The Venerable 30-06 and 1 Gun To Hunt N. America?

[jonp]

I've been seeing a resurgence of articles praising the 30-06 as of late.

Of course growing up, my father had a Rem 742 Woodsman (30-06) and always said how it was top dog, etc.

I know the 30-06 has a long history in America and more game than imaginable has been taken with it. With the choice in projectiles from 110gn to 220gn, is the 30-06 a 1 gun for all of North America?

I'm interested to hear what everyone thinks.

Cheers,
Chris

Grandfather had a 742 Woodsmaster in .308 which was handed down to me. Sub MOA with 110gr Silvertips of all things.

I have no problem hunting anything from woodchucks to moose and have with the .308.

[murf205]

Attachment 239048Attachment 239049I bought this 30-06 FN Mauser with a Wards marked barrel from a friend whose wife said that there would be NO guns in HER house. He said he HAD to have $125 for it so I bit the bullet and handed over the money(LOL). The stock had the most hideous cheek piece and comb you could imagine but a bit of rasping and a lot of Tru Oil later it is very acceptable. It had a hairline crack just in front of the trigger group cut out inside so I put 2 brass screws in to reinforce the stock before I refinished the wood. My intentions were to rebarrel it to a 35 Whelen but it shoots 220gr Nosler partitions into an inch at 2500 fps and It also shoots 165 Noslers into the same group as the 220's at 100 yds. I think I'll just leave it alone and enjoy. Ya' gotta love those 30-06's.

[murf205]

The 06 is the supreme being for hunting in north america and most other places as well except for the big dangerous game species for the intended OP. It will even work on those species from blind or stalk. Though, I would want something more powerful for most of the big dangerous game species if I had to go into thick brush for possible wounded big dangerous game.

As an slight off topic, but still somewhat relevant to other extenuating reasons for something more powerful when it comes to the bigger game species, I wonder if the BAR or BLR or something similar would handle the 375 Ruger. There are some considerations something like that would have over the double rifle.

I have a 338-06 that JES rebored for me and it is a little powerhouse, 250gr Hornady's at 2450fps and it is as reliable as the sunrise and shoots a LOT better than it did as an 06. I have often thought about finding a used 300 Win BAR and have JES rebore it to a 358 Norma Mag. Real power, but other things got in the way.

[Arisaka99]

Nyuknyuknyuk you forgot the 8mm-06......

I already have a 7.7-06..

Trying to get to where I can buy ammo off the shelf!

[HangFireW8]

Attachment 239048Attachment 239049I bought this 30-06 FN Mauser with a Wards marked barrel from a friend whose wife said that there would be NO guns in HER house. He said he HAD to have $125 for it so I bit the bullet and handed over the money(LOL). The stock had the most hideous cheek piece and comb you could imagine but a bit of rasping and a lot of Tru Oil later it is very acceptable. It had a hairline crack just in front of the trigger group cut out inside so I put 2 brass screws in to reinforce the stock before I refinished the wood. My intentions were to rebarrel it to a 35 Whelen but it shoots 220gr Nosler partitions into an inch at 2500 fps and It also shoots 165 Noslers into the same group as the 220's at 100 yds. I think I'll just leave it alone and enjoy. Ya' gotta love those 30-06's.

Nice rifle, murf!

If you intend to shoot cast in it, check the bore diameter. Some of the older FN'S are a perfect 0.310" across the grooves.

[tazman]

Attachment 239048Attachment 239049I bought this 30-06 FN Mauser with a Wards marked barrel from a friend whose wife said that there would be NO guns in HER house. He said he HAD to have $125 for it so I bit the bullet and handed over the money(LOL). The stock had the most hideous cheek piece and comb you could imagine but a bit of rasping and a lot of Tru Oil later it is very acceptable. It had a hairline crack just in front of the trigger group cut out inside so I put 2 brass screws in to reinforce the stock before I refinished the wood. My intentions were to rebarrel it to a 35 Whelen but it shoots 220gr Nosler partitions into an inch at 2500 fps and It also shoots 165 Noslers into the same group as the 220's at 100 yds. I think I'll just leave it alone and enjoy. Ya' gotta love those 30-06's.

You so very seldom find a rifle that will put different bullet weights into the same group. Whenever you happen across one you need to keep it.
Among all the rifles I own, I only have one rifle that will do that. It is an older Remington 760 pump in 30-06. It will put nearly anything into the same 2 inch group at 100 yards.
With the majority of my other rifles, when you change bullet weights, the impact point will move, sometimes as much as 5 inches at 100 yards.

[Hick]

Lots of trees and keystrokes have been wasted trying to explain why another caliber is better than the 30-06. It was my first and only center fire for a long time. I find it very interesting and impressive how many things they got right 100+ years ago when it comes to firearm technology.

