Guy Miner
Master Loader
- Apr 6, 2006
- 17,746
- 5,817
Took my two favorite hunting rifles, the Remington 700 CDL's, to the range this morning. Wanted to check their zeros, and get some rifle practice. Besides, I like to shoot! The two rifles are quite similar, separated by a few years and bore size. I had a great local smith pillar bed the actions, free float the barrels, and adjust both triggers to a crisp three pound pull. The 30-06 has an old 2-7x Redfield, and the 25-06 wears a 6x Leupold. The slings also differ, as I'm trying the new Montana Sling on the 25-06 and am quite impressed so far.
With targets set, I shot from prone/bipod at 100 yards. Starting with a cartridge in the chamber and two in the magazine, I fired three shots as fast as I could get back on target with the 30-06, and saw that they printed 3" high at 100 yards, exactly as they had before my spring trip to Alaska. Nice. The group wasn't as tight as I'd like, but, so be it. The load used the 200 gr Nosler Partition over enough H4350 to churn up 2600 fps, same ammo as I carried in Alaska. I figure I'll use the 30-06 for any bear or elk hunting I do this fall:
Then I turned to the 25-06, with the same drill; three shots as quickly as I could. I was a little faster with the 25-06, and knew when I shot that I'd pulled one to the left. Doggone it! Really like this rifle & load, it's accurate, flat shooting, and has proven very effective in the field. The 115 gr Ballistic Tips at 3120 fps landed 2" high at 100 yards, very nice for this rifle's flat trajectory:
With the 100 yard shooting done, I turned my attention to the 300 yard gong, firing from prone and sitting. The gong was in serious trouble with either rifle from prone. Let's just say I need to brush up on my sitting position a bit... Sheesh. I did sling up with the 25-06 and nail the gong with three consecutive hits from sitting with that rifle. The mild recoil makes getting back on target so easy!
Nice way to spend the morning. It's really nice to have a couple of good hunting rifles that are so reliable, and well matched. Someday I'll likely replace that old Redfield with a nicer, newer scope. I figure I'll do my mule deer hunting this year with the 25-06 and bear or elk will see the 30-06 afield.
Guy
With targets set, I shot from prone/bipod at 100 yards. Starting with a cartridge in the chamber and two in the magazine, I fired three shots as fast as I could get back on target with the 30-06, and saw that they printed 3" high at 100 yards, exactly as they had before my spring trip to Alaska. Nice. The group wasn't as tight as I'd like, but, so be it. The load used the 200 gr Nosler Partition over enough H4350 to churn up 2600 fps, same ammo as I carried in Alaska. I figure I'll use the 30-06 for any bear or elk hunting I do this fall:
Then I turned to the 25-06, with the same drill; three shots as quickly as I could. I was a little faster with the 25-06, and knew when I shot that I'd pulled one to the left. Doggone it! Really like this rifle & load, it's accurate, flat shooting, and has proven very effective in the field. The 115 gr Ballistic Tips at 3120 fps landed 2" high at 100 yards, very nice for this rifle's flat trajectory:
With the 100 yard shooting done, I turned my attention to the 300 yard gong, firing from prone and sitting. The gong was in serious trouble with either rifle from prone. Let's just say I need to brush up on my sitting position a bit... Sheesh. I did sling up with the 25-06 and nail the gong with three consecutive hits from sitting with that rifle. The mild recoil makes getting back on target so easy!
Nice way to spend the morning. It's really nice to have a couple of good hunting rifles that are so reliable, and well matched. Someday I'll likely replace that old Redfield with a nicer, newer scope. I figure I'll do my mule deer hunting this year with the 25-06 and bear or elk will see the 30-06 afield.
Guy
