Another November deer hunting season is here with cold weather, no snow to start with and a new rifle along with 30.06 loads to test. I mounted a Leatherwood ART 2.5-10×44 scope to on a Remington model 783 chambered in the classic 30.06 round. Northern Michigan white tail deer are an exciting game animal to hunt and require time in the woods to pattern them. I took some photos of the trees we sit in showing the tight shooting opportunities for taking a Michigan white tail.
This stand is for south west winds 
This stand is for north east winds 
The Remington 783 is very light with a 24″ barrel and composit stock this rifle was accurate right out of the box, during range evaluation. I shot some 30.06 M1 Garand nation match 168 grain ammo and was suprised at how well it grouped. With some load work and a switch to IMR 4064 this Remington 783 came alive and started drilling rounds down range! Five shots in one ragged hole now thats better. I mounted a Leatherwood ART scope that will dial down to 2.5 power for these tight shots allowing a big field of view for locating game. One mention about the cross fire trigger on the 783 is that it feels very crisp, breaks like a glass rod and is adjustable down to 2.5LB of pull.
Before the season I worked up a load suggested by a forum member on http://www.longrangehunting.com. I have never found a load to group so good in two different rifles ( one a Winchester mod. 70 and this Remington 783)
** THIS LOAD IS SAFE IN THIS RIFLE** REDUCE POWDER CHARGE BY 10% AND WORK UP SLOWLY OBSERVING PRESSURE SIGNS**
This is a five shot group at 100 yards with 150 grain sierra pro hunter bullet sitting on top of 51.2 grains of IMR 4064, ignited with CCI BR2 primers.
I have reviewed the optics and rifle in past blogs so I wont rehash the topic, however this rifle is chambered in 30.06 and with an estimated 3000fps load this 150 grain pro hunter bullet should nail a Michigan white tail “DRT” ( dead right there).
This doe was taken with the 783 on a cold morning and the recovered bullet shows excellent expansion dumping all the energy into the deer dropping it right in her tracks.
Two different photos showing bullet blow up 
With cold weather and snow falling down during an early morning hunts the warm cottage and hot lunch was an inviting break. Thawing out the rifles and ourselves became a daily routine.
Rifles hunted with were a 6.5 Grendle AR15 platform and the Remington 783 in 30.06 
If you are looking for a economical rifle that functions flawlessly along with an excellent trigger the Remington 783 is a great deal. Accuracy was sub MOA with both the .243 and 30.06 I tested, along with fantastic Leatherwood HI-Lux optics ( 4-16×50 uni-dial & 2.5-10×44 ART ). This hunting package is hard to beat and inviting since you don’t need to invest $900 to build it.
I hope you filled your tags with venison this season and had a very Happy Thanksgiving sharing good times with friends and family.
Until next month get outdoors and burn some powder!
Right On Dead On All The Time
knowyourzero 