30-06

[CTDolan]

I believe that the 30-06, that brainchild of the great John Moses Browning (he is not credited, but is in there, somehow, no question, for the design is as indicative of he as a person as is one's personal signature) is the greatest cartridge ever developed. Thoughts, opinions, experiences, please.

 

[Witold Krzyżanowski]

Very good calibre. I used it for a long time CTDolan.
All the best.
Witold

 

[ack]

Tried others and always came back...Pretty hard to beat for all around and affordable to boot....Wife and I took ours to Africa and lost nothing,most were one shot kills,up to and including zebra....Took a 60"moose and grizzly years ago also..

 

[ZG47]

One of the best all round hunting cartridges but too long and straight for military purposes and too powerful for the average soldier, which is why the U.S. army introduced special badges (and more importantly, pay increments) for shooting above a particular score.

It does have more taper then the .308 though, which is why it feeds more reliably and one of the major reasons why it has maintained its popularity as a sporting cartridge.

My ZG47 is a .30-06 and it works very nicely. I am currently using aircraft ammo, i.e. M2 152gr that passed the aircraft proof standard, for competition and a slightly heavier recoiling load for hunting (although I should be able to use a smaller amount of a faster powder to reduce that element once winter has gone, and I can be bothered working up a new load from my old notes).

 

[siml]

30-06 is a brilliant caliber, with probably widest range of bullets to choose from. Good enough for any plains game animal.

 

[bluey]

me and my 06 have been friends for a long time , and I cant see anything changing in the near or long term future........
been playing with other calibres for a while now , but but the extension to my left arm is the first firearm l grab , when going for a walk in the bush around home ............
she has pole position in the safe , although shes getting a dinged up these days, she still looks as good through my eyes , since the day we met
she loves spitting out any ammo l put through her ,
and the cause of much debate, around the fire when I have time to go away hound hunting , every so often ........
like it , love it or hate it
theres a reason why most everybody owns one , or at least has in their past.........

 

[ActionBob]

A 30-06 and a 375 H&H, add a 12 gauge shotgun and .22 and your set for a life of fine hunting anything, anywhere.

Indeed the finest cartridge ever, except in Africa where it has to go to the 375 first.

 

[siml]

Bob, that is the perfect arsenal.

 

[Sand Rat]

I bought my Ruger M77 30-06 with one of my first pay checks after going to work for Phillips 66 thirty six years ago. Today I still draw the same paycheck and hunt with the same gun.

But thanks to reading too much on this site (must have caught the fever) I just bought a CZ 550 in 7 X 57. I figure there will come a time when the reduced recoil will be appreciated in my golden years.

 

[peras]

There is always a reason for something staying popular for generations. The 30-06 is a perfect example.

 

[bluey]

Bob, that is the perfect arsenal.

no its not , you still need a long range riffle........with a muzzle brake

 

[bluey]

I bought my Ruger M77 30-06 with one of my first pay checks after going to work for Phillips 66 thirty six years ago. Today I still draw the same paycheck and hunt with the same gun.

But thanks to reading too much on this site (must have caught the fever) I just bought a CZ 550 in 7 X 57. I figure there will come a time when the reduced recoil will be appreciated in my golden years.

you still draw the same paycheck ???, no raise in 36 years
your on a bloody good wage . young fella ..........

 

[Sand Rat]

you still draw the same paycheck ???, no raise in 36 years
your on a bloody good wage . young fella ..........

Correction, still work for the same company...................sorry to confuse ya Bluey.

 

[Boela]

A 30-06 and a 375 H&H, add a 12 gauge shotgun and .22 and your set for a life of fine hunting anything, anywhere.

Indeed the finest cartridge ever, except in Africa where it has to go to the 375 first.

Action Bob, I agree 100% with you. I too have this battery- in addition with a .243
can hunt anything, any time, any where.

 

[siml]

Sand rat, it's not too hard to confuse bluey..
Bluey, the 30-06 will reach far enough for me....

 

[petrusg]

375 H&H in my opinion.

 

[Pheroze]

The '06 is the backbone to my battery: 6.5x55, 30-06 and 375 H&H. The '06 can cover most of the territory of the other two. The only thing I haven't settled on is whether a 7mm Rem Mag has a place or not but probably only at long range.

 

[ActionBob]

IMHO the old 30-06 is flexible enough to cover enough long range shooting for the vast majority of us... However I am in no way saying one should not have more calibers I was just pointing out you can do fine with those, and the venerable 30-06 certainly is about as fine a choice as one could make for the primary center fire rifle, other than the 375 if you spend a lot of time in Africa where the critters are bigger, tougher and nastier. Although if one was in a survival situation, a 30-06 might actually serve you better.

Personally, I currently have three 30-06's but one is a collector and another is a shooter but really too pretty for most hunting. And at the present time I think I have at least 20 rifle calibers, only 2 shotgun gauges, and a handful of pistol calibers. So I'm not going to say one should not have lots of other choices

 

[Redruff]

Yep. Good'ol faithful '06. I own a a nice little side by side in her. Perfect for the bush for a quick second shot on bear, deer. And it does a heck of a job on raccoons as well. R.

 

[TEX84]

Great caliber. Honestly, for the average hunter that does some deer hunting, might go on a big game hunt out west, and may take a trip to Africa, there is absolutely no reason to buy any other caliber.