30-06 is boring

The .30-06 is the Honda Civic or the gun world. There’s tons of them out there, they’re perfectly fine, they do what they are supposed to do but Jay Leno probably doesn’t have one in is collection. :)
 
Yes, comes up short compared to Magnums at long range, we all know that. Velocity isn't everything. 95% of hunters couldn't take advantage of anything more than a 30-06. Modern scopes with custom dials, and knowing your range and trajectory, a competent shooter can easily kill game out to 500 yds with a 30-06.

I've never cared much what 95% of hunters could or couldn't do; but there is some real advantages to performance calibers. When I use my 30-06s with subtention reticles at 400 I'm on the third crosshair and sort of glad I have a rangefinder. At 500 I'm on the fifth. With a 7STW, .257 Weatherby, 270 Weatherby . 270 WSM, the .300s with the right bullets or any number of interesting cartridges I can hold centre of chest from zero to 400 and pull the trigger. A top of back hold takes them to 500 more or less. No muss, no fuss, no rangefinder no problem. Some on that list recoil no more than a 30-06 and if they happen to burn a dime's worth more powder I'll probably make it back on the bullets. Zero to 400 on one crosshair is boring too; but it's good boring. 3 crosshairs and a rangefinder to 400 is lame-ass boring.;)
 
I've never cared much what 95% of hunters could or couldn't do; but there is some real advantages to performance calibers. When I use my 30-06s with subtention reticles at 400 I'm on the third crosshair and sort of glad I have a rangefinder. At 500 I'm on the fifth. With a 7STW, .257 Weatherby, 270 Weatherby . 270 WSM, the .300s with the right bullets or any number of interesting cartridges I can hold centre of chest from zero to 400 and pull the trigger. A top of back hold takes them to 500 more or less. No muss, no fuss, no rangefinder no problem. Some on that list recoil no more than a 30-06 and if they happen to burn a dime's worth more powder I'll probably make it back on the bullets. Zero to 400 on one crosshair is boring too; but it's good boring. 3 crosshairs and a rangefinder to 400 is lame-ass boring.;)
Your in the 5% that can exploit the performance of a magnum. Most of us aren't. I agree with you that a magnum at long range has an advantage, but not all hunting is at long range and a 30-06 is capable up to 500 yds in the hands of a competent shooter. I don't own a 30-06, I never have. My hunting partners got a remington mountain rifle, with a 22" barrel, chambered in 30-06. It's a beater of a rifle. The scope on it is a leupold vx3 3.5-10 with a ballistic turret. He can hit a 2.5 ltr jug at 500 yds on a regular basis. Mind you we use range finders. I have magnums as well, 300 win, 308 norma, and 7mm wsm and would like to get a 28 nosler one of these days. I've been reloading for 30 years and a 30-06 IMO is a bloody good cartridge. Not all of us are flat landers. :)
 
Unless your hunting the prairies or longer ranges in the mountains, you will never notice the advantage a bigger cartridge over a .30/06. A moose killed at 400 yds with a .30/06, is just as dead as one killed with anything else. This is a long distance in the majority of regions of the country.i prefer my .270 to my .30/06. But only because it is lighter recoiling.
 
I think your pops might have been joshin you a bit, the 30-06 isn't underpowered, it's just obsolete. As a versatile all-around cartridge for people shooting cast loads, or they got a rifle given to them in this caliber it's fine. You can find ammo for it anywhere, and there's lots of loads available. The issue with 30-06, and why it was replaced, is because it's obsolete. New powders and modern steel chambers have kept it on life support, along with modern bullet construction.

The main issue I have with 30-06 is that it has the trajectory of a basketball.

It's also a long action cartridge, the bolts usually wobble and require extra effort to cycle. This also makes the rifle longer and heavier, and can reduce accuracy if scoped.

You'll rarely see a 'tactical' style rifle chambered in this, if that's your thing.

With the 308win cartridge, there is no reason to own a rifle in 30-06. Insert comments like "Well I been using it for X years blah blah" below

Biggest load of sh_t I’ve read in a long time. Go back to you video games.
 
