.30-06 thoughts

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If your friend wants a 3006 then he should get one. Personally for UK stalking I’d go with a .308...it’s just easier in all aspects and in some respects the unimaginative choice (I shoot a .308). If I was in the US or RSA I’d definitely go with a 3006 just for that bit of extra thump. You might run into resistance with your FEO if only shooting Fallow and smaller, I did. I got the ‘you only need a .243’ treatment but thankfully common sense prevailed in the end. You mention meat damage. I’ve found my mate’s .243 causes much more damage than my .308 150 grains on the smaller deer - even Muntjac.
 
I think back in the early 1980s the advantage of the .308 Winchester was cheap milsurp RG ball ammunition at £20.00 per hundred. US milsurp .30-06 could still be found in some auction houses (your rarely ever saw milsurp British ex ".30 Browning") and the American stuff even if old was Boxer primed. Nowdays I think cheap milsurp is a thing of the past.

But one thing worth saying is use a "long" cartridge if you've a choice if your chosen action is also "long". I'v never seen the point of having a rifle with a "long" action yet ordering it with a "short" cartridge chambering. You are carrying extra length and extra weight yet mot making that feature into any benefit.

Last if it were a common and everyday off the shelf cartridge I'd choose either 8x60S (I had one and still regret selling it) or the wildcat 8mm-06. Not just to be different but because it is just slightly more efficient than .30-06. But I suppose really just to be different even though its actually making a rod for one's own back to no good purpose in the real world.
 
Specifically .308 is cheaper/smaller case/lighter recoiling and (slightly) more easily available (although there isn’t much in it). It’s also short action where as 3006 is long. It doesn’t make any difference to me because I am using a T3 but to some it might if rifle weight is an issue. But, like I said earlier if he wants a 3006 then get one, it’s a highly valid and effective calibre for everything up to where you’d want to transition to a .30 cal magnum.
 
I was debating the 308/3006 dilemma when on line I came across a left hand' new Remington BDL 30.06 in The Sportsman Gun Center at a good price, I found 150gn Sako will shoot to less than 1"MOA. So for me job done. Especially as my go to rifle has always been a 6.5 Swede.

BC.
 
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Very versatile calibre with a wide range of bullet weights. Good for all UK deer, wild boar and plains game in Africa.
 
Well this is far too harmonious a thread!
If he wants one, it will do everything he might want here and for most things abroad.
 
30-06 will do everything and more than a 308w can, lazy handloaded low pressure 30-06 rounds provide full power 308w velocities especially with heavier bullets (less meat damage too with heavy bullets). Ammo availability (if you don't handload) worldwide is excellent for the 30-06 too. I am in Australia and hunt Fallow deer mostly out of our deer species and have hunted with a lot of different medium calibers from 243, 25-06, 270, 6.5x55, 308, 30-06 and 300win and when I decided to invest in an expensive rifle it was chambered for, you guessed it, 30-06 Springfield as it can do everything all the others will on medium game. At a time of the new wizz-bang cartridges the 30-06 still remains to be one of the best ever medium game cartridges ever designed. You can always load a 30-06 down but you can't load a 308 to 30-06 velocities and should you choose to hunt larger game the 30-06 does that better too. For stalking deer, goats and pigs I have a Mauser M12 Expert and a Tikka T3 Battue both 30-06 and a full stocked CZ 557 6.5x55. Future proof yourself, go the 30-06..
 
enfieldspares said:
I think back in the early 1980s the advantage of the .308 Winchester was cheap milsurp RG ball ammunition at £20.00 per hundred. US milsurp .30-06 could still be found in some auction houses (your rarely ever saw milsurp British ex ".30 Browning") and the American stuff even if old was Boxer primed. Nowdays I think cheap milsurp is a thing of the past.

But one thing worth saying is use a "long" cartridge if you've a choice if your chosen action is also "long". I'v never seen the point of having a rifle with a "long" action yet ordering it with a "short" cartridge chambering. You are carrying extra length and extra weight yet mot making that feature into any benefit.

Last if it were a common and everyday off the shelf cartridge I'd choose either 8x60S (I had one and still regret selling it) or the wildcat 8mm-06. Not just to be different but because it is just slightly more efficient than .30-06. But I suppose really just to be different even though its actually making a rod for one's own back to no good purpose in the real world.
Click to expand...
I can't say I agree with you on the "extra weight and length" issue between long actions and short. If you sawed the middle out of a "long" action to make it the same length as the same model in a short action, the weight would be measaured in ounces, not pounds. In the real world you can make other choices if weight is an issue... like a different rifle make or even going to the gym and liting weights.

