30-06 How many is too many?

Americans love to re-invent the wheel when it comes to cartridges, some of them very short lived on the market and very few of them better than the venerable .30-'06 when it comes to dropping game.

Men like Teddy Roosevelt, Grancell Fitz, Townsend Whelan, Jack O'Connor, etc. proved it's worth on all kinds of dangerous critters with the original 150 gr load at 2750 fps.

A huge increase in case capacity with a Magnum for the sake of a marginal increase in velocity and increased muzzle blast and recoil. Makes perfect sense - NOT!

A pal was at the range chronoing three .270 loads for an upcoming moose hunt. When he was finished I asked him what load he had settled on. Answer- "The fastest one, of course." I asked him the difference between the fastest and the slowest and it was something in the 100 fps range. I asked him if he thought an animal he hit would know the difference.

He asked me what load I would have chosen as he knew I had a .270. Answer - "The most accurate, of course." I got a blank look ......
 
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I have 1 older wood tough as nails bolt action 30-06 that has never let me down yet. The only other rifle I loved more than this was my dad's 30-30 lever, lol. I would love to get a newer one and a Garand for sure to round out my 30-06 family though.
 
How many ought-sixes is too many? For me...it's one! I have a single rifle chambered in the round; it's an oddball specialty rifle which I enjoy because of the rifle rather than the cartridge. If I could swap it for another identical specimen in another chambering I'd jump at the chance.

Why do guys who own multiple safeloads of guns want a bunch of do-everything rifles? If you are going to own a single rifle, it needs to be ultra-versatile, but for most of you that ship has sailed.

When I buy another gun, I want it to be different from my others...rather than functionally identical.
 
Not a fan of the 30-06. Nothing wrong with it, just prefer other "more different" stuff. That said, I do have one, a Sako 85 Hunter just because it has a gorgeous hunk of lumber on it. If I could swap it out to another caliber with the same wood I would do it in a heartbeat. Now, if you had asked about 280's, 280 Akley's, 7x57's etc the correct answer has already been posted. X+1!
 
I only have one hunting rifle, and its a 30-06...the 20 or so other rifles that I own don't count...they are just for backup and practice.
 
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I figure .270s can also be counted as 30-06s, since the .270 is really just a "30-06 Improved." Maybe the 25-06 too.
 
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Humblepie said:
Likely when start to forget about items in your collection.
Click to expand...

Yeah that's my thinking too. I once almost bought a revolver that I really wanted only to get home and realize I already had one. That's why i keep a list now. I take it out and caress it once in a while when I'm away from my guns for an extended time.

I also keep pictures of them on my phone.
 
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