I recently bought a VZ-24 mauser, I have been toying with the choice of cartridges I might have it built for.
I may well change my mind but I was thinking 6mm REM 7X57 mauser 300.win,
Although the 7X57 is apealing too, I think I will opt for the 30,06.
The 06 I have now is a very nice pre64 featherweight model 70. Shoots real well and makes a great hunting rig. But a 24 inch custom with a nice chunk of walnut, wrap arond front site and a good leupold scope in QD mounts would certainly do a better job of wringing the most out of the round. Especially with 180 grain bullets. My little winchester shoots them well but with a 22 inch featherweight tube and no recoil pad at all they are not real fun to shoot !
Just read a Boddington article about the 06 in africa and as he points out with such bullets as the A-frame and the tripple shock the ,06 is a much better killer than in years past, and,it has been the best all around cartridge for American hunting for 100 years now.
I think thats what I will build. A 24 inch Douglas tube at about .600 to .625 at the muzzle, in a prety piece of custom walnut with a decelerator, and a timney trigger, can't think of a more usefull rifle. Can you?
...tj3006

Sounds great to me but I would opt for a Lothar Walther Barrel.

Sounds good to me, too. It's been 40 years since my first 30-06, and I bought (and sold) my second in the last couple of months when I decided to go for a custom in that caliber.

Jaywalker

Thomas it sounds like a great rifle. I don't think I'd change a thing in your plan.

The only thing I'd do differently would be a 22" barrel.

quote:

Originally posted by Thomas Jones:
... Just read a Boddington article about the 06 in africa....

What magazine and issue? I'd like to read the article.

Thanks,
-Bob F.

The magazine is petersond rifle shooter for july and augest 2006. Its a prety good article.
A 22 inch tube is great for the 30,06 and my fetherweight has a one, its fine, but I just think I can squeze another 100 or more fps with a 180 grain bullet and a slow powder like RL-22 with the Extra 2 inches.
As for the brand of barrel, I only mentiond Douglas beacuse my smith has used them for years and they have been plenty good for me in the .257 roberts and 25,06 he has built me so far My smith says that with modern CNC machinery
a trained monkey can build a barrel that will shoot better than most people can shoot them.
I will be very happy with somthing very close to moa with this rifle.
Thanks for the opinions...tj3006

I have a couple of Model 70s with the Control Round Feed... with a 3 x 9 Leupold.....

I play with so many other rounds....

But somehow that Model 70, sporting the 3 x 9 Leupold.. and in 30/06.... It just seems right, whenever I pick it up...

Ready to go for about anything, I'll ever spend my time hunting for... which won't include Africa, and probably won't be a big Alaskan bear or Polar Bear either....

Darn thing is just timeless in my book...

cheers
seafire

If I had just gone ahead and built the bestgrade 06-M98 I dreamt about 18yrs ago, there would have been little need for all the others that have passed through my hands.
An 06-m98 is liken to a house built on rock!
In the majority of cases,the 06' should be the first rifle a man should obtain and the last he should rid himself of in the course of firearm ownership.
With the age of technology,you cut things with a laser or a chainsaw,but I dont see firemen giving up their trusty axes in a hurry.
I suppose it aint to late for a fine 06m98.

outside of that, I am fond of the 7x57 & 9.3x64B

Thomas,
Great choice. There are many new calibers on the market today and 100's (?) since the '06 was developed a century ago. But the understated elegance of a custom rifle in '06 will carry on forever and never go out of style.

quote:

Originally posted by Woodjack:
If I had just gone ahead and built the bestgrade 06-M98 I dreamt about 18yrs ago, there would have been little need for all the others that has passed through my hands.

Retrospectively, I can see now that I would have gotten to hunt alot more in years gone by if I had commissioned a custom '06 and .375 H&H and left everything else alone!

Back on topic, the '06 will always be a great cartridge....good choice!


