.308 vs. 30.06?

[03mossy]

30-06 is NOT known for being a barrel burner. You should easily get 5,000+ rounds before you start seeing any loss in accuracy. You could probably get to 10,000 rounds before it would loose enough accuracy for hunting. Just let the barrel cool between groups and it will last.

 

[edmehlig]

30-06 is NOT known for being a barrel burner. You should easily get 5,000+ rounds before you start seeing any loss in accuracy. You could probably get to 10,000 rounds before it would lose enough accuracy for hunting. Just let the barrel cool between groups and it will last.

I think what also attributes to the throat or bore erosion is depending on how fast you push the bullet. No game is going to notice the difference if the bullet is traveling at 28,000 or 30,000FPS. Faster also means more recoil and may impact accuracy from the shooter flinching etc. Just my 2 cents.

 

[HC]

That’s shooting 10X faster than mine.

 

[edmehlig]

That’s shooting 10X faster than mine.

I know, I was just using that as an example. My 280 goes around 2,900 FPS

 

[snapbang]

Yes high pressure and speed do wear out a barrel and throat faster. For my .243 Winchester varmint rifle I shoot the Speer 70 grain TNT bullets. I shoot them at 3200 fps because it is accurate. Dime size at 100 yards. Thats well below max. A groundhog cant tell the difference between his innards being accelerated to 3200 fps or 3600 fps. Its just dead. I have replaced the barrel once and I calculate there were 9,000 plus rounds pushed through it.

I do believe most rifles see maybe 5 rounds a year including some of mine. My elk rifle only goes hunting about once every 4 years or so. On that year I may go through 20 rounds getting it tweaked but then its back to the shelf.

Any of you people who live near the thumb of Michigan and want to learn to reload metallic rifle cartridges I will be happy to teach you. Send me a PM and we will talk.

 

[hillbilly-bear]

After that you will need a re-barrel or a setback.

I would think that most medium and big game hunting rifles don't see much over 200 rounds during their life.

I have one going on 25 years, maybe at best 100 rounds through it. I will be long gone before it sees 200 rounds.

Jim, you shouldn't need a re-barrel after 1000 rounds. A quality barrel will go several thousand rounds before losing accuracy. But you are right, many rifles never see more than a couple hundred rounds, if that. Those of us that are avid shooters, do a lot of reloading to save money and go quite o few thousand rounds.

 

[JimP]

Jim, you shouldn't need a re-barrel after 1000 rounds.

I read once you can figure barrel life by how much powder burned and velocity. I do recall the 220 Swift was one that developed throat erosion, seems like 500-700 rounds. I could be be way off base on the 06.

 

[MrTom]

My 220 Swift had about 800 factory rounds thru it when I bought it and the barrels was still in good shape. I re-barreled it [kept the factory barrel] and reloaded for it. When I sold the gun it had right around 1100 pretty hot rounds thru it but all with lighter bullets. Powder and bullet weight come into play on barrel erosion on that caliber with the heavier bullets being pushed hard the biggest culprit on erosion. Case length at re-loading time was also a big factor.

My 06 had maybe 8000 rounds thru it and was still in very good shape and accuracy was still amazing.

 

[Idaholewis]

I read once you can figure barrel life by how much powder burned and velocity. I do recall the 220 Swift was one that developed throat erosion, seems like 500-700 rounds. I could be be way off base on the 06.

The .220 Swift is well known for burning barrels up, The .06 of Course would be nowhere near that. Look at some of the “Super Magnums” out there today, like the 6.5-300 Weatherby, or .257 Hot Tamale, Barrel life is about 250 Rounds with those

 

[Half-Cocked]

I just picked up 2 boxes of winchester 30 aughta be naughty.

I feel truly blessed that even in this ammo crisis I was able to find 30 ought 6 in almost all sports stores that I go to.

Well I just picked up two more boxes and I'll try really hard to wear out this barrel I'll let you guys know what happens. I know it's a sacrifice having to shoot this gun that I love over and over again. But hey you're welcome.

 

[HandyAndy]

Do you reload or just use factory ammo?

If you reload .30-06 is the better choice in my opionion.

If you don't reload .308 is probably a better choice, if ammo cost is a concern.

I'm not familiar with the rifles mentioned, so I can't give an opionion on them.

 

[JimP]

The .220 Swift is well known for burning barrels up, The .06 of Course would be nowhere near that. Look at some of the “Super Magnums” out there today, like the 6.5-300 Weatherby, or .257 Hot Tamale, Barrel life is about 250 Rounds with those

The reason I sent my 7mm Ultra Mag. packing. Plus less wear and tear on the shoulder.
A pound of powder would produce a whopping 70 rounds, if you could find brass.

