What if I'd of stuck to 30-06?

[roysclockgun]

Being a romantic, I realize that I just fell in love with too many rifles and too many different cartridges over the years.
I quote Jack O'Connor often: "Beware the man who only owns one rifle, he can probably shoot it!"
When I was young and poor, I bought a US Model of 1917 and "sporterized" it. I began loading 180gr. bullets and with the 30-06, slayed untold numbers of groundhogs. Used the 180gr. load for everything from groundhogs, to fox, to deer and anything else that needed shooting. I did not know, nor did I care what other loads were available. I knew that with the old Model 1917 and those 180gr loads, nothing lived, if I did my part.
As soon as I could afford to do so, I accumulated a battery of rifles and shot them all and still do. Two varmint rifles. One in .223Rem and the other in 22-250. Then there is the ultra long and heavy .243Win, for great big prairie dogs! Many big game rifles, most of which were swapped off or sold outright, for another one that caught my fancy. The longest lived rifle in my gun case, is a Winchester Model 70, in .270Win., made in 1952. Although I have not hunted with it in years, I will die owning that one.
I left the 30-06 behind and got a Browning B78, falling block rifle in 7mmRemMag. That is the one that I have stayed with, even though I did have a brief affair with a Browning A-Bolt in 300RUM. The RUM was a disaster. Too much powder to get too little gain, and when I began to get the MV that I expected, the groups opened up. That one went on the Internet sales.
Probably if I had learned about how good the 7x57mm Mauser was, I would have gone with that years ago. Still, it's bigger, younger brother, the 7mmRemMag, for me, is unbeatable, in terms of range and killing power. With the more modern Partition bullets that cartridge is even better then when it was introduced.
Just an old man's meanderings. I cannot think of one piece of game that I have bagged, that I could not have gotten with the Model 1917 30-06. Well, maybe that shot at the muley, across the canyon, in Wy. would've been more chancy at a chronied 404 yards, using the 30-06. With the 140gr AccuBond and the B78 in 7mmRemMag., it was just another shot on deer.
What is the rifle that you would liked to have stuck with?

 

[1Shot]

I like you started out in 1970 with a 30-06 but mine was an unissued 1903A3 Springfield made my Remington. I was 13 years old and worked all summer mowing yards to make the $45.00 to get the rifle and two boxes of soft point ammo so I could go deer hunting with my Sunday school teacher. With the open sights I learned to really shoot that rifle. I had a cousin that was in the national guard and he would bring me a 250 round ammo can of black tip AP ammo for it every month. That rifle really liked that ammo. That rifle got traded off and I have two big safes full now. Out of all the rifles I have owned and do own there is one that I will most likely die owning. It is my go to rifle for deer which is 99% of the big game hunting I do. It is a Rem. 700 action Shilen SS #6 barreled 25-06 in a H&S Precision stock with a Zeiss Diavari 3-12X56 in Leupold mounts and rings. That rifle has accounted for well over 100 deer. I used to help control hunt a big farm where we had to take 100 deer a year off of it for crop damage reasons. Every time I get ready to go deer hunting that rifle just jumps out of the safe and clings to me. :grin:

 

[Guy Miner]

I too started out with a good old 1917 .30-06 rifle...

Have thoroughly enjoyed using a wide variety of different rifles and cartridges on game over the years, but... Looking back I could have done it all with one good .30-06 rifle...

Do Not Let our Wives See This Post!!! :shock:

 

[SJB358]

I started out with a M70 7mm Rem Mag, and learned to start handloading at the same time. I used 115gr Speers during the summer to shoot wood chucks and crows, then used a 160gr Barnes X to shoot everything "big game" in the Fall. I used that rifle with a 4x Redfield to shoot alot of stuff, and man, it hasn't let me down, ever. Right now the rifle is with an outfitter buddy in Idaho. He uses it for elk, Mt Lion, deer, wolves, and anything else. I let him borrow the rifle with 100rds of Speer 160gr MagTips. So far he is doing well with it. It deserves a new stock and scope, but it is still working hard everyday. Scotty

 

[DrMike]

I acquired three rifles at almost the same time. I had a Model 94 chambered in .356 given to me in appreciation for a funeral I conducted for a man's grandmother. I began to handload almost immediately. Within a couple of months, I purchased a Model 70 in 7mm RM. A few weeks later, at an auction, I bought a Lee Enfield in .303. It was the start of a love affair with handloading and shooting. There is no question that the .356 would have sufficed for 75% of the hunting I do, and the 7mm RM would assuredly work for all hunting needs. I am blessed to have opportunity to acquire and shoot a wide variety of rifles. Probably, it is time to let some of them begin to go. I'm hoping some of my grandchildren will take up sport shooting and I can transfer some of the weaponry to them. There are still good friends and young hunters who could use a hand that may receive my largess anonymously.

 

[Antelope_Sniper]

Dad still has his 1917, So does my Uncle, and my other uncle has Granddads 1917. Great Classic American Rifles. And they are even better with modern bullets.

 

[JD338]

My first rifle was a M700 BDL in 30-06. Great caliber for sure.

JD338

 

[Scott Spencer]

My first rifle, and I unfortunately no longer own, was a Rem Model 700 BDL .308 in 1972 (at the age of 12).

