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Notes on the Centenerian
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<blockquote data-quote="greenejc" data-source="post: 1630522" data-attributes="member: 60453"><p>Just so you'll know, I have, shoot, and reload for both the .308 Win and the 30-06 among other rifle calibers. I'm also retired infantry and was an armorer part of my career. I know quite a lot about both rounds. </p><p> The 30-06 was developed by Mr. Browning to meet or exceed the 8X57 Mauser's performance with a 150 grain spitzer. At that time, the Mauser cartridge had a MV of about 2700fps, and the -O6 duplicated that easily. It was designed with a tapered body and a 17degree shoulder for ease of feeding and extraction. Brass wasn't as good back in 1906, and Browning was already beginning work or automatic rifles and a machinegun in this cartridge, so feeding and extraction reliability was a must. Also, there were limited choices for smokeless powder with this cartridge. Performance was limited by available powders and powder burn rates. It was designed for a MAP of about 60,000 psi. (about 52,000 CUP.) The diameter at the shoulder is 0.441 and the shoulder angle is 17.5 degrees. This was done to facilitate extraction. You see this in the .308, too, with its 20 degree shoulder and a taper at the shoulder of 0.4539. The base of the rounds are the same at 0.4708 or so. Both cartridges are basically free from the chamber walls when they have been extracted one tenth of an inch, which greatly facilitates reliability in semi-automatic or full auto fire. The neck of the 30-06 was made longer than the original -03 cartridge to give the spitzer bullet better alignment with the rifle bore. Sometime around 1925, the Army brought out a new round, which had a 173-174 grain projectile at a nominal velocity of 2650 fps from a 24 inch barrel. All of this was with powders comparable to IMR 4895 in burn rate. This was also the preferred powder for the M2 Ball cartridge, which had a MV of 2800 fps with a 152 grain FMJ bullet from a 24 inch barrel. This is what the .308 winchester or 7.62 Nato was designed to match. The .308 did this by having a higher MAP than the 30-06 by around 2000 or 3000 psi. The -06 also had a reputation for less accuracy than the .308, but this is due to platforms and powders more than inherent accuracy. The M1 garand had to have a fast burning powder like H4895 or IMR 4895 in order to have the right pressures at the gas port. This gave the cartridge about a 70 percent fill when loaded to the proper pressures. Comparable charges in the .308 Winchester or 7.62 X51 Nato relult in about a 90 percent fill or better. Burn rates and velocities were more consistent in the .308 as a result. In my rifles, using IMR 4350, I get 5 shot groups that are less than 1" at 100 yards, so I think the -06 is more than accurate enough in a sporter barrel. (I have a rifle chambered for -06 in a heavy match barrel, and 5 shot groups are less than 1/2 inch with the same loads and bullets.)</p><p> However, that was the 1950's and this is 2019. There have been some very interesting advances in powders which change the paradigm for the two cartridges. For instance, Speer gives the maximum velocity of the 30-06 with the 200 grain Hotcor at 2670 fps using RL26. Hodgdon gives a max velocity of 2840 fps for the 180 grain Sierra GK at 2840 fps with Superperformance, and several other loads topping 2800 fps from a 24 inch barrel. This gives the 30-06 around 150 fps more velocity in heavier bullets over the .308, but more importantly, it gives it a 400 ftlb advantage in energy at impact. That can make a big difference on large bodied animals such as elk and moose. As to the 147 grain to 155 grain bullets, the 30-06 with modern powders can exceed 3,050 fps with several powders. It can also push the 165/168 grain bullets well over 2900 fps with several of the newer powders. That gives it a 200 fps advantage over the .308 in the same barrel length. I, personally, think that might possibly be a significant performance advantage.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="greenejc, post: 1630522, member: 60453"] Just so you'll know, I have, shoot, and reload for both the .308 Win and the 30-06 among other rifle calibers. I'm also retired infantry and was an armorer part of my career. I know quite a lot about both rounds. The 30-06 was developed by Mr. Browning to meet or exceed the 8X57 Mauser's performance with a 150 grain spitzer. At that time, the Mauser cartridge had a MV of about 2700fps, and the -O6 duplicated that easily. It was designed with a tapered body and a 17degree shoulder for ease of feeding and extraction. Brass wasn't as good back in 1906, and Browning was already beginning work or automatic rifles and a machinegun in this cartridge, so feeding and extraction reliability was a must. Also, there were limited choices for smokeless powder with this cartridge. Performance was limited by available powders and powder burn rates. It was designed for a MAP of about 60,000 psi. (about 52,000 CUP.) The diameter at the shoulder is 0.441 and the shoulder angle is 17.5 degrees. This was done to facilitate extraction. You see this in the .308, too, with its 20 degree shoulder and a taper at the shoulder of 0.4539. The base of the rounds are the same at 0.4708 or so. Both cartridges are basically free from the chamber walls when they have been extracted one tenth of an inch, which greatly facilitates reliability in semi-automatic or full auto fire. The neck of the 30-06 was made longer than the original -03 cartridge to give the spitzer bullet better alignment with the rifle bore. Sometime around 1925, the Army brought out a new round, which had a 173-174 grain projectile at a nominal velocity of 2650 fps from a 24 inch barrel. All of this was with powders comparable to IMR 4895 in burn rate. This was also the preferred powder for the M2 Ball cartridge, which had a MV of 2800 fps with a 152 grain FMJ bullet from a 24 inch barrel. This is what the .308 winchester or 7.62 Nato was designed to match. The .308 did this by having a higher MAP than the 30-06 by around 2000 or 3000 psi. The -06 also had a reputation for less accuracy than the .308, but this is due to platforms and powders more than inherent accuracy. The M1 garand had to have a fast burning powder like H4895 or IMR 4895 in order to have the right pressures at the gas port. This gave the cartridge about a 70 percent fill when loaded to the proper pressures. Comparable charges in the .308 Winchester or 7.62 X51 Nato relult in about a 90 percent fill or better. Burn rates and velocities were more consistent in the .308 as a result. In my rifles, using IMR 4350, I get 5 shot groups that are less than 1" at 100 yards, so I think the -06 is more than accurate enough in a sporter barrel. (I have a rifle chambered for -06 in a heavy match barrel, and 5 shot groups are less than 1/2 inch with the same loads and bullets.) However, that was the 1950's and this is 2019. There have been some very interesting advances in powders which change the paradigm for the two cartridges. For instance, Speer gives the maximum velocity of the 30-06 with the 200 grain Hotcor at 2670 fps using RL26. Hodgdon gives a max velocity of 2840 fps for the 180 grain Sierra GK at 2840 fps with Superperformance, and several other loads topping 2800 fps from a 24 inch barrel. This gives the 30-06 around 150 fps more velocity in heavier bullets over the .308, but more importantly, it gives it a 400 ftlb advantage in energy at impact. That can make a big difference on large bodied animals such as elk and moose. As to the 147 grain to 155 grain bullets, the 30-06 with modern powders can exceed 3,050 fps with several powders. It can also push the 165/168 grain bullets well over 2900 fps with several of the newer powders. That gives it a 200 fps advantage over the .308 in the same barrel length. I, personally, think that might possibly be a significant performance advantage. [/QUOTE]
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