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30-06 for everything

27K views 48 replies 23 participants last post by  Smoke 'Em 
#1 ·
the 30-06 I am told "is old school" or "not a flat enough shooter" . :? but a lot of people don't handload and don't spend the time at the range to get good shooting at all distances. they would rather buy magnum guns and be sighted in at 300yrd. and thats it done, one weekend a year at the gun range.

jr
 
#2 ·
Well Jr, I reckon you can call me old school since my 30-06 does all I ask and then some. I do not see anything wrong with the mags as long as the intent is not to substitute velocity and energy for marksmanship. I'd not fault my 30-06 for not getting the job done at 300 yards, it would more likely be the result of a problem with the bloke behind the buttplate. I am also skeptical of advice from one weekend a year shooters.
 
#6 ·
I no longer have a 30/06 but would not feel handicapped at all with one. It is what I recommend for a caliber for any one who wants a gun for big game hunting, excluding dangerous game. I bought a 300 Win mag A-Bolt with BOSS when I was looking for an elk rifle only because it was on sale and I could get it for $20 more than the 30/06 Savage 110 package with scope, sling, and case I was intending to buy.
I have tried lower velocity loadings in my 300 but with poor results. My gun just doesn't seem to group bullets well (>2" at 100 yards with the best loads) unless the velocity is about that of a really hot 30/06. My 30/30 does better with cast bullets around 1800 feet per second or so, groups are pushing 1" at 100 yards which is also better than with most jacketed bullets. I loaded some light 220 gr bullets for my 375 H&H mag, velocity is about 2000 fps and groups are 1 1/4"-1 1/2" at 100 yards. This will be my deer and black bear round next fall, I have high hopes for it.
 
#7 ·
Jrboltaction said:
hey,

any yall play with "ultralight" loads for 30-06, or anything .30 caliber?
I don't but a long out of touch friend used to keep nickle plated brass loaded with 120ish grain plinker/small game loads. If he saw a grouse/rabbit/squirrel in the middle of the day he'd swap and shoot.

He worked wiith it enough that he had about the same trajectory out to 50 or so yards.
 
#8 ·
.30/06 versatility

The .30/06 is likely one of the most versatile rounds in existence. It will handle bullets from about 130 grain.... up to about 220 grain. Therefore, it can be used on most every game animal. There are more powerful rounds.... and some that tend to be a bit more accurate at times... but, with carefully developed loads (or high-quality commercial loads) the '06 will do the job with complete competence. There is a lot of logic in the fact that, after all these years, the '06 is still one of the most popular rounds.
 
G
#11 ·
It's "old school" all right, but so am I.

Jrboltaction,

The .30-'06 Springfield is far and away my all-time favorite cartridge. In my view, it offers the perfect blend of manageable recoil, flat trajectory, accuracy, flexability, reloading ease, and downrange thump, all in one commonly available package.

Over the years, I've taken everything from rabbits to eland with the cartridge, and never wanted the animals that I've harvested to die any deader than they did when hit with a 180 grain Barnes "X" bullet or a 220 grain Barnes "solid", which I used in Africa, where solids are legal.

Yeah, it's "old school." But so am I. I don't need a cartridge that's capable of dropping game at ranges farther than I care to shoot it. I don't need any more accuracy in the field than my current rifle in .30-'06 can deliver. And so far, I haven't needed any more thump than the '06 can provide.

I took my old Griffin and Howe Springfield to Africa and used it to take eland and kudu. While I don't have enough African experience (yet!!) to be anything remotely close to an expert on the subject, I do believe that we don't have any any non-dangerous game on this continent that can match an eland for sheer tenacity of life. Yet the old '06 got the job done for me, and I expect that it will do so again on my next visit to Africa -or my next caribou hunt, or my next moose hunt, or elk hunt, or.....

If I can't get the job done with my .30-'06, then it is probably one that I don't have any interest in doing in the first place, and if it is, I'll want something with more punch than any 7mm or.30 caliber magnum has to offer. Something on the order of a 9.3X62mm or a .375 H&H.

They are pretty "old school," too. But they are still viable rounds that are just as useful today as they were decades ago. So it is with the .30-'06.

-JP
 
#12 ·
Hey JP,

That is my same outlook on the subject, and i feel storng along the lines of that you said. I have only one 30-06 rifle and that is my sportorized 1903 springfield. Maybe I have fallen in love with the 06 cartridge and the history of my rifle simply becuase my Dad foced it upon me. :lol:

He is a great man who loves his leverguns :D

By my own research I found my own love of the cartridge and it's versatility, along with the accuracy of this rifle that far beats my own, and I plan on taking many deer with my rifle through my lifetime.

