[Magwa45]

I have a Ruger No.1 B in 30'06 that I shot the barrel out of years ago and it now wears a custom barrel from Blackstar Industries.
Not much more to say about the 30'06 than what has been said above. It just plain works for just about anything in North America, and either factory ammo or reloading supplies are usually available. There is a reason this cartridge still survives after more than a century. With the modern propellants available today this cartridge can approach what used to be .300 WM velocities.
H-4350 and 165 bullets are my favorite. I have also loaded 125-130gr bullets with faster burning powders with amazing results on varmints. Very versatile cartridge.
Lots of cartridges out there, got a few of them myself, but like137898 said above, the 30'06 still makes me smile...

I have been thinking about loading up some 130 gr bullets just for varmints. Just put a data card on the stock so you know how to adjust the scope for the lighter load. I guess the 130s must shoot a bit higher than 165 gr bullets.

 

[Magwa45]

Through the years I also experimented with a lot of different cartridges. It was fun. The 270 was O'Connor' s choice and I am old enough to have read his works while he was still alive. Thanks to marketing and magazines that are now based on marketing we have a lot of cartridges to pick from. I shoot the 6.5 Creedmoor at deer as it is plenty of rifle for that purpose. However, my choice goes back to my earlier experiences with the 6.5 Swede and my brother in laws success with his "Swede". I admit the 30 cals were "boring" and did not fit into my experimentation as I knew they would work. The 06 was a bit over powered for my uses. My daughter ahs piled up a few deer with her 300 Savage. which has worked well for her. I shot a few with a 300 Savage. Also a 30-30 and I went through a 243 stage. The 243 I do not like, I had a bad experience with one that appeared to have broken a shoulder and no penetration into the thorax enough to keep the deer down. I admit part of the experience was my own ignorance or whatever in tracking the animal, but I never had issues with the other cartridges I used.
The 30-06 case was based on the 8mm Mauser. The US military was sued by Mauser for that but the suit kind of fizzled due to WWI. I have made 8mm cases very easily out of 06 cases. The 8mm was a good cartridge. I have not used my 8mm since I held it a bit weird to shoot a deer with it and got whopped in the occipital ridge with the scope. Hurt for a about 4 days, Most of us want a selection, like gold clubs for our hunting.

DEP

I borrowed my brother-in-law's Remington 700 in .270 Win and even reloaded for it. I was very impressed with it. It was very accurate and has a lot of power. Not quite as versatile as the '06 as far as bullet selection goes, but I like it. Maybe I could get a Win Featherweight in .270, but man I just don't need another rifle. There really are too many cartridges. It seems like there a few more new ones every year.

 

[leverbros]

..........The 30-06 case was based on the 8mm Mauser. The US military was sued by Mauser for that but the suit kind of fizzled due to WWI. I have made 8mm cases very easily out of 06 cases. The 8mm was a good cartridge. I have not used my 8mm since I held it a bit weird to shoot a deer with it and got whopped in the occipital ridge with the scope. Hurt for a about 4 days, Most of us want a selection, like gold clubs for our hunting.

DEP

Wasn't that lawsuit by Mauser for copying their bolt action in the 1903 Springfield and not for the 30-06 cartridge itself?

I'm with you on the 8mm cases that can be formed from a 30-06 case. Only oversight I had with doing that is I didn't realize that it's recommended that you anneal afterwards but, with the very few I've formed like that, I never had any problems with them.

 

[M700]

Added another critter to my 30-06 list, a cow elk at 405 yards in a stiff crosswind in Oregon, January this year.

Used a 178 grain Hornady ELD-X bullet handloaded over Ramshot Hunter this time. Oh my goodness, the tenderloins and those backstrap steaks have been delicious.

Regards, Guy

 

[Bullseyes]

I have old Simson-Shul 12/70 gauge drilling with 30-06. I bought it from Germany, I think, that is made for US market area. It works well, when hunting all kind of game (from hare, grouse to elk/bear).