Douglas barrels have always been accurate for me, but they require quite a bit of shooting to get the bores slick (ie "break-in"). I've found Krieger barrels to be accurate and easier to clean. I wouldn't hesitate to use Douglas if you like 'em!

wow !
Lots of suport here, how cool ! Not suprising of course , but ususaly there are a couple naysayers out there who perk up when the 06 is brought up.
I started my currant collection with an 06.
It was recently rebarreld to 280 ACK IMP, I think I will mount a vx2 3X9 on this one but that is quite a ways off yet.
My featherweight has a 2.5X8 VX3, thats a very good scope.
I took 2 rifles out last weekend one with a old 3.5X10 leupold and the other has a 3X9 Elite 3200. The leupold was much clearer
And I also, after owning my Weaver grand slam for awhile would in the future go with a VX2 3X9 nothing wrong with the weaver but a leupold is much more solid and it would have only cost a little over 20.00 bucks more...tj3006

My smith says that with modern CNC machinery
a trained monkey can build a barrel that will shoot better than most people can shoot them. Now if we could only get the custom barrel makers to TRAIN their monkeys! FNMauser

The 30-06 Springfield is my favorite big game cartridge from a practical point of view.

I would not make such a heavy rifle however. I would much prefer the pre 64 that you have now in fact. I do like them with a pad though.

I've worn out a couple of Douglas barrels on my match rifles in the past and they are very good barrels on the whole. But if you are going to put some serious money in a rifle I don't think you can go wrong with Krieger barrels. They are hand lapped cut rifled and only about $80-100 more than a Douglas blank. You can tell the difference just by looking down one side by side with a Douglas. If you go with Douglas, and again, I'm shooting one now on my M1A, be sure to get the air guaged.

I'm doing the 30-06 custom myself. Been wanting to do this for a couple of years. I have a Model 70 that will wear a #3 contour Shilen stainless barrel with a new Jewell trigger put into a High Tech Specialties stock.
I'm thinking of a lightweight Leupold 3 X 9 scope but haven't decided on that yet. Hope to be done this summer so I can take it after elk this year. Good luck with your project.

I have quite a few lighter rifles, My Featherweight 06, another pre 64 featherweight in .308, A sweet little ruger RL in .257 roberts, and when I go hunting one if those allways goes along.
If I go somplace where i have to do lots of climing and such, a light weight rig is good. But I sit and watch a lot on some hunts and when I walk ,I usually walk slow and I really don't mind carying a sporter weight rifle, I never hunt where with the attitude of covering lots of ground on foot in a hurry, I like to just set a slow pace,
...tj3006

quote:

Just read a Boddington article about the 06 in africa and as he points out with such bullets as the A-frame and the tripple shock the ,06 is a much better killer than in years past, and,it has been the best all around cartridge for American hunting for 100 years now.

i liked the article so much i bought the magazine...

i will post my fave quotes...

hemmingway and ruark had it right. and to this day it is still the perfect cartridge for plainsgame.

kenya hunter leslie tarlton who assisted in the roosevelt safari, is believed to have taken more lions than anyone before or since. he described the american 30-06 as the best of the small bores

(back when it was considered a small bore)

"i reckon the 30-06 should prove as good a general-all purpose gun for africa as one could wish"
john pondoro taylor

it was the 220 grain "solid" from his springfield that ernest hemmingway preferred on the 1934 safari that produced "green hills of africa" he shot almost everything with it including lion, buffalo and rhino.

in 1951 on the safari that produced "horn of the hunter" robert ruarks primary battery literally defined the classic three rifle battery of light medium and heavy...the 375 was used primarily on lion and he took two. almost everything else-gazelle, impala, zebra, warthog, waterbuck and much more was taken with the 30-06

more to come...the wife needs you know what

o.k. i did my duty...

you rarely need athe flat shooting of a fast magnum in africa. there is very little genuine long range shooting. much terrain doesnt allow it and very fewareas ttruly require it. even in open country, little shootingis done beyond 200 yards, and overthe course of 30 years i can count the shots over 300 yards without taking off my shoes. the 30-06 is easy to shoot, adequately powerful, and with 180 grain spitzer bullet its fully capable out to 350 yards. you rarely need more than that

i cant write like hemmingway but i know how he felt when he got his kudu

and lastly....

i never, ever worry about a 30-06 in africa

hope you enjoyed my typing and boddingtons musings...

Yep, I bought a copy of the magazine last night. I read the article last night and enjoyed it. Back in 2002, I took a .30-06 to South Africa for many of the same nostalgic reasons that Boddington first did back in 1977. Roosevelt, Hemingway, and Ruark used one so I just had to also. (Yeah, Roosevelt technically had a .30-03 but big deal.) Heck, I even used 220 gr RN bullets (Woodleigh) just to be old fashioned. I was hunting in bushveld so the ranges were not long. Those 220 gr RN bullets worked just great, by the way.


