30.06

tom

Well-Known Member
Hi i am intrested to know any feed back about the 30.06 as a calibre as i am thinking of buying one
 
It does what it says on the box !
I use mine for everything here and in Africa.
There are faster/flatter shooting calibres,but the 30-06 will hold its own with them.
If your a reloader you can load down to 90 grain heads and up to 220 gr.
I personally use 180 gr for everything.
 
I have had 3 in 45 years of stalking.
For general purpose work on all species here I used mainly Speer SPBT 150gr. bullets and 180gr Nosler Partition for Moose in Sweden.
It is one of the finest cartridges ever made.

No doubt derogatory remarks will be made but ignore them.
 
So Stag, you don't know much about any other calibre then, having only used the same calibre for so long!! says I tongue in cheek!!
I prefer the shorter action .308 using the same bullets as you suggested, 150 grn for Deer and 180grn for larger or fiercer species.
 
In 45 years of stalking I have had :-
1- 7x65R
2- .22/250
1- 5.6x61 Vom Hofe Super Express.
3- 7mm Rem. Mags.
1- .300 Win. Mag.
2- .270 Win.
1- .270 Weatherby Mag.
1- .243
3- .308
1- 8x68s
Currently I have 1- .243 Win., 1- .270 Win., 1- .308., 1- 8x68s plus a .22 Rimmy which I never use.
I put the post on to help the guy not for someone to try to take the ****.
 
Missed the 3- .30/06 and 1- .264 Rem. Mag. off the list !
The .264 was one of the very few rifles I had which was a poor shooter after trying most of the tricks.
 
30 06

I shot the 30 06 for two seasons and shot over 60 deer with it. no problems at all and i would have one in my cabinet again.
EMcC Have you shot the 30 06 and if so What advantage dose the 308 have over it.
 
Thanks guys ,from that response i think it might be a good round ,is there much difference between a 30.06 and a .308 as i have a .308 but that is works rifle .
 
No there is very little difference with normal bullet weights, however if you load at the heavier end the seated bullet may encroach on powder space in a .308
As far as killing is concerned there is NO difference.
Bullet design and construction also velocity and quarry range make more
difference. Calibre choice is also insignificant, correct bullet placement at a sensible distance is most important.
 
.30-06 it's great

the 308 and 30-06 have very little separating them up to 165 grain bullet wieght. then the 06 starts to step up. At 150 there is very little difference infact due to the fact the 308 win is made for faster burning powders in some cases the rounds are slightly faster. but 100 yards away that buck won't be able to tell the difference when 150 grains parts his ventricles (spelling alert).

When i started stalking i spoke to an old family friend and an experienced stalker, he advised me on .30-06. It was a great choice, you will hear the "chairborne" rangers tell you it is too much gun - that is bollocks. especially if you consider the 150 gr ballistics beside the .308 win. also you can't have too much dead! you can have not enough dead though!

this long action / short action thing. we are only talking of an inch or so. (7.62 x 51 , 7.62 x 63)

I also hear stories of massive meat damage. If you shoot 150 - 165 gr soft points you will kill stuff DEAD and get less damage than if you use 120 grain ballistic tips or even your .243 with 85 grain bullets and they will run less.

swampy
 
In real terms there is about 10% more power in a 30-06 catridge over the .308. I've shot both .308 and 30-06 both are a good cartridge both do what they say on the box. I would have to think long and hard about swoping my 30-06 for a 308 as I can't see the point in swoping. The 30-06 is a bit of a boomer but the recoil isn't to bad once you get use to it.

I load 150 grns SP which is more than enough for UK stalking. In terms of meat damage it doesn't damage the meat any more than shooting a deer with a .243 would. It certainly does drop them though and as mentioned earlier it also gives you the flexibility to take on some of the African or bigger European stuff if you want.

In essence what your thinking about here is wether to go for a 30 cal with a short case or a longcase with a bit more poke and flexibility if you home load.
 
Woh stag, I was not taking the ****, I was having a bit of light banter as is usual between 30-06 owners and .308 owners, I am certainly not going to go to all the trouble of listing the rifles I've had over the years, it isn't that serious. I will say I have had rifles since before the legal age, there were a lot about then and nobody seemed to mind, and I am a bit long in the toothe now so I'll say no more.
As for the 30-06 and .308, lets just say if I had a 30-06 I would not need a .308 and if I had a .308 I wouln't need a 30-06 but if I had niether I would go for the .308 purely because it does the job for everything I can think of and it is marginally cheaper to run, sweeter on the shoulder and ammo is probably more commonly available.
It is a shorter action so, in theory,should be quicker for a follow thro shot, but that would be purely hypothetical and rarely practical.
I would suggest, over the ranges most quarry is shot over, that there is very little difference in killing power or meat damage between the two.
That's my two penneth for what it's worth, so now it's down to personnal preference.
He can't go wrong with whichever one he decides on.
 
Another vote for the 30-06. A very versatile round and a pleasure to shoot, For this country I use 150gn sp as standard for venison of any size and carcass damage has nver been a problem. :D :D
 
I would take a 30.06 against a 308. Although I do not own one, I have a number of friends who do, it is a very good round for Reds and Japs.

There is a great deal of talk about balistics in this forum, most of which is due to too much reading and not enough stalking (only joking guys). If you pick up the rifle and it feels right to you, and you feel at one with the rifle, the calibre is second to this. Both 30.06 and 308 will do exactly the same job out to 200yds if you put the bullet in the right place. Just make sure whatever rifle you buy it fits you and that you are happy with the feel of it and that it comes up correctly, this is the most important part of buying a weapon.
 
correct there Malcolm.
When I pick my 30-06 up, I know it will do what I ask, if there is a problem it`s usually me not the rifle.
Clients use it too and they are usually wary of 30-06 until they use it, then they love it.
 
Both .308 and .30-06 bril calibres you can,t go wrong and plenty of cheap ex-military cartriges around so more range time at a resonable cost, the more you shoot the better you shoot. Any one will do the job
 
I have just sent my FAC off to have a .30-06 added after a lot of thinking, reading and talking to every deer stalker I meet.
However, I already use a .243 and so want a rifle at the other end of the spectrum with a bit more grunt for the larger game.
Are you wanting an all round rifle for British deer species, or something specifically for Reds…..
Bottom line is, there are so may calibers out there and everyone has there own take on rifles, calibers, bullets, optics but you just have to appreciate that everyone raves about the .30-06 for a reason. I have made my decision, now it’s your turn tom! Good luck!
 
I personally hate recoil after years of shooting 300 Weatherbys!:eek: Now I've come to love light weight rifles/carbines and although I have an 06, I love the .308s. I will admit the 06 is more versatile, especially on the top end with bullets of 169-250 gns.
 
I have 30-06 and have shot all uk deer plus African plains game.In my opinion the 06 with my home loads is a smoother rifle to shoot,i found the 308 a bit "barky"and livley.As always shot placement is paramount.The 30-06 really puts the game on the floor.On one occasion(and it was only on one occasion)on a driven boar hunt i saw 2 pigs running round with 308 holes in them my mate with 30-06 dropped 5 pigs in thier tracks.Eddie in know you have killed dozens of boar with your 308 so no offence mate.
Tusker.
 
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