Something that every busy hunter today needs is at least one retired buddy who loves to shoot. Thanks to my good friend Mike Larsen who is retired from a 30-plus year career at Federal Cartridge, my T/C ICON .30-06 is ready for the Mission Dall Sheep hunt that’s almost here.
Mike heads to the rifle range at least twice a week, so early in the summer he agreed to take the ought-six with him for the critical break-in and load testing that I just wasn’t going to have the time to do. And what a job he did.
The gun has well over 300 rounds through it now. Careful cleaning at regular intervals has broken in the barrel wonderfully. Copper doesn’t start showing up until a box and a half of shooting now, and then only minimally.
Mike tested at least 20 rounds each of every 150- and 165-grain load that Federal makes, some as many as 40 rounds. He recorded in a notebook every shot taken, down to wind conditions and how the trigger squeeze “felt” to him. This gun has been tested and documented thoroughly.
In a nutshell, it’s a shooter. The most amazing thing continues to be that consistent point of impact I wrote about earlier. With all loads tested, it never moved more than an inch in any direction from the original load with which it was sighted in.
I got to shoot the rifle for two range sessions myself last week and performed a last sight-in check for the trip. It’s zeroed at 2 ½ inches high at 100 yards with 165-grain Federal factory-loaded Trophy Bonded Tip bullets. I’ll shoot it one more time once we’re at elevation to see if the airlines manage to knock it off and to resight to compensate for the thinner air.
All of Mike’s shooting and recordkeeping have me completely confident in this rifle. I can’t wait to use it for what we built it for!
Shoot straight –
Bill Miller
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