30-06 Majority Choice In Taking Elk

[bullet]

I got this from the RMEF website.

Here are the top used Elk rifles among those surveyed

.30-06-----------148
.300 Win. Mag.---118
7 mm Rem. Mag.--105
.338 Win. Mag.----72
.270--------------56
.300 Wby. Mag.---39


Top used bullet weights among those surveyed.

225 to 250 grains--27
200 to 210 --------45
175 to 180 --------33
160 to 165 --------91
130 to 150 --------82
Federal -----------126
Remington --------111
Nosler -------------97
Winchester --------63
Barnes ------------20

 

[FOTIS]

Interesting indeed.

 

[nomosendero]

Interesting indeed.

Other things here that are interesting. More noteworthy than the number 1 spot is the 30cal magnums, which if both are loaded to warm, but safe pressures are not far apart at all, but split the vote. Apparantly, more people favored 30 cal mag performance to the 30-06.

Also, 30 cal. rifles make up 57% of choices, also noteworthy. Second place in cal. popularity is the 7mm with only 19.5%.

Wow, nearly 6 out of 10 went with the 30 cal.

 

[JD338]

Interesting, not what I would have guessed.

JD338

 

[bullet]

here's another representation of the top 10 cartridges :

30-06
.223
.270
30-30
.308
.243
7mm Rem. Mag
.270 WSM
300 WinMag
45-70 Gov't

This is based on nation-wide sales....

 

[JD338]

here's another representation of the top 10 cartridges :

30-06
.223
.270
30-30
.308
.243
7mm Rem. Mag
.270 WSM
300 WinMag
45-70 Gov't

This is based on nation-wide sales....

ammunition sales?

Do you know the ranking for reloading dies? I think the list would be similar.

JD338

 

[bullet]

No I don't know about the die sales, but there might only be slight shifts in the line up but none come close to over taking the number one spot that the 06 holds in ammo. The 30-06 is being rediscovered in my opinion by many and that is because of what hand loading allows the 06 to accomplish.

 

[JD338]

bullet, I would agree. I believe that the 30-06 has lead die sales for years.
For a 1 rifle hunter, you can't beat the 30-06.
Here in MI, its the most popular for WT deer hunting.

JD338

 

[bullet]

bullet, I would agree. I believe that the 30-06 has lead die sales for years.
For a 1 rifle hunter, you can't beat the 30-06.
Here in MI, its the most popular for WT deer hunting.

JD338

For a one gun hunter I think you are right. But you and I and others are not one gun hunters. I really like the 300Wby and think I will really like my 358Win. Now that said, I do find myself picking up the 30-06 when someone invites me to hunt where I have never hunted before because the 06 can meet so many conditions head on do well to help cover all the bases. Now if I have a specific task in mind and know that is what I am going to have to encounter then I choose a specific cartridge for the task.

 

[nomosendero]

Putting those 2 surveys together makes perfect sense to me. More Elk hunters preferred a 300 Mag & for all-round use more prefer the '06 to any other.
Pretty much mirrors the way I feel about it. The '06 is seldom a mistake to grab for a hunting trip, esp. on this Continent. I use both & like them alot. I have another that I have used alot also & if a 30-06 is great & so is a 300Mag, one would have to conclude this one will do just fine. It is a Mod 70 in 30-06AI, shooting the 180 at 2,925 & a little change. I really like that one too.

 

[tjRoberts]

In my collection of hunting rifles,
I think I have about 18. I am as happy to use the 30,06 as I am any other rifle.
I often carry my 45/70 in brushy situations , and sometimes my .338 win mag.
I have owned and loaded for a few 300 win mags. Great round , not knocking it. But if I want to hunt elk, out to 300 yards witch is as far as I really want to shoot, the advantage over the 30,06 is hardly worth the added recoil, and powder burned.
I think a 7mm mag is about the equal of the 06, mabye a little more power.
A good of appropriate construction and weight well placed will kill the Elk as dead with a MV of 2850 as it will at 3000.
If I were to go after a big brown bear , a would prefer my .338 win over any 30 cal.
...tj3006

 

[Guy Miner]

tjroberts just summed it up for me. :grin:

I'd take a .30-06 pretty much anywhere in North America, for pretty much any big game. If I was well-heeled enough for an Alaskan brown bear hunt, it would seem a little light, but would still get the job done.

Elk? Absolutely I'd use the .30-06 for elk! Nosler Partitions baby! :grin:

Not a doggone thing wrong with the .30 cal magnums, the 7mm or that big ol' .338 either. Take your pick and go hunting!