The 8mm-06 is also a wonderful round. It became popular here after WWII with the influx of surplus Mausers. It was a cheap conversion for handloaders. I would keep dummy 8-06 rounds behind the counter of the gunshop I worked in because often, lengthening the magazine was overlooked after the conversion. We checked any potential trade-ins to see if the magazine and feeding had been attended to.

The 30-06 is a wonderful round. Chucks 220 grain bullets without a hitch, shoots light weights without bother as well. I know one pompus American a$$ that owns eight of them.~Muir
 
I want to add another thing about the 30-06, I believe and it may just be me however I reckon the recoil from a 270 and 308 are snappier than the 30-06, maybe but that's just my thought when same bullet weights are used but I know friends who have also this thought.
 
I recently bought a 308, and started out with one 17 years ago and culled a good few with it. It’s been a decade since I owned one.

The advantage of the 308 seem to be you get away with a short barrel as it is an highly efficient cartridge, mines cut to 20 so make a nice compact woodland rifle.If using lighter bullets it seems to keep pace with the ‘06 very well. Factory ammo is easy to find as are reloading components. My brother shoots a ‘06 and although he always finds ammo, the exact same brand/weight isnt always there.

The ‘06 seems to shoot heavier bullets (150gn and up) 200fps quicker, I think this seems to the the ace up the sleeve. For me that was irrelevant, as mine is destined to shoot lighter weight copper.

On recoil I find the 06 to be a firm push and the 308 quite snappy. Both are fine. I read recently on here a quote I agree with ‘the 308 is second best at everything’, it won’t poleaxe deer like a 300 win mag, buck the wind like a 7mm, shoot as flat as a pokey 6.5 but it does everything pretty damn well which is why it is so popular..... it plain works!
 
The difference in recoil is dependant on 2 factors, rifle and bullet weight. Both 308 and the 06 match like for like velocity wise up to around 160 grain bullets, over that the .06 starts to creep in front. it a do all calibre thats been proven for quite a few years now.
 
30-06 is one of those old calibres where they got it right right bsk in 1906. It is good for just about any hunting situation you find yourself in around the world. Lighter bullets at full throttle loads you have a flat shooting mountain rifle, a very versatile all rounder with 150 to 165gn bullets and 180 to 220 gr bullets you can handle really big game.

Only slight downside is that it has enough recoil that it necessitates good rifle fit and technique - but those are pre requisites of any shooting.

If he already has a 222, 30-06 would be perfect partner. And you can find ammo everywhere around the world.

The other calibres in the same vein are the 7x57 and 7x64 - the later is very popular on the continent as military calibres where prohibited post WW2 for a number of years. Does everything the 30-06 does but with a little less recoil. But ammo can be hard to find.
 
JohnCZ said:
I want to add another thing about the 30-06, I believe and it may just be me however I reckon the recoil from a 270 and 308 are snappier than the 30-06, maybe but that's just my thought when same bullet weights are used but I know friends who have also this thought.
Click to expand...
Totally agree and I have had both. The 270 was very snappy untill a new stock and mod. were fitted. 308 also snappy but the ought 6 is more of a hard push
Tusker
 
Since the supply of 7.62 ( at 4 quid a box) dried up, the automatic choice of the 308 isn’t so clear cut a choice any more.

life is short, too short not to have what you want and if it turns out not to be what you want, chop it in for something else.

mince you’ve found a keep cartridge, simply buy a keeper rifle in it.

For what it’s worth IanF of this parish basically made me get a 3006 as my first rifle of any sort and you know what?
The guy was right, I’ve never felt over or under gunned, hunting big game all over the world.

anywhere in the world where big game is seriously hunted, you can find rifles chambered in it and good ammo loaded for it.
 
Remember the technology has moved on. Your friend can buy a modern moderator which can really change the feel of a shot from a 30.06. The new ones are light and do not ruin the balance of a rifle. He can also consider buying a switch barrel rifle which will give him a range of options to apply as his shooting challenges change.
 
There is always a lot of talk of which chambering is best...which would you take into the wild etc...

hands down if I had to get rid of all my centerfire rifles and keep one it would be my 06, lovely shooting caliber, huge range of bullets available and ammunition can be found everywhere in the world and it will kill anything that walks the earth at this moment.

regards,
Gixer
 
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