See, this is exactly what I'm talking about, right there. Burn the witch who does not worship at the altar of the 30-06, and dares to point out the heresy that there are, in fact, many many other cartridges out there every bit 'as good' as the 30-06
The 30-06 is undeniably a useful and versatile cartridge. But, it's HARDLY alone in that regard, and certainly isn't anything special. There's no compelling reason to choose a 30-06 over (say) a 270 - unless you plan to hunt mostly moose and big stuff. But then, there's no compelling reason to choose a 30-06 over a 338WM for that type of hunting. For a hunter who shoots an even mix of deer, moose and bear on the same hunts, there's no disadvantages to choosing a 308, or a 338, or a 35 whelen, or a 7mm08, or a 270, or whatever you want. They'll work, and none of them (30-06 included) is particularly well suited to ALL tasks you might one day ask of it.
So, let's recap the myths of the great 30-06:
Flat as a 270:
I doubt it, unless you're comparing heavy bullets in the 270 to lighter bullets in the 30-06, in which case the 270 would very likely penetrate better. Discussion which has better stopping power is a topic for another thread, but it's plenty obvious that 270's have taken every sort of game that 30-06's have. The difference between the two is unarguably a small one at most.
Versatility, and 'all around-ness'
There's no such thing. A gun ideally suited to take an elk is going to be unnecessarily powerful for deer. An ideal deer gun, too small to be ideal on elk. The 30-06 leans more to the 'too power for the small stuff, too small for the big stuff' side of the equation. The 'all around' gun is a complete myth. As a shooter, YOU need to decide whcih gun suites MOST of your needs, MOST of the time. There is NO cartridge out there ideally suited for both grizzly, AND pronghorn. As a sportsman, you have to decide which abilities are less important to YOU, and compromise accordingly. Or, better yet, get more than one rifle.
Cheaper to reload than the magnums:
pennies on the dollar. 60 grains of powder in the 30-06, 75 grains in the magnum. Brass about the same price, same for projectiles and primers. So 15 grains of powder, then; what, $.06? And, the unstated corollary to your statement is that the 30-06 is more expensive to reload than the 308. So which is it, then - is higher cost a good thing, a bad thing, or doesn't' really matter?
Less recoil than a 375:
So? The 375 has greater stopping power. And, in a hunting situation who would fire 100 rounds, prone, at full power? Granted, the 375 probably isn't the best gun to practice with, especially for a newbie, but neither is a 30-06.
Capable and useful:
Sure, but so is the 308, 270, 7mm08, 65x55, 260, 7x57, 8x57, 280, 7mm mag, 300 mag, etc.
300 magnum as versatile?:
that's a subjective judgment. Define the parameters better. It's absolutely undeniable that the 300WM can accomplish anything the 30-06 can, and more. The only price to pay is slightly more recoil and a few pennies per pop more cash. But, if you define versatility as the ability to be useful in a wider range of circumstances, then the 300 easily fits that bill.
308 more accurate:
perhaps, perhaps no. The vast majority of rifles are far more accurate than their operators, especially under field conditions. Judging the merits of a cartridge by it's accuracy potential is foolish, unless we're discussing competition shooting, and high end target guns that could actually show any difference in accuracy between different cartridges
30-06 velocity limit:
wait a minute here. I though we were just saying how well the 30-06 can cope with different bullets and muzzle velicities, and be as flat as a 270? Certainly a 30-06 can move a 150 grainer faster than a 7mm mag can move a 175 grainer. Furthermore, if we define 'optimal velocity' to be 2700 to 2900 - then virtually every modern sporting cartridge has a load in this velocity zone. Including the 7mm mag, the 300 mag, and WSM's as well as the non-magnum 308 family, the 7x57 family, and wildcats.
Magnums require premiums:
not at all. Or at least, not any more so than a 264 win mag shooting 160 grainers requires a premium bullet where a 30-06 shooting a 150 grainer doesn't.
460 more powerful:
not sure what you're getting at. Of course it recoils more, but if you're in a situation requiring the use of a 460, you'd better damn well have learned to cope with recoil as it'd be the least of your worries. And I'd bet you real money that someone who has found themself in a situation where there's a dire need for a 460 has ever said "geez, this recoil is a #####, I wish I had my '06 instead"
Newbie friendly:
see above. The 30-06 is HARDLY any more newbie friendly than one of a dozen of other rounds. The 7mm mag, for example, has a miniscule recoil difference compared to the 30-06. As with the 308. And none of them are especially newbie friendly; I'd even argue that a full power 30-06 is decidedly un-newbie-friendly when you look at the 7mm08, 6.5x55, 243, or the entire range of sub-caliber cartridges.
