Well I used to shoot an 06 but ended up trading that gun in ona .270 due to the 06 hitting me too hard. (2 shoulder surgeries here). Now it could have just been the gun that I was shooting, but even without a recoil pad on my Winchester .270 it doesnt kick nearly as bad as my .06 did. Being able to shoot a 130gr. bullet and still have all of that killing power is what did it for me. Not to mention that my family has shot the .270 for about 4 generations. It is a personal preference really. With the 30.06 you also have a bit better of a big game rifle if that is something that you would ever want to do.