30-06s.... Love/Hate/Re-evaluate

WhelanLad

WhelanLad

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Gidday You Fellas!

Isnt it interesting when You mention 30-06 or when the 30-06 gets mentioned in Conversation...

You may be a Believer in the 3006 for All, BIG and Small
In Fact you May only Own ONE gun... a 30-06.
You might be one who Compares everything else to a 30-06..
Perhaps you're a bit like Me an think the 30-06 is Plain, Vanilla...Dime a Dozen...boring.

Its been claimed a 30-06 will kill any animal on this Planet.... very very possibly true!

But what I find interesting , the Older I get, each season passes and I still think about that dirty old 30-06!

Maybe I should of just got ONE in the first place..... but then maybe One wouldn't learn to love and adapt to many of the other Flavourings out there on each side of the 30-06!

Is more Merrier an how much Merrier is really needed....

Here I find myself thinkin Full circle........ Scale down and get a 30-06!

a random thought to give some discussion.
Has anyone else done similar? avoided it only to come back to it because...it just fits the bill so bloody well?
WL
 
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I bought for my needs. Started with a 30-30 for deer. Bought the aught 6 for moose. Never needed anything bigger because of the location and terrain that I hunted.

Just bought a 45-70 for hopefully going pig hunting down south.

I think the idea is to have a gun for each type of hunting you do.
Would not have liked to take 06 with a scope through some of the stuff I have taken my 94 through.

It's nice to have options.
 
I've decided I can live without a .30/06. The plan is to have the 9.3 Mooser on the heavy end, a 7x57 on the light end, and a .30-30 just because I like having it around. All my .30-06 brass will eventually be converted to one of the other two calibres.

The .30/06 has indeed killed virtually every animal on the planet that it's legal to hunt. But so has the 7x57 and the 6.5 M.S. It's still more about the man behind the trigger then the size of the hole in the end of the barrel.
 
I'm a .30/06 fan, and have been for about 50 years. If you like rifle shooting, there's no reason not to like the '06. Recoil is sufficient to let you know the thing fired, but not so much as to be a problem for anyone healthy enough to consider big game hunting, providing the rifle is equipped with a decent recoil pad, fits the shooter and is not an ultralight. The .30/06 is not as accurate as a .308 is an often heard disparagement, yet German Salazar continues to win matches against .308 shooters with his .30/06 match rifles. Its not a short action. True, but having owned rifles of all three action lengths I still don't understand what the perceived benefit of shorter actions might be, I can run a magnum Mauser like my Brno 602 just as quickly if hitting a target is considered an important element of the exercise.

Versatility is often touted as the .30/06's greatest asset, and while I agree to a point, its not only due to the vast array of factory loads the way most folks think. Anyone who handloads can gain great versatility from any centerfire cartridge from the 6.5s on up, and the advantages of inexpensive Mexican match loads have mostly disappeared since military surplus .30/06 is no longer commonly available. But the .30/06 can do most of the things required of a centerfire rifle with just a 180 gr bullet, and single load versatility is not easily attributed to other cartridges. Similarly, a .375 can do most things with just a 300 gr bullet, but most folks find the big case .375s to be an acquired taste. Now and then I hear that anything a .30/06 can do, a .300 magnum can do better . . . but not without recoil, in similar weight rifles, becoming a bit of a nuisance to the uninitiated. Finally, lets dispense with the claim that the .30/06 is boring. If you find rifle shooting boring, you'll get more out of challenging yourself with more difficult shooting scenarios, than you will by switching cartridges. "There ain't many problems a man can't fix with $700 and a .30/06."
 
I currently have, and reload for, two rifles in "06, including my favourite 1981 Rem 700 BDL,
I've had at least half a dozen other rifles in 30'06. (most of which, I regret selling)

Even though I own rifles in all of the popular big game calibers from 30-30, 300 Savage, 308, 7MM Rem Mag, 300 WM, and 338,
if I could have only one rifle, it would be in 30'06.

What other caliber can you reload everything from a 100 grain bullet for varmint to a 220 grain bullet for bear, and still be easy to shoot?
 
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I kept just one a semi just because it is soft on my old shoulder and good for moose
I have a few different ones over the years but as I aged figured out a 243 would take all the deer I hunted and enjoyable to shoot
Cheers
 
I love mine
goorktqm7.jpg


Winchester miroku made 1895 carbine in 30/06
 
30/06 could be that one rifle for everything cartridge. It was the first cartridge I started loading for when I started out. Bought several US milsurps (1917/Garand) and that was just the beginning. It is definitely a very accurate cartridge.
For a hunting rifle, you can't beat the value of an older HVA, Parker Hale, BSA, Win70, they are all fantastic wood-n-steel guns that carry and shoot great in the $400-$500 range, and fortunately mostly chambered in 30'06.
 
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I love the 30-06. It was my first high power. Winchester M70 Ranger. The Ranger, in Ranger Dave. I pushed 6000 rounds through that barrel before the floor plate broke. Ive shot deer with it, so many holes in paper. Its a great target shooting round too even if its younger brother 308 gets all the glory. Its a great all around cartridge for Canada without a doubt.

I bought a new Winchester M70 to replace the worn out Ranger and its light years ahead in quality. I still shoot the 30-06 often.
 
