It's cousins (270, 280, 308 etc) are never branded boring so why the 30/06?

Because it's been around for so damn long and we've all had one. Kind of like the neighbor girl that makes her rounds..

The 30-06 is like driving a 4 door sedan. It gets the job done but most of the time it's bigger than needed. Yes, I have owned a couple, years ago.

For YEARS I had no desire to even mess with one. After messing around a bit with the 200+ grain stuff and newer powders I’m a little more excited to hunt and shoot mine.

To justify their feeling of superiority.
Because they use a newer round that isn't much different.
But because THEY use it it's better.

"30-06 is just sooooo boring. Not worth a crap really.
I, ME, #1, use a 270, 280, 33-06 35Whelen......
to hunt deer, bear, elk. Out to 250 yards!
It does soooooo much better."


It is the boring baseline.
But consider that.


Flatter,
Faster,
Bigger hole,
Than the 30-06

People try to justify their choice by telling you what it does better
than the Old Warhorse.


The funniest is something like a 338 Federal,
Or the 30TC.

"As good as the 30-06!"


Well?
They fizzled out in less than 20 years.
Actually they never ever burned bright.

The old stalwart?
115 years old.
And still a standard chambering in sutible guns.

Strangely enough, I bought my first one in 2020 after swearing I would never own one - childhood biases from those I was around led me to those vows.

Then, I came across a DEAL on a rifle I had been wanting for quite some time... problem, that danged ol’ caliber. I bit anyway - and turns out, I love it!

Its kinda like a 350 Chevy. There are several mothers out there ( 283 & 327 Etc) and there are bigger more powerful mothers as well (427 & 454 and such) but its hard to go wrong with a 350

Probably because it's so darn old. The marketing guru's are always harping on all that's "new and improved" and that older stuff is just gonna become relics, Right? When I was real young back in the 1950's I can recall old timers talking about the "aught-six" and in my childish ignorance I thought it must have been some kind of super powerful dangerous game cartridge or something. So its had a good reputation for so long that its competitors just have to promote themselves in any manner possible even if it incudes bad mouthing one of the old classics. " A .30-06 ?.... Nah; Maybe grandpa liked it but we got something better right here on the rack"..... And so goes the marketing & sales hype. Funny part of it all is that with modern powders & bullets the old .30-06 is better than ever but old stereotypes still persist.

Col. Townsend Whelen once said, "The 30-06 is never a mistake."I think he he was right.
Paul B.

The 30 '06 is easily the most versatile cartridge commonly available. There are numerous cartridges that will accomplish some tasks slightly better than the 30 '06 but none that will match it for all around performance.

It can be loaded with heavy bullets for large or dangerous game.

It can be handloaded to make reduced loads for beginners and still be an effective hunting tool at moderate range.

It handles cast bullets well.

Lighter, modern bullet designs allow velocities and trajectories that nearly match the .270, 280AI, 7mm Rem, 300 win mag etc. to ranges beyond what most hunters can utilize.

Factory ammo is available anywhere you can purchase ammo in a wider selection than any other cartridge.

It can be housed in nearly every rifle design and is chambered by all manufacturers.

A wide variety of reloading components work suitably, thus giving flexibility when shortages occur.

I am sure there are other attributes I have neglected to mention. Use what makes you happy. I enjoy using some rare, uncommon and obsolete cartridges but would never suggest anything is BETTER than a 30 '06.



sorry... not a gun writer so I rarely respond in this area of the forum. All of the above has certainly been stated previously by others whose writing I have enjoyed over the years

It would become MAGIC if they changed its name to 30 creedmoor !!

Extremely effective round but every body and his brother has one.
GreggH

That pig sure does blend in to its surroundings.

No surprises, which makes it boring.

Just does what it's always done.

I don't know why for sure, but I have 3. I have a count of 1 for each of the other calibers I have. I haven't used a 30-06 for a few years trying to learn more about the other calibers, but the quickest elk kill I had was with the 30-06.

Nowadays it is a tweener round. So many people trying to shoot as small of cartridge as possible to take animals to those with large cases shooting long distance.

One thing about it a person can never go wrong with a 30-06.

