Returning Hunter Caliber Choice

[Wertherman]

Hi all,

I’m getting back into hunting after a break and could use some advice.

I recently moved to Colorado and will be going on my first rifle elk hunt this year. I picked up a Tikka in .30-06 mainly because, growing up, everyone said it could do anything.

Getting behind the trigger again reminded me just how much I flinch with guns. My groups on the bench are great out to 300, but last year I had a really bad shot and hit a whitetail in the spine at maybe 60 yards. I definitely don’t want to repeat that.

Reading through the forums, I’ve noticed people having great success with 6mm and 6.5mm cartridges. It’s making me wonder if I might be better off stepping down in caliber so I can practice more and feel confident in the field.

So my questions are:

• Should I consider a different caliber? (Will target all species in the lower 48 eventually) If so, what would you recommend?
• Or should I just focus on more range time?
• I’m naturally a bit flinchy—any tips for controlling that in the field?

Thanks in advance for any guidance!

 

[thinhorn_AK]

Put a silencer and a limb saver on that tikka and keep shooting it.

 

[LongWayAround]

Setup a training rifle in .223 or .22LR to work on your flinch.

There's nothing wrong with the 30-06, but if you don't enjoy shooting it, step down to a .243 or 6.5CM.

 

[BreechFace]

Above is great advice by @thinhorn_AK. The 30-06 is a great hunting cartridge, very versatile.

Some more advice is shoot more, and when you are practicing, practice until you start to feel like you are going to flinch then take a break. Don't reinforce that with continued shooting. Eventually you will build a tolerance and be able to shooter longer strings of calm shots.

A short lightweight suppressor will really help knockdown the pressure and noise that contributes to flinches. It will also if designed for it help mitigate some recoil.

 

[omicron1792]

If I was starting from scratch I would go 6cm and shoot one of the new TMK (107 or 116ish)

I dropped to 6.5prc and love it, then to mainly 223 which I use most of the time now. But if I could do a fresh start like you 6cm seems to be a sweet spot, especially in a state like yours that doesn’t allow 223.

 

[Wertherman]

Setup a training rifle in .223 or .22LR to work on your flinch.

There's nothing wrong with the 30-06, but if you don't enjoy shooting it, step down to a .243 or 6.5CM.

Yeah at the range I seem fine, but even shooting squirrels with my CZ 457 I felt like I was punching the trigger and pulling the shot a little, not as much of course on a 22lr but still can improve.

 

[Dave Thomas]

I would also suggest getting a 223 for practice. You don't want to shoot a 3006 for the amount of shooting it takes to get proficient and stay there.

 

[eric1115]

A light .30-06 for an "only rifle" is rough. It is a lot more recoil than most people shoot well.

To use it well, you really should have another rifle (.223 works great for this) that is much lower recoil and cheap to shoot LOTS. You need to get off the bench and into field positions and shooting with some time pressure.

If you want to be a really competent "one gun" guy, you'll have a much easier time with something with recoil in the 6.5CM or less range.

My assumption is that you'll be shooting factory ammo?
I'd have no hesitation using a .243 with 90 ELDX or 95 NBT's, or a 6.5CM with a few different factory loadings (ELDX/ELDM mostly) for deer/elk.

You can start by getting a suppressor and a better recoil pad for your .30-06 and then transfer them to the new rifle later, but that's still above the threshold most people can shoot enough to really build proficiency and if you're serious about it you'll end up either adding a second rifle or downsizing this one (or both).

 

[thinhorn_AK]

A light .30-06 for an "only rifle" is rough. It is a lot more recoil than most people shoot well.

To use it well, you really should have another rifle (.223 works great for this) that is much lower recoil and cheap to shoot LOTS. You need to get off the bench and into field positions and shooting with some time pressure.

If you want to be a really competent "one gun" guy, you'll have a much easier time with something with recoil in the 6.5CM or less range.

My assumption is that you'll be shooting factory ammo?
I'd have no hesitation using a .243 with 90 ELDX or 95 NBT's, or a 6.5CM with a few different factory loadings (ELDX/ELDM mostly) for deer/elk.

You can start by getting a suppressor and a better recoil pad for your .30-06 and then transfer them to the new rifle later, but that's still above the threshold most people can shoot enough to really build proficiency and if you're serious about it you'll end up either adding a second rifle or downsizing this one (or both).

So a tikka is a light rifle now huh?

you guys are too much. lol.

