30-06
 

What do you all think of the 30-06?

RE: 30-06
 

I actually have 2 .30-06's. I like the cartridge as it is. One is a Savage 110, the other is a Sears model 53. I am currently working up a cast bullet load for the Sears because it has iron sights and thought it might be fun for a light target/practice/plinking gun. My other is my big game rifle. I have a load for that with Sierra 165 grain gamekings. I plan to work one up with Nosler Partitions here soon, though.

I think it is the most versatile cartridge out there, and it will not be outsold by these new hot magnums.

RE: 30-06
 

I don't think aout it. I just use it.:D

RE: 30-06
 

The sole reason for the .375 H&H is in case you need something bigger than a .30-06

RE: 30-06
 

I like that!!

RE: 30-06
 

IMHO, it is our most prolific and versatile small bore.

If you could have only 3 long guns, then:

22LR,
12ga,
30-06!

EKM

RE: 30-06
 

Ditto ELKampMASTER! The 30-06 is here to stay and we are better for it!

RE: 30-06
 

I have never used a 30-06, but have hunted with friends and family that have. I will say this at under 300 yards a elk or other big game will not know the difference between a 06 and one of the 300 mags. People will say if you use a 06 make sure that you use a premium bullet, but the same could and should be said while using the mags. I have watched three bull elk shot with 06's using premiun bullets and all were 2-3 shot quick kills. On the other hand my dad and I watched one guy shoot and wound a bull elk up close (100 yard shot) because he was shooting a 300 Win. Mag using Nosler 150gr ballistic tip bullets. He hit the elk 3 times and it ran up and over the mountain 1000 yards or so and into someone else in his hunting party, lucky for him. Anyway the elk was finised off with one shot (about 150 yards) from a .270 using 150 TBBC bullet. The other hunter didn't know the elk was wounded. The .270 passed through the elk, the 300 mag bullets blew-up on the front shoulder.

RE: 30-06
 

New and better ammo available. Still you can't go wrong with one but better calibers are out there.

RE: 30-06
 

The 30-06 is the best gun for every thing but it is not the best gun for any thing. Meaning it is great if you can only have one gun but I would not pick it for any thing as the best caliber.

RE: 30-06
 

could not have said it better mate;)

RE: 30-06
 

It's a great caliber and i've always said if i could only own one rifle it would be the 30.06.

RE: 30-06
 

I think it's a very well-performing, versatile, and practical caliber. With the proper loads and consistent shot placement, you'll find that it's capable of killing just about anything you'll come across in North America.

Like ELKampMaster posted, the 22LR, 12 gauge, .30-06 are just about all anyone would need.

30-06
 

i love my 30.06 .. ide leave home my wife before i left it home..
p.s. the only way to experience a 30.06 is thru the barrel of a 1903 springfield...best 30.06 rifle i have ever owned....accurate and holds 7 rds if you need it to..lol

RE: 30-06
 

Don't own one,don't need one.There are too many other cartidges available that offer superior ballistics.

RE: 30-06
 

A 30-06 is one cartridge i could easily live with for the rest of my life!!! It has one of the best range of bullets available, ammo is cheap, and about every style of firearm is, or has been chambered for it!! A 30-06 with proper bullets has enough penetration and killing power for any animial in the US, includeing the big bears!!!

I have a Krieghoff drilling chambered in 30-06, and i've drug it all over Alaska hunting everything from ducks, to moose, and i've never felt "under gunned" even in bear country

Drilling Man

RE: 30-06
 

Very nice DM, very nice.

I've hunted for close to 35 years now. In that time I've never owned a .30-06. Why? I don't know really. I guess maybe it's because everyone else had one and I wanted to be different. Most of the rifles I've hunted with have been chambered in larger cartridges, like the .300 Wby Sako that has been my deer rifle of choice for the last few years.

Well, things are about to change. Today I expect to pick up a pre-64 Win Model 70 chambered in, you guessed it, the .30-06. If this rifle pans out (is accurate, that is), I expect it will become my primary rifle, though I still plan on using my others quite a bit also. I've already got my Lapua brass and the reloading dies and Talley scope mounts are on the way.

I should have done this a long time ago.

RE: 30-06
 

I owned a Browning A-bolt II Stalker in 30-06. I must say, it was very accurate, light to carry, and pleasant to shoot. But it kicked pretty good for a little cartridge like that. I never killed anything with it, but my guess is I'll end up buying another one here in the next year or so. Probably one of them Savage 111 package guns. My .22 needs a new scope, and I can just rob the scope off that. What, it sounds like a good excuse to me to buy another rifle!

RE: 30-06
 

Idahoelkinstructor said it right about the 06.