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The issue with 30-06, and why it was replaced, is because it's obsolete.
Replaced? Replaced by whom, the military? IIRC, the military replaced it for a smaller/shorter cartridge (308 & 223) so ammo would be smaller enabling the bearer to carry more. This and less recoil was the real driver for the military to go to the 223. To say the 30-06 is obsolete is laughable esp for civilian use.

The main issue I have with 30-06 is that it has the trajectory of a basketball.

It's also a long action cartridge, the bolts usually wobble and require extra effort to cycle. This also makes the rifle longer and heavier, and can reduce accuracy if scoped.

You'll rarely see a 'tactical' style rifle chambered in this, if that's your thing.

With the 308win cartridge, there is no reason to own a rifle in 30-06. Insert comments like "Well I been using it for X years blah blah" below
I hope you're trolling, because this list is ridiculous.
 
A 230gr Berger with a ballistic coefficient of .718 going over 2600fps is a ONE MILE capable load.

That's often more capable than a weekend amateur behind the rifle.

If there's a problem, it's behind the rifle.
 
Carlos Hathcock obliterated the ennemi with a Winchester Model 70 in .30-06.

He also held the record for the longest confirmed kill for a very long time and it's the same cartridge that holds that record today.

The 50 BMG is a scaled up .30-06.
 
The 50 BMG is a scaled up .30-06.

The .222 Remington is a scaled down 30-06. The 223/5.56 is a direct derivative of the 222. So the 30-06 has parentage of all NATO small arms except pistol cartridges, up to 50 BMG.

An old saying about the 44-40 that it has killed more men, good and bad, and more game, good and bad, than any other cartridge. If anything this is even more true about the 30-06.

Call me crazy but I'll choose boring every time if 30-06 = Boring.
 
Carlos Hathcock obliterated the ennemi with a Winchester Model 70 in .30-06.

He also held the record for the longest confirmed kill for a very long time and it's the same cartridge that holds that record today.

The 50 BMG is a scaled up .30-06.

...and would it be a stretch to say that the 30-06 was inspired by the 8x57 Mauser?
 
"The following year Hathcock deployed to South Vietnam with the 1st Marine Division, where he was soon assigned sniper duties. His primary rifle was one of the Corps’ Winchester Model 70 target rifles, chambered in 30-06 and topped with an 8-power Unertl target scope in an externally adjustable mount."

http://www.winchesterguns.com/news/articles/winchester-model-70-in-vietnam.html


"...the 300-plus Model 70 rifles purchased by the Marine Corps during World War II remained in inventory...Many of these were subsequently rebuilt between circa 1956 and 1963, primarily at the Marine Corps’ “Match Rebuild Shop” in Albany, Ga....consisted of replacing the original “sporter” barrels with heavier 24- or 26-inch barrels and replacing the stocks as necessary,..."

” The Model 70’s suitability as a sniping rifle during the Vietnam War should be unquestioned, as the most famous and revered sniper of the war, Carlos Hathcock, used the rifle with remarkable effectiveness."

https://www.americanrifleman.org/articles/2011/3/21/the-military-model-70/


"WHITE FEATHER AND THE M2
Though the practice had been in use since the Korean War, Carlos Hathcock made the use of the M2 .50 caliber machine gun as a long-range sniper weapon a normal practice. He designed a rifle mount, built by Navy Seabees, which allowed him to easily convert the weapon.

"I was sent to see if that would work," He recalled. "We were elevated on a mountain with bad guys all over. I was there three days, observing. On the third day, I zeroed at 1000 yards, longest 2500. Here comes the hamburger, came right across the spot where it was zeroed, he bent over to brush his teeth and I let it fly. If he hadn't stood up, it would have gone over his head. But it didn't." The distance of that shot was 2,460 yards – almost a mile and a half – and it stood as a record until broken in 2002 by Canadian sniper Arron Perry in Afghanistan.
" :cool:

https://www.military.com/marine-corps-birthday/carlos-hathcock-famous-marine-corps-sniper.html

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White Feather at work
 
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