make it this year. Boy I sure do miss it tho. I leave Louisiana in the 80's and get up there at night and its not uncommon to be in the 30's. Nice change. Maybe next year.

All of my antelope hunts have been in Wyoming. I am going to retire at the end of next year and then become a resident of Wyoming. The hunting will become a whole lot cheaper.

[3/2 STA SS]

Originally Posted by H-D

idk about the .303 but the -06 is what famed sniper Carlos Hathcock used
following from wikipedia

Hathcock generally used the standard sniper rifle: the Winchester Model 70 .30-06 caliber rifle with the standard 8-power Unertl scope. On some occasions, however, he used a different weapon: the Browning M2 machine gun, on which he mounted a 10X Unertl scope, using a bracket of his own design.[5] Hathcock made a number of kills with this weapon in excess of 1,000 yards, including his record for the longest confirmed kill at 2,286 yards.[5][26] Hathcock carried a Colt M1911A1 pistol as a sidearm.[10]

pretty sure he popped someone over 800 yds with the -06 but can't find the info rite now

2,286 yards was when he took the 10X Unertl off his Model 70 and mounted it to M2 belt fed on a tripod. I met him before he died while at Division Sniper School at Lejune. Very humble man.

[Regular Joe]

You can't just say "this caliber is good for xxxx yards." For the average hunting rig with a 3x9 variable, I'd stay within 300 yards with the .303 and the '06. IF you have very carefully tuned your rifle and found the one hand load that it really likes, and spent the time and money to know where it hits at ranges out to 600 yards (for a light to medium weight hunting rifle), I'd put that at the limit.
If you've done those things, and your rifle weighs in at around 16 lbs. with the appropriate barrel and scope, you can suggest 800 yards. I would NOT seriously discuss it. Do your MORAL duty as a hunter, and keep those shots as near as possible.
I had a Win. Mod. 70 sporter in .30'06 with a Burris 6x18 that could be worked into an average 1.5" @ 100 yards. That's dandy for a sporter. Consider that at 200 yards, that works out to + or - 3"; 6" @ 400, and 12" @ 800. The cartridge is powerful enough, but the gun is not accurate enough. This will remain true unless your rifle weighs about 16 lbs. and costs around $4,000 min.

[Old Grump]

What Regular Joe said, .303, .308, 7.5x55, 30-06 all will reach and hurt you at 1000 years, 1200 if you really have your kit right and you know what you are doing but maximum effective range is what are you good for. Most can be trained to be effective 600 yard shooters under ideal conditions, and anybody at all, (with some exceptions),who is trainable can be taught to shoot 300 yards under most conditions if they can see the target clearly.

However most people I see asking about 400-500 yard shots are hard pressed to keep their rounds on target at 200 yards unless they are shooting from a bench off sandbags. Until they can stay on target off hand at 200 yards they are whistling in the wind and wasting ammo. A decent shooter can do that using anything from 5.56 to 7MM, 30 cal not really needed at that range. A 30-30 with leverlution bullets can do it at 200 yards.

So yes the .303 and 30-06 has the potential to be effective at long ranges but effective is a measure of the shooter not the caliber or gun.

[joncutt87]

I just have trouble shelling out $725 for the first year of a membership at a range

[Diamondback]

Originally Posted by Old Grump

What Regular Joe said, .303, .308, 7.5x55, 30-06 all will reach and hurt you at 1000 years, 1200 if you really have your kit right and you know what you are doing but maximum effective range is what are you good for. Most can be trained to be effective 600 yard shooters under ideal conditions, and anybody at all, (with some exceptions),who is trainable can be taught to shoot 300 yards under most conditions if they can see the target clearly.

However most people I see asking about 400-500 yard shots are hard pressed to keep their rounds on target at 200 yards unless they are shooting from a bench off sandbags. Until they can stay on target off hand at 200 yards they are whistling in the wind and wasting ammo. A decent shooter can do that using anything from 5.56 to 7MM, 30 cal not really needed at that range. A 30-30 with leverlution bullets can do it at 200 yards.

So yes the .303 and 30-06 has the potential to be effective at long ranges but effective is a measure of the shooter not the caliber or gun.

I couldn't agree more old grump. I own several rifles capable of 1000yd shots, but I personally am only good for about 300 with a rest and 100 to 150 without.

[cycloneman]

this thread has me thinking and now i think i am gona start a new thread about optics.

[Albtraum]

This has got me thinking about how "effective range" is rated in a given caliber.

On wikipedia, the M16 article, the effective range is stated "550 meters (point target), 800 meters (area target)"

The M4 is rated at "500 m for a point target and 600 m for an area target"

I was expecting different numbers than those, especially from the carbine. The M4 with a 14" barrel is only 200 fps slower.

[Regular Joe]

Now you're into a whole different range of stuff. Assuming that you're using military ball, the bullet has to be traveling @ around 2,700 fps to fragment or deform at all, so your "effective range" goes away after the bullet has slowed below that.
If you're shooting my choice in .223, which would be the Win. 64 gr. PSP or the Sierra 65 gr. game king, you're limited to maybe 400 yards, because energy falls off a LOT after that, and you'll be going too slow to do anything.
If I ever do get an AR of some kind, I want a 20" barrel. You just don't use the potential of the round with 16" or 14".

[CampingJosh]

Originally Posted by Regular Joe

I had a Win. Mod. 70 sporter in .30'06 with a Burris 6x18 that could be worked into an average 1.5" @ 100 yards. That's dandy for a sporter.

You have a scope with an 18mm objective lens? Is that one of the weird "tactical" scopes?
I didn't realize that Burris made any scopes with such a small lens, let alone at 6x.

[cycloneman]

Originally Posted by CampingJosh

You have a scope with an 18mm objective lens? Is that one of the weird "tactical" scopes?
I didn't realize that Burris made any scopes with such a small lens, let alone at 6x.

I have one of these scopes it says 6x18x and then nothing else. It is a varaible power 6x18 and then I cant remember the objective. If i recall right it is like 38mm objective. I can take a pic for you.

[cycloneman]

Ok i looked at it again and it says 6x18x fullfield. it doesn't give the objective. I ll see if i can find it

[cycloneman]

found it. It comes with a 40mm objective lense

the scope says 6x18x fullfield, that is just the way they come

here is a link to one not exactly but you get the point

http://rmss.com/%2FMK-AR-6X-18X-40mm-T1-P243.aspx

[CampingJosh]

Ah, got it cyclone. Thanks.

But there is a BIG difference between 6x-18x (as the scope is stamped) and 6x18.