I've had one since I was 12. I've used every bullet weight conceivable. I even have some old 250gr barnes originals on hand. I just keep them to say I have them and you can't find them anymore. As for heavies, I love the 200gr partition. They sure do work well on deer and elk. Complete pass thrus and drt's. I've never tried the 212's you've been messing with, but I'm sure they are great bullets in the ol 06. I know all of mine have really liked the 200gr partition. For the longest time I believed the 165gr bullet was the perfect bullet weight too. This was written by many gun writers back in the 90's and I tried them and only used them for years. One of my favorite pills was the 165gr SP interlock. Extremely accurate and great on critters. But after switching to the 200 pt, I don't think I'll go back to a 165..

Oh please, if the 06 is boring then the 308 must be cold stone dead. Both are great cartridges

Or the 30 Whelen!

It's called boring because it is boring....

Boringly effective, boringly efficient, boringly deadly on most any critter short of BG and would do a job on most of them with the right bullet.

Old, not some hot new roll out, so not much press, not much excitement.

And who wants to be seen with such a curmudgeon of a round...? Well, me for one. One old curmudgeon toting another old curmudgeon. Sorta grow on each other.

DF

They call the .30-06 boring because they've drank the Creedmore/Grendel Kool-aid. The .30-06 is as capable0 a cartridge now as when it was designed, those in the know will continue to use it as other cartridges come and go.

Not much "come and go" with this old round, coming on strong for a century and change, still counting.

It's not going anywhere.

DF

Really boring. If you are as bad a hunter as me, makes an ass shot, by boring, into a heart shot...a roundabout way to get to the heart, but it'll do it.

Does boring mean fantastic?

Boring?


Yeah, pretty much... That one was shot with a win model 70 as well. Its boring and its old:

Bolt is on the right side though..

Because it's dependable just like it's little brother.

Yeah, that's real boring...

It'll probably do the same thing next time and then again and again....

I do like your ctg holder. I have one just like it. Pat does a great job with his leather work. I'm wearing one of his belts. That thing will outlast me. And I also like his slings.

Back to the rifle. Yeah, it's boringly nice....

Just the handle's on the wrong side.

Otherwise...

DF

Lol. I’m wearing one of his belts as well. When I bought it I bought two. Well, several years later and the extra is still hanging brand new in the closet.

May as well sell the extra one on the Classifieds, you not gonna need it if you waiting for the first one to wear out.

DF

I dusted off one of my boring old .30-06s this fall. Have killed more big game with my NULA Model 24 than any other rifle since acquiring it in 1997, but hadn't hunted with it in a while. So worked up a new load with the 175-grain Barnes LRX, using IMR4451. When I got to the max load listed it grouped three in half an inch, and it managed to take down a mule deer doe at 327 yards, rear-quartering shot that damaged very little meat. Don't usually use that much gun (or bullet) on mule deer does, but that part of our local valley has a grizzly or two wandering around....

That LRX would put a crimp in an ole Griz...

How fast you think that bullet was moving?

DF

It's not boring , it's ordinary, 114 years of history gives it creds , name familiarity, instant recognition with no mysteries left about it. Most who buy and use it shoot 150's or 180's point it right the job is dependably done, it works for ordinary people some less skilled and some above average but allways some that are ordinary. So the crux of the matter is because it is ordinary to so many users that some see it as boring. When I see a 30-06 the first thing I think of is a 1903 that my grandad qualified expert with in 1917 or my dad in 1942. I like the commercial 06's I have but it's the Springfields and the 1917 Eddystone Enfield that are special to me because they are ordinary and a special level of ordinary in my book and you know to last 114 years and still going strong it's level of ordinary will be hard to ever surpass. Mb

So a 308 is just a little less than ordinary.

Every time I shoot my first and last 30-06 I don't think boring! The rifle is accurate, handy and not too heavy. It isn't pretty anymore but neither am I, we both still get the job done.

In addition to being “boring” I think they will be very available for the foreseeable future. Guns that are in stock are 308, 30-06, etc and the out of stock inventory are 6.5s of all persuasions.

Used gun rack at my LGS routinely has nice 30-06s available. I missed the boat on a CZ in 30-06. Seems a young man’s grandfather had left him the rifle in his will. He had stripped the finish and applied a hand rubbed oil finish. Looked completely custom. Very nice. Asked them to consign it so he could get a Creedmoor. Seems rounds like the 30-06 won’t kill as well as the older rounds.