 

[FOTIS]

I have owned dozen of them...literally. Great guns man. Problem is every time I had one I would wind up using it for everything and nothing else would get used. :lol:

 

[Antelope_Sniper]

POP, That's why they are great for the man with one gun!

 

[SJB358]

My father has hunted with a 30-06 forever. He bought a 300WSM once in a nice Browning, but sold it shortly thereafter. Couldn't see the rifle doing anything his Browning BAR in 30-06 wouldn't do. He did use my 338 Win Mag for an elk, Brown Bear and a huge Sask whitetail, but only because he had it dialed in for the brown bear hunt and practiced all summer with the 338. Before that, he took two moose, some caribou and bunch of deer with the 06 using Federal Premium 180 (wait for it) Nosler Partitions. Matter of fact, that is the only centerfire rifle he owns and he still uses it every year with NO issues or want of more power. Scotty

 

[bullet]

My first real love of a cartridge was the 30-06 in a brand new Ruger MK II 30-06.

 

[jtoews80]

I started hunting at 12 with my dad's lever action M88 winchester in 308 with a 4X tasco on it. I bought my own rifle the next summer a Savage 110E with that awful yellow stock and a 4X tasco on it too.

Shot a half dozen deer with that rifle and hated it because it was heavy and the stock had no checkering at all, so it was kind of slick if my gloves got at all wet.

I'd have to say that the Sako 75 SS/syn in 7mm Rem with a 2.5-10X42mm Elite 4200 would have to be the rifle that could do it all for medium sized game.

JT.

 

[roysclockgun]

Rather interesting, the different attitudes toward firearms, when viewing the generational gap. My Dad, now gone, was born in 1917 and served a hitch pre-war and then, during WWII. He was one of 14, raised during the Great Depression era and viewed hunting as just one more survival activity. He cared for his rifles, but had no passion, regarding how he felt about them. He had bought a used Winchester Model 54 in 30-06, in his younger days, and shot all his food producing animals with that. In his those days, even ground hogs were a food source. Later, he bought a Model 70 in 220Swift and killed untold numbers of groundhogs with that rifle. Those two rifles were all that I ever knew him to own and they served him well.
My generation, being farther up the food chain, economically, seems to have developed a penchant for owning huge batteries of rifles. These rifles not only overlap each other, in terms of what tasking they will perform, but are even duplicated, regarding various chamberings!
Is all of this simply the result of having more leisure time and more disposable income than our fathers had?

 

[DrMike]

My generation, being farther up the food chain, economically, seems to have developed a penchant for owning huge batteries of rifles. These rifles not only overlap each other, in terms of what tasking they will perform, but are even duplicated, regarding various chamberings!
Is all of this simply the result of having more leisure time and more disposable income than our fathers had?

You nailed the issue precisely!

 

[TBASTIAN]

My first centerfire was a Ruger M77 with the tang safety...I killed a lot of bucks with that rifle and should have never traded it away. I continue to gain new rifles and calibers but the gun that I reach for when it truly counts is a Browning A-Bolt, Stainless Stalker in .30-06, it too sports a tang safety! There's definitely something to be said about the ol' .30-06 Springfield.

 

[FOTIS]

POP, That's why they are great for the man with one gun!

Everyone knows I ain't that!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :lol:

 

[ldg397]

I have a sako 85 greywolf in 30-06. It is a wonderful rifle but I keep looking at my nosler book figures at the 300 win, 300 wsm, 270 win, 270 wsm, fill in the cartridge name here. The one thing I can't convince myself of is that any of these cartridges will do something my 30-06 cannot. Yes they may be faster or more energy but if i do my part as a rifleman I don't believe I will ever see an appreciable difference in the field.

Funny thing is I tell people I don't want a 270 win because everyone has one and what do I have? an '06 because even if you hate the caliber you just can't argue with the versatility and results.

 

[roysclockgun]

Idg497 wrote : "300 win, 300 wsm, 270 win, 270 wsm"

Over the years, I left the 30-06 behind and have gone to one of the souped up cartridges that promised more velocity and thus a greater effective range. In the main, my reason *was* based on getting more effective range. I was discussing this with a hunter much older than I. He made a good point; "If you see an elk at 800 yards and can stalk into the range of your rifle to take that elk, then you are a hunter!" I have often thought about what that man said.
Along that same line of thought, I admit, most honorable bow hunters are more patient than am I and in most cases, better hunters.
Maybe getting a 30-378 in order to shoot game at extreme range is the wrong reason to use it.

 

[DrMike]

roysclockgun,

You point is an excellent one. While we must appreciate the precision and expertise exhibited in precision shoot at long ranges, the thrill of stalk and the pleasure of getting close to the game should not be overlooked.

Interestingly, during the past several years I have developed loads for a variety of Lazzeronis and large capacity Weatherbys. In each instance, the people requesting the loads spoke of their desire to take elk at extreme ranges. In part, they had watched television shows that told them they could shoot accurately at extreme ranges. In most of those instances, the rifles were up for sale within a brief period. They were uncomfortable to shoot and the owners didn't want to spend the time practising to become proficient. Few of these owners are willing to take the time to practise at long ranges to become proficient. I believe that the shows that promote long-range shooting would do a great service if they stressed to viewers the necessity of practise at anticipated ranges before shooting at game. There is a difference between slinging lead and calling one's shot before the trigger is pulled.