Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Deer Hunting Any love for the 30/06

A few I have collected/enjoyed over the last 25 years or so,

pretty much by order of acquisition.......




Browning 1885





Sauer 200





Sako Bavarian Carbine





Blaser K95





Blaser Grand Luxe Stutzen Combo (30-06/9.3 x 62)








Merkel 141 Double Rifle






Merkel K4 Damaszener (120th year anniversary rifle)








Merkel B4 Bergstutzen (combo, 223 Rem. over 30-06.)

ya!

GWB

The 308 is like the 30-06 but for men once they become wise.

In fairness I like the 30-06 and it’s great if you are a handloader.

That was good! I’m definitely gonna use that one :-)

I mainly hunt deer & hogs so my personal experiences on a large variety of big game aren't as wide-ranging as others on this forum. Most of the game that has ended up in my freezer was put there with a 6.5x55 Swede or my Ruger #1 in 303 British. But my Sako in 30-06 (top rifle below) is no slouch in the accuracy department. The last time I went to the range, it shot three holes touching at 100 yards with factory ammo which is good enough for my modest needs. The 30-06 might not be the sexiest or the most optimal choice in all situations but it's rarely a bad option. Whenever I'm describing it, I never use adjectives like lacking, disappointing or inadequate. As an all-around reliable workhorse that covers a lot of situations well, I'm going to give it a thumbs up. YMMV.

jk16 the longest shot I made with my .300 was 645 yards. That was back in the day when elk meat was an important part of our diet and budget. I killed several right around that distance. Now I no long shoot exceptionally long shots. The meat is not of up most importance any more.
But last season I killed my elk at 426 yards, one shot the animal maybe moved 10 steps. With my 300 hold over is a minimum. I had a steady rest the shot was an easy one. It could have been made with an 06, but more hold over would have been required. The flat trajectory is one of the main reasons I stick with it. This year there was no time to check the range it was either shoot or loose the chance. That is typical of most of my hunting. To me the 06 is one of the most over rated calibers we have. But it is the upper limits for recoil for most of the hunters in the country. Also, it was widely available in cheap surplus rifles for many, many Years.
To me it is a good caliber, but not outstanding.

Always enjoy looking at your toys.

Who’s that youngster in the first picture.

DF

I think they are just as tough. When I was a kid i asked my dad 30-30 or 30-06? Dad said 06 cause it has more oophf. Dont need nearly that much oomf dad . he uese his 300 Sav. and did fine.

Bringing this back up. The 30-06 will remind you sooner or later in case you forget, just how versatile it is. In both bullet weights and powders, it seems to happily digest about whatever you feed it. Which in today's world is a great asset.

Any shooting I've done lately in 30-06 I've been stuck on testing one gun, an older M51. 180 gr round nose bullets with no load development shot just under an inch using both 56 gr of IMR 4350, and 56.5 of IMR4831.

Have some old cans of powder that was given to me, so using some of that up. Tested 4320 with 150's starting at 3 grains under max and loaded 3 each at a full grain apart up to max. Two of the 3 charges shot 3 shot groups under an inch. No load development.

Next was BL-C2 using the same bullet and method of 3 charges a grain apart from each other starting 3 grains under max. Loads one and three shot just over an inch, the charge one grain under max at 53 gr's shot under 3/4".

I already know it will shoot under an inch with H4895 & 150's. So fast powders to slow, and light to heavy bullets, it's got a lot of range. Sits right in the sweet spot. If you don't have an ideal powder, no problem.

The older I get the less interest I have in "the latest and greatest" hunting cartridges, and heck, hunting rifles in general. (The world of single shot target rifles has captured my heart.) Deer rifles are leaving the house and being replaced by the likes of Ballards and High Walls. The one's that'll remain when the dust has settled, and which serve me admirably for all of my hunting needs, are an original M1903 Springfield NRA Sporter (.30-06 naturally), a pre-64 M70 (.30-06 of course), and the young upstart Ruger #1 (sadly/wonderfully in 6.5x55).

No fancy optics, inorganic stocks, wonder triggers, or precision bedding. Just 95 year old old-school engineering and craftsmanship blended to create a reliably MOA-accurate and rugged hunting rifle. NRA Sporter:

I've posted this one before. I gifted this old '42 vintage Springfield to my good hunting bud. He loves it, named it Dusty Springfield after the singer. That sorta dates him.

I loaded 130 gr. Horn over 59 gr. Big Game powder for a killing load. The bore is pristine thru the Hawkeye, gun is MOA with that load and others. He's shot a bunch of stuff with it, mostly DRT.

Vintage Fajen stock, glassed and free floated by me decades ago. It now wears his Leupold scope instead of the Bushnell shown. Timney trigger, aftermarket safety.

I sent it to David Christman in Delhi, LA to fit bolt handle, drill and tap for scope.

Second photo is the U.S. flaming ordinance bomb and the year, '42. You can see where I polished and blued where the old sight was, rest of finish is original.

Historical and Fudd....

Third photo shows it as it sat in my safe for years, unused. He had mentioned something about wanting a Springfield and I fixed this one up for him.

My son sold the vintage receiver sight on E-Bay.

DF

I've kept one around since the early '80's so I must like it alright. Started with a Remington 760 carbine, then a 7600, S&W 1500, '03 Springfield sporter and ended up at present with a Ruger 77 Hawkeye all weather. The Hawkeye shoots great and I like the weather resistance/durability so I'll probably stick with it to the end.

I have a couple. Pre 64 and a converted Argentine Mauser but never fired either one. Picked them up at a good price as an investment.

Lots of beautiful .30-06'Ss here, that's for sure!

My Bestest Hunting Buddy is my M1917 .30.06, which kills everything I hunt with, very quickly.

.30-06's rule and will do it all in North America.

Well sir, that's 'Merica right there. Kudos to you and your buddy.

Would NEVER choose a 30-06 over my 308's or 300 WSM's.

Love my 30-06's would never be without one. I'm getting 2950 FPS with 168 TTSX on top of Ramshot Hunter and Federal 210 primers.

I have a 30/06 that could be my most accurate rifle. It's a Sako action with a 23.5" Douglas ultra rifled heavy barrel. It was my long range rifle 30 years ago when 500yds was a long shot.

My first bolt action centerfire was a 30-06 ruger tanger. Added a Browning Abolt hunter years later in 30-06. Both very accurate with factory ammo. Killed a lot of game with both. Still own both rifles but I moved on to 7mm08 and 270 rifles for whitetails. Sure are a lot of memories with the 30-06s. I never messed with different bullet weights. Always shot 165s coreloks out of both rifles. They worked so I used them.

I still have one hanging around. Rem Model 700 CDL stainless. Currently sighted in with 150 gr Fusions.

Boarmaster123 or anyone who knows:

I have been told that 165 gr. is what the .30-06 was designed to shoot. Have you heard that as well, or is that a myth?

I have been shooting 180 gr. for over 20 years with my M1917, they are super accurate. I went to the heavier grain simply because I hunt moose with mine, and I figured more weight would be better.

Cheers ~