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Best Looking/Most Accurate .30-06 Rifle?

23K views 68 replies 36 participants last post by  Big Mak 
#1 ·
Hey everyone,

I'm new ro the site and I'm looking for a beautiful, well-performing precision rifle to do some hunting upstate.
I think I've settled on getting a .30-06 (over NATO or .300 mag), and I'm a stickler about owning a great-looking wooden gun (I can't stand synthetics). I care more about performance, accuracy, and aesthetics than I do about cost, and I'm well aware that practice is the most important aspect of any rifle's precision.

Now then, here are a few rifles I'm considering...
-M1C Garand: More of a collector's item, but it would still be really neat to own and shoot. However, a scoped Garand takes a bit away from its beauty (in my opinion), is pretty expensive, and doesn't add too much accuracy.
-Remington 700: lots of great customizations around and it typically has great performance, but there is a bit of slight variance in quality between out-of-the-box 700s, it can be hard to find one with a beautiful stock, and the rifle looks just a bit cookie-cutter for my tastes.
-Weatherby Vanguard 2: similar to Remington 700, but with less variance in quality and less availability for parts and customization. Pretty good-looking gun, though (not too modern, not too vintage).
-Springfield M1A: Classic rifle that looks great with or without a scope. However, it's .308, which I'm not opposed to it, but in the end I'll probably stick to a .30-06.
-Mosin–Nagant: Another great old gun, but again, I'll probably stick to a .30-06 rifle.

What do you guys think?
 
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#2 ·
First of all, what game are you planing to hunt? .308 Winchester and .338 are probably better cartridges for taking down a moose or elk. The Kimber 84M would be good for that. The Ruger No.1S is a super looking rifle - it's available in 45-70 or 9.3x74R. The No1B Standard is also available in 30-06.

The .444 Marlin is a nice choice and it's a lever action rifle (I do love lever action rifles - certainly love my Marlin 30-30).

The Winchester M70 Super Grade is a super nice looking rifle in 30-06. Personally though I prefer rifles that hold multiple cartridges.

The Weatherby Mark V Deluxe has a maximum point blank range of 320 yards. It's available in a variety of calibers. However, not a multiple cartridge rifle and the price tag is around 1700 bucks.

The Browning BAR Mk II I really like. It comes in .338 magnum and is a gas operated semi auto. There isn't much you can't put down with .338 magnum. The price is OK at 1250 bucks.

These are the best to take down an elk with IMO - I kept the list to only those with wood stocks. My favorite of them would be the Browning. My 2nd choice would be one of the Rugers.

Now, that being said, It's not easy to get an elk tag here in Idaho. You go into a lottery for them. Deer tags - no problem. I hunt with my sporterized Lee Enfield .303. No scope, just the iron sights. I simply love the rifle. At 100-200 yards, I won't miss for sure. I do love my Marlin 30-30 It's a carbine and is much better as a ranch rifle for killing wolves that will come into the valley to attack livestock. I'm not really a big fan of scopes but I did get a scope on my 30-30 that I feel comfortable with. It's a simple 4x scope. I'm right handed but I'm cross dominant. My right eye does line up in this scope well though.

So, for what it's worth, those are my picks for the best hunting rifles. I can't afford any of them, so, I will stick with my .303
 
#3 ·
You can't go wrong with an '06, IMHO. There is a greater variety of ammunition available for this old workhorse than any other caliber, and you can do anything from big game to varmint hunting with the appropriate rounds. While just a bit under what I would prefer for Kodiak (my experience shows me I would prefer an RPG for them, truth be told), I carried an '03 in the Alaskan wilderness for several years and never felt under powered.
Right now, with my efforts to stock up on .380, I have noticed this, for instance:

Yesterday at Wally world, NO .380, TWO kinds of .223, ONE kind of .40, ONE kind of .38 special, ONE kind of .32, NO .22, ONE .300, ONE 7MM, ONE .357 mag, NO .44 mag, but they still had EIGHT varieties of 30-06; more variety and quantity than any other ammo they had. The perfect caliber isn't worth much if you can't buy ammo for it.
 
#4 ·
I believe that the 30-06 is the most versitle round on the market. But I switched to the .308. The .308 will do just about anything the 30-06 will do, unless you hand load.
 