The 100+ years technology is even more impressive when you look at how designers in different countries worked to get the best design. The original Springfield 30-06 was developed by improving the Mauser design (The US paid royalties to Mauser for both the cartridge design and the 1903 rifle-- which uses many features of the 1898 Mauser). The 30-06 is a lengthened version of the Mauser 7.65, changed to 30 caliber.

[murf205]

You so very seldom find a rifle that will put different bullet weights into the same group. Whenever you happen across one you need to keep it.
Among all the rifles I own, I only have one rifle that will do that. It is an older Remington 760 pump in 30-06. It will put nearly anything into the same 2 inch group at 100 yards.
With the majority of my other rifles, when you change bullet weights, the impact point will move, sometimes as much as 5 inches at 100 yards.

I am fortunate indeed to have a rifle that will do that. I have thought about putting a set of NECG sights on it in the proper position. If you look closely at the pic, you will see that the rear sight is jambed up against the front of the receiver ring. Go figure.

[M-Tecs]

I've been seeing a resurgence of articles praising the 30-06 as of late.

Of course growing up, my father had a Rem 742 Woodsman (30-06) and always said how it was top dog, etc.

I know the 30-06 has a long history in America and more game than imaginable has been taken with it. With the choice in projectiles from 110gn to 220gn, is the 30-06 a 1 gun for all of North America?

I'm interested to hear what everyone thinks.

Cheers,
Chris

I love the 30-06

Different view here https://www.americanhunter.org/artic...y-odADoS9nLVyA

[Paul B]

Nice rifle, murf!

If you intend to shoot cast in it, check the bore diameter. Some of the older FN'S are a perfect 0.310" across the grooves.

OK, let's understand one thing. That rifle was built on a commercial FN Mauser action and it would not surprise me if the barrel was by High Standard. The barrel will have the proper .308" groove diameter. If it originally had a cheekpiece it was probably their deluxe version. I'll admit I'm not all that familiar with the Ward's vern FN rifles as I have seen only one but Sears also sold them as the models 50 and 51. The M50 was plain Jane as hell and the 51 had checkering and IIRC a cheekpiece that was not too obnoxious. I have about 5 of the M50s, one was a .270 and the other 4 were 30-06. The .270 was rebarreled to 7x57 Mauser and restocked in a European style stock similar to the current Winchester M70 Featherweights. The reason? The first M50s had the notch cut for the rear sight smack dab on top of the chamber. Having a chamber wall that thin where 60 some odd thousands pounds of pressure would be made me a touch nervous.
BTW, nice job on that Wards rifle. When I saw the picture I thought is was one of the M50s.

I apologize for getting so far off thread but yes I'm a big fan of the 30-06. I don't hunt deer anymore but go for an elk hunt on a landowner tag every year that I can swing it. I just go for a cow hunt as all I'm after is the meat. The rifle I usually take is a commercial Oberndorf Mauser custom in .35 Whelen. My back up rifle is a commercial FN Mauser in 30-06 custom. It was originally built to shoot cast bullets so has a 24" barrel with a non-standard 1 in 12" twist. Kind of a strange story behind that rifle. I'd gotten a good deal on the FN for $100 but the barrel was bad. It had the worst pits in the barrel that I'd ever seen. A friend who did gunsmithing as a hobby said he had a 30-06 barrel, 1 in 12" twist he's sell me for $100 and put it on the gun for me. I said OK. He said he had a stock he'd throw in for free as while it was a beautiful piece of wood it has worm holes and he didn't to put it on his rifle. He said he'd fill the holes. Long story short the gun wouldn't shot worth spit. I had to re-bed that rifle three times myself but it still was no good. I the bedded it back into the original stock which I still had and still no go. Two things came about that finally made a difference. One is I got a sweet deal on a McMillan stock and two, I went to a 165 gr. bullet instead of the 180 gr. I'd been using. Apparently this rifle doesn't like bullets weighing more than 165 gr. I worked up a load with the 165 gr. Nosler Accubond to a hair under 2900 FPS with W760. Groups averaged .75" for three shots. On my elk hunt five years ago I took my pet .35 Whelen and that 30-06 for back up. The day before the hunt I was at the Whittington Center at Raton New Mexico checking the sights on the .35 and 06. The scope on the .35 went toes up so I did the hunt with the 06 and that 165 gr. Accubond bullet. About the first two ours of the hunt we jumped a small herd of cow elk and I got a shot at one hitting her in the short ribs . She ran about 35 yards, collapsed and it took a finishing shot to end her suffering. The bullet went from where it hit and angled up into the left lung totally destroying it. The bullet did not exit and we never found it. Probably was in the mess of that left lung.

To be honest, while I would hate like hell to have to give up my .35 Whelen and have to go with only one rifle, I'll admit that it would be a 30-06 that I'd keep. Frankly, I have booked for an elk hunt this coming December. It will most likely be my last one as I'll be 81 years old. After that it's gonna just be a lot of range time and home cast bullets.
Paul B.

