Home Forums Hunting & Shooting General Big Game "The 30-06 is obsolete!"

I posted the specific factory loads earlier, since that is what most people use, but here are a couple again:

Winchester X3086 180g Power Point .308 Win = 2620fps, 300 yards = 1971fps/1553fpewith a 9.7" drop at 300 yards
Winchester X30064 180g Power Point .30-06 = 2700fps, 300 yards = 2038fps/1659fpe with a 9.0” drop at 300 yards
Winchester S3006LR 190g EBG-LR 30-06 = 2750fps, 300 yards = 2339fps/2309fpe with a 7.5" drop at 300 yards
The 30-06 S3006LR does at 300 yards what the .308 Win does at about 95 yards - for a 30-06 advantage of 205 yards.
Winchester doesn't offer a more comparable .308 Win load that I could find.

Federal P308TT4, 180g Trophy Bonded Tip .308 Win = 2620fps/3039fpe, 300 yards = 2290fps/1922fpe
Federal P3006TT4, 180g Trophy Bonded Tip .30-06 = 2880fps/3315fpe, 300 yards = 2346fps/2199fpe
The .30-06 load does at 300 yards what the .308 Win does at about 215 yards - for a .30-06 advantage of about 85 yards.
Federal doesn't offer a more comparable .308 Win load that I could find.



Before someone jumps on my case about it, I'm not suggesting that a .308 Win is not capable of doing what needs done at 300 yards, that isn't my point. If it was I wouldn't own two and I would not have recommended a .308 win to Daughter #1 for her elk rifle, Nor would have stated many times that most of the game I've taken since 1982 could have been taken equally well with a 308 Win. The point is that a .30-06 can deliver significantly more velocity and energy down range than can the 308 Win, especially as higher bullet weights are encountered. That at SAAMI compliant pressures.

In a "Modern" .30-06, which is where this conversation started, and where the only change would be a change to a 62,000 PSI limit to match the .308 Win, the additional 19-23% case capacity of the .30-06 would give it an even larger advantage. Bump it up to .270 Win pressures (65,000 PSI), wowza.