I'd buy a 30 Whelen before I'd buy a 'creedmoor', uhh I already have

Jerry

a 3 0 what ?


Jerry

That's the exact opposite of my area. I had to hunt and look for a 30-06. 6.5 and such all over the place. Ammo and hardware.

Talking the week before Christmas.

All hunting season I poked around various places. Almost every place had at least 4 boxes of 6.5, 6 Creed and 224 Valkyrie.

ZERO standards like 06, 08, 270 etc.

One place even had a good selection of Swede, 7 Mauser, 8 rem Mag etc.

Why do folks call it boring?

Because their lives are an existential hell of dissatisfaction. They are constantly searching for some new thrill to stimulate their dead souls but, never finding it, they continue their vain and fruitless quest while all the time their haven and safe harbor is sitting at home, unused, "boring".

Yet like the prodigal son, when they have finally spent their fortunes and honor they return home to find their "boring" .30-06 waiting for them, not rebuking them but rather rejoicing at their return. It will kill the fatted calf for them...

... or fatted deer, or elk, or bear, or any multitude of fatted beasts of the field and forest using most any reasonable bullet and always with just one well placed shot.

A Remington 700 ADL 30-06 with a 3x9 scope is as boring as it can get. The poor chumps that have used them for years just don't know better.

Its like a decent hammer.
Useful tool, kinda understood most workers would have one.

Probably because when you point it correctly, animals always fall down. No excitement there.

LOL, if 'they' want to call 200gr Partitions or Accubonds at an accurate 2700-2800 fps 'boring' more power to 'em, a good douching along with a fresh baby powdering and a clean pair of pantys would probably help them feel a little better.

That load has just enough recoil to unwind a manbun, that's why.

Yep it’s boring because once you have one you can’t ever really say you “need” another CF.

That’s boring... boringly effective...

Because, everybody has one and we think we're cool when we shoot something else, esp if it is a bit obscure.

I could trade my 257Roberts, 275Rigby, 280 Remington, 308, 300H&H all for a 30-06 and not want for anything more.

I’ll tell all of you why its boring......cause some hillbilly years ago said “Load a 30-06 with Partitions. Shut up and go hunting !”
Charlie

And then there was this Alaskan type hillbilly who said :” Anyone who thinks a 30-06 isn’t adequate for big bears is unwittingly commenting on their marksmanship !”.
Charlie

I shot an 03A3 on the rifle team in the service 50 years ago but never owned one until I won a Ruger American in 30-06 on a raffle ticket I had bought. I already had a 308 and I hated the black plastic stock. Just because I had it, I had to shoot it. Loaded up some Hornady 180 grain SST bullets and after zeroing the scope the first group out of that rifle was covered with a quarter. Well that tore it! I had to do something about that damn black stock!!!! Had it dipped in a burl wood pattern. Not wood but more palatable. Put a galco ching sling on it and took it deer hunting. Shot a doe off hand through the hardwoods 178 yards through the heart. Boring? Yep boringly effective. Guess I will keep it. Just call me boring deer slayer.

30 CreedMOST

Yeah you caught what I was trying to say, DG, not BG. The '06 handles BG routinely without issues.

It could handle DG in a pinch, maybe not a 1st choice. But never count it out. With heavy solids, it could kill about anything with a well placed shot.

IIRC, the 220 NPT was a leading performer in penetration tests, including a number of bigger rounds.

DF

I have a lovely custom stocked BRNO ZKK 600 that I got off a mate who is now deceased so I will never sell it. But I haven't hunted with it for about 10 years. I hunt deer (fallow, reds and a chital stag), pigs, the odd feral goat for meat, foxes and the odd feral cat and find that I usually grab a .257, .264 or .284 calibre rifle. I have 11 rifles covering those three calibres so plenty of choices to choose from. For bigger game like sambar deer I have a .35 Whelen and 9.3x62 so the .30-06 sort of sits in a gap. My .308, 8x57 and .303 are the same. Absolutely nothing wrong with the .30-06 but for the game I hunt a smaller cartridge seems to kill as well with less recoil. For pigs out west my Ruger Ultralight in .308 does the job very nicely. The short 20 inch barrel is handy for in the thick stuff and the pigs are shot under 100m so no real need for a 24 inch .30-06.