Hemingway on safari in Kenya, February 1934.
http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/books/1999/hemingway/stories/biography/part2/


Harry Selby and Robert Ruark
"This Waterbuck was one of the excellent trophies that Robert Ruark collected with Harry on his first safari to Tanganyika in 1952. This safari resulted in Ruark's book, 'Horn of the Hunter'."
http://gabrimaun.tripod.com/HarrySelby.html

-Bob F.

ill probably end up with a nice custom mauser in 30-06 or 300 H&H aswell. i have a MS in 30-06, but it dont feel right for me, so iam trading that one for a another rifle.

The .30-06 that am bringing on safari one day will have a load of 220 Woodleigh soft/solid ,just have the Hemingway / Ruark feeling .

One of the best stories i have read about the 06 is Boddingtons "A Tale of Two Springfields" , that title is something with Hemingway and ruark in it.

thomas jones, what barrel did you end up getting? sad to say you will not gain a 100 fps with a 2 inch longer barrel no punn intended just fact, factory barrels will get you 25 fps gain per inch of length no more but custom tubes will beat that easily,i own 3 douglas barrels they shoot fine also one sheilen sorry if misspelled its shoots fantastic, 2 kriegers fantastic PLUS 2 chanylen barrels also cut rifled, they are on par with the kriegers no problem.... i just recently had a 30''06 made up on a 1938 large ring small threded turkish mauser,i tryed a different barrel maker this time,and went with a hart barrel number #5 conture stainless steel told my smith to keep her as long as possible( my likes Velocity)he gave me 27.25 inches also had him make me a custom removeable muzzle brake,the barreled action sits in a houge full length bed stock and it wears a vx3 4.5x14 varmit hunters retical working out great, sorry i can''t post a picture as yet no digital camera as yet. i''d say go with a number3 0r 4 conture and make it at least 25.5 or 26 inches and you will get the speed you want,lite barrels heat up way to fast for sustained shooting i know i own one in a douglas ss featherweight on a 1910 FN action 270 winchester.... every thing a compromise , best of luck , regards 2 all jjmp

quote:

Originally posted by KY Nimrod:
I've worn out a couple of Douglas barrels on my match rifles in the past and they are very good barrels on the whole. But if you are going to put some serious money in a rifle I don't think you can go wrong with Krieger barrels. They are hand lapped cut rifled and only about $80-100 more than a Douglas blank. You can tell the difference just by looking down one side by side with a Douglas.

Have to agree, Krieger makes very good barrels. I would go for Krieger #2 contour with 1 inch cylindrical shank and 24 inches in length.

Cheers
/JOHAN

I have not orderd a barrel for my mauser yet.
I think I am going to buy a CZ 550 in .243 1st. I also have a checkering project that I need to get started on, so my plan is to start on the mauser 30,06 after that.
My smith recontors barrels and when we discuss countours he likes about .625 at the muzzle. I think that works out prety good,
My 26 inch 25,06 is prety heavy that way but my 24,inch 257 roberts carries quite nicly.
I have a rifle up for sale , and when it sells
I will likly use the money to start the mauser project. Hell by the time I get the holes drilled and tapped and the bolt bent,new trigger and safty I will be into it a fair amount already, then I will start thinkin barrel and finding a stock blank.
As far as I am concerned if what ever barrel I put on it gives me somthing real close to an inch at 100 yards I will be happy.
I try to restrict my shots to 350 yards and for that type of shooting MOA is more than good enough. I want a real prety and deadly deer and Elk rifle in 30,06. I know some guys want there Elk rifle to shoot like a varmint rifle and I like acuracy too but but you can chase your tail for ever or just get somthing you can be proud of and you know will work...tj3006

Theodore Roosevelt, Ernest Hemingway, Robert Ruark, C.J. McElroy, Jack O’Connor and Jack O’Connor’s wife all took their 30-06s to Africa and shot up the countryside pretty good. Some of the animals they wounded with their little deer rifles may still be alive. These were some of the great windbags of all time, and they all had cousins of problematic political persuasion. I can't imagine a greater waste of all the talents required to build a custom rifle than to chamber it in a common, boring cartridge like a 30-06.

quote:

Originally posted by KY Nimrod:
I've worn out a couple of Douglas barrels on my match rifles in the past and they are very good barrels on the whole. But if you are going to put some serious money in a rifle I don't think you can go wrong with Krieger barrels. They are hand lapped cut rifled and only about $80-100 more than a Douglas blank. You can tell the difference just by looking down one side by side with a Douglas. If you go with Douglas, and again, I'm shooting one now on my M1A, be sure to get the air guaged.