I do not for see anyother rifle in this caliber or bigger to take my 1903's place.
 
#13 ·
Just thought I'd chime in with everyone else on this one. A properly loaded .30/06 will drop anything on this continent with authority. Guess I'm another one of those "old school" guys.

By the way, Jrboltaction,

If you're going to the range one time a year with any kind of firearm, expect a lot of misses 'cause that's what you're going to get.

Practice, practice, practice. You owe it to the game and yourself to make a clean, ethical, killing shot. Guess I'm "old school" that way to.
 
#14 ·
I'm almost as old school. I went the .308 road instead of the -06, and I've been perfectly happy. It's funny to note that a lot of those magnum meatheads catagorize the .30-30 as a "marginal" deer cartridge. Oooooookay. If you've got a mag for a decent reason and can shoot it well, then I don't have a problem with them using it for a deer rifle occasionally. I just laugh at the guys that think a .300 WinMag is THE deer cartridge. Go figure. If I were going to buy a dedicated deer/antelope rifle, it would probably be a .243, but that's just me. I would add a .30-06 to my arsenal, but there's not a whole lot it'll do that my .308 won't. A good .30-06 bolt action would be one of those rifles that you would never sell. Old faithful. It would be in the gun cabinet right next to your good .22LR from the day you got it until the day you had no need for them.

If anyone ever tells you that using a .30-06 is "old fashioned", just tell them that they must be shooting at those "new deer" that require more firepower. Way back when I was starting to hunt, critters would go down from the -06, but those darn things just keep getting tougher and tougher. Before ya know it, we'll need ULTRAmags to bring the suckers down! Then you can go into the "walked five miles to get to school" stuff.
 
#15 ·
Yea, uphill - both ways!

In the snow, too!

I fired my nephews .300 Win Mag - once. That was enough for me. I can't imagine shooting that rifle enough to be proficient with it from field shooting positions. But, I guess if you can kill them from 300 yards away, you don't have to worry about honing your hunting skills like stalking, and woodmanship to get closer.

It's kind of the same thing as the trend to use more and more power to kill a turkey. I use 2 3/4" turkey loads, and they pattern tight out to about 30 yards. They will drop a turkey in it's tracks, as long as they're in range. 3" shells aren't too bad, I've used them too. But those 3 1/2" loads are over my recoil limit. Why do we need to use a gun that's generating recoil like a dangerous African game rifle to kill a twenty pound bird? I've seen advertising that says it'll deliver killing patterns to 50 yards. Calling them in to strut right in your face is a real rush! I killed an Oceola two weeks ago that was 4 yards from me when I fired. Every time I clucked, he gobbled, and ran another couple yards closer to my decoy. He was close enough for me to hear him drumming and the "whoosh" sound they make when they go into strut. The Remington 2 3/4" load of #4's almost took his head off. He never even flopped. C'mon people. If you can't call a turkey in closer than 50 yards, don't shoot. Again using firepower to cover up a lack of hunting skill. If they came out with a 12 gauge 4" Magnum, I'm sure it would be even more popular.

Whew, I feel better now!
 
#16 ·
Oh, if only I could use a rifle for turkey. I'd use my .22LR or not sell my coyote rifle, behead the thing with no recoil, and not have to pick shot out of my dinner.

I sure wouldn't be standing in line to try a 4" 12-gauge turkey load :shock: . I'd rather have it USED on me than to use it on something. If they ever did come up with such a thing, there would probably be hundreds of thousands of them sharing a bunk with a .500 NitroUltraICBMmag for 362 days out of each year.

If you can't hunt it with a .30-06, you're either shooting at something the same mass as a Land Rover, or you're standing way too far away from it.
 
#17 ·
Re: re: 30-06 for everything

wired said:
If I were going to buy a dedicated deer/antelope rifle, it would probably be a .243, but that's just me.
Well, my 30-06 is my dedicated everything rifle. But, if I were to specialize the 243 would make the short list along with 257 Roberts, 250 Savage, 260 Rem, 6.5x55, and 7-30 Waters (from a single shot). I'd probably take the 257 Roberts.
 
#18 ·
Re: re: 30-06 for everything

grimel said:
wired said:
If I were going to buy a dedicated deer/antelope rifle, ... I'd probably take the 257 Roberts.
GREAT CHOICE!!! :D :D When my son turned 12 and drew his first antelope tag, I bought him a Ruger 77 in 257 Roberts. He took a deer and antelope with it that year. As he got a bit older, we had it re-chambered to 257 Ackley Imp. Now, that is one fantastic lead spitter! :!: :shock: :D If you stick with 115 to 120 grain bullets of good design, it will even take elk with properly placed shots.

