Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters 30-06 inherent accuracy

Now I'm wondering if mine is marked 7.62 NATO. It isn't stored where I am now, and my memory may not have been accurate.

I believe you’re on to something there.

One of my .30-06 TCR83 Aristocrat barrels wouldn’t shoot worth do do. There was much tool chatter marking in the rifling. Even after a full course of Tubb fire lapping, improvement was only minimal.

Don’t now recall what possessed me to even try it. But, I found that fired cases would not re-enter the chamber if rotated even a quarter turn. So, I started firing all rounds with the headstamp oriented to 12 o’clock in the chamber. I also oriented cases the same way during each step in the reloading process (neck sized - not full length). Results, while unlikely to win matches, were much improved:


At 200 yards.

Potato...Tomato...what I find interesting is that a factory benchrest rifle is labelled with a cartridge that I don't exactly associate with gilt edge acccuracy. When I hear 7.62 NATO I think of FMJ's shot out of a chamber designed to digest anything and everything. Maybe someone at the Custom Shop had a sense of humor.

Here's one for sale;
https://www.gunsinternational.com/g...-7-62-nato--r21650-.cfm?gun_id=100970567

A good rifle, chambered to 7.62 Nato specs, will be capable of 1/2 moa accuracy, or better; this providing the chamber is straight and concentric, and the ammunition is the same. GD

I hold up my end.

...but would you "choose" a 7.62 NATO reamer for a rifle purpose built for accuracy (benchrest accuracy) like the 40XBR? BR is not my game, but for long range sling shooting I'm picking a 95 Palma, Obie or Bisley reamer and NOT a 7.62 NATO.

Could be wrong but I feel a throat with parallel sides and just a bit over bullet diameter seems to be the way to go no matter the cartridge.

...unless there's a chance it will have to digest corroded, dirty, dented or poorly spec'd ammo as is sometimes the case on the battlefield.

FWIW, I suspect Remington was using a match type chamber and the "7.62 NATO" label was just that...a poorly descriptive label.

Like I said before, I can't speak to the throat diameter, but I can tell you mine doesn't have a tight chamber neck. Fired brass comes out of it at .344" so it's larger than that.

Bernchrest accuracy is a little different and I have a tight neck reamer (334) specifically for that. I have another with a no-turn neck and a parallel throat for F/TR, an Obermeyer, and a generic Palma (there are a bunch of variations). I have two reamers with no throat and cut the throats separately. I have throaters which are .3080, 3083, 3085 and 309.
Back when DCRA shooters had to use issue ammunition, there were all sorts of theories as to what made the best shooting barrel. One of the favored barrels was made by Schulz&Larsen. The throat was a funnel which started at about .313. They shot as well as anything could with issue ammunition and shot very well with good handloads. They seemed to handle crooked ammo better than most other barrels would.
The best factory 308 I ever had was a Remington 700 Varmint. It shot well under 1/2 moa with 168 Sierras, and a solid 3 moa with IVI issue! A friend had one just like it but with a decidedly eccentric chamber; his shot 1.5 moa at best. Like I said, straightness and concentricity are the most important factors. GD

I've run into some M118 match ammo that had .309" diameter bullets.

Since we're already off topic...might as well go whole hog!

I'll see your Canucks and raise you a Palma! Remember when the Palma matches were not only shot with ammo provided by the host country, but also with rifles provided by the host country! One year the Palma Matches were shot with M14's!!! But at least it wasn't an equipment race and all competitors had to center up with more less the same accuracy. Trying to gain an equipment edge has always been part of human nature. The Brits weight sorted their Bob Jensen issued ammo. They won that year. Coincidence? Story goes that Boots started cutting tightbore .298's because the British RG was all over the map on diameter. ...and squeezing them a skosh more gave better accuracy.

That said...with the other lengths they went through with the XBR's (ie etching the receiver instead of roll stamping it to avoid distortion) it's a mystery to me why Remington would chamber their factory BR rifle with a NATO reamer.

There's always the Imperial Meeting at Bisley for those that want to compete with issued 7.62 ammo and oversized chamber specifications...

30/06 rifle also have chamber and throat dimensions which are all over the map, but again, as long as the chamber and throat are straight and concentric, all will perform well. The most accurate 30/06 hunting rifle I ever owned had a very long tapered throat.
It is obvious that ammunition plays a major part and I mentioned the use of issued ammo only to illustrate that the ammo could, in fact, negate any rifle building efforts. With good ammunition, one could see some improvements but they were surprisingly minor. I feel that neck diameter, for instance, is pretty well meaningless.
The real bottom line, at least for this discussion is: 308's will shooter better than 30/06's, if all else is equal. GD

Understood and agreed with.

"30/06 rifle also have chamber and throat dimensions which are all over the map..."

Begs the question as to which 30 caliber cartridges are locked on to precise tolerances across manufacturer(s) today? I imagine the 30TC was, but it didn't make it commercially...

These two questions/statements speak to the genius of the 6.5 Creedmoor, As initially envisioned by DeMille and Emary, the creedmoor chamber was designed to shoot accurately with long match bullets for Highpower Rifle. Ammo matched the throating and loads were printed on the box.

Two examples of mismatch; I have a Winchester M70 Match Rifle. It still wears the 30-06 factory barrel. It appears to be throated for M72 Match ammo which is a bit long. When I fired it with Federal 30-06 Gold Medal Match it grouped terrible. Then I started playing with seating depths. FGMM at the time was seated very deep. I pulled and reseated the 168 Sierras closer to the lands and then I started getting bugholes.

I had the same experience with Hornady Precision Hunter in 30-06 Due to a shortage of reloading time, I bought off the rack (and paid a pretty penny) with the thought that the HPH with 178 ELD's were my best bet. Turns out those are seated way deep and were jumping too far in my 30-06 hunting rifle. Grouped terrible...like 4 to 6 inches terrible. I'm not pulling and reseating. I'm going to suck it up and plan better to make the time to reload well before the next hunt.

Are you sure there wasn't some other type of incompatibility besides jump? I've shot a very large number of good groups with .308" bullets jumping at or near 1/8" in several rifles.

Careful that you don't get vaccinated (or worse!).

Not that end.

Pureblood here too.