#6 ·
For a bolt gun the most gun for the least money is the CZ 550 in 30-06. The wood is usually better than any wood on any American made gun. The accuracy is great. The trigger is adjustable and either a regular trigger or a set trigger with a touch pull. The receiver is a controlled feed "Mauser" like design. The fit and finsih are great. I have both a Remington 700 and a CZ550 and the CZ is a far superior bolt gun.

If it is a semi-auto you want the best thing going is the Browning BAR. Mine is in 7mm Mag. (As an aside I have learned not to like any of the Mag series cartridges because they are very hard on brass for reloading). While I like my M1 Garanda, the BAR is a real hunting rifle and adapts to a scope much better than any Garand (I have two Garands, one with a modern scope setup and the other without).

The Mosin Nagant is a relatively crudely made bolt gun of adequate accuracy and a military curio. I'd not want one to be my only bolt rifle (and yes I have one of them setup with a vintage scope clone).

Anyway that's my advice and experience.

LDBennett
 
#8 ·
First off, you probably couldn't be making a better choice in going with the highly versatile and available .30-06. Excellent pick.

Just to mention a couple because I'm personally, very familiar with them:

You didn't state that you were working within a tight budget but you did state you were looking for beauty and a .30-06 so here goes... My -06 Weatherby Mark V Deluxe is so beautiful it's almost sinful. Incredible looking rifle and shoots up a storm too. I couldn't be happier.

On the used market; I know they're not just around every corner but my -06 red-pad Ruger #1 (RSI) has outstanding wood making it a very handsome rifle. It's a decent shooter for sure, just not as good as the MK-V. There are older, highly figured #1 -06's out there, you just have keep your eyes open for them.
 
#9 ·
Ruger single shot #1's (and #3's) have a reputation for vertical stringing shots. It is related to the way the front hand guard attaches to the receiver and touches the barrel. It goes all the way back to the originals. There were many articles over the many decades these gun have been on the market on how to fix the problem. I followed the articles' advice but the results were less than stellar. While these are beautiful guns I have never been able to keep my #1 from vertical stringing. It all depends on how you support the gun's hand guard. Changes to positioning of the hand or bench support changes the bullet impact area on the target significantly. That does not lead to very good real world accuracy. Too bad because the guns are really beautiful!

LDBennett
 
#13 ·
I may be a bit prejudiced, but I think there are few guns as nice looking as my Browning BAR Mk II Safari, which happens to be chambered in .30-06. Mine didn't come with the B.O.S.S. system like the one in the picture, but it shoots beautifully and looks good doing it.:D
 
#15 ·
The Garand IS a great rifle, but for a hunting rifle it is much too heavy and bulky, especially if it has a telescopic sight mounted on it. You are talking about a .30-06, so I'm not too sure how a Mosin sneaked in here.....

One thing to bear in mind, if you insist on a Garand: The Garand's gas system isn't as stout as that on most any bolt action rifles, and you may end up wrecking the rifle by useing off-the-shelf hunting ammo in it. The gas system is made for a specific powder burn rate, and if you happen to use ammo with the wrong burn rate you can bend the operating rod. You CAN get around this problem by proper modifications, but that is a whole 'nother story.

In my humble opinion, for an accurate .30-06 hunting rifle I'd say either a Remington 700 or a Winchester Model 70.

That being said, my favorite .30-06 hunting rifle is a sporterized 1903 Springfield. Mine is an early WW2 made by Remington, and still sports the original military barrel. With good handloads mine will shoot sub M.O.A. all day long. She's not as pretty as my Winchester '70, but that rifle shoots REALLY well. I've glass-bedded mine, and I've got a 3X9 scope on it. The wood is a very beat-up military C stock with original hardware and GI sling, but it's still not too heavy to carry, even for an old guy like me.
 
#16 ·
I ditched my Winchester Model 70 for a much nicer CZ550. I still have my Remington 700 in 22-250 but it is in a modified state to increase its accuracy. In fact, I have two CZ550's, one in 30-06 with a standard weight barrel and one in 308 with a heavy barrel (Varmint Model). I also have CZ527 in 22Hornet and a CZ452 in 17HM2 (a mistake as the 17HM2 does not meet my expectations and this gun should have been in 22LR). All these guns are better than any other guns I have owned in the same calibers. The set triggers of the 550 and 527 are superb.