On the other hand my brother has a .30-06 and shoots everything with it from foxes up to red stag and wapiti in New Zealand. It's his do everything round.

Mule Deer has written that older hunters tend to gravitate to smaller less recoiling rounds as they get older. I never really thought this applied to me but I have definately used smaller cartridges the last few years. I never made a conscious decision to but maybe I did it subconsciously. My .30-06 has a very trim little stock with a 1/2 inch recoil pad and recoil with a 180gn bullet at 2875 fps is quite noticeable.

Boring? Meh, what do they know? Evidently not much and anyone spouting that kind of baloney in my presence would get tuned out while I daydream of all the game I've whacked with one.

What turned me into a .30-06 fanboy was my first '03 Springfield 50-couple years ago (an original M1903 Mark I). That rifle taught me more about marksmanship than the other rifles I owned up until then. It might explain why I have ten '06's in my possession at the moment- mostly original '03 service rifles, target guns, and NRA Sporter, with a couple interlopers like a 1954 Model 70, M1, and a Mauser sporter. On my ammo shelves I have loads from cast bullet plinker/small game stuff, to midrange cast and jacketed stuff, to Molly-bar-the-door stuff. Do I have a fondness for other chamberings? Indeed, around 50 or so others which includes a 6.5x55 Ruger #1A which has become my go-to hunting gun. But if push came to shove.....

Could not have said it better.
Wish I had sooner.

Jerry

The older I get, the more I like boring.

What’s that saying?
All of them do something better than the 30-06, but none of them do everything as well.

Ive only used one a few times as a kid but lately im reintroducing myself to the 30-06. Ive no real use with running it with lighter bullets as ive already got a 308win, 270, and 280 to do such duty. To me i want to make the 30-06 my one and done 200gr Partition launcher for elk. Its fairly thick where im at compared to the rest of the intermountain west and why not have a bit more horsepower and good penetration when at times you run into elk at essentially archery distances. Theres also more of Montana's grizzly bears showing up here and if your seeing 5 of them in a day then its time to step up the jorsepower and pack the heat so to speak. I have a couple 45-70 leverguns but im now exploring bolt actions. Ive also got my favorite rifle in the form of Ruger's compact rifle 338RCM. Its the best ive had in a bolt gun but i wanted a really common case component and caliber as an elk rifle and ibhope that 30-06 is the ticket.

If this site was slightly like Facebook (and am glad it isn't) this would get a "like."

I understand yall’s reasoning but I’m wondering....

I’m now 71 yo and in the past 2-3 years have developed loads and hunted
& killed deer with 6.5x55 and 284 Win but also hunted a new TO ME
Tikka T3X SS Lite 7 RM.

My query is: are these rounds ‘boring’ OR

Am I not as old as you guys? LOL

Jerry

I guess because it works too well and is so versatile. It is like a Toyota Camry......boring because it works great and does what it's supposed to every time, day in and day out.........even so, there are people that crave exotic sports cars that are insanely expensive and require extensive maintenance year after year......I just don't get it either.

I suppose because they are so easy to use for so many things. No drama unless you start talking about what is the best load for something.

I came to the .30-06 by using a .300 Savage for about eight years and then a .308 Win for about the same length of time. I am glad I did. Easy to load for, easy to use.

Of the big game types I have killed, I have used an '06 on at least one of them with the exception of a bear. I need to take care of that.


Match the loads to the quarry and life is good. I have lots of other centerfire chamberings but except for the .223 and rarely the .338 Win Mag none get much use in the field.

Just say it. Its not a 308 Norma mag.. Plain and simple. That's why its boring..

Never heard it was boring and I started using one here in Alaska in 1965 and took my last caribou with one. Gave each of my daughters one when they were 16 and they took moose, caribou and black bear with them. Gave my grandson one for his birthday. I have known more people up here using the 30-06 then any other cartridge. Can't think of any critter up here it won't do the job on and my old pre-64 Featherweight will be passed on to a grandson some day. Take a good bullet and put it in the right place and the results are predictable, maybe that's where the boring comes in. Same thing time after time.

I have four, I don’t think they are boring at all.

TRUE THAT...

At last look, I think I've got 8 of them in my cabinet.

