Fetish.........
Reason enough.
Many here will never own a particular cartridge simply because it has no appeal. No excuse it needed.
For me, I like the 7x57 and have had once since the Winchester Featherweight was introduced in 1981. That crosses off the similar performing .308 as a point of interest, even though I have tested then, loaded for them and had hunting buddies who use them. The .308 is every bit as good and competent as others have reported.
The .30/06 was a long avoided reality for me. I was exposed to it in the 70's but because I was using magnums, it held no interest for me until I reviewed one years later and saw how well it performed in the field. Went to the store and lined up all the Featherweights on the counter and picked the one with the smoothest bolt and best wood.
The golden test for .30/06's was the 130gn Speer which we called a "cave point", over 58 grains of AR 2208 which is today's Varget. The velocity is around 3300fps in a 22 inch barrel and the best rifles group 5 rounds under an inch. Mine did that easily.
After bedding and trigger work I shot many 5 shot groups with Sierra 150's that hovered around a half inch. The rifle still does around .5 MOA for 3 rounds with Partitions often touching, so for me, the .30/06, at lest this one, could never be replaced by a .308. After saying that, I also like the heavy bullets in .308 caliber and my reloading shelves hold 200gn Barnes TTSX,and Partitions as well as 220gn Partitions and Woodleigh Weldcores.
Your choice will be right for you too.
John
