30-06 is still sexy

[etwr2]

I’m going to Crusader in April. Primary target species are Vaal Rhebuk and eland. I’m planning on taking one of my 30-06’s and due to the huge size difference between the species I’ve planned to load 175 Barnes LRX’s
Rifles:
Dakota 76 African 22”
Blaser R8 jager with carbon stock 24”
Lapua brass
CciBR2
Today I tried H4350 and Staball 6.5
Right now the winner is the Blaser with staball6.5. I have another load I need to try in the Dakota. The Blaser is so much more comfortable to shoot with the suppressor even though it’s significantly lighter

 

[etwr2]

My buddies were chiding me over my expensive gun with terrible groups so I checked the action bolt torque. With the wrench set at 35 in/lbs each screw turned 3/8th of a turn!
After tightening, I tried 56.5gr H4350 today in the Dakota and got a better group. I know I pulled the last shot of the five because it was 34 degrees and windy. I couldn’t feel my trigger finger because I was also torque tuning my 22LR at the same time.

The 5shot group was 0.997” at 2760fps. I would really like to be above 2800 since I’m using an all copper bullet and potentially long range in the Eastern cape. I may just end up taking the Blaser but the Dakota just screams “take me to Africa”.

I’m going to bump the powder charge and adjust the seating depth to see if we can find a happy area.

 

[etwr2]

I finally found a load that the Dakota tolerated. The last shot opened up the group from 0.6” to 1.3”. I think I’m going to stope here and opt to take the Blaser to Africa.

175LRX
57.0gr H4350
3.270” OAL - this rifle has a very short throat
2806fps
Yes I know this is over Barnes load data. Please do not use this load without working up first

 

[SEJohnson73]

'06 is sexy as hell....it does just about everything pretty good, save the biggest & meanest. I keep coming back to it... That Dakota has an awfully nice looking piece of wood on it... if you haven't, you might try a few different primers with your load. They can - not always - but can - make more difference than a guy would imagine. Best of luck on the safari.

 

[etwr2]

The Dakota shoots other ammo well, I was just trying to pick the best bullet for a 50 pound animal and a 1500 pound animal. I have found shoehorning a bullet into a rifle that it doesn’t like just causes problems. So I’ll give up.

I’ll probably just take the Blaser and not worry about it. The Blaser has a place to mount a bipod and packs down smaller and is threaded for a silencer.

I may not have to worry at all though because Qatar airways changed policies in January that if any leg of your flight is not operated by Qatar then they won’t allow carriage of firearms or ammunition.

 

[SEJohnson73]

The Dakota shoots other ammo well, I was just trying to pick the best bullet for a 50 pound animal and a 1500 pound animal. I have found shoehorning a bullet into a rifle that it doesn’t like just causes problems. So I’ll give up.

I’ll probably just take the Blaser and not worry about it. The Blaser has a place to mount a bipod and packs down smaller and is threaded for a silencer.

I may not have to worry at all though because Qatar airways changed policies in January that if any leg of your flight is not operated by Qatar then they won’t allow carriage of firearms or ammunition.

I hear you on shoehorning bullets into rifles... the 1-10" twist seems to make the 165 & heavier mono metal bullets somewhat challenging in the '06. The LRX group you shot is no slouch tho. An '06 with a long box and a 1-8" Lilja is on my someday list...

Hate to hear that you may not be able to take them at all; getting the gear ready to go is at least 25% of the fun in my book. Hopefully that doesn't turn into an issue for your trip. That said, best of luck whatever you end up shooting!!