 

[Hegland]

Would also be interesting to see actual volume trends since the introduction of most of the belted magnums. I think we can safely assume that before the Wby and Win magnums, the .30-06 enjoyed most of that market. You guys that were around at that time feel free to correct me. For sure, the .30-30 and the Krag, as well as other heavier and lighter factory chamberings and some of the -06 based wildcats saw more action then, but the -06 was on top. It would be interesting to know by how much; how wide was its lead before the belts started popping up?

The flip side of this is that the earliest of the baby boomer kids started hunting around the same time as these magnums came to center stage, and no doubt contributed to some of the fantastic success of those cartridges. So, did the -06 see a drastic drop in sales when these magnums came into existence, or was there enough new hunters to support all of the above?

As if it needed any proof, bullet's current numbers show the -06 is still alive and well in spite of the newer magnums, whatever their length. But the dynamics through the years would be a pretty good read. I'm sure that study has been done, but Google is not finding it!

 

[Greg Nolan]

Volume trends vary from time to time.
Wayne Van Zwoll, who does the annual survey for the RMEF has done research on the calibers first used for elk in Washington state.
Most used 30-30s a few used 44-40 or 38-40. 30-40 Kraig was a big gun and 303 Savage and 303 british were big. The folks use rifles they had. 25-20, 45-70, 38-40s and a few 300 Savage and 250-300s were in vogue. There were every thing from 220 Swifts to 375 H&H magnums. I don't think you can base the best caliber on the most used. If so the 22 Long rifle would be the ultimate caliber.
In later research the 7mm Rem. has surfaced as well as the 30-06 and the .308. The 270 is always popular as is the .338 Win. Mag. The 300 Win. mag is the most chosen of the Western cartriges. The predominance of hunters are from the East and as the early research shows the hunters use what they got. Maybe with a different scope and bullet weight. That doesn't make it the ultimate choice, only the most most cost effective for the most hunters. Sorry to add confusion to the matter but"What is, is"!
Good Hunting
Elkhunt :grin:

 

[bullet]

Greg has said so well and it might be confusing but hunters used what they had. Now that said, with advent of new powders, bullets, brass, primers and new very strong steel of today the 30-06 will find some resurgence. As a point in case: I am at the moment developing a 165gr load for the 22" barreled 06's understanding that some of the slower powders like H4350, H4831, RL-22 and so on can not burn completely in such a short barrel, they need a little more time. Case in point in my Weatherby Mark V 30-06 with a 24 inch barrel I could get 2900-2950fps out of a 165gr bullet using H4350 and still not have over max for the cartridge. Yet, in a 22 inch barrel I can not get to 2900fps without being over max. So I decided to use IMR4895 and AA2495BR which are faster burning powders and use a CCI 250 primer and I can get (which I did yesterday) 2943fps with out being over max.

What I am saying is that the 30-06 will more than likely even increase in sales and use for two reasons. One, the non handloader will be able to get just about any weight or flavor bullet he wants and second, the handloader has the largest choice of bullet selection of any cartridge out there from 110 plinkers to 240gr Woodliegh which were designed for the 30-06 to be used on big and dangerous game up close.

In the USA we have a tendency to want the fastest hot rod out there and I have been in that group for most of my life owning some real hot rods and customs to boot. But even if you do not agree with my following statement I will still stand by it because I have spent my life in the field hunting and shooting game. "The best cartridge for bullet weight, velocity, energy, and momentum as a combination that matches itself to most bullet designs for effective killing at most ranges that hunters kill game is the 30-06."

 

[Greg Nolan]

I believe you're right. The 30-06 is the universal caliber and it will do it all.
I just can't admit it to myself or how would I justify all my other toys

 

[bullet]

I believe you're right. The 30-06 is the universal caliber and it will do it all.
I just can't admit it to myself or how would I justify all my other toys

You just did in your statement: "...all my other toys" Toys being the key word and that is the justification, they are your toys which big boys have a right to have just like little boys have theirs.

 

[JDMAG]

I believe you're right. The 30-06 is the universal caliber and it will do it all.
I just can't admit it to myself or how would I justify all my other toys

You just did in your statement: "...all my other toys" Toys being the key word and that is the justification, they are your toys which big boys have a right to have just like little boys have theirs.

AMEN! :twisted:

 

[FOTIS]

I think and believe the 30-06 is a wonderful cartridge. Just a little too "vanilla" for me.

 

[bullet]

I think and believe the 30-06 is a wonderful cartridge. Just a little too "vanilla" for me.

I love Blue Bell Homemade Vanilla ice cream, it is my favorite.