I don't own a 3006 hunting rifle , but I own a S.I.R Breda M1 . My hunting rifle is a well used bought new 1984 Sako Deluxe 300 Win mag. The 300 win can be loaded down to 3006 load data making sure you use proper magnum powder . ( ex 63 gr Hybrid ) My rifle is currently sighted in .
 
I started with a 30-06, kept going up to 9.3,300,375 to Weatherbys, and came back full circle to 30-06.
As the matter of fact, I own 4 rifles in 30-06, M70s and Mausers.......all I really need......oh and a few 270,s

I think it’s a great combination, the 30-06 and 270.....but a 280 would fit in nicely between those also......then there’s 25-06,which would be easy on the shoulder.......a 257 Roberts sure would scratch an itch......

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Telling someone that's just starting out, to "get a 30-06, it's all you'll need" is kinda like giving advice to a teenager. There may be an eye roll or "yeah yeah" response, but somewhere down the line they'll get it......

I could have saved A LOT of money if I would have just stopped fighting the ballistic demons in my mind and stuck with an '06.
 
It's pretty hard to go wrong with the 30-06. Probably the reason that it's so popular. You'll find ammo anywhere ammo is sold and it will do the trick for pretty much any animal in almost any scenario. I would be willing to bet that most shots taken with the 300WM could just as easily be done with the 30-06.
 
Funny you mentioned this 30/06 one gun thing WL.

This is exactly the route I start on this year,,, ok,,, 2 rifles in my new adventures. I'll explain this along the way.

So 2 years I started planing the 1 gun for everything.
Plinking, iron silhouettes, game Harvesting, 100 to 1700m clay bank shooting challenge, PRS, and predator control.

I looked at many different calibers. 243 to 7mm mag, everything in between as well.
The 6.5 Creedmoor, 270 winchester, 308, 30/06, 7mm-08.

After all that planning I returned to where it all started,,, 30/06.
Why, why would a simple plain fellow like me want to go backwards,,, simple,,, to shoot a rifle cartrage that is relaxing, comfortable, frugal, and simple.
And many other factors.
The 30/06 is not the long distance critter getter like my 300 magnums,,, no big deal since ALL of my harvests are up close.

So I sold off everything, and handed out the collector items to family and friends.

The 308 winchester idea held me up a bit,,, I seen the little extra energy coming in handy for Harvesting,,, so I classed the 30/06 as a "Long case 308 Winchester Improved." LOL.

Things were working as planned,,, 1 rifle for everything. That all changed when my rifle builders invited me to my first ever F Class Shoot.

Dam, I hate that when the plan needs changing.
So I did 1 more rifle that is a twin to my 30/06,,, I call it my "Short Case 30/06," very close in over all ballistics. A fraction less yes.

I reload all my ammo, so my Ought-6 is loaded down as my 308 is shy from max.

That way I get the same results down range.
Hornady 178gr ELD-X @ 2635 ft-per seconds.

So my F Class rifle is now in my hands, this will allow me to push the limits from 100 to 900m's

The benefit of the 30/06 is,,, I can beef up the charge and reach out to the 1000 to 1700m range for the Southern BC clay bank matches.

Of course the 308 could reach the 1500m range using the 165gr bullets,,, but those cases will take a lick'en. Ha. Hot Hot Hot.

Yuppers, each person gets to choose what works for them. That's a plus.

Those of us that choose the Ought-6 category get to benefit in most categories.
Today's new bullets benefit all cartrages,,, including the old school 30/06.

Thanks for the awesome thread WL.
I'm sure I'll post more since I'm the Jack O'connor of this age old cartrage.

Funny thing is, the cartrage is not the best out there,,, but its not the worst either.

From Western Canada Don
 
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The 30-06 is entirely suitable for a lot of hunting; but let's face it, for much hunting it doesn't matter a whole
lot what you use within reason.

From a shooting point of view most BG animals are a big target that isn't very far away. From a killing point of view most aren't all that big, few are tough, and again it probably isn't very far away. Within these parameters the '06 is about as good as any and better than some. It's my choice as a light culling cartridge because it's easy to binge feed and there's a fighting chance in not melting the barrel right off.

The trouble with the above is that while it's often true, it's a long ways from always true. This puts me in the strange situation of while having killed more game with that cartridge than any other, I still don't like
it much.
 
I can see the 30'06 as an all around cartridge for many and could make it work of course.

It does not generally work for me however. Just about everything you guys are saying here applies to the .308 for me. My area and terrain just don't require a 30'06 so the .308 makes for a better one gun choice.

Now if I lived in a area with bigger problems like Grizzly, Polar Bear and larger than average zombies I'd want a bigger one gun. The '06 would be fine I;m sure, but for that more specific purpose I'd probably want something a bit bigger than '06.

Additionally, for 1500m+ target stuff etc. I see little reason for the '06 over the .300wm.

Having said all that, I really do get the 30'06 for a one gun choice. Maybe .308 and 30'06 are the best two one gun choices depending on where you live.
 
Good 30 caliber round but passed over in the collection because it doesn't fit. For 30 calibers I have .30-30, 7.62x39, .308 and .300 WM. I like the availability of inexpensive .308 milsurp ammo so lots of cheap shooting to be had without burning time making handloads.

Plus I can handload my .308's to equal .30-06 factory ballistics. And of course anything a .30-06 can do the .300 WM can do way better. ;)
 
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