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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
My father told me when i was a kid. The 30.06 is good for wood chucks to moose. I own 2 now. So......
Just a personal observation, no more valuable than anybody else's, but I think the .30-06 is by far one of the most versatile platform available. Marginally better than the .308. Although interested in the magnumitis affliction, I never really got bitten. 7mm Mag * .458 WM, notwithstanding. They all have their place but in North America, .30-06 usually has it covered.
Ive always felt it was the one caliber solution- of course I have others but most accurate and most shot rifle is an 06. Very hard to beat in terms of bullet-boolit-powder selection and not getting beat up on the recoil end. Not only a terrific game round but don’t forget it saw us through 2 world wars and the Korean War.
Yep, it's stood the test of time for sure. It may be old, but it's not outdated. It keeps soldiering on and on, because it just flat works.
The 06 will do anything you need done in the lower 48 and probably Alaska too. I still have 2 and an Ackley Imp version.
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FWIW, I've owned/shot/hunted with several different .30-06 rifles over the years, liking the Winchester Model 70 Featherweight the best .
Even with premium boolits though, I wouldn't use a .30-06 on Brown/Grizzly/Polar bear, although I know it has been used satisfactorily.
IMO, they're just too dangerous to take the chance (YMMV, of course).
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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.
Another fan of the 30-06. It's been my #1 choice for big game hunting for many years when on serious hunts using jacketed bullets. I've also killed a lot of game with cast bullets in the 30-06. Additionally it is still an excellent long range target cartridge and I'm in the process of building a 30-06 LR rifle now. It performs very well at 1000 to 1500 yards out of a correct rifle. I've already been through the magnum craze and other cartridges like the 6.5s (6.5 CM....yawnnnnnn) and have always came back to the 30-06. My current hunting 30-06 is a M70 Classic with 24" barrel (wish it was 26") having a 3x9 Zeiss Conquest on it. With 180 or 190 gr Hornady SPBTs at 2800 and 2700 fps or the 165 SPBT at 2850 fps my 30-06s have taken a lot of deer, elk, caribou, antelope, a RM Bighorn and numerous coyotes from 25 to right at 600 yards. With a 90 gr cast at 900 fps it also has put a lot of grouse, ptarmigan and rabbits in the pot......
I've found there is nothing wrong with the 270, 280 or 7mm magnum that a 30-06 won't cure. When loaded to the same pressure levels out of equal rifles it is far superior to the .308W and I do love the .308W btw. I found if I needed more oomph than the 30-06 I go straight to my 375 H&H and skip all the other cartridges in between.......
Add to the mix what modern powders and bullets have done to you improve other cartridges performance on game and it applys to the 06 as well; premium bullets designed to expand reliably across a range of impact velocities and the old 06 poor mans magnum loads of 180 grain bullets at 25-2600 speeds is an even better elk/ moose/ bear round than it was! On the other end of the spectrum I’ve only taken coyotes with my 125 grain Barnes load but wouldn’t hesitate to take a whitetail with one; deep penetrating; almost guaranteed expansion and blistering speed- or one could pick a premium 150-168 grain jword and be well
suited for most game. And let’s not forget how cast friendly the old 30-06 is and it’s a winner in all categories!
I'm a big fan too, and we're not alone.
There was a article awhile back that someone had surveyed the die makers.
.30-06 was consistently their biggest seller after .38Spec/.357.
As Hank, Dale, Bill and Boomhower would say- "Yup".
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Sorry for the thread diversion- please forgive me.
I have one , a Ruger #1B, but converted it to A.I. Just because..... I still have a pile of loads that I made when it was a standard '06, and don't hesitate to use it when I go shooting. My A.I. loads aren't that much more than standard loadings, gotten from a load book from Midway some years ago... and still have about 150 more cases loaded up to fireform.
Well, I have to say, hard to knock it. I personally love my 308’s and they get used for everything except..... the 30/06 can do anything my 308’s can do and several things my 308’s don’t do particularly well... so the 30-06 really is a winner. There is not one single cart that is more versatile then the 30-06. Not only that, but you can make soooo many other cartridges out of a 30-06 parent case... that alone beats out my beloved 308’s....
Marko
Growing up I thought that the only 2 real calibers were .30-06 and 8mm mauser. I later played with other calibers but always kept and was perfectly satisfied with the 06. Never hunted Brown or his cousins but I still think the 06 will handle them if you used the right bullet and weight. Animals are not wearing Kevlar yet so it is still my choice. I currently have 4 of them. my experience anyway, james
atleast with handloading and casting then definitely, when I seen peoples 30-06 deer with 150gr "Walmart bullets" they usually have quarters blown to bits and bloodshot everywhere. with making my own ive hunted squirell with mouse fart loads and a 220r cast could hunt pretty much anything. case size and neck length is pretty much perfect to cover whatever you need.
The 06 used to be used more with the heavier bullets like the 220 grain. It really is not so far behind the 35 Whelen when using a 220 grain bullet, which makes sense as the Whelen is a necked up 06. One writer claims it helps if one has a longer barreled one as they do benefit from a 24" + barrel. I had a 270 and did not really get excited about using it crows and other varmints. One can do so but these larger rifles make one appreciate the smaller ones. Yes it can be used if one wants to own one gun, but there are darn few of us today that do so.
DEP
give it some time, it'll catch on.
My first rifle was a Rem 700 in "06".(about 1965) Still have it and still hunt with it. I have several dozen hunting guns and all have a place but if I only had one it would be that 50 year old 700.