My 6.5/06

[RBHarter]

I agree whole heart with learn to shoot first .

I grew up in a hunting environment where the 70 yd shot during the regular rifle season was a deer with a death wish or dumb luck . 200 was the normal shot 300 wasn't unusual . As such we chose rifles and cartridges up to that task . Now I live where a 264 WM is magnitudes of overkill and a 200 yd is stretching your muzzle .
Out west I could drive 12-15 miles and have an open dune backed flat or empty beach to shoot 500 yd to visible earth curve ranges . Now its 20+ to really nice ranges that fudged a little I can get 150 yd . If I hunt public lands current information lends itself to 50 yd being the extreme range of vision and a freight train bullet/cartridge combination is the tool of choice to thread a shot through a pop can hole for a head , neck ,or shoulder . Same game different different scenery and rules .

 

[todd]

Nice little article. I've seen similar experiments done elsewhere. Nothing wrong with a Krag, 30/40 or 6.5x55, for the average guy.

Michael Petrov passed away at about the same time i started using cast boolits in my Krag. he was a member of accurate reloading forums ( http://forums.accuratereloading.com...petrov&use_forum_scope=on&forum_scope=4711043 ) but i never got the chance to write to him.

then a couple of years go by and i'm interested in the 400 whelen. i'm looking on my 'puter for the 400 whelen and lo and behold, Michael Petrov has done it!!! on my bucket list is buy a m1903 springfield and convert it to 400 Petrov-Whelen.

http://www.finegunmaking.com/page33/page51/page51.html

Account Suspended

one of my many projects is to a 1898 spr armory and rebarrel it to 9.3/30-40 krag.

 

[Bret4207]

I agree whole heart with learn to shoot first .

I grew up in a hunting environment where the 70 yd shot during the regular rifle season was a deer with a death wish or dumb luck . 200 was the normal shot 300 wasn't unusual . As such we chose rifles and cartridges up to that task . Now I live where a 264 WM is magnitudes of overkill and a 200 yd is stretching your muzzle .
Out west I could drive 12-15 miles and have an open dune backed flat or empty beach to shoot 500 yd to visible earth curve ranges . Now its 20+ to really nice ranges that fudged a little I can get 150 yd . If I hunt public lands current information lends itself to 50 yd being the extreme range of vision and a freight train bullet/cartridge combination is the tool of choice to thread a shot through a pop can hole for a head , neck ,or shoulder . Same game different different scenery and rules .

And I'll bet back in the day those 2-300 yard shots were made with a 4 or 6X scope. Times have changed.

 

[RBHarter]

I don't get it , a 4 to 6x fixed duplex is probably about all the average hunting breed will ever need . I've mostly had 3-9×40s but unless I needed to look at a specific rock it was a rare thing for them to move from 5X . I have several 4x Weaver's and an 8x duplex that's probably more scope than I'll ever need .

All those dots and extra lines don't do anything a duplex won't if you've spent any time at all on the range .

 

[todd]

i used 3-9x's for years and i still do. usually i'm out hunting and its around 4 - 5x. about 5 or 6 years ago, i got a 2-7x Leopold Freedom and i put it on a Husqvarna m46 in 9.3x57. when i'm using for target shooting, it will go up to 7x. out in the woods, its 4x. i aslo got another 2-7x Leopold on my 500 Linebaugh(23" MGM Encore barrel. i got a 2-7x EER on my 1908 Brazilian Mauser in 7x57. i have a TC Encore with 23" MGM barrel in 444 Marlin. it has a 3 - 9x Leopold that i got it cheap even tho it was brand new. its set at 4 - 5x.

i think the first centrefire scope i ever bought was 4x, a Bushnell i think. when i was 13 or 14yo, i got a marlin m25 in 22lr with a cheap 4x scope, it was a 1/2" aluminum tube that you set the scope knobs was 1/2" (at 50 yards ). you couldn't see thru the scope unless it was sunny outside. t stayed on my gun for about a year until i broke it. i think it was 4x Tasco next. now it is a 3-9x Swift (its an old one, over the counter warranty that Swift no longer does). i got a ruger 10/22 with an old 3 - 9x Swift too. i think that its set at 6x.

other than my varmint rifle (20 Vartarg) that has 6-20x Bushnell Banner (i had a 22-250AI and 223 that were the same scope) that i use the power ring on it, i guess i would be good enuff to use a 4x scope.

