30-06 whitetail recommendations

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As some of you guys can tell from my recent fishing post, I'm still pretty young compared to the average hunter, approaching 20 soon. I have been shooting since I was 5 and always took time to opt for precision rather than just plinking away, which has drilled marksmanship fundamentals into my head in a natural manner. I have also had an innate ability to stay calm and take very meticulous shots when required due to a lot of squirrel and small game hunting at long ranges with the good ole marlin model 60. What I left out in that initial posting is that with those Winchester soft points, the deer I shot was about 300 yards from my stand. It hit exactly what I was aiming for in the neck, but after doing extensive grouping with them I decided that was not the route I want to venture. With the right rifle and ammo I am confident in my ability to land a vital shot out to around 450-500, but that is with my .308 and handloads. After this season I am definitely looking more towards lead free bullets as I have seen what some of the barnes ammo can do out of a 30-30.
Originally Posted by KCJeep

Good post.

I used to hunt whitetails with a 25/06 that had a 4x12 scope. It killed deer like they had been struck by lightning, but it was a silly set up for the application. After quite a few years it dawned on me that almost all the deer that actually got loaded up were shot at less than 125 yards, most far less than that. I went back to where I started, a Marlin 30/30, and couldn't be happier. I can't even remember how many deer have now been killed by that 30/30, but I have never once felt handicapped by it.

I know of one or two guys that can actually cleanly kill deer at extended ranges, but they are a rare breed. Have seen way too many blasting away at running long range deer and not even go to look afterwards. Have stumbled upon a lot of the rotting results of such practice as well.

My father hunts with a 25-06 and per testimony, "kills em deader than dead." I've shot it out to 400 and with the 120 grs it is a dream to shoot.

The purpose of this thread is more so to find some relatively universal ammunition. I get that every gun and barrel is different, but some types of ammunition are generally more consistent than others and that is what I'm looking for. The background on this is that I have had this 30-06 for awhile and shot a couple different types of ammo through it, although not grouped many, and having a more capable one than the previous Winchesters in my platform that also works in my friend's is more for personal reasons. He is just getting into hunting (primarily my doing) and when looking for a good hunting rifle I made the caliber recommendation of 30-06 and I use mine to back up my claims of capability. I especially recommended 30-06 for this application to 1, to eventually be able to elk hunt with it, and 2, my friend is not recoil sensitive along with not the best shot I've ever seen so I figure a little on the more powerful side could be good. If all else fails I fall back on my savage 110 .270 that I can squeeze 3/4 moa out of or resight my .308 for a hunting ammunition.

This weekend I am going out to a patch of land to sight my 30-06 in with a 4x scope I just put on it (swapped the vortex I had onto the .270 last year for antlerless season) with some federal 180 grain long with a box of Hornady American whitetail 150 gr and federal fusion 150 gr. At the end of the day I'm more worried about what works well in my friends gun than mine as he has not been pedigreed into shooting like I have and doesn't have the quite the same capabilities. Will post results.

I feel as though I am talking a very big game for myself along with talking down on my friend and I hate to do that but this is the most objective way I could put it, my sincere apologies.
 
So I shot two groups with the Hornady to decide it was the one to use. Here is the reason why
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Managed to go 2 for 2 under 1 inch groups (3 shot so still not the most thorough) at 115 yards out of this 102 year old rifle
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Looks like a bit like slightly sub MOA accuracy. Nothing to complain about, that's for sure.
As to your friend with the Compass, I wonder if the trigger is causing his accuracy problem, or if it is him. One of the reasons these remarkable rifles are available at such a low price point is because of an easily fixed trigger issue. You might consider letting him shoot your rifle in order to eliminate the Compass as the problem, or you might shoot his rifle since your abilities are a well known constant.
 
The finale is here... Yesterday I was able to get my friend out to my land and do some shooting. I helped sight in his rifle and grouped it a couple times. With his Thompson Center Compass I was a able to get very consistent under 1 MOA groups, with the smallest stacking three in a cloverleaf fashion. Since those are only three shot groups I am chalking that up to luck and calling it a 1-3/4 MOA rifle with my shooting limitations. It seemed as though Federal Fusion and Hornady American Whitetail shot the best out of it so we are both rolling with the Hornady American whitetail 150. After a full afternoon of practice along with testing different brands, he was able to shoot a consistent 1.3 moa group. This was after A LOT of practice with a marlin 60 (particularly because the triggers on those are sub par) and about all our shoulders could take from a 7lb 30-06.

One comment i can make about his gun is the trigger is abysmally heavy. After this season I will probably go in and adjust that in whatever way is possible. This easily beat out that model 60 for the heavy trigger of the guns we have and if i recall the marlins pull at something around 7lbs. Despite that it is a very crisp one with little takeup so it is still very shootable.

I know it was a long thread to end up with my first idea but I'd like to thank everyone for their recommendations and i will definitely keep them in mind for the future.
 
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