 

[nuffgun]

Everyone should have a bolt action 223. I would start there and add a 30 cal suppressor. after fixing your flinch with a lot of practice behind a suppressed 223, you could then decide if you want to stick with the 30-06 or if you want to swap the barrel for a 6cm (only way to get a tikka 6cm) or a 6.5 cm. I personally hunt with 108 eldm’s out of a tikka 8 twist .243 win and I would have no issues about killing any NA big game with that combo.

 

[MT762]

Hi all,

I’m getting back into hunting after a break and could use some advice.

I recently moved to Colorado and will be going on my first rifle elk hunt this year. I picked up a Tikka in .30-06 mainly because, growing up, everyone said it could do anything.

Getting behind the trigger again reminded me just how much I flinch with guns. My groups on the bench are great out to 300, but last year I had a really bad shot and hit a whitetail in the spine at maybe 60 yards. I definitely don’t want to repeat that.

Reading through the forums, I’ve noticed people having great success with 6mm and 6.5mm cartridges. It’s making me wonder if I might be better off stepping down in caliber so I can practice more and feel confident in the field.

So my questions are:

• Should I consider a different caliber? (Will target all species in the lower 48 eventually) If so, what would you recommend?
• Or should I just focus on more range time?
• I’m naturally a bit flinchy—any tips for controlling that in the field?

Thanks in advance for any guidance!

Lot of good solutions suggested here which are equally good: it's mostly up to what road you feel like going down.

Flinch is generally a reaction to muzzleblast: the sound pressure and blast wave hitting your face. It's rarely a reaction to the actual recoil or push of the rifle.

1) By my thinking, the best overall solution is to pick up a 7" lightweight titanium suppressor, have your barrel cut back to 20" and install the suppressor. There will be almost no muzzleblast, which is the main cause of your flinch, and recoil will be reduced as well. 30-06 is such a good caliber that you might as well stick with it.

2) Step down in caliber to something that burns less powder. In terms of killing power there is very little difference between a 30-06 and a 308, but the 308 burns less powder and for the same barrel length, the uncorking pressure is lower and there is a lot less muzzleblast.

2A) That said, an unsuppressed 308 (or unsuppressed 6.5 Creedmoor for that matter) is still more unpleasant to shoot than a suppressed 30-06.

3) 223 has very little recoil, but is still pretty damn loud (again much louder and blastier than a suppressed 30-06). But 223 is a good way to get used to the noise without dealing with the recoil.

4) the suppressor also allows you to shoot at game without ear protection. I've got mild tinnitus and my ears typically ring all day after firing a few rounds of unsuppressed centerfire at game. They don't ring at all with a suppressor.

Best course of action is find someone with a suppressed centerfire rifle and ask to fire it with and without the suppressor. That will probably make your mind up.

 

[omicron1792]

I just assumed he was using a suppressor. I didn’t know that people still shot without them. Ha

 

[Wertherman]

A light .30-06 for an "only rifle" is rough. It is a lot more recoil than most people shoot well.

To use it well, you really should have another rifle (.223 works great for this) that is much lower recoil and cheap to shoot LOTS. You need to get off the bench and into field positions and shooting with some time pressure.

If you want to be a really competent "one gun" guy, you'll have a much easier time with something with recoil in the 6.5CM or less range.

My assumption is that you'll be shooting factory ammo?
I'd have no hesitation using a .243 with 90 ELDX or 95 NBT's, or a 6.5CM with a few different factory loadings (ELDX/ELDM mostly) for deer/elk.

You can start by getting a suppressor and a better recoil pad for your .30-06 and then transfer them to the new rifle later, but that's still above the threshold most people can shoot enough to really build proficiency and if you're serious about it you'll end up either adding a second rifle or downsizing this one (or both).

Yes it would be factory ammo. If I do step down, would you suggest a re barrel? At the moment I really do want to master one gun and not have to worry about it as a build my hunting skills.

 

[eric1115]

So a tikka is a light rifle now huh?

you guys are too much. lol.

Not all of us can be Alaskans. Where the men are manly and so are the women.

A wood stocked Rem 700 or Ruger M77 probably weighs a pound more. Not not a huge difference but also not nothing. A stock T3x will have more felt recoil than Grandpa's old wood stocked .30-06 for sure.

 

[EastHumboldt]

Step down to a 7-08, .243, or a 6.5 CM. All a lot more fun to shoot than a 30-06. All adequate for most North American big game.

 

[JMundy84]

Yes it would be factory ammo. If I do step down, would you suggest a re barrel? At the moment I really do want to master one gun and not have to worry about it as a build my hunting skills.

