Anyone play with 30-06?

Starting to get into longer range shooting and thinking about setting up a true bench rifle.

Currently have shot it out of traditional style hunting rifles with your normal 3-9 type scopes.

I'd like to stay in the 165 grain range (give or take) .... I like the 168 grain SMKs. I don't see myself going lighter than the 150 stuff or heavier than the 180 stuff.

I'd like to maximize velocity and am looking at the long 30" type barrels (Palma?....Varmint???).

Goal is to get the 30-06 going about as fast as it can without resorting to crazy high chamber pressures.

My limited research shows a traditional 1:10 twist might just be best.

Have not played much further than 100 and am ok with taking my time on the build from chassis to scope to trigger...everything.

Interested in any real world experience and thoughts. Don't want it completely derailed but 308 or 300 winmag shooters feel free to chime in.

I envision the product being fairly heavy, on a bipod, quality stock fit for me and a good action.

Are there certain barrels that get the nod for accuracy/velocity?

The more I research the more I realize I'm far away from even the 1/2 way point but learning new stuff is addictive.

A.

How heavy a rifle can you learn to work with,what powders are you planning to use,what style of rifling,are you interested in strictly velocity or is accuracy the penultimate goal?

Not too worried about total weight. Long heavy barrel, possible muzzle brake, decent sized scope...weight will start adding up but as a true bench or prone type shooting that I'm not hoisting around for a long period time.

I'd like to first start clocking what the normal 160ish grain projectiles do compared to a basic 22" hunting barrel. Also see what they are grouping and go from there.

If/When reloading I'm looking at some of the slower burning powders to maybe approach/pass 3000 fps with the 160ish stuff. RL22 or something (I forget what it's called) maybe Superformance.

Am rationally ignorant on barrel rifling as I'm a bit green but researching.

I think I'm looking for BOTH which can be contrary to one another.

.308 shooter here. I had great success with 168smk's and Varget powder. My best group was .399 at 100 yards and could consistently ring out headshots at 300 yards on a steel sillouette. Rifle was a Savage model 10 FCP-SR. 2O" stock barrel. Never got to stretch it any further. Best of luck to you on your build.

I’ve used .308 out to 1K yards, and haven’t seen anyone taking ‘06 nearly that far. If I were building a rifle like that I’d go 6.5; there is truth in the Koolaid out there. Cheaper than 300 or ‘06 too.

30-06 is much mo'bettah round than the .308. You can think of the .308 (7.62x51) as the 30-06 Win Short "Magnum" without the magnum. It was developed by the gubmint for the same reasons as most WSM. Shorter case, better powder burn, lighter weight. Before the .308 was ever around, most bench shooters used the 30-06. It took the.308 quite sometime before it replaced the 30-06 for long-distance shooting.

It’s about 10% hotter than .308 but the options aren’t nearly as good. .308 has more platforms to choose from, better precision ammo, and better availability.

Beeeeecause the military invested in the round and by suit, so did the commercial industry and now, it's pretty much on the downslope thanks to 6.5 CM. That doesn't mean that the 30-06 is less superior than the .308. This discussion has been around for years.

No argument here. The OP stated that he was building a rifle though, and advice was centered around that premise. If you’ve already got one, there’s no reason the ‘06 can’t be used.