Leupold – The ExhaustNotes Blog

By Joe Berk

I had my .30 06 Weatherby out last weekend. It was the first time I fired this rifle in maybe 35 years. I bought it at the Weatherby plant in South Gate, California, back when they used to let you in the warehouse to select the wood you wanted.

Fancy walnut and deep, deep bluing. I think I paid something around $300 for this rifle, new, in the 1980s. I’ll never sell it.

When I first shot this rifle in the mid-1980s, it didn’t group very well with my favorite .30 06 load (a 130-grain Hornady jacketed softpoint bullet and a max load of IMR 4320). That was the load I used in my Ruger No. 1 chasing jackrabbits in west Texas. Other things intervened to capture my attention, and I never got around to finding a load for this rifle.

Fast forward several decades, and for this outing I grabbed what was available in the ammo locker: A box of 168-grain Speer jacketed hollow point boat tail bullets (my Garand load), another box with Remington 180-grain jacketed soft point bullets (which are unfortunately no longer available), and a third box with 150-grain Hornady jacketed soft point bullets and 48.0 grains of IMR 4320 (which is also no longer available). What I learned on this most recent outing is that my Weatherby really likes the 180-grain Remington bullets and 48.0 grains of IMR 4064. It did acceptably well (for hunting purposes) with the other two loads, but that 180-grain Remington bullet and IMR 4064 is what answers the mail for me. It’s one of the places where accuracy lives in this rifle.

Before I left the house, I ran an oiled patch down the bore because as I said above the rifle hadn’t been shot in literally decades. When I first set up on the range, the rifle was throwing shots all over the place for the first few rounds. Then, either I or the rifle (or both of us) settled down and the Weatherby started grouping. Most of the other groups were in the 1.2-inch to 2.1-inch range (which is good enough for hunting deer and pigs), but the rifle really liked that 180-grain load. I’m talking sub-minute-of-angle. I couldn’t do this with every group, but it tells me the rifle will do its job (if I do mine).

When assessing a hunting rifle’s accuracy, I typically shoot 3-shot groups at 100 yards off the bench. Some folks like to shoot 5-shot groups, but it’s pretty hard to get the animals to sit still for 5 shots.

Two shots through the same hole, and one a half inch away. I wish I could do this every time. The rifle is way more accurate than I am.

I was pleased with how the rifle performed, and I’ll probably start bringing it to the range more often.

A 12X, fixed-power Leupold scope with target knob adjustments and a sunshade. This is a nice setup.

I originally set up the 12X Leupold scope and this rifle for shooting in the standing position, so the scope sits high on the rifle. When I bought the rifle, I thought I would shoot metallic silhouette with it, but I never did. With the scope as high as it is, it was awkward shooting from the bench. That probably had something to do with the other groups opening up a bit, but I’m not complaining.

I wish Remington still sold bullets separately, but hey, life goes on. I have two boxes of the Remington bullets left, and when they’re gone, they’re gone. I also have a couple of boxes of Speer 180-grain jacketed bullets, and when I’ve run through my stash of Remington 180 bullets, I’ll try the Speers next. Speer still makes those. There are a few other loads I’m going to try, too. I’ll keep you posted.

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