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

Oh good lord...

My first 'big game' rifle was a .30-06 Savage 111 package combo. I still have that rifle, over the years it's been gifted with a new thumbhole stock and a good scope, and a light trigger job. I own and have owned several other rifles, with varying reasons for each. Every season that '06 is the go-to rifle, because I know what ammo it shoots well, I'm confident with it, and it will cleanly kill everything from coyote to elk. If I'm only going deer hunting, it's the .243. Anything larger and the '06 gets the nod.

Discussions about caliber are largely pointless. 98% of the hunters out there aren't going to be shooting at ANYTHING beyond 200 yards, much less longer, and 90% of those SHOULDN'T be shooting those ranges because they don't have the shooting skills to get any benefit from a couple hundred extra FPS or a flatter trajectory. Caliber cowboys are just those who never got out of the ####-swinging stage from high school.
 
NorthernCX said:
Oh good lord...

My first 'big game' rifle was a .30-06 Savage 111 package combo. I still have that rifle, over the years it's been gifted with a new thumbhole stock and a good scope, and a light trigger job. I own and have owned several other rifles, with varying reasons for each. Every season that '06 is the go-to rifle, because I know what ammo it shoots well, I'm confident with it, and it will cleanly kill everything from coyote to elk. If I'm only going deer hunting, it's the .243. Anything larger and the '06 gets the nod.

Discussions about caliber are largely pointless. 98% of the hunters out there aren't going to be shooting at ANYTHING beyond 200 yards, much less longer, and 90% of those SHOULDN'T be shooting those ranges because they don't have the shooting skills to get any benefit from a couple hundred extra FPS or a flatter trajectory. Caliber cowboys are just those who never got out of the ####-swinging stage from high school.
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Of the 3 people I mentioned before (two best friends and an acquaintance), the two with 30-06 wouldn't take a shot past 150 or 200 yards. Guy with the 300wm would try a 350+ yard shot... And hes the worst marksman of the 3 (I cringe even using the term marksman to describe him...)
 
Aside for the strong desire to own a Garand, the 30/06 hold no allure for me.

For a big game rifle, or anyone buying strictly factory ammo to shoot with, you give up 80fps (average) by choosing 308 (factory published ballistics).
What you gain with the 06 is a heavier, longer action and rifle.

Sure handloading gives you some ability to expand that gap, but the gun remains the same.

Never met an animal who could tell the difference.

There are better calibres and worse calibers, and the 06 is versatile, but i stick to the 308 for "full power" shooting, because of all the other advantages i gain over those 80fps (shorter action, weight (ammo and rifle), rifle options (more rifles chambered in 308 than 30/06) surplus ammo, cheaper ammo and on and on.

If I get to the limits of the 308 for the "needs" it covers, i will jump to something much bigger.
 
heronfish said:
Again you are missing the point.
If we all cared that much about maximizing velocity in a 30 cal we would shoot a 30-378 or whatever other wild cat exists. But it is just not that important.
To you maybe it is. But you're experience, as extensive as it is, is as pertinent to the average hunter as Tiger Woods to the local duffer.
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Whether there are cartridges with further increases past the 300 level is beside the point. It doesn't change the difference between the 30-06 and the 300s. A difference that can be had for
dime's worth of powder if it's about cost. If it's about recoil, then give the 7mms a look.

It works the other way too. Do you think there is a meaningful difference between your 30-06s and a 30-30? The gap might be a bit bigger than between the 06 and its belted cousins but it's close enough to
illustrate a point.

I don't hate the 30-06, I have 4 of which 3 have seen a lot of
culling. I just don't think there's anything special about it either.
 
Finding the animals is the hard part and what you shoot them with doesn't matter much if you're sighted in and comfortable with the gun. The animal don't really care either. Hell I have so many different calibers I can't keep track but when it's hunting time, no matter how hard I try not to, I most often reach for a 30-06 and I have 4 of them but prefer one in particular. Better off worrying over where to go hunting than liking or disliking a certain caliber. Just saying.
 
Gatehouse said:
Since 90%of game is shot at under 300, then the 308 would be a better choice than a 30-06 anyway. :)
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In many applications yes but the ability of the 30-06 to handle 180+grain bullets without loosing too much velocity gives it a distinct advantage for larger game (bear, moose) and therefore versatility (as a do all certridge). I'll freely admit that I have shot more things with a .308 than a 30-06 as where I hunt you rarely get a shot over 125m.
 
Dogleg said:
Whether there are cartridges with further increases past the 300 level is beside the point. It doesn't change the difference between the 30-06 and the 300s. A difference that can be had for
dime's worth of powder if it's about cost. If it's about recoil, then give the 7mms a look.

It works the other way too. Do you think there is a meaningful difference between your 30-06s and a 30-30? The gap might be a bit bigger than between the 06 and its belted cousins but it's close enough to
illustrate a point.

I don't hate the 30-06, I have 4 of which 3 have seen a lot of
culling. I just don't think there's anything special about it either.
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For me, and I suspect the great majority of hunters, the 3006 already exceeds my ability in terms of distance. Something like the 3030 does not. There is the rub.
For myself in particular it doesn't matter if it's a 308, a 3006, a 300 win or a 30-378
 
Rod said:
Finding the animals is the hard part and what you shoot them with doesn't matter much if you're sighted in and comfortable with the gun. The animal don't really care either. Hell I have so many different calibers I can't keep track but when it's hunting time, no matter how hard I try not to, I most often reach for a 30-06 and I have 4 of them but prefer one in particular. Better off worrying over where to go hunting than liking or disliking a certain caliber. Just saying.
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Amen Brother!
 