I've got to say 30-06 is not boring to me. I spent the 1st 30 years using it for groundhog, boar, deer-- whatever. It was all I had. I've been reloading it for 20 years, and I've got to say that it has been one of the easiest I've found to load for. Despite 2 decades, there are still avenues I've not explored with this chambering.

If y'all want a new and exciting experience, try one on a whitetail at very close range, say inside 20 yards. Be ready for some surprises.

It worked in 1906 and it works today. I don’t think of it as boring. Someone with a lot more knowledge than most of us said it best, the 30-06 is never a mistake.

Dont know about boring but I was just at Cabela's.

4 boxes of 30-06 on the shelf, Hornady Outfitter.

42.99 a box of 20.

That my friends is what will fuel a resurgence of reloaders in this country. Lord help you if you like to shoot in volume, have a Wby, and don't reload....

30-06 boring?
It's been a reliable round for over a century and if reliability is boring, I hope to always be bored in every shot I make.

I wonder how many Germans, Japs, Italians, Koreans, Chinese, Vietnamese and a lot of other categories of enemies were simply bored to death by it since 1906?

I just think of it as a .280 Remington necked up to shoot heavier bullets.

Or a .338-06 necked down for more velocity. It's a very cool cartridge that way.

This speed goad is very bored.
M1 2020 Buck 2 by .com/photos/156296479@N08/]Steve Zihn, on [bleep]

When people ask "How any 30-06's do I have", I ask "How much money do they have?"

I need a Garand

Reload with what components?

A guy has to have at least 5....

You have a wby and don't reload? Damn, it's because I bought a wby in the 90's that I started loading ammo. I got a hell of a good deal on a nice 300wby, but had no idea what wby ammo cost. Trust me, the reloading equipment was far less money. You must be a doctor or some such schidt...

I hunted with one for years. I later realized smaller cartridges with smaller bullets kick less and kill the same.

I reload and have less than zero interest in a Wby cartridge - just know that loaded ammo for them commands a premium and if that's up from 2 bucks a round for 30/06.... no flippin thank you.

06, 6mm Creed, 6.5 Creed, 224 Valkyrie, 300 wsm, and some 454 Casull was about it on the shelf.

BSA they are a hell of a lot of different cartridges out there besides Weatherby that cost between 60-100 bucks a box. I suppose my being a minority has something to do with it but paying that kinda money for ammo makes one dumbass in my view. MB

Because of Internet forums.

30-06 is like the hot older woman. Been through the wars, can handle any situation, nothing she hasn't done, or cannot do.






6.5 Creed and other startups, are the fresh face young gals. Easy to look at, but full of drama, never really done anything, probably be gone soon.

Seven is a good number to have! I hunted over 20 years without one and in 1988 I started craving one so I got a M70 XTR Featherweight barreled action. Fiberglass stocks was being highly promoted so I dropped it into a Bell & Carlson. That fall I killed my first and best bull elk and best w/t buck along with coyotes and such. I guess some would think that was boring but, I think it's dependable. How does it go: "There's not much a man can't fix with 700 dollars and a .30'06".

It was my opinion as well until I came across a NULA M24 in 30-06? Now I have 2 of them and absolutely love it! I used to believe the line why bother when you have the .308 Win does everything in a short action etc etc. A .308 feeds ok but a 30-06 feeds slicker than snot! Especially in a CRF action its just so fine!

Other than a 12 gauge and 22 Lr, I’ve shot more game with the ‘06 than any other, maybe more than all other center fires combined. I’ve only had one failure with the ‘06 and that was with a bullet that just came out and evidently hadn’t been tested by the manufacturer yet. So yeh, it’s boring.

USPS finally got a new take off SS never fired 24 inch 06 barrel for my 700 here this past week. Rifle had a 22 incher on er originally..I don`t like 22 inchers. Bought the barrel from a "Fire" member. Should have it screwed on next week..can`t wait to play with it and Berger Bullets. Might even take it out hunting..

Amen.. Sure got that right.

That's some funny, and true stuff Vic!

I like the little 6.5 Creed but I joked with Dober and a few others the 30-06 with the 212 ELD at 2700 was kinda like a 6.5 CM with some nuts...

My load pretty much mimics the 143 ELD at 2700’ish with some more bullet weigh and pretty much identical flight characteristics...

