I'm a new hunter looking for a medium bore suitable for most (excluding bigger/meaner bears) North American game. Any reason to look beyond a 30-06? Any problems (excluding lack of mauser type extractor) with Remington 700

Whizzbang, Let me be the first to welcome you to the AR forums. The short answer to your question is no, and yes the Remington 700 is a great choice for most all North American, and much of the whole world's hunting fields.

Once again, welcome

There's nothing wrong with the 30-06.

Properly loaded it's as good as anything you can hunt with and if you need more you should look at the 375 H&H.

Remington makes a fine gun as well.

WB,

Do a search on 9.3x62, read the articles that come up, and then try to justify a 30-06 as opposed to a CZ 550 in 9.3x62. Warning: It hard to do. Kudude

nick name osn on some other sites is tj30,06.
Love the round. But if you plan to hunt big bears I would go for somthing bigger. The 35 whelen 9.3X62 or a .338 win mag. If you are not det set on abolt the good ol 45/70 is good out to 200 yards. If you are new to hunting get the 06 I would go with a CZ 550 if you want a new rifle. But get a few deer and elk under your belt before you go after critters that hunt back. And by then mabye you can afford a second rifle. An 06 and .338 win or a 45/70 would be a great 2 rifle battery for a North american hunter...tj3006

My first centerfire rifle back in 1967 was a M700 in 30-06...and for a 15 year old kid it kicked the snot out of me...

I have since become a short action shooter and much prefer the .308 and .350 Remington Magnum for my major hunting rounds. If a long action suits you better than a short go for the '06..nothing more is needed... As to the 9.3s..great guns but where do you find ammo when the airline looses your luggage?

Bob

wizzbang welcome to this forum, the 30-06 is one fine caliber and one in a 700 remington should be fine, they have had some quality control problems but every gun maker runs into that once and a while,reloader shoots many new 700s maybe he''ll chime-in on this one, properly loaded it will cover 95 percent of anyones hunting, snap one up! and Enjoy and join the 30-06''s CENTENIAL birthday celebration...... regards jjmp

My suggestion is similar with the Remington 700 because of all the aftermarket enhancements you can add to the rifle. Caliber wise I would go with the 7mm Remington Magnum. You can find ammo almost anywhere. A little more power than the 30-06 but quite a bit flatter shooting. Just my two cents.

For a starter In a hunting rifle the CZ 6.5X55 is hard to beat. Great cartridge, modest recoil, adequate killing ability,light weight, and reasonably priced. After getting acustomed to recoil and feel you can handle a bit more than go 30-06.

To much recoil on the bench has been known to turn people off from shooting sports. If you're new to the game that is where most of your shooting will be. roger

There is nothing wrong with the .30-06 or the 700 Remington, thou as what others have said, you being new to shooting and hunting in general, the 30-06 may not be conforable to shoot do to recoil. A 6.5 x 55 would be what I would look for, Ruger chambers for it in the M-77 Mk II. Its a good strong no bs rifle that will give you years of service. What ever you buy, will be fine. Put a good 4x fixed power on it and learn to shoot and hunt. I would stick to a common cartridge, as some may suggest a 9.3 x 62 its a great one, but there is a big problem with it, almost nobody in america shoots it. If they did then Sako would import rifles so chambered and I could buy one. You know a 260 or 7mm-08 would fit the bill for you plenty of power and reasonable recoil levels.

The 30-06 would be just about perfect for your first big game rifle. You can even start out shooting Remington or Federal low recoil loads. I killed 2 wild pigs with my 30-06 drilling with the Federal 170 gr low recoil load.

Get the 30-06, then after a while you can decide if your second rifle should be bigger or smaller, depending on what, how and where your hunt.

PS. my favorite cartridge in this power range is the 308.

I think you have made a prety darn good choice. I would personaly choose a CZ 550 american over a Remington, but thats a personal thing. The 30,06 does recoil some, but i doubt it would be too much for you.
the key to me, is to practce shooting from a bench, learn to train your mind to just squeeze the trigger, with out anticipating the shot, just slowly increase preasure with your trigger finger while keeping the cross hairs on the target. Don't think about firing the rifle just squeeze.
Do not get a featherweight rifle in 30,06 if you want a featherweight go with somthing like a 7mm08 or a 270. And if you really want to get the most from you rifle, learn to reload...tj3006

Welcome whizzbang, there is nothing at all wrong with the 30-06. It is a time proven round & has a very wide variety of bullets & loaded ammunition available for it. You should be able to find ammo for it at any place that such supplies. Another option would be the 270, it is almost as popular as the 30-06 if not as popular. If you are planning on hand loading your own ammo you could consider the 280 Remington also. After all is said & done I don't think that you would be disapointed in the 30-06. I am partial to the Remington 700 myself but there are several very well made rifles manufactured in this caliber out there. I would suggest that you go look at a few & see how they feel to you. Find one you are comfortable with, that is in your price range & go with it.

30/06 is great. I started with a 410 shotgun when I was 12.

Absolutely enjoy my Ruger 77 in 30-06. Shoots very accurately even with factory ammo and can certainly take the game you'll be hunting in NA.

Ken....

I'm not a fan of the 30-06 but it does get it done. I would want more rifle for big bears but if you are only looking to go once, then get an 06 & load it up or down as needed.

I'd consider a 7-08, a lighter rifle and less recoil than the -06, and it'll kill game just as dead as the -06 out to the same ranges. Another option is the .308 win.

If I'm toting a fullsize action, I'd opt for a 300 win mag, but would highly recomend against a magnum for a first time centerfire. I'd also opt for a 300 WSM in a lighter rifle.

I have yet to see any detriment to a well balanced lighter rifle, and in many hunting situations, benefits of a lighter more compact rifle.

a Remington 700 in 30-06 is a basic generic unit of "rifle"
and the rifle model and cartridge are EACH the "Benchmark"
against which ALL other rifles and cartridges are measured.

To say that the Remington 700 is the most common model of rifle is a grotesque understatement .

To say that the 30-06 is the most common rifle cartridge bar none doesn't even hint at the real truth... that in terms of ammo sales, that if you except 22LR, 223Rem and 30-30win there is probably more 30-06 ammo sold than all other cartridges combined.

Anywhere in the world you can legally buy ammo will have 30-06 is they have anything else...

AllanD

You cant go wrong with the old reliable 06. Ive currently got two in the rack, and if I ever had a go to elk rifle that would be it. I like the 150 gn slugs for deer and 180's for Elk.

That being said, Ive been suggesting the 280 rem as a one gun rifle for NA game. It is just a bit more managable and shoots a bit flatter, but if you use factory ammo than your probably better off with the 06.

I like the 7-08 or 308 as well. All excellent rounds. Just pick the one that makes you feel warm-an fuzzy and go hunting..

welcome, the .ought six is one heck of a calibre! variety of bullets weights-get one it has been around a hundred yrs., that speaks for itself.

regards,

Thanks for the advice

There were some comments about the 7mm-08 (proper designation?) How does it compare to Jim Corbett's trusty .275 Rigby Mauser? I read somewhere that they were very similar but that (due to powder capicity?) the -08 was inferior with heavier bullets.