 

[Daltond]

Perhaps it is just irrational bias on my part, but I have always liked the 30-06.
If i was limited to one caliber for all purposes, it would be a prime contender.
Conversely, I never cared for the .308/7.62 Nato.
For decades, the 30-06 was the yardstick against which cartridges were measured, and with good reason IMHO.
I never found the recoil of the '06 to be objectionable, and its superior ballistics Vis a Vis the .308 make it the winner in my book. Probably just me, as I dont care for lite beer either, and the .308 is just a 30-06 lite.

 

[northmn]

The 308 was a short cased cartridge better suited for semi automatics. Those that use bolt actions probably don't see much advantage. Also there is the theory that a short action is stiffer and more accurate. Might be at level that only matters on a target range.
Reloading manuals show the 308 to be roughly equivalent to the 06 with bullets up to about 150 grains or so. With 180 the 06 is more potent.

DEP

 

[TnHunter356]

The '06's superior ballistics always mentioned in a comparison with the .308 are really not very significant for it even in 180gr factory loads. Most all the major manufacturers load the 180gr in the .308 to 2620 FPS while the 06 is rated at 2700 which is a gain of about 3%.

As for a rifle purchase for me in one or the other, if there are 2 different action lengths, I'll normally go with the .308. If there's one action lengths, I'd choose the 06, unless the barrel on the 06 is 24" and the barrel on the .308 is 22". Of course with handholding, the 06 becomes a bit more versatile than with standard factory loads.

It's pretty much a toss up with rifle qualities in my book deciding between the two. My preference for a .30 cal rifle leans towards the SM versions. Short action 22" or 20" barrel and better performance than the 06.

 

[Waffletop]

I'm not an either or kind of guy, I own both 308's and 30-06's.
I like options.

 

[M700]

I'm not an either or kind of guy, I own both 308's and 30-06's.
I like options.

Oh ya, both are fine cartridges! My family appreciates both the 30-06 and the 308 Winchester. Good stuff.

Oldest son hunts with a Belgian made 20" Browning BLR in .308 Winchester. I've still got a Remington 700 with a 24" Krieger barrel. I've had that rifle over 25 years and have shot many thousands of rounds through it. Went through a couple of .308 Win barrels when I was shooting matches. That's a lot of rounds on a single stage RCBS Rockchucker by the way. Had a 30" barreled 308 for Palma and across-the-course competition for some years as well.

30-06? Two Springfields, one is an oroginal O3-A3 WWII version, the other was sporterized shortly after WWII and was Dad's primary hunting rifle for many years.

Then there's a rough 'n tumble Model of 1917 with a 21" barrel and a fiberglass stock. It's gone from WWI rifle to hunting rifle over the years, initially being sporterized right after WWII. My youngest son has taken two black bears and several bucks with that rifle. Not the prettiest thing in the world but a terrific hunting rifle.

Then the one I use most often over the past ten years, my Remington 700 CDL. I've taken game with it in Washington, Oregon, Wyoming and Alaska. What a nice rifle!

I've had the 178 grain ELD-X bullets up to 2860 fps with a book load of Ramshot Hunter. Yee Haw!

Guy

 

[northmn]

Wasn't that lawsuit by Mauser for copying their bolt action in the 1903 Springfield and not for the 30-06 cartridge itself?

I'm with you on the 8mm cases that can be formed from a 30-06 case. Only oversight I had with doing that is I didn't realize that it's recommended that you anneal afterwards but, with the very few I've formed like that, I never had any problems with them.

