Griffin and Howe "bull gun"

[CalFed]

A few years back I glommed an old 30.06 Griffin and Howe "bull gun". It was in pretty good shape and had a 28" heavy bull barrel. Is 30.06 pretty well dead as a target round?

The rifle is set up for one of the old long tube, external adjustment scopes and I would like to give it a whirl at long range.

 

[DGP4]

That is one cool rifle! With modern bullets and powders I don't see why that old gal couldn't shoot out to 1000 yards accurately. She might surprise you! BTW, I think Leatherman makes replicas of the old Unertls that rifle has bases for or you can get a cantilever picatinny rail that mounts to the rear base if you want to use a modern optic.

 

[CalFed]

Thanks, DGP4

I mounted an old Fecker scope on the G&H and shot it a bit yesterday.

The scope was of unknown magnification and was somewhat cloudy. I also had no luck adjusting the parallax, so the image was a bit blurry. Despite that, the rifle shot a hair over 1MOA using Federal GMM.

I used some cheap PRVI to get on paper, and then shot a 5 round group with 168 gr Federal GMM at 100 yards.

 

[topclass2017]

Great rifle, a real score with plenty of reloading upside

 

[David Milisock]

A few years back I glommed an old 30.06 Griffin and Howe "bull gun". It was in pretty good shape and had a 28" heavy bull barrel. Is 30.06 pretty well dead as a target round?

The rifle is set up for one of the old long tube, external adjustment scopes and I would like to give it a whirl at long range.

There's a video on YouTube of a rifleman making 2,800 yard hits with an 06.

 

[Hal]

Cal
Thanks for sharing pictures of a neat old rifle. On adjusting the parrallax, you know to loosen the front "lock ring" than adjust the parrallax and retighten the front ring.

Hal

 

[Phil McGrath]

Here is a updated load of a classic, 54.0 IMR 4350 under a 185 Berger hybrid 3.34 coal. The original used a 190 SMK, I’ve used both loads in my 03a1 @1k.

 

[Kurz]

Beautiful, classic rifle!

Here are some published accuracy loads:

Data

In the previous articles, use of medium-fast to medium burn speed powders was very prevalent. Here however, we land in the realm of medium-slow powders. IMR4350 and H-4350 powders rule the roost with H-4831 working very well with heavy bullets. Here we go:

· 180 gr. Sierra MatchKing, 56.0 gr. of IMR4350 or H-4350, Civilian Match Brass, Winchester LR or Federal 210/210GM Primer

· 185 gr. Lapua D46 FMJBT, 54.0 gr. of IMR4350 or H-4350, Civilian Match Brass, Winchester LR or Federal 210/210GM Primer

· 190 gr. Sierra MatchKing, 53.0 gr. of IMR4350 or H-4350, Civilian Match Brass, Winchester LR or Federal 210/210GM Primer

· 200gr. Sierra MatchKing, 52.0 gr. of IMR4350 or H-4350, Civilian Match Brass, Winchester LR or Federal 210/210GM Primer

The loads above are top-notch for 500 to 600 yard shooting. The 200 grain load really shines on a bad wind/mirage day and at the 1000 yard targets. With the 1000 yard line in mind, the following loads are excellent:

· 190 gr. Sierra MatchKing, 55.0 gr. of IMR4350, Civilian Match Brass, Winchester LR or Federal 210/210GM Primer

· 200gr. Sierra MatchKing, 58.0 gr. of H-4831, Civilian Match Brass, Winchester LR or Federal 210/210GM Primer

The heavy loads will rock you with a bit of recoil but, if you're shooting jacket is padded properly and your rifle stock length is correct for you, thumbs-up and go get 'em, Tiger!!! These loads are proven performers, time and again.

Side Note - I haven't used Accurate's 4350 in the 4350 loads above but, I'll bet you that it will work like a champ too. Check their load data for appropriate powder charges.

One or more of the loads referenced above will provide consistent, reliable and supremely accurate ammunition for your match-prepped bolt-action rifle. Have fun and good shooting!

http://www.provenreloads-handloads....-springfield-part-3-long-distance-rifle-loads

We have a huge selection of .30 caliber bullets these days, many new VLDs for longer range targets. Just be sure to check the bullets against the rifle's twist rate.

I started out using the 190 gr. VLDs but have since backed down to the much better 180 gr. VLD/Match bullets. I have NOT used any solids in any of the vintage rifles due to the lesser quality barrel steel available at that time.

Enjoy!

 

[CharlieNC]

Until a few years ago when he quit shooting Herman Salazar was still quite competitive with his favorite 30-06. Sadly his web with much great info was dropped as well. Maybe someone has some of that info they could share.

 

[jrh84]

Our 600 yard club (CIHPRS @ Atterbury) record of 200-15x was set with a .30-06 last year. The old girl ain't dead yet.

 

[Evlshnngns]

Thats a neat rifle, thanks for sharing a pic. I would check the twist rate with the cleaning rod method and go from there.

 

[Kurz]

Until a few years ago when he quit shooting Herman Salazar was still quite competitive with his favorite 30-06. Sadly his web with much great info was dropped as well. Maybe someone has some of that info they could share.

Here's the link to the thread with his 4 years of "The Rifleman's Journal'.:

https://forum.accurateshooter.com/threads/the-riflemans-journal-archived.3971694/

Enjoy!

 

[CalFed]

Great rifle, a real score with plenty of reloading upside

Thanks, topclass. I intend to do some load development on this rifle.

 

[CalFed]

There's a video on YouTube of a rifleman making 2,800 yard hits with an 06.

Appreciate the vid!

 

[CalFed]

Cal
Thanks for sharing pictures of a neat old rifle. On adjusting the parrallax, you know to loosen the front "lock ring" than adjust the parrallax and retighten the front ring.

Hal

Thanks, Hal.

This scope is a Fecker, which has a wierd parallax adjustment ring. It is in the center of the tube, rather than at the the front. I'm still trying to figure it out.

 

[CalFed]

Here is a updated load of a classic, 54.0 IMR 4350 under a 185 Berger hybrid 3.34 coal. The original used a 190 SMK, I’ve used both loads in my 03a1 @1k.

Thanks, Phil!

 

[CalFed]

Beautiful, classic rifle!

Here are some published accuracy loads:

Thanks for the load data!

 

[CalFed]

Thats a neat rifle, thanks for sharing a pic. I would check the twist rate with the cleaning rod method and go from there.

I should probably do that. I was wondering what the best bullet weight would be and probably best way to find out starts with knowing the twist rate.

 

[CalFed]

Here's the link to the thread with his 4 years of "The Rifleman's Journal'.:

https://forum.accurateshooter.com/threads/the-riflemans-journal-archived.3971694/

Enjoy!

Excellent articles! Many thanks.