[NWPilgrim]

I love the 30-06

Different view here https://www.americanhunter.org/artic...y-odADoS9nLVyA

The article makes good points about a new generation of cartridges such as the Creedmores, but the title is a bit of hyperbole in that he explains it is not dead but no longer the reigning king. I don’t know about that either.

Sure lighter recoiling and high ballistic coefficient and sectional density bullets make the 6/6.5 cartridges appealing especially at the bench. But in the field I can’t really believe the ‘06 has too much recoil. It is still superbly versatile and more so with modern bullets.

That FN Mauser is still an excellent rifle for the field. I just bought a new .30-06 to replace my 1935 Savage .30-06. And I know a few other younger hunters whole bought a .30-06 as their new main rifle. There are still likely more rifle models chambered in .30-06 than any other cartridge. Ammo sales can be misleading in the high volume shooters will favor lighter recoiling calibers but the sheer number of users may still favor the .30-06 though in lower round counts per session or hunt.

If any popular cartridge are feeling the heat of replacement competition I bet it is more like the .243, .22-250, and .270.

I bet your FN Mauser is still a valued hunting rifle 100 years from now and many newer cartridges are gone in 50 years.

[murf205]

Oh it had a cheek piece alright. It was a treacherous abomination. The stock had a cut out for a rear sight like the early model 70 Winchesters but the rear sight was mounted on top of the barrel. ?? A bit of Accraglas solved the sight cut out problem and a saw and rasp solved the cheek piece problem. If it is indeed a High Standard barrel, they did a good job on it. I am glad I decided to shoot the rifle before un screwing the barrel to build another caliber. After years of trading and shooting other calibers, this is the only '06 I own.

[dbarry1]

The more you read, study, and shoot, the more you come back to the '06. For what it does well across a broad range of tasks and for as long as it's been doing it, it's still the best.

Things that are "improved" on the '06 like the .270 are still very similar and give up a lot of versatility to gain a small niche advantage in my opinion. Big .30 magnums require a lot more powder and recoil to gain slight advantages on it. There really is a reason why the .30-06 is the biggest seller, it's simply best all around.

This pretty much sums it up. +1

[brass410]

I have hunted prarie dogs to moose with my old 30-06 (Enfield) and recently aquired a model 70 its nice but the enfields more my style as Larry said earlier if I need more power I'll just get out the Brno in 375 H&H (you wouldn't believe how fast it stops a charging bull red squirrel at 25 yards)

[trapper9260]

The Rem 7600 30-06 is the first rifle I bought .It is used with a Charles Daily scope was put on who had sold to the gun shop years ago in the mid 80's I had check what a new one was at that time and for me to get that one as is with the scope already on it and sling and a box of ammo was just a few dollars over what a new one was. I ask the one at the gun shop what was wrong with the gun he said the owner. From the first time I try it ,It was dead on. I still have it and will not part from it. But do have 308 and 30-30 use the same cast in most of them.I found that of interest is that so many other rounds are base off the 30-06. beside what was stated where it was base off of. I have 22-250 also ,each have its own reason.

[PhotoDominant]

.223 and .243 aren't going away at all. Based on recoil for small shooters, and reduced cost of ammunition. Stick it in the hands of a 90 pound 16 year old and you wont have to worry about scope eye, recoil, or anything other then tracking deer long distance.

However the calibers that actually have earned their place are 30-06, 8x57, and .308 Winchester. They were made right and work. Sure they may not always work BEST with modern super bullets. But they do work.

Besides when can you find fmj for your .243?

[jughead76]

The 30-06 is my personal favorite cartridge. I love hunting with it, I know there are cartridges today that maybe faster or shoot flatter but it has seen the test of time and gets the job done.

[dbarry1]

On this 75th anniversary of D-Day, one of my favorites has always been the M1 Garand. Never hunted with it, but sure enjoy shooting it. God bless all the soldiers that fought with one (and others) for the freedom we enjoy today.

[Nick Adams]

On this 75th anniversary of D-Day, one of my favorites has always been the M1 Garand. Never hunted with it, but sure enjoy shooting it. God bless all the soldiers that fought with one (and others) for the freedom we enjoy today.

Hunt with one of mine, but certainly enjoy shooting all of them.

The M1 Garand definitely kept us free.

Pic of my '06 'hunter' M1 attached ...

[LAH]

My first shooter was an 06 & 45 years later I still shoot an 06. I love it as a cast shooter & will always have one. It's also a great deer killer with 150 jacketed & the newer 125 Nolser. I'm shooting through several thousand FMJ bullets, some pulled, & a bunch of 4895. My rifle with scope comes in at over 9 pounds & with those bullets at 2700 FPS it is pleasant.