Since you have a tikka and plan on using factory ammo I would just buy a takeoff factory 6.5 creed barrel and spin it on, you can always keep your 06 barrel if you feel like you might want to put it back on later.

 

[eric1115]

Yes it would be factory ammo. If I do step down, would you suggest a re barrel? At the moment I really do want to master one gun and not have to worry about it as a build my hunting skills.

If you're open to rebarreling, you open up a couple options that give the best of all worlds (in my opinion), The more conventional one is 6CM. Shoot heavier more effective/efficient bullets than what's available in factory .243 loadings, but keep recoil down even below 6.5CM. Downside is barrel life is somewhat limited. If you shoot 500 rounds a year, you'll be rebarreling every 3-5years. Think of it as 25 cents' worth of barrel life per shot.

If you wanted an even better "shoot it a LOT for cheap and kill whatever you want in any state" option, a decent gunsmith can modify your bolt for another $100-200 to 6mm ARC bolt face. Shoots same bullets as 6CM a couple hundred FPS slower. Good to 600+ yards vs 800+ for the 6CM before you get below the velocity needed for reliable upset/terminal performance. Noticeably less recoil, and at least 2-3x barrel life. Good ammo can be found for under $1.50 per round pretty regularly vs $2.00-2.50 per round for the CM's or .243.

Add all that up, and if you shoot 5k rounds over the next 3-5 years costs ~$12k in ammo and barrels with a CM or similar, and $7500 (call it $8k for the rebarrel you're almost due for) with the ARC.

My view is that nobody has any business shooting game at further than 6mmARC will kill reliably unless you're getting well over 1k practice rounds. If you're putting that kind of round count on a fast 6mm you're replacing barrels fast enough that a .223 trainer pays for itself very quickly in ammo cost and barrel life. So a "one gun" setup for factory ammo screams 6mmARC.

 

[Wertherman]

If you're open to rebarreling, you open up a couple options that give the best of all worlds (in my opinion), The more conventional one is 6CM. Shoot heavier more effective/efficient bullets than what's available in factory .243 loadings, but keep recoil down even below 6.5CM. Downside is barrel life is somewhat limited. If you shoot 500 rounds a year, you'll be rebarreling every 3-5years. Think of it as 25 cents' worth of barrel life per shot.

If you wanted an even better "shoot it a LOT for cheap and kill whatever you want in any state" option, a decent gunsmith can modify your bolt for another $100-200 to 6mm ARC bolt face. Shoots same bullets as 6CM a couple hundred FPS slower. Good to 600+ yards vs 800+ for the 6CM before you get below the velocity needed for reliable upset/terminal performance. Noticeably less recoil, and at least 2-3x barrel life. Good ammo can be found for under $1.50 per round pretty regularly vs $2.00-2.50 per round for the CM's or .243.

Add all that up, and if you shoot 5k rounds over the next 3-5 years costs ~$12k in ammo and barrels with a CM or similar, and $7500 (call it $8k for the rebarrel you're almost due for) with the ARC.

My view is that nobody has any business shooting game at further than 6mmARC will kill reliably unless you're getting well over 1k practice rounds. If you're putting that kind of round count on a fast 6mm you're replacing barrels fast enough that a .223 trainer pays for itself very quickly in ammo cost and barrel life. So a "one gun" setup for factory ammo screams 6mmARC.

Thanks for the insight. I will start with a suppressor and limb-saver and go from there I know both of those would still be on the gun if I re-barrel. I think I would steer more toward 6.5cm or 243 just due to ammo availability and diversity of factory loads. I also would probably start with a factory take off barrel, want to put money into tags more than gear starting out.

 

[omicron1792]

Thanks for the insight. I will start with a suppressor and limb-saver and go from there I know both of those would still be on the gun if I re-barrel. I think I would steer more toward 6.5cm or 243 just due to ammo availability and diversity of factory loads.

If you don’t reload 243 not as appealing. Real benefit is with fast twist but factory ammo is generally geared toward slow twist. Will find a lot more modern bullet choices with 6cm over 243 with factory ammo.

If you reload fast twist 243 and 6cm no big difference.

 

[Wertherman]

If you don’t reload 243 not as appealing. Real benefit is with fast twist but factory ammo is generally geared toward slow twist. Will find a lot more modern bullet choices with 6cm over 243 with factory ammo.

If you reload fast twist 243 and 6cm no big difference.

Ok good to know, so it seems like custom barrel 6mm cm or 6mm arc or stay factory with the 6.5cm would be my best options.