For beauty it is very hard to overlook the Browning BAR, or BLR. Mine in 7mmMag and 243, respectively, are great guns. While I don't hunt, these should be excellent hunting guns.

Military guns are great to own and shoot but when it comes to beautiful, they just aren't. I have a collection of several semi-auto's from the post WWII era with the FAL being one of my favorites along with the Garands, of course. Its hard to be beautiful when you must be utilitarian.

LDBennett
 
#17 ·
30-06 is a nice medium to medium large game hunting rifle.

I have a rem 700 I carry and have for a couple decades now.

IOut of your list I would cross the garand out... special ammo needs. you won't be running commercial hunting ammo from walmart thru it.. well.. not for long anyway.

In fact. for hunting.. You may find better accuracy from abolt gun vs an autoloader.. that said. my bar in 243 is still a fine gun.

For weatherby.. I like a mkv but not sure if they come in 30-06.. mine is 300 wtby mag.

762x54r is akin to 30-06.. but I would not immediately choose a off the shelf mosin as a hunting rifle without knowing it's bore.. and scoping is another story. even if you get one with the sniper mounts.

If you wanted custom gun work. lots of mauser actions out there that make potent hunters. 8mm mauser in the running as well. My most accurate iron sight gun is a carl gustav in 6.5

all that said. a savage 110 in 30-06 can be a tack driver too..
 
#18 ·
Hey everyone,

I'm new ro the site and I'm looking for a beautiful, well-performing precision rifle to do some hunting upstate.
I think I've settled on getting a .30-06 (over NATO or .300 mag), and I'm a stickler about owning a great-looking wooden gun (I can't stand synthetics). I care more about performance, accuracy, and aesthetics than I do about cost, and I'm well aware that practice is the most important aspect of any rifle's precision.

Now then, here are a few rifles I'm considering...
-M1C Garand: More of a collector's item, but it would still be really neat to own and shoot. However, a scoped Garand takes a bit away from its beauty (in my opinion), is pretty expensive, and doesn't add too much accuracy.
-Remington 700: lots of great customizations around and it typically has great performance, but there is a bit of slight variance in quality between out-of-the-box 700s, it can be hard to find one with a beautiful stock, and the rifle looks just a bit cookie-cutter for my tastes.
-Weatherby Vanguard 2: similar to Remington 700, but with less variance in quality and less availability for parts and customization. Pretty good-looking gun, though (not too modern, not too vintage).
-Springfield M1A: Classic rifle that looks great with or without a scope. However, it's .308, which I'm not opposed to it, but in the end I'll probably stick to a .30-06.
-Mosin-Nagant: Another great old gun, but again, I'll probably stick to a .30-06 rifle.

What do you guys think?
One other rifle you might consider is the Browning A-Bolt II Medallion. It (IMOP) meets your desire for a great looking wood stocked gun, is very well made, and in my experience will give you excellent accuracy. The action is smooth, and one other characteristic I particularly like is the 26" barrel length. It looks right and more importantly to me maximizes performance for any given load you are shooting.

Mine is in .25-06, but it is of course available in .30-06. I much prefer the traditional American appearance of the A-bolts to the X-bolt line - which is more of a "Euro" design. Head to a gun shop and handle one - it may fit the bill for you.
 
#19 ·
soundguy:

The word that is controlling on Savage accuracy is "CAN BE" accurate. A friend has two Savage 110's that he uses for long range (well over 1000 yd) shooting. His gunsmith replaced one barrel with a match grade barrel and stated the other barrel had rather rough rifling. That gun does not shoot all that well. The gunsmith's take was that it is tossup whether a Savage barrel is accurate or not. Some are and some are not due to poor machining of the rifling and bore. Savage has always been cheapy deluxe unlike CZ and Browning and Weatherby and even Remington and Winchester. New Winchesters are a different game than older ones as they are now made in a different factory under FN control. I have not heard whether that markedly change anything (??).

