The under-estimated 30-06... :)

Another example of the 30-06 surprising people:

Yesterday I was practicing with my 30-06, shooting from sitting, at a steel gong 300 yards away. Shot after shot was smacking the gong.

This was with what's become my standard hunting load, a 165 gr Ballistic Tip at 2940 fps via H4350.

The fellow shooting near me with a 6.5-300 WSM asked "What the heck are you shooting? That gong is getting hit hard!"

:mrgreen:

Made me smile.

Oh, that load has recorded single-digit SD figures, and normally I can hold it under MOA from the bench. It's also done fine on elk, black bear, mule deer & antelope.

FWIW, Guy

Nice sstory Guy, thanks for sharing..

I agree with you Guy, the 30-06 is tough to beat for an all around hunting cartridge. Maybe that's why it's been so popular. I've been helping a friend get his M700 BDL 30-06
set up to deer hunt out to 450 yards. Waiting on the recoil pad installation and the CDS dial.
As for H4350, great powder indeed. Getting 2800 fps with the 165 gr BT and ES 8 SD 4.

JD338

Guy,
The .30-06 is not a slouch whatsoever.
It's the yardstick by which every cartridge is judged. Velocity, energy are way more than adequate to take anything on this continent, and many other continents.
The original army requirements for the .30-06 were for it to be able to shoot through a berm, and.other objects at 200 and 300 yards. I would say it passed its testing with ease.
It shoots plenty flat enough for any situation, with delivering ample power at distances to make remarkable one shot kills.
It is the number one selling cartridge for over 100 years now.
Now, with handloading, such as you've done, makes a good thing even better, because it lives up to it's potential.
Now, I will admit, I´m not a huge fan of the .30-06, only because the trajectory is a little too arched for me. I guess you can say I'm too used to magnum trajectories. But that doesn't mean there are any flies on the cartridge itself.
I´m of the camp that if that's what you like, then there's nothing wrong with your choice.

Hawk

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I dont use my 30/06 as much as I should, but it is a hard cartridge to beat. Last year I ran 180 BT @ 2700 fps with H4350. My old interarms mark x groups that load around 3/4", unfortunately I dont think I even carried it in the woods that year. I'll have to change that this year.

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Guy you know I’m a dyed in the wool .30-06 fan as well. The ranch where I work recently stopped doing guided deer and elk hunts but in 2018 I took two game animals there and only three other hunters of our 60 big game hunts used .30-06 rifles, a fact my 6.5 Creedmoor wielding friends liked to throw in my face. However, my two and the other three animals were each taken with a single round where most of the animals shot with other rifles (6.5s as well as magnums) required multiple hits. This is most likely the fault of the Archer rather than the arrow but I found it ticklish to say the least.

A young man who grew up in Boston came west a few years ago and just this spring came to work at the ranch. He’s been trying to learn the western ways, including hunting and shooting. This year he drew deer and elk tags and is planning to buy his first rifle and handgun. While he’s decided on a 9mm for his first handgun he asked me what he should get for a big game rifle. Without hesitation I suggested a .30-06.

As for powders I prefer the IMR-4350 because it’s easy (for now) to find. H4350 is a bonafide unicorn in these parts!


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Nice! I like the 06 case, just not in a 30 cal lol.

remingtonman_25_06":1dk34v9l said:

Nice! I like the 06 case, just not in a 30 cal lol.

Click to expand...

I like the 06 case too, just as long as it has a 7mm bullet on top of it! LOL

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I carried one for most of my adult hunting life and my father wouldn't have anything less.
I used 180gr factory loads for ever and Dad used 150gr Win Silver tips. I found the lighter bullets destroyed too much meat if you hit a bone you lost a shoulder or both.
When I started reloading I tried just about every bullet weight available and settled on the 165gr as my all around bullet weight IMR 4350 was my go to powder and then H4350 later on and now RL 17 is producing higher velocities in my 22" barrel Ruger Tanger and tighter groups to boot.

The magnums have their place in hunting but there isn't anything they will kill that you can't kill with the 30-06.

How big was the gong? I was dinging away at our 12" at 400 yards at our club one day, using up an odd lot of match ammo (I had switched from 168 BTHP to a 150 FMJ that closely replicates M2 Ball as my match opportunities are drifting away from OTC to JCG matches).