 

[Bret4207]

I have a mess of scopes in the 1, 1.5, 2.5 and 1.5-4/2-7 area. I can't speak for anyone else, but a 1 or 1.5x scope is about perfect out to 100-150 yards on medium game. Even 3x on a 3-9 is too much many times, and certainly too much extra size and weight to lug around. I have a couple 6x and a 10x on a varmint rifle but I can't see the thinking behind the 6-24 stuff on a hunting rifle, or a variable on a target rifle. If you ahve a rifle that will actually shoot 1/4" groups a 100 off a bench, then I can see the 24's and 32X on a target gun. But what anyone thinks they need something like that on a hunting rifle escapes me. Low power with light gathering ability- yes. Higher power to use as a spotting scope- NO!

To each their own, but unless I'm sniping antelope or ground squirrels at 500+ yards, I don't get most of the scopes sold today. I'm a dinosaur, and I'm okay with that!,

 

[todd]

To each their own, but unless I'm sniping antelope or ground squirrels at 500+ yards, I don't get most of the scopes sold today. I'm a dinosaur, and I'm okay with that!,

i'm almost at 50yo and i like to use buckhorn and aperture sights, am i a dinosaur? cuz i really want to be one. lol!!!

 

[Spindrift]

I have variable magnification on all my hunting rifle scopes. Usually, they're set at x3-4. But higher magnification might be useful if I need to count points on the antlers to make sure the animal is legal to shoot (sometimes specified limitations).

 

[CWLONGSHOT]

I shot some of my DEM 1943 case, loads today.

I used H4350 and the starting load was hard bolt lift. I have used H4350 with a 140g many times.
I happened to have a 140sst bullet with two grains more powder running right @ 2900 fps that is fine in Winchester cases.
I tried three shots third was most difficult and I stopped. Zero case head expansion and primer identical to unfired. The SST loads are a smooth as can be.

Im really thinking this is 100% a brass issue. ALL brass is re formed. I have t seen a factory A-Swuare case. Unsure if anyone makes honest 6.5/06 brass.

I feel my next step is good quality brass.

 

[waco]

My buddy just bought a 6.5-300 Weatherby. I don’t know why…
Seems WAY over bore.

 

[Jeff H]

3-9s are what's always on sale. You can find them everywhere, everyone makes one and if there's a sale - there'll be a 3-9.

I've read all the ads, read all the instructions, all the stuff on the boxes - I have yet to find anything that says you don't have to crank it to NINE.

My personal preference is lower-powered scopes. I like 2-7s and lower, but 3-9s come cheap, so I have a few.

One thing I like about not going above 6 or 7 power is that it reminds me that the target (animal) is a ways off, and that I should be extra careful with the shot - pay attention to hold-over, if necessary. If it looks BIG in my scope, it looks CLOSE in my scope. I prefer to concentrate on how small that thing looks at a distance so that I am more mindful of the shot.

I'd much prefer to have low-powered, fixed or variables on all my rifles, but they are hard to find and expensive when you find them. I cherish the lower-powered scopes that I do have.

 

[fiver]

i must be blind.... LOL
many of my hunting rifles wear 4X12's, a couple go to 16, and my varmint rigs quite often go to 24.
except for the 223's they mostly wear 4X12's also since the 223 bullet only goes 150yds. [down hill] and then simply falls to the ground, i'm shooting little squirrels that stand up 4"s high, are 1-1/2"s wide, and weigh maybe 4oz's on a good day.