Ar180shooter said:
In many applications yes but the ability of the 30-06 to handle 180+grain bullets without loosing too much velocity gives it a distinct advantage for larger game (bear, moose) and therefore versatility (as a do all certridge). I'll freely admit that I have shot more things with a .308 than a 30-06 as where I hunt you rarely get a shot over 125m.
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We have been hearing that for years "30-06 is better with 180-200-220gr bullets!"

But how many hunters are actually using 220 gr or even 200 gr bullets in their 3006? Very few, I think. Especially as most 3006 users buy factory ammo and the 150-180 gr offerings are far more common.

We have 150gr bullets that will go right through a moose when shot from a .308, so the smaller case of the .308 isn't actually a handicap. :)

Heck, lots of factory offerings the 3006 doesn't beat the 308 by much using the same bullet.

Bottom line is that I can't think of any situation that my first choice would be a 30-06 that I wouldn't also use a 308 as a first choice. :)
 
I have long wanted a 7600 .35 Whelen but I keep coming back to questioning if there really is all that much to be gained over a .30-06 launching a 200-220 grain projectile. There is one distinct upside to a .30-06, and that is if you loose or misplace your ammunition it can be found literally anywhere ammo is sold.
 
Gatehouse said:
We have been hearing that for years "30-06 is better with 180-200-220gr bullets!"

But how many hunters are actually using 220 gr or even 200 gr bullets in their 3006? Very few, I think. Especially as most 3006 users buy factory ammo and the 150-180 gr offerings are far more common.

We have 150gr bullets that will go right through a moose when shot from a .308, so the smaller case of the .308 isn't actually a handicap. :)

Heck, lots of factory offerings the 3006 doesn't beat the 308 by much using the same bullet.

Bottom line is that I can't think of any situation that my first choice would be a 30-06 that I wouldn't also use a 308 as a first choice. :)
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I use the 30-06 with 220's for bear...

And even with 180's, you're looking at a few hundred fps more with the same bullet. If you handload you can push a few more fps out of it. Essentially you're getting 100yd increase in effective range over a .308 with any given bullet weight. I'll admit that in most cases this won't make a difference, but there does exist a real world difference. Heck, I'll even say that for 95% of hunters, the 7mm-08, .243, .308, .270, .280, 25-06, 30-06, 35 whelen, 7x57 mauser, 8mm mauser, 9.3x57, etc. Won't make much of a difference in most hunting situations. This doesn't change the fact that the 30-06 is an excellent do all cartridge. You can make the argument that the .308 also fits this category, and you wouldn't be wrong, but that's not really what this thread is about.
 
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heronfish said:
For me, and I suspect the great majority of hunters, the 3006 already exceeds my ability in terms of distance. Something like the 3030 does not. There is the rub.
For myself in particular it doesn't matter if it's a 308, a 3006, a 300 win or a 30-378
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I'm already on record as saying that for a great deal of hunting it doesn't matter much what people use within reason. The thing with that, is that much of the time isn't all the time and most of the people isn't all of them. I live on the prairies where the distance you can shoot is basically limited only by the distance you can shoot. It changes things.
 
Gatehouse said:
We have been hearing that for years "30-06 is better with 180-200-220gr bullets!"

But how many hunters are actually using 220 gr or even 200 gr bullets in their 3006? Very few, I think. Especially as most 3006 users buy factory ammo and the 150-180 gr offerings are far more common.

We have 150gr bullets that will go right through a moose when shot from a .308, so the smaller case of the .308 isn't actually a handicap. :)

Heck, lots of factory offerings the 3006 doesn't beat the 308 by much using the same bullet.

Bottom line is that I can't think of any situation that my first choice would be a 30-06 that I wouldn't also use a 308 as a first choice. :)
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Ar180shooter said:
I use the 30-06 with 220's for bear...

And even with 180's, you're looking at a few hundred fps more with the same bullet. If you handload you can push a few more fps out of it. Essentially you're getting 100yd increase in effective range over a .308 with any given bullet weight. I'll admit that in most cases this won't make a difference, but there does exist a real world difference. Heck, I'll even say that for 95% of hunters, the 7mm-08, .243, .308, .270, .280, 25-06, 30-06, 35 whelen, 7x57 mauser, 8mm mauser, 9.3x57, etc. Won't make much of a difference in most hunting situations. This doesn't change the fact that the 30-06 is an excellent do all cartridge. You can make the argument that the .308 also fits this category, and you wouldn't be wrong, but that's not really what this thread is about.
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using also 200gr partition in 30-06 i even shared a load (average mild but accurate) ... Clarke we are a few but wont disclose it ... this is a secret society ...
 
My hunting partner's nephew took a mule deer buck 2 wks ago, shooting down hill, off a bluff. He is 17 years old, he used a Remington Mountain rifle chambered in 30-06. The shot was a lasered 358 yds. I'll ask him what he thinks of the 30-06. :)
 
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