The standard Roberts with factory +P loads is good, just the way it is. :p What I like also is the nice light rifles you can have made or buy in the 257 and 7mm Mauser, its parent caliber. The European 6.5X55 and 6.5X57 are both wonderful deer and antelope rounds, too.

SOLUTION:.......GET AT LEAST ONE OF EVERYTHING!!!!! :wink:
 
#20 ·
Re: re: 30-06 for everything

That .308 does everything I could ever want it to do...[/quote]

In 1961 I was 14 and we hunted Woodland Caribou in N. British Columbia. The Guide, Otto Elden, was a wirey old German who carried a well worn Savage mdl 99 in 308. He shot everything from beaver (for the fur trade...in the head) to Grizzly Bear and Moose with that open sighted 99/308.

If that isn't an endorsement for the 308, nothing is!!! :!: :D There is a reason why calibers are rated as "in the 30-06 class", and the 308 sure is right there. :p
 
#22 ·
Re: re: 30-06 for everything

daddywpb said:
I'm kinda surprised that nobody else has a comment for Jrboltaction concerning his "one weekend a year at the rifle range" plan.
Read much? The "one weekend a year" thing wasn't his. He was mostly b!tchslapping the people who do it. Can't say I blame him. They call themselves "hunters" and "firearm enthusiasts" and all kinds of other respectable names, and they don't even bother to put a couple hundred rounds through their rifles.
 
#23 ·
Re: re: 30-06 for everything

Read much? The "one weekend a year" thing wasn't his. He was mostly b!tchslapping the people who do it. Can't say I blame him. They call themselves "hunters" and "firearm enthusiasts" and all kinds of other respectable names, and they don't even bother to put a couple hundred rounds through their rifles.[/quote]

Thats the spirit wired. We need more people like you at the range. thank you for understanding my meaning :D

And by the way don't forget about that .300 savage :cry:
It is the .308's daddy
 
#25 ·
Welcome Cheeshunter,I agree,everyone should have at least 1 30/06,308 is nice and I want to replace the one I sold one day but I can load the 30/06 at least 200 fps faster in the 30/06 in 165 gr and up to 220 gr,but then again the 308 can shot with the lighter bullets better than my 30/06,we all need both.The longest shot I ever saw personaly was on a pipeline gathering station,they had markers every 100 yards and then the closesr you get to the gas gathering station the yard markers went every 25 yards,so this is reliable,and elderdy gentelman got out on the pipeline with help from his son and friends,sat there for most of the day right next to me,he shaked as he handled the Remington 700 in 308 but when he leveled the rifle he didn't shake at all, he shot the doe at a little over 400 yards,his son retrieved the doe,perfect shot,the 150 gr went through and you couldn't have asked a cartridge to do more damage.I really need to replace the 308 I sold,I'm missing it more as I talk about it.Like mentioned I believe it has more to do with the guy behind the recoil pad.Drop-Shot
 
#26 ·
:D This Has been a most interesting discussion. One thing I think that needs to be remembered: shooting often and with accuracy is most important. I see the mags. slammed as being the mark of a poor hunter and shot. Maybe not the intent, but that is how I read it. I have had the fun of hunting with many folks, and also watched many hunters at the local range handle their rifles. It only takes a few minutes of observation to see if we have a hunter/shooter or some one who hunts occasionally and never shoots for pratice. I say we have a vast majority of the latter. As far as calibers, there are no flies on the '06,270,7mm mag, etc. BUT the use of a 30/06 doesn't automatically make you the best hunter since Deerslayer. I have seen more lousy shots with the old '06than any other caliber, not because it is a poor caliber, but there are so many 06's in use. Last elk season, one group used a refrigerator box for their target. They each hit it a couple shots off hand, and were all set for elk season. I kid you not. Today, the 2 very best deer hunters I ever knew, both carried .300's not all the time, but when conditions deemed it best. These guys didn't sit on their butts all day in an elevated stand or watch a bait pile. They still hunted, tracked, trail watched, and sometimes put on mini drives. They were deadly. They also hunted in a time when deer were far less numerous than now, and they knew they may have one chance all season. They would have to make that count. An '06 is ok, but carrying a mag. doesn't make you poor hunter or poor shot. One of theguys I mentioned was with out a doubt the best off hand and woods shot I ever saw, and over the years there has been quite a few.Things he could do off hand never ceased to amaze me. On the other hand, the worst crippler of game I ever had the displeasure of meeting used either a 6mm or .243 :wink:
 
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