280 vs 30-06

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charlesb
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280 vs 30-06

Post by charlesb » Fri May 20, 2011 1:36 pm

Howdy,

I have a commercialized BRNO military Mauser that I intend to rebarrel. It has a nice 22" barrel chambered in 30-06, but I am wanting a 24" barrel with no dovetails or screw holes forward of the receiver for this particular gun.

Maybe a slightly heavier contour too... I like front-heavy guns for standing up ( unsupported ) shooting, and of course for shooting off of the bench, which I do the most of by far.

Re-barreling means a chance to try out a different cartridge...

An old big-bore fanatic ( my first rifle was a Marlin 1895G ) I of course thought of the .35 Whelen, and .338-06, both interesting rounds for a long action. In the past I have owned an 8mm-06 that I grew to be very fond of, and ( story of my life ) foolishly traded away.

But - the big-bore stuff is too pricey for my budget these days, all of that lead. Also, deep south Texas doesn't honestly have any critters that require a big slug to put down. Another factor is that my big-bore addiction has made me lonely... None of my family members and few of my friends want to go out and shoot my cannons with me.

So I have drawn the line at 30-06, and am seriously considering the .280 Remington!

I already have a .243 Winchester, so I'm wanting something to handle occasional situations that the .243 might be marginal for. It is doubtful that I will ever hunt outside of Texas, so a mule deer or a black bear are about as heavy as the game gets here, exotics excluded.

Like most of my center-fire guns, most of the time it will be shot from the bench, so it and I will be ready for those rare, sometimes sudden opportunities to take the firearm afield.

Any comments or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

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blue68f100
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Post by blue68f100 » Fri May 20, 2011 2:20 pm

What distance are you planing on shooting at?

You seam to like cannons so maybe the .284 aka Rem 7mm Mag or even the short would fit you. But the most accurate ballistic bullets are the 168gr HP BT.

Might be fun shooting the prairie dogs at 600+ yrds.

I have an Old German Mouser in 8mm I got from my dad, he brought it back at the end of WWII. I have not decided what to do with it. There are some photos and info on the site in one of the threads. A member from across the pond dug up some interesting info on it. http://www.guntalk-online.com/forum/vie ... php?t=2038
David

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charlesb
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Post by charlesb » Fri May 20, 2011 9:05 pm

Most of my shooting will be off of a bench at 100 and 200 yards. - Most of it at 100 yards as I am a bit lazy about walking to the 200 yard target butts.

In the field, I doubt that I'll ever take a shot over 200 yards, either. - I might plink at a rock on a distant hillside at longer ranges, but for game I would not be confident of my ability to place the bullet at ranges that I have not practiced shooting at.

I'm trying to keep the kick and muzzle blast down so my family can enjoy the same rifle. That's why I am deciding between .280 and 30-06, which appear to have about as much energy as they will tolerate.

I have lots of experience with the 30-06, but I dunno much about the .280 except that it looks awfully good on paper.

A couple of other long-action cartridges that might do are 7x57 and 6.5x55.

.257 Roberts and 25-06 cover territory that my 24" barreled .243 already has covered fairly well.

Your Mauser in 8x57 is a great setup. 8x57 is a real sleeper as factory loadings are on the weak side to accommodate some older designs, but with full-power reloads in a good 98 Mauser, the 8x57 is a real performer, definitely in the 30-06 class.

B-Square makes a no-gunsmithing, no alteration "scout" style scope mount that clamps onto the rear sight of military Mausers. I have tried one of these on my Swedish military Mauser with a long eye-relief pistol scope, and with a red dot sight with good results.

Later on, when I took the B-Square mount off again, I could see no evidence that it had ever been on the gun, just as advertised.

My daughter used the Swede with the red-dot sight for her first try at shooting a high-powered rifle. As a teenager, she used the combo to put the first three rounds she fired into one minute of angle. We kept that target, as you can imagine!

Military stocks are often sort of short to accommodate soldiers wearing heavy coats and gear... It may be that a slip-on butt pad would work well for your rifle.

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blue68f100
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Post by blue68f100 » Fri May 20, 2011 10:41 pm

The 270 is a soft shooting gun. A good friend of mine had one years back that I reloaded for.

With the 30-06 you have a very large range of bullet weights to choose from. This way you could tame it down so it's very light like a 243, with the option to go up as needed. The 30-06 is very good all around caliber.

The 243 is a soft shooter but can be pushed if needed. But not near the knock down power as the larger caliber. But it is one that is very accurate and fun to shoot.

I always want a 22-250 for a varmint gun. Prairie dogs at 150. But where I live they are not very close. If I lived out it west taxes I would probably have one along with a portable bench.

As for walking. I can't do it, so spotting scopes are your best friend if you can't drive down to the target.
David

SS MKIII 6 7/8" Fluted Hunter. Mueller Quick Shot, Bushnell 2x Scope, Hogue Rubber Grips
Custom Built 1911

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Post by Medicine Hat » Fri May 20, 2011 11:04 pm

Just my 2 cents. My sister has a commercial Swedish Mauser in 6.5 x 55. That is a real sweetheart of a gun, and caliber. She had take deer with it and it was quite effective. I've always thought I would consider giving certain body parts to own that one. :shock:

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Hardball
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Post by Hardball » Wed May 29, 2013 2:54 am

The 280 has a range of bullet weights wide enough you might consider twist rate. The 3006 wide range not so much concern.

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