mzl hunter
New Member
my 06 shoot sub moa with 57 gr of biggame powder an 150gr or 168 gr noslor bt or accubonds
Has the 30-06 died along with the .308 ???
- Thread starter Buzzsaw
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Eagel Builder
Well-Known Member
'06 is the grandfather and 08 the father a many of children . Even the 6.5's this years great according to the gun writer's and manufacturer's. Got to sell guns and ammo ?
Wow! 12 pages and still counting. I've had both. The custom stocked nicely scoped 03-06 was the second gun given to my son (the first being a customed 10:22). With it he has taken several deer and elk and he is quite content with it as his only deer/elk caliber. I still have the 308 and a safe full of derivatives from both. My older abused shoulder likes the reduced recoil of the 260 and the 7:08 but they regularly pay rightful homage to their parent - the 308.
Having grown up with a 30-06 that I never really loved, the 6.5 cartridges seem so much more user friendly. The 308 still really has a place because it works in a 16" barrel which can be the basis of a very compact gun, albeit not long range
I knew an old guy that hung out at the gun store he was a funny bastard. said one time...If you dont have a 30-06 you must be a communist 
in a 06 with a 26" barrel you can spark a 212 gr hornady ELD-X bullet with a BC of .663 over 2700 fps. there is no hunting situation that could not be resolved with that combo. also you can get excellent results target shooting.
in a 06 with a 26" barrel you can spark a 212 gr hornady ELD-X bullet with a BC of .663 over 2700 fps. there is no hunting situation that could not be resolved with that combo. also you can get excellent results target shooting.
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ndking1126
Well-Known Member
Of course the opposite is just as true.
shinbone
Well-Known Member
The 30-06 is still plenty popular, but . . .
Now-a-days, with modern powders and modern bullets, it is pretty much never the best choice. You want an all-around cartridge? - 7mm-08, 270Win, 308Win, etc., are better choices. These all get the same job done with less recoil, and/or comes in a smaller package, that will, again, get the same job done.
Most people are hunting whitetail deer, mule deer, and antelope, with their rifles. The 30-06 is way more bullet than needed for any of these creatures. Why do folks insist on beating themselves up just to blast their 120lb whitetail into the next county with a 30-06?
Step up to elk-size game and/or longer ranges, and there are still much better choices than the 30-06. The 300WSM and 7mmWSM are just two of many examples where you get sufficient killing power with flatter trajectory and handier rifles.
The *only* reason why the 30-06 is still around has nothing to do with its ballistics. It is simply because it was adopted by the U.S. military, and so there are legions of cheap rifles chambered in it, and legions of ex-service members who love the nostalgia of the cartridge.
JMHO
Now-a-days, with modern powders and modern bullets, it is pretty much never the best choice. You want an all-around cartridge? - 7mm-08, 270Win, 308Win, etc., are better choices. These all get the same job done with less recoil, and/or comes in a smaller package, that will, again, get the same job done.
Most people are hunting whitetail deer, mule deer, and antelope, with their rifles. The 30-06 is way more bullet than needed for any of these creatures. Why do folks insist on beating themselves up just to blast their 120lb whitetail into the next county with a 30-06?
Step up to elk-size game and/or longer ranges, and there are still much better choices than the 30-06. The 300WSM and 7mmWSM are just two of many examples where you get sufficient killing power with flatter trajectory and handier rifles.
The *only* reason why the 30-06 is still around has nothing to do with its ballistics. It is simply because it was adopted by the U.S. military, and so there are legions of cheap rifles chambered in it, and legions of ex-service members who love the nostalgia of the cartridge.
JMHO
But, the multitude of bullet choices for the '06 make it incredibly useful, as well as the fact that it can utilize powders through a somewhat large range of burn speeds. I have a 120gr load with 4895 that would be perfect for a measly 120lb deer. But, I can't buy OTC deer tags, so my '06 is primarily for elk. Or if I wanted to hunt something even tougher with it, I could use some 220gr round noses. That's nearly a 100% increase in bullet weight for a single cartridge!! Even if you don't hand load you can almost always find 130gr through 200gr factory loads at stores. Even though I'd love to have several more rifles, I want to have my single '06 (or maybe one extra caliber) and be able to hunt anything with it. I've thought about a 270 a few times, but the lack of bullet options is annoying.
I don't think anyone here is arguing that the ballistics of the old '06 are top notch; I think everyone here loves it because of it's versatility, utility, and support base for components. That and we don't want to be labeled as communists
shinbone
Well-Known Member
. . . . and we don't want to be labeled as communists
I think there is a lot more truth to that than most people will admit.
I knew a few guides some in Canada some out west. naturally around the campfire guys shaving their arms to see whose knife was sharper lol but when they were arguing over different rounds for big game saying theirs is the best as soon as some one mentioned the 06 they would all fall quiet. they said hardly anyone bad mouthed the old war horse
MPBR for the 06 165 gr...327 yds--300 WM 180 gr. 339 yds---300 RUM 180 gr 364 yds. this was in a Craig Boddington article
MPBR for the 06 165 gr...327 yds--300 WM 180 gr. 339 yds---300 RUM 180 gr 364 yds. this was in a Craig Boddington article
Savage 12BVSS
Well-Known Member
Truth is they are anything but dead, they will be around and being loaded and used long after most posters are gone. Too many chamberings and interest in them..........lot of other cartridges will fade first.
.300 Dakota
Well-Known Member
Everything else is what us 1% of hunters talk about on LRH. The .30-06, .308, and I'll add the .270 Win is what the other 99% of hunters in the country use every season.
I find the .30-06 the easiest cartridge to handload superbly accurately anywhere on planet Earth. FYI, most all .30-06s and many .308s LOVE the 130 grain Barnes TTSX with Norma 203B to the tune of sub-1/2 MOA with good brass (i.e. Norma, Lapua, or Nosler, Peterson, etc.) This combination will not only shoot through an engine block, but will shoot the tip off the spark plug on its way through!
(Try it... and you're welcome!!
)
I find the .30-06 the easiest cartridge to handload superbly accurately anywhere on planet Earth. FYI, most all .30-06s and many .308s LOVE the 130 grain Barnes TTSX with Norma 203B to the tune of sub-1/2 MOA with good brass (i.e. Norma, Lapua, or Nosler, Peterson, etc.) This combination will not only shoot through an engine block, but will shoot the tip off the spark plug on its way through!
(Try it... and you're welcome!!
)I think that percentage will shift. When I went to the sporting goods store yesterday to fondle some shiny firearms, 98% of them were **** 6.5's
.300 Dakota
Well-Known Member
I think that percentage will shift. When I went to the sporting goods store yesterday to fondle some shiny firearms, 98% of them were **** 6.5's
Say it ain't so!!
You are right. I'll tell you the cartridge that has suffered most from the new era designs is the 7mm Rem Mag. They are still offered in most models, but look at prices they sell for on auction. They are always the cheapest of a given model, and practically no one talks about it, and that's a shame. I have found it easier to load to sub-MOA or below across the board (or with factory ammo) than the 300 Win Mag. My 700P was a 1-holer in the day.
Well, I suppose the 260 Remington has actually suffered more than that, but the "Big 7" is next. .243 will be high on the list, too. New shooters keep it going. At least, they will until they discover the 6 Creed holds less powder and shoots flatter.