A guy walked over from the other end of the range, and taking a look at my Mauser .280 Rem hunting rifle, exclaimed "jeez, that's pretty good for a wood stocked rifle! What caliber, 6.5 Creed?". I then informed him the wood stocked rifle I was shooting was the M1 Garand laying next to it. He just got a bug eyed look and walked off.

The old '06 will still do it! I wouldn't hesitate to buy a new one.

"The 30-06 is never a mistake." y) Col. Townsend Whelen.
Paul B.

After using it the past 5yrs, I’ve gained a new appreciation of its effectiveness in the field.

I’ve got more memories with the 30-06 than with any other cartridge.

The top one was the first hunting rifle I purchased - a post 64 that has plenty of wear on it. After sighting this in 46 years ago I’ve yet to have to make an adjustment. This after many falls and a flight down a canyon and landing scope first on a stump.

The middle one is one my Father purchased for his collection. He asked me if I were going to get a rifle, what would I get? Winchester stainless 70 in 06. This showed up in his collection shortly after and I was fortunate to inherit it after his passing. I’ve used it on deer, elk and antelope.

The bottom is a pre 64 I was lucky to get from a fellow member. Waiting on some hardware to mount a scope.
Special meaning as it is similar to rifle my Dad hunted Blacktail deer with for many years. Looking forward to making some noise with this.

If I were forced to only have one rifle, the stainless 06 would be the one as I can do all I need to do with that one.




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What a great cartridge. Easy to load for, easy to download, and packs a lot of wallop on game without busting your shoulder or your eardrums. With the appropriate bullet there's not many animals walking this earth that you would feel under gunned.

About the only people they're scorned by is collectors, when something is as popular as the 06 has been for over 100 yrs now, it makes it hard to come across a rare one in any rifle.

Alderman, nice rifles. I know you like the middle one and understandably it adds to it that it was your Father's. For me just walking up to a table I'd pick the other 2 in a heartbeat. Love them older wood stocked rifles.

If I could have only one rifle it would be a 30-06. First rifle I bought was a Rem 760 30-06. Have a Rem 700 BDL 30-06 that I got in 1986. Sorta retired it for awhile trying other calibers . Sold my 7mmREM Mag and went back to the 30-06 being my big gun so to speak. I have and hunt with others but won't be without a 30-06. Dan.

To paraphrase JO'C: "...if your '06 doesn't shoot 165's with 4350, you need an exorcist, not a gunsmith."

He meant IMR 4350 btw.

I killed most of my about 100 hooved game with the 30-06.
Starting with the 180 Partition, which was a little too much for our small roe deer, but good for boar and fallow deer.
Went to the 165 AccuBond, then lead free became mandatory for some areas, so I used the TTSX some time and now a 150 gr brass bullet that partially frangments and I am very happy with it.
Would I buy a 30-05 again?
No. I can get faster than my current 30-06 load with the right powder with the 150 gr bullet burning less powder. Yes, I could push the 30-06 a bit faster than the 308 with different powders.
But for my hunting, which is within 300y (mostly within 200y), I simply do not need heavy bullets and we don't have elk-sized game.
Do I regret buying it? Not at all. The Tikka is very precise and recoil easy to handle.

Will see what the 6,5 Creedmoor does for this season, only for driven hunts I will take the 30-06.
If the barrel is worn out in another 1-2000 shots, I will have to thick about what it will be then.

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Haha, I like the other shooter had a 6.5 WSM. Figured that could go commercial...
Great story guy!


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mjcmichigan":2eosa8t1 said:

Haha, I like the other shooter had a 6.5 WSM. Figured that could go commercial...
Great story guy!


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Click to expand...

He's a fellow I've known casually for about 20 years. Fascinated by military style rifles, and also by precision bolt action rifles. That rifle of his is pretty doggone high-zoot! Woo Hoo. Had a can on it, long, fluted barrel, Terminus action, McMillan stock. Man... It had all the bells & whistles! Some big Leupold atop it.

He was running 135 gr Berger Hybrids at some scorching velocity. Awesome accuracy! And was also trying some 140 Nosler Accubonds because he's quite a hunter and has always appreciated the way the Accubonds hang together on impact with game.

Interesting guy, and really is quite a rifleman and quite a hunter. He's much younger than I am and mildly amused by my wood stocked 30-06... But he also knows that it's taken quite a bit of game.

Guy

The 30/06 is "THE" true all around cartridge, ENOUGH SAID.