When I started experimenting with cast bullets in .30-06, I was quite young and I didn't have my own rifle in that caliber at the time. My Dad was a very patient man and he recognized my interest. He allowed me to take one of his rifles to use for load development.
I found that this rifle was a tack driver with darn near anything. My first experiments used a Lyman 311312 over small loads of Unique, and later medium loads of IMR-4227, as well as IMR-4895.
Dad arrived in Alaska in 1963 working with the State of Alaska Highway Department. He brought this rifle with him.
It was built from an M1903A3 barrelled action from the then-DCM, from a gunsmith named Reed Thacker. Thacker cut and rewelded the bolt so it would clear a scope, and stocked it with what you see in the photo. Dad used this rifle to take a large number of moose and caribou over many years. During the time he worked on the Susitna River Bridge in the 1960s, he told me that he got good enough with this rifle that he could cover a 200 yard 3 shot group with a dime.
50 years later, I found the same gravel pit that my Dad originally used to sight this rifle in with.
To this day, this rifle shoots cloverleafs. I don't take it out to the range much, but when I do it makes me think of Dad and puts a smile on my face.
I don't normally do this kind of thing, but this is Dad's Rifle.
Please excuse the ugly slipon recoil pad--it's mine.