LDBennett
 
#20 · (Edited)
Admittedly, my savage 110 30-06 is an older one. It's a tack driver though. I've been using it to teach my buddys daughter to shoot for the last couple years. She actually has shot flies that have landed on the target. I used to let her shoot my rem 700 hunting rifle.. but switched her over to the 110 for 2 reasons.. 1, didn't wnt THAT MUCH ammo going down range thru my hunting iron, and 2, i wanted her to get used to shooting a specific gun other than my hunting gun.. as I would be hard pressed to part with it. :) the 110 i will shed a tear on.. but will let it go.

In a year when she turns 18, i will be loosing my beloved savage 110 as a gift to her.. unless i can talk her into taking one of my rem game masters. ;)
 
#21 ·
Ruger single shot #1's (and #3's) have a reputation for vertical stringing shots...
Yes, I know of what you speak. I have a small collection of #1s (7) but it's only the -06 RSI that will occasionally give me a problem with vertical stringing, the rest behave nicely. While the Weatherby can deliver .70" three shot groups at 100yds the RSI will at the best of times render 1.25". However, it has gone on wild binges with me and walked the bullets straight up for 3" instead. It is about the forearm pressure and the RSI model has a lot of forearm, and a cap to boot.
 
#22 ·
soundguy:

The word that is controlling on Savage accuracy is "CAN BE" accurate. A friend has two Savage 110's that he uses for long range (well over 1000 yd) shooting. His gunsmith replaced one barrel with a match grade barrel and stated the other barrel had rather rough rifling. That gun does not shoot all that well. The gunsmith's take was that it is tossup whether a Savage barrel is accurate or not. Some are and some are not due to poor machining of the rifling and bore. Savage has always been cheapy deluxe unlike CZ and Browning and Weatherby and even Remington and Winchester. New Winchesters are a different game than older ones as they are now made in a different factory under FN control. I have not heard whether that markedly change anything (??).

LDBennett
There is an easy way to fix the "what if's" on the Savage 110. For the price of a pawn shop/gun show Savage110 and a ready to instal Shilen barrel, plus tools, you can still stay WAY under the price of a CZ. I love my Savage 110 and that's what I did when I looked at all the options of rifles in 7-08. Nobody of any quality had one(any domestic) and the quality rifles didn't offer that caliber. That said, CZ's are quality products and beautiful guns. And their Mauser design is unbeatable. I would definitely buy one if I could afford it.
 
#23 ·
What kind of hunting are you going to do? From a tree stand? Box blind? Ground blind? Spot and stalk? Slip through the woods or down an old logging road? Close cover? Wide open spaces? Mixed between the 2? Lots of ways to hunt, different rifles work out better for different circumstances.
By precision rifle do you mean one that will put 5 rounds into a dime sized group in 30 seconds, or do you mean one that will put that one well placed shot from a cold barrel into the kill zone at any reasonable range? Lots of ways of looking at that too.
I like your caliber choice, I have 6 rifles in 30.06, but they all fill different requirements.
 
#26 ·
there wolf said:

"I was given to understand all factory loaded 150 grain 30.06
ammo fired well through the Garand"


Not quite true. If you look through a modern reloading manual you will see that Garands have a section all their own. They must have a powder of the correct burning rate that gains pressure in a certain way. Failure to use only this ammo can lead to the operating rod connected to the gas piston becoming bent out of shape. So not all loads and bullet weights for 30-06 can be used.

Another key to this issue is the availability of commercially made ammo that is made expressly for the Garand. It not hype but it is ammo loaded as the military specs intended to keep the gun from getting damaged.

So….If you are hunting then you can not just pickup any old ammo for your Garand or use reloads for a bolt 30-06 if you want to protect the gun. In some cases this could be very limiting, like in the middle of nowhere and you need more ammo.

I love my Garands for target shooting, plinking, fun, and to have because they are part of the history of the USA. But they are limiting for use as a hunting rifle. I know, some do hunt with them, but it makes more sense to use a modern gun: semi-auto like a BAR or lever like a BLR or almost anyone's bolt gun. Hunting ammo needs expanding bullets and if memory serves me right (that is questionable at best) the Garand commercial ammo is FMJ. Someone please correct me if I am wrong.

LDBennett
 
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