How many rounds were put thru the barrels to wear them out?I watched an elderly man fire his 03 Springfield in a 100yd garand qual match in 1978 putting every round in the center of the simulator targets whether slow or rapid fire ,standing,kneeling or prone.He had 6" of rifling left in his Springfield after firing an estimated 50,000 or more rounds but his shooting jacket had 2 patches on the back National High Power Rifle Champion 1950 & 1951.

Interboat.
I will waste my time as I please, answeing your extreemly arogant post.Is an example But mabye i am wrong , mabye you relly do know better than Jack or teddy or craig boddington or mabye even me.
but the untold millions of game animals taken cleanly matches and even wars won by the 30,06 sugjest just mabye you are wrong.
...tj3006

thomas jones, thanks for the get back,post us a picture please when she''s built, i''ll do the same when i get my digital camera. regards jjmp

Interbred is a fucking genius.

Thomas, when you get a chance take a gander at Denli Turkish Walnut stock blanks. It has an internet sight which can be found on the huge post about the rafle rifle members are having built. There is some semi-fancy wood that is really pretty and fairly well priced too. As far as your choice of caliber, you are smack on there bud. That round will do anything you want it to do and is an excellent choice. As far as the CZs go, you might take a gander at www.whittakerguns.com. This outfit has prices which beats CZ connection. Have a good day there ole pard and as far as the ignorant comments, I really think God made a few idiots to give the rest of us some comic relief every once-in-a-while. Good luck ... Tom Purdom

Hey thanks for the posts guys !
I found a CZ 550 .243 for 400.00. If it is not sold by friday or saterday I will put it on layaway...tj3006

Thomas
Sounds like you have several good rifles in the 30-06 class. Have you given any thought to a 9,3x62??

Actualy I have 2 rifles in 30,06.
One is a pre64 featherweight that I had worked up decent loads with 150 grain bullets. Very good 180 gr loads and just discoverd that it loves 165 grain bullets. I mean loves them.
This has caused me to rethink my caliber choice, but I have 35 Whelen and I plan to eventaly get around to turnin my second 30,06 . (an 03-a3) into another whelen.
I like the 9.3X62 fine but where I hunt for the most part, shots could be any where from point blank to 350 yards, and while I might be doable with the 9.3, I think for my purposes another 06 would be a better choice.
If I were to change from the 06, It would might be a 7X57, witch is great for most hunting but probably a little light for elk.
A .338 06 might be great too, extreamly versital 180 to 200 grain bullets for deer up thru caribu and 225s or 250s for Elk.
But the 30,06 is a better choice for open country shooting at desert mule deer or antilope. Hell in my honest opinion, I have 17 rifles alrady and unless I go to africa I have all my bases coverd already.
Hey thanks for the stock wood tip !
...tj3006

I too enjoy a good 30-06. My Ruger 77 Mk II is much like your featherweight. Scoped, slung and a full mag it weighs just under 8 lbs and has a hockey puck for a butt pad. I agree that it is not the most pleasant to shoot in that regard but I still take it out to the range everytime I go and put 20 or 30 rounds through it.

Absolutely it sounds like an excellent custom ... Enjoy !!!

Ken....

I'm the proud owner of a Model 70 featherweight built in 1956. It has shoot much and will MOA with 165s.

The only thing the 30/06 should be held to the fire for, was saving the French! Now, after they where saved by such a fine round, they make it illegal in Frogland.

Ya know my featherweight is not bad to shoot unless you got a 180 grain and load up to a prety stiff load. With 150 or 165,s it really is not bad at all.
I also know what you mean about the hocky puck ruger but pad. I think they changed to a new pad latly, but I hav a ruger noaw and have had a few over the years and the pad is not a whole lot softer than the wood ! ...tj3006