 

[Half-Cocked]

Do you reload or just use factory ammo?

If you reload .30-06 is the better choice in my opionion.

If you don't reload .308 is probably a better choice, if ammo cost is a concern.

I'm not familiar with the rifles mentioned, so I can't give an opionion on them.

For the moment I am using factory ammo. Eventually I may try reloading. I am saving all my brass. Since it is bolt action it makes it easier to save from the "range vultures". People are picking off brass as you shoot.

I went with 30.06 and the recoil is very acceptable when I have a good grip. When I do reload I'm interested in the reduced recoil rounds.

I think reloading would be fun but it's another endless pit of money that needs to be spent. I'll probably end up having to get a chronograph too.

 

[Half-Cocked]

Have to shooting the axis has been nice however the trigger but not very good at all.

I only have about 60 rounds through it so I'm still trying to get the feel for the rifle. It's got quite a bit of kick so the one time that I tried to shoot it with one hand on a bag I don't think I did too well.

However holding on to the for stock with a firm grip seems to produce acceptable results in terms of accuracy.

they sell these trigger kits that replace the spring for about 10 bucks. I'm definitely going to go that route the only reason I haven't done it yet is because I'm still under the warranty period and breaking in the rifle.

I'm also still waiting for my Savage Mark 2 the 4473 is taking over a week now. Now that one features an acu trigger.

The Savage Axis is nice and there are many upgrades such as the Boyd stock and the cheap trigger mods. However if I made the purchase again I would probably spend the money on the better trigger and go with the axis 2. I'm finding the triggers are incredibly important to me when it comes to the overall pleasure of shooting the rifle or pistol.

 

[Idaholewis]

For the moment I am using factory ammo. Eventually I may try reloading. I am saving all my brass. Since it is bolt action it makes it easier to save from the "range vultures". People are picking off brass as you shoot.

I went with 30.06 and the recoil is very acceptable when I have a good grip. When I do reload I'm interested in the reduced recoil rounds.

I think reloading would be fun but it's another endless pit of money that needs to be spent. I'll probably end up having to get a chronograph too.

I have been Reloading for over 30 Years, it is expensive to get started (depending on quality/Brand equipment you purchase) You can get away cheaper with Lee Brand Stuff, But quality is nowhere near the Same as Say Dillon, Redding, RCBS, Etc.

High quality at best Price, My advice is Always an RCBS Rock Chucker press (They make a Kit, of course you stil need things), I also advice RCBS, or Redding Dies. Hornady makes some nice looking stuff these days, But i am not “Hands on” familiar with a Lot of it, I do own some of it and like it, and some I don’t. I have 2 sets of Hornady Dies, I really like the Bullet seating die, but don’t care for the Resizing Die

 

[JimP]

Have to shooting the axis has been nice however the trigger but not very good at all.

I only have about 60 rounds through it so I'm still trying to get the feel for the rifle. It's got quite a bit of kick so the one time that I tried to shoot it with one hand on a bag I don't think I did too well.

However holding on to the for stock with a firm grip seems to produce acceptable results in terms of accuracy.

Try a good shooting rest. I like the old Sinclairs and Harts with a rear rabbit or bunny ear bag. Caldwell makes the Rock, which are less money. I haven't used one but a lot of folks like them. With the rest you can shoot free recoil. The only part of the rifle you touch is the trigger. This will remove most of the human factors and give you a better picture of the rifles accuracy.

 

[HandyAndy]

Does the stock fit you? The LOP has to be pretty close or you'll be fighting the rifle. If it's too short and the buttstock isn't fully planted in your shoulder pocket, that's going to amplify the recoil impulses. Muzzle breaks will reduce recoil without reducing the ballistic performance. Most sportsmen don't like how they look, so they won't use them. The factory trigger can usually be carefully stoned to make it nicer.

 

[jcnull2305]

I'm going to second Lewis's recommendation on equipment. My bench is largely RCBS, and you can't mess with their warranty. I've had machinery wear out or break - some of it as old as 25 years, and RCBS has been awesome with replacement parts. My Trim Pro Power case trimmer had some parts wear out, and RCBS sent me the parts to rebuild it free of charge - and that ba$+ard was 20+ years old.

 

[HandyAndy]

RCBS is an awesome company. I stopped by their shop in Oroville a few times before I ran away from CA. They were very friendly and gave me a tour of their shop. They even replaced a collet from a bullet puller for free, that I damaged being dumb. Wouldn't take any money and I'm sure they would have shipped it for free, if I hadn't stopped by.

 

[snapbang]

You warm my heart when you state you are wearing out some of your reloading equipment.