Probably was. Mausers were used by about everyone but the US and England up to WWII. My daughter has a Chilean Mauser I worked over for her and I have an 8mm Turkish Mauser. We could go on, but considering that the 03 took a case head the same as the 8mm used in Germany, they probably felt they had a case. My daughters Chilean Mauser has a Remington 300 Savage barrel on it that some gunsmith installed in the past. I suspect it came from a Remington 722 in 300 Savage that got rebarreled to 308. Heard that was a popular modification after they came out in 308.
We also copied the 303 British pretty close with the 30-40 Krag. On a Canadian site, I read where some of the target shooters liked to use formed 30-40 cases in sloppy chambers as they had a slightly larger head diameter.
30-06 gains more than the 308 with handloads and longer barrels. It can really shine with performance with a 24" or longer barrel. When I shot a 270 I realized that in that cartridge. Go up to 200 grain bullets and the 06 still gains over the 308. For my hunting, for deer with shots not much over 200 yards, I would be content with the 308. For most uses they are pretty close. At one time the 06 was considered the best rifle for use in the States if you wanted one rifle. It was even loaded with 220 grain for the really big stuff.

DEP

DEP

 

[leverbros]

Good point about the 8mm/30-06 case head comparison as they're both the same.

 

[mam444]

I have shot and killed more big game with my 30 06 than any of the other large calibers that I own. Hunted with the 30 06 for about 30 years. I have since been using other calibers now, but the 30 06 always came through for me, and still own a 30 06 rifle. Through the years I owned 3 different models. A Savage 110, a Remington 700 BDL, and what I currently own which is a Browning A-bolt. Only reason I switched was to try other calibers. I recently started to lean more towards AR platforms.

 

[EverLever]

Yes, the “Ought Six” is so boring…..


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[paulo57509]

I brought my M700 BDL (.30-06) with me when I went to college in Montana. I had worked up a 130gr. varmint load that would shoot 100 yd. dime sized groups. Unfortunately I had to leave it behind. I needed book and gas money.

The only .30-06 I reload for now is my M1. The lone wood (and the BOOM) sticks out like a sore thumb around all the MSR's at the range.

I would like to someday replace that Remington with either another M700 or an M70.

 

[Magwa45]

I have heard some rumor about reloading 30-06 for the M1 rifle, that this can be a problem due to softer civilian primers. Something about possible slam fires or out of battery discharges. For this reason, military surplus ammo is recommended and some manufacturers make ammo specifically for M1 service rifle. Any truth to this? I have reloaded for the M1 using CCI primers and Sierra match bullets and have not had any problems. But then this might just be a one in a million accident rate, so who can really tell?

 

[paulo57509]

Slam fires in the M1 can be traced back to the reloading process, out of spec receivers, firing pins and bolts.

 

[M700]

I have heard some rumor about reloading 30-06 for the M1 rifle, that this can be a problem due to softer civilian primers. Something about possible slam fires or out of battery discharges. For this reason, military surplus ammo is recommended and some manufacturers make ammo specifically for M1 service rifle. Any truth to this? I have reloaded for the M1 using CCI primers and Sierra match bullets and have not had any problems. But then this might just be a one in a million accident rate, so who can really tell?

Some of the reloading manuals have a different section for the M1 Garand.

Hornady for instance has a section for the 30-06 Springfield, and a different section for the M1 Garand. The handloading data is dramatically different.

For the M1 Garand: the highest velocity load is 48.4 grains of Win 748 and a 168 grain bullet for 2700 fps maximum.

For the 30-06 Springfield: the highest velocity load is 59.2 grains of Alliant Reloader 17 and a 168 for 2950 fps.

250 fps is quite a difference.

With my Remington 700 I've shot 180's up to 2860 fps with book loads and 165's up to 2940 fps, also with published loads from Hodgdon. I wouldn't even think of running that ammo through the M1 Garand. I respect the Garand too much to abuse it.

I know that you asked about primers, but I thought powder charge ought to be brought into the discussion.

Regards, Guy

 

[buckeyeshooter]

The link takes you to an article by me, as well as a video of Gavin and I talking about the 30-06 as a hunting cartridge:

https://ultimatereloader.com/2021/08/23 ... g-results/

Enjoy! Guy

I will not argue, I have a bolt, pump, autoloader and 2 1895 winchesters in 30-06.

 

[M700]

I will not argue, I have a bolt, pump, autoloader and 2 1895 winchesters in 30-06.

That's pretty cool. I'll bet none of them are boring.

Guy