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I searched 30-06 loads in both of my old manuals Speer and Hornady. These books are both probably 30 years old right now or more. The Hornady had no loads listed with magnum primers only standard.

BUT the Speer manual was a different story. About half the loads in ever bullet weight list the possible use of magnum primers.

The important part of that information is to make it plausible that about any manufacture may have used either standard or magnum primers. Not that we KNOW they did or didn't just that it is plausible. ALLOWING for the possibility that one shell or a few shells of may be a different brand was mixed in with our characters bag of ammunition. MOST current bolt action rifles do not use removable box magazines. ONE OR TWO do. The newer current production Savage 110 something or other comes to mind but I don't think that is available in 30-06, only 223 which is a poor choice for multiple use applications including big or dangerous game.

The comment "bag of ammunition" is what sent me out that direction to explain why he is not using a detachable magazine. If our character used an M1 Garand he could be carrying a belt of magazine pouches with CLIPS of ammunition with 7 rounds in each.

Any way, meaning it could be plausible to have a hard primer combine with a rifle in the habit of giving light strikes any way, to give a dented primer that did not fire yet it does on the rest of the ammunition used in it.

This is going quite a long way in to the lands of "not likely" and the "never seen 'em" tribes. But it is the direction I'd look if someone brought that situation to me to help him figure out how to fix it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jack Ryan (Post 4340999)

The comment "bag of ammunition" is what sent me out that direction to explain why he is not using a detachable magazine. If our character used an M1 Garand he could be carrying a belt of magazine pouches with CLIPS of ammunition with 7 rounds in each.

Any way, meaning it could be plausible to have a hard primer combine with a rifle in the habit of giving light strikes any way, to give a dented primer that did not fire yet it does on the rest of the ammunition used in it.

This is going quite a long way in to the lands of "not likely" and the "never seen 'em" tribes. But it is the direction I'd look if someone brought that situation to me to help him figure out how to fix it.

Thank you for that fountain of information, Jack. I believe I could work something around the M1 Garand providing the en bloc clips could slot a variant brand from a mixed bag of ammunition. That way, I could follow up with the misfire and have a plausible reason behind the dented primer. I may even use the "M1 thumb" lore with regards to the somewhat novice secondary character. Though as I understand, that tends to only happen when you're cleaning the rifle.

Thanks again for going the extra mile, much obliged.

It happens mostly when you load the rifle and release the bolt after loading the magazine and don't get your thumb out of the way fast enough. You know real authors do years of research about the subjects they write about, they don't just go on a message board and ask questions from people who may or may not know what they are talking about. That is not aimed at Jack Ryan but there are plenty of people on message boards who if they do not know something they will guess and just make it up. You are not doing research, you are doing a shortcut, putting together bits and pieces of things you do not understand told to you by others. How can you expect to write about things you don't even understand and end up with something worth while?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Roeyourboat (Post 4341015)

You can use any 30-06 ammunition in those enblocks. I use the flat nose soft points designed for a tube magazine in a lever action in mine to hunt deer and they function perfectly. The only problem with the Garand is modern ammunition verses surplus. It is designed originally to use the lower pressure surplus ammunition but it is not uncommon to use various after market gas plugs to adapt to various power levels of ammunition. I use the enlarged port gas plug from Garandgear.com in mine to shoot ALL types of ammunition with out damage to my rifles.

https://www.garandgear.com/ported-gas-plug.html

Quote:

Originally Posted by Roeyourboat (Post 4341015)

Any one with a Garand rifle who had NEVER had at least a little case of Garand Thumb has not shot it very much. Once is usually enough though. I can tell you, it hurts.

That's why it is so funny when SOMEONE ELSE does it. LOL

That is a fact OT is telling you. People on the internet will fill you full of manure just for laughs sometimes.

It looks like you are in Scotland and it may be a problem to shoot there but I think there are clubs there. You could find a place to shoot a little bit I be and that is a LOT OF FUN if you write books or not. Or you could fly over here and hunt/shoot a deer with mine. Get some first hand experience in the wild Indiana. (that's sarcasm). Indiana ain't that wild.

https://countrysportscotland.com/deer-stalkinghunting/

Looking at their web page, I see where you came up with your choice of game animals.

That terrain looks more like western USA to me than east of the Mississippi, just from a quick 2 minute glance through their web page. There isn't going to be a list of game animals like that wandering the western USA in the next 100 years even if humans were wiped off the planet today.

Write what you know or at least as close to it as you can. I'd set that location in Northern Scotland if I were you. The same weapons we have been discussing are probably pretty common there thanks to the WWII lend lease program between out countries. I'd read that book regardless of either location just the same.

Scotland has a long hunting heritage for both big and small game. You may wan to try and locate a Game Keeper on one of the large estates and pick his brain, perhaps learn to shoot some firearms.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Roeyourboat (Post 4340955)

Greetings, folks! I'm currently writing up the first draft of a fictional book and i'm in need of your expertise. I've spent several months researching various aspects of the story whereby I have no experience, and with regards to hunting, I'm at some loss. If anyone knowledgeable enough could help answer some of my questions, I'd sure appreciate it.A part of the story is set somewhere in the great outdoors of America, this area is home to Roe, Fallow, Red deer, and bears. The deer are predominantly the chosen diet of the hunters and my questions revolve around them. A good place to start would be:

How many days/weeks could you live off a killed adult male Roe? Assuming you carry out all the required prep of the meat after the fact?

Any tips or links on how to appropriately store your kill? Assuming that you have very little access to modern tools.

Another question I'm indecisive on is what calibre rifle weapon is best for shooting deer and bear? It should be understood that the hunters only have 1 weapon and so being at disadvantage isn't necessarily a bad thing, so long as they could hunt deer successfully and defend against a bear maul.

I have an instance where the rifle misfires, though the primer is dented. Can anyone technically explain why that could happen? Excluding the rifle being cleaned properly.

On average, how long might it take, in terms of shots fired, for a person to begin to go deaf if they didn't use any ear protection? I understand that people generally follow strict safety precautions but somewhere in the ball park would be good as an educated guess.

I have more questions but I'll leave these up for now. Again, I appreciate any wisdom this community may have around these questions. Cheers!

For the proper aging process: After gutting...use a block an tackle to suspend a skin on gutted deer from a rear leg hook in the air, in a room that is under 50 degrees(?) fahrenheit for a certain amount of days (four or five?)

I would tend to say...using 6.5 caliber premium bullets on up to the 375 range is suitable for deer and bear; though a 375 is overkill for deer, but not for big antelope in Africa --- Though, shoot what you can shoot best. I use a 30-06 SAKO bolt rifle for deer or bear and a custom Belgium Mauser bolt rifle, in 338 Winchester magnum for bear or elk.

It's been said..."that a click instead of a bang is the loudest sound in the woods." One reason could be excess oil inside the bolt, where the oil would seep into a primer from the bolt and compromise detonation. Another primer failure would be excess oil inside the bolt in a cold climate, where the oil would make the firing pin sluggish. Try removing all oil from the inside of the bolt, before you go hunting again.

One shot --- without hearing protection --- can damage a person's hearing. That's why I use amplified hearing protection headphones, while on most of my small and big game hunting jaunts. The muffs amplify hearing up to 125%, with a hearing cutoff, during a muzzle blast, from a firearm.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Roeyourboat (Post 4341015)

May I suggest not using a M1 Garand for deer, unless you use hard primers, on soft or hollow point ammo --- Because of the chance of a slam fire, especially by sending the bolt into battery fast enough, while using single shot and not a full or partially loaded magazine.