RE: 30-06
 

30-06 is a great round theres a reason its been around forever

RE: 30-06
 

It may be true that the 30-06 is not the best caliber for anything as some body said above. I have heard that before but in truth the same thing can be said about ANY caliber. If you can afford the perfect caliber for everything that walks then thats a good way to go. If not, the 30-06 will handle most hunting needs with room to spare. My Remington Pump will handle all North American needs as it is accurate as most Bolts and provides fast follow up shots with bullets ranging from 100 grains to 250 grains. It is at about the top level of recoil that most shooters can handle without developing flinching and other bad habits. Where legal I would hunt the world with confidence with a good 30-06 and a 375 H&H. And as some have said, you gotta have the old standby 22 rimfire and the 12 Ga.

RE: 30-06
 

i think it is the grand old man of rifle calibers. don't have one, but many rounds have come from the 30-06 case.

RE: 30-06
 

i have a 30.06 an never use it i use a 243 but this year im switchin an gonna use the 30-06 a good family friend gave it to us its a remington 7600 woodsmaster semi auto atic i just shot this 2 litre bottle at 50 feet look wat it did

RE: 30-06
 

It's a fine caliber. Like mentioned above, i can't see much it can't take when it comes to NA game. Recoil isn't all that bad but has some power to it. I can get ammo for it for about $8 which is what i really like.

RE: 30-06
 

the only reason winchester and weatherby came out with the .300 mags years ago was
to sell their rifles in their calibers (not to improve on the 30.06)
ITS LIKE WHEN YOU SEE A LIFTED 4X4 TRUCK WITH MONSTER TIRES AND A LITTLE TINY GUY JUMPS OUT OF THE TRUCK... YOU KNOW WHAT I AM TALKING ABOUT..

LMFAO...

RE: 30-06
 

Buckmaster 229, you better check that rifle very close if it is a 7600 it is a pump if it is a semi in 06 it is a 7400, or you may have something valuable there my friend. I have an 06 but prefer the 308 , less recoil, shorter stroke on 2nd shot. I sold a 06 bolt because it had too much muzzle blast.

RE: 30-06
 

.30-06 is one of the great classics, very versitile and a very easy cartridge to adapt to ones own needs through both reloading and shopping around amongst the available factory loads. I doubt if anyone with a rifle in this caliber will be undergunned or in absolute, dire need of another rifle. But then again, there are countless other rifle-calibers that will make the owner just as confident. True, it is a turn of the century round, but then again, so many other are. You don't need the latest, most modern stuff. Most of the time, something old will do just fine.
The rifle for which it was develloped/designed is surely one of the best military rifles ever, not even to mention the M1.

In most cases, it's not the rifle, not the caliber that doesn't do what it was intended for, but the person using it. Personal preferences and availability too are arguments, as are the costs of ammunition. I would be quite happy with a .30-06 for most of my hunting needs.

Kind regards

Vesi

RE: 30-06
 

Vesi-

Is 30-06 used alot on your side of the pond?

Its pretty much the predominant chambering in North America, I'm wondering if it has the same following in Europe? If not, what is the most prevalent cartridge over there?

RE: 30-06
 

Just reading this over again. I might have to add my 223 to the arsenal. I use it a lot for longer range varmit shooting that my 22 rimfire can't reach.

RE: 30-06
 

Briman,


.30-06 is rather popular, but hardly as widespread as others. Depending on where you are in Europe, national preferences mean something, as well as type of game or intended purposes. Then some countries have some realy crazy laws..... In Scandinavia, 6.5 x 55 is very popular, as is .338 and 7.92 x 57 IS (Norway, mainly), additionally, In my country 7.62 Russian and 7.62 x 39 are very widespread, but the number of newer guns and is on the rise. Too, the PPC range is popular. Main reason for old caliber/gun popularity is availability (there is hardly a store that doesn't have 6.5 x 55 and 7.62 x 39 in the north)and the simple fact that they work. Also, in Finland, lever actions are rather popular.
.30-30 for smaller game and 45-70 for big game and against dangerous animals.

Our relation with rifles is perhaps also somewhat different...we tend to see them as tools.
Perhaps, for that reason we have next to no problems with them. Sure, we need permits and have laws governing storage and maximun amount of ammunition one can store at home, but say for yourself...25.000 rounds is hardly restrictive, blast me, I couldn't even afford that amount ;)

All in all, the general attitude is pretty relaxed and the same goes for calibers and type of rifle, basically whatever you like will do.


I hope this answers your question,

Kind regards

Vesi

RE: 30-06
 

James, I was going to add the .375 H&H to make it my "all around top 4", but you beat me to it.
As for the '06 itself, I can't add anything more eloquent than what some of you others have said, it has truly stood the test of time.

RE: 30-06
 

i love 270 s but the 06 is also a great gun

RE: 30-06
 

THE BEST CARTRIDGE IN THE WORLD FOR NORTH AMERICAN GAME!!!!!!!

GO CANADA

RE: 30-06
 

i love it, it does the job efficently and correctly, i have one myself.