 

[waco]

My Bergara in ‘06 has a 4.5x14 Leupold. Kinda best of both worlds.

 

[fiver]

i tried to get that one for mine too.
ended up with the 3.5X10X50 since i really wanted the extra light gathering capability more than the extra little bit of power.
that rifle see's waay too much in the shade, and too much look under the shade, and too much across the draw time to not have some good up and down.
it replaced a 4x12 Vortex that was more like a 5.5x10.5 since the top and bottom ends both went blurry.

 

[462]

My buddy just bought a 6.5-300 Weatherby. I don’t know why…
Seems WAY over bore.

Guy the next bench over was bragging on the speed his 6.5-300 Weatherby and a 140-grain bullet. I took my shots after his, and hoped he didn't pull the trigger while I was getting a sight picture. Didn't alway work as I wanted. Eventually, he caught on and waited for me. Beaucoup muzzle blast and noise.

 

[fiver]

i bet, it probably burns powder 10 foot out the end of the barrel.

 

[L Ross]

I like relatively small. light, and simple scopes for hunting. My favorite is a early 90's Leupold Vari-X III 1.5x5. Next up are the Leupold M8 I have a 2x and a 4x. Helping a friend equip his daughter with a deer rifle I sold him my extra M8 4x for exactly what I paid for it, $135.00. She has several deer with it already.

Next up are steel tube El Paso Weavers, 1.5, 3, and 4X with a tapered post and a cross wire. These are all serious big game rifle scopes. Next are the smaller critter scopes 2x7's and 3x9's.

Last are the games playing rifles and scopes. Three Lyman Super Target spots 15X and 20X. Then five matching Leupold Mark AR Mod-1 6x18's. When Leupold discontinued this scope line, my gunsmith friend told me if I could adapt to learning MIL's these scopes were a stone bargain at about 375 bucks each. I really really like those Mark AR's, for shooting steel. Just for the heck of it I used a Model 700 in .308 wearing one of the Mark AR's for deer hunting, of course cranked down to 6X. I shot a young 6 pt. at about 50 yards and it was too much magnification. I managed to find the elbow, after I bleated the buck to a dead stop, but I'd have been much happier with one of the Weavers with less magnification and the post.

 

[Foo]

Maybe on a hot day out in the sun popping prairie dogs non-stop with 95gr V-Max at 33-3400fps might toast the throat. The best thing is that it doesn't have Creedmoor in the name.

I have a Interarms Mark X in 25-05, bought back in the day from Shotgun news for I think $120 for barreled action. Then you put on a Bell and Carlson Stock and you have a very accurate prairie dog rig. I have at least a thousand rnds of 75 gr. thru it and it is still a tack driver. I also have a Interarms Mini Mark X in .223. Not very accurate but never spent much time working up load for it.

 

[CWLONGSHOT]

Speaking as a Eastern USA hunter, I have never been a 3x9 fan. No particular reason but probably same that the 30/06 never excited me. I love the 2x7. But lately any gun thats capable of any distance gets a 4x12. I dont care for the 6x18 much as the 6x is too much for up close.
I have as many Leupold VXII 2x7's as all other scopes combined.

I just installed a Burris 4-12 on the 6.5/06. I had a 2.5x10 but it seemed to have issues.

CW

 

[Bret4207]

i must be blind.... LOL
many of my hunting rifles wear 4X12's, a couple go to 16, and my varmint rigs quite often go to 24.
except for the 223's they mostly wear 4X12's also since the 223 bullet only goes 150yds. [down hill] and then simply falls to the ground, i'm shooting little squirrels that stand up 4"s high, are 1-1/2"s wide, and weigh maybe 4oz's on a good day.

To each their own. Like I said, if I was shooting ground squirrels at 500 yards, I can see the higher magnification. The only way I'll see anything 4" high on the ground here is if it's in a mowed meadow or on an ice covered lake.