Does anyone use a 30-06 for HP Silhouette? If so what load do you use so it doesn't punish you to bad by the end of the day?

It is legal but I haven't seen one on the line for years. They will kick the crap out of you. Most use either a 7mm/08 or a 6.5 something.Tthere are still a few 243s on the line and they take every thing down including about 1/2 of the rams they hit.

I run a Ruger MII in 30-06 for hunter. cpt 155g Amax with 49g 2208 and 180g bthp 43.5 2208. 2208 =Varget

Also see http://www.steelchickens.com/forums/vie ... f=2&t=1076

HTH
Daisy

I shoot my 2-legged varmint 30-06 rifle in HP Sil matches once in a blue moon, primarily, because it exceeds the weight limit by 2 ounces.
I shoot 150 gr. bullets loaded to 2600 fps at C, P & T, and either Sierra 168 or 175 gr. MKs loaded to 2700 fps at rams.
Nothing wrong with loads or excessive recoil.

I used a long action 700 in .30/06 for years in HP Hunter rifle competition.
I shot a few master scores with it using relatively mild - but very typical '06 loads - it's about the same as a .308 out to the T's.

This was before the rules for HPHR were liberalized - and the reason I liked this rifle was - for me - it seemed to hang better - probably because of the long action.
And......the long action worked very well with this LONG cartridge - and this helped when we used to load the magazine to capacity after the command "ready" was given.
I often lament selling this rifle!

For about half a century a goodly percentage of rounds fired in competition were with this cartridge.

I used 46 gr IMR 4064/168 SMK most of the time.
I sometimes used 150 SMK's with H4895 - similar to the U.S. M1 Rifle round - just more accurate.

For really tough rams - at least then, it was common practice to use a 190 grain SMK.
That one WILL get your attention but I don't think I missed any targets due to the recoil.
If I were using one today, I'd probably just stick with 168's or the 175 gr SMK.

If anyone wants my load info, send me an email at [email protected].

I'm not recommending anyone build a sil rifle around this cartridge but if a shooter has one and wants to shoot it - there's no reason NOT to use it.

GG

Its all in the load...get your book out and shoot the lightest 175-190 load in the book.....any load with 150-168 will knock over the first 3 animals over...that should do it for you.

Joaquin B wrote:I shoot my 2-legged varmint 30-06 rifle in HP Sil matches once in a blue moon, primarily, because it exceeds the weight limit by 2 ounces.
I shoot 150 gr. bullets loaded to 2600 fps at C, P & T, and either Sierra 168 or 175 gr. MKs loaded to 2700 fps at rams.
Nothing wrong with loads or excessive recoil.

Gosh, Joaquin, are you saying the 7-08 crowd shooting 175s at 2500 fps are recoil sensitive?

Seriously, the last man I recall shooting an 06 on a regular basis was a gentleman from El Paso who was really old school. He wore .45 ACP cases as "hearing protection" and grumbled about his friends talking him into shooting "the little gun" (.308 Win)

I wish I could remember his name. He had a lot of funny stories to tell.

Take care,

Rick

If a 142 gr 6.5 going about 2650 will take a ram down. My 142 is still going a little over 2000 fps at the rams. You would think a 150 or 165 gr 308 going about 2000 fps at the rams would do the same job.

My first HP silhouette rifle over 20 years ago was a 30 06 03 sporter with a T 10 Weaver. I used to use (from memory) 35 of 3031 and 168 gr MK's Load came from Sharpes manual printed in 1937, was suposed to be the Olympic free rifle load developed by the Armory. About 2300 fps and would not take Rams down every time. Nice shooting offhand load though.

When I went to the 308 used 155 grs for CPT and 190's for Rams. Now a 7 08 and if I get another rifle will be a 260

This summer re-barreled that 03 for some club wana be sniper matches. 47 grs of Varget and 168 gr MK's. Been shooting it prone coat and sling on our silhouette swingers. It's very accurate but 40 rounds strapped in you know you have shot something end of the day. One of the real trends since the 30 cal's time has been light bullets with high B/C's that preform well on target. And a understanding that less recoil means better results.

Boats

My "real" hunting rifle is a .30-06. It balances nicely and is no problem to pack up and down the hills. There is no telling how many deer that gun has slayed over the years. I used the .30-06 in a silhouette match one time. Once. And I'll never do that again!