Just because people may be bored with the continual and reliable competence of the .30/06 does not mean the cartridge itself is boring.

It continues to do everything asked of it. I have owned rifles 10-20 times the value of my .30/06 but it will never leave my rack and if I have a dollar in the hunt, will be called upon again specifically, because of that utterly boring and repetitive reliability.

i have 6 30-06. Currently

https://www.longrangehunting.com/threads/wolf-caliber-and-round.242611/page-7 ............. i don't know how to post a pic . ..... there is a wolf shot by a sako mannlicher 30-06 on here a few threads down. A big white wolf running full speed across a white lake. -37. i was not bored.

I think they (not me)call it boring because its so easy to work up an accurate load for. Every 3006 Ive ever had was easy to work up 1 inch or better loads for. On the other hand I have numerous 308s because everyone on the campfire says they are easy to get to shoot. I have spent countless hours trying to get them to shoot one inch or better . Only two would do that, a reminton 700 that loves 180s but hates 150s and a lee enfield 303 converted to 308. It shoots one inch with winchester factory 150 gr power points. I would love to get the 308s to shoot because of all the reasons stated above. I have bought lapua brass, match dies etc but no luck. I have a 6.5x55, 7mm08, 280 and 35 whelen in addition to 3006. all were relatively easy to get on inch or better with .

Good one.

DF

Because it does everything well but nothing great.

I’ve had numerous Springfields and still have three. The only “problem” I’ve had with load development with the ‘06 is changing bullet weights/loads with the Springfields - changed POI more than most. One of the most accurate rifle I’ve ever owned was a Springfield with a barrel that was cut back to 22” - my cousin uses it in cast bullet matches now.
Any more, I shoot mostly cast bullets in the Springfields 03’s and 03-A3’s. The ‘06 that is my favorite is a re-barreled, re-stocked 721 with a M8 4x.
When I started shooting jacketed bullets in my first Springfield I used 165 grain bullets, but later changed to 180 grain CL’s then Interlocks.
The ‘06 can be described as boring because load development is/was so easy and using 180 grain CL’s or Interlocks is effective on any game that I’ve used that combo on.

Only read so far in the thread and I felt the need to respond. The 30-06 is a round from the cavalry era of the military, and was designed from it's inception as a cavalry troopers round capable of efficiently destroying a horse.
And as such it was designed in a 9 lb rifle which was deemed at the time the minimum weight rifle that the average cavalry trooper could effectively handle the cartridge in. No problem there, as it was the horse that would primarily carry the burden of the rifle.

And the 30-06 rifle can be had in trimmer form these days, but there is a price to be paid in recoil. This recoil can be viewed from 2 perspectives. First perspective is that the 30-06 is the most effective rifle in it's class with acceptable recoil. Second perspective is that the average deer hunter doesn't need a horse killing rifle, or the weight and recoil of such.

The 30-06's rep as a deer killer came about due to it's numerical prevalence in the hands of American deer hunters. Which of course came about due to it's military use. It's a short jump to imagining and designing a lighter and easier to use deer rifle. Which to many, if not most, equals less boring...

The horse is beaten!

I own and reload for many different cartridges around 60 -65 not sure ? I don`t worry how many dies or guns anymore i own or use. but this year 2021 i am considering using a 30-06 Pre-64 that I inherited a couple of years ago since my rebuilt shoulder is now healed well and can now handle the steel buttplate on this old Pre-64 . besides with everyone using all the new cartridges and the 30-06 being a ancient old relic cartridge i guess i will dust the old Winchester bolt off , reload some cartridges ,site the the old relic in, and maybe even kill a nice buck with it ? > heck this old - old ancient cartridge is so old maybe now this old 30-06 cartridge will be legal in the muzzle loader season now ?

114 Years old and just getting better.........

Yeah, maybe, but not dead....

DF

Some of us didn't take a wtby to reload, we knew what could always happen, and the positives of reloading. Heck some of us started well before out of high school and with a lee loader set and a mallet and are still moving right along.

Though eventually did get a few rounds in wtby chambers.

because of whats ruining Trump. Media.

06 is just fine.

Although I only own a few in Garands and have only shot pigs with it. Its still just fine.

In fact I got excited this year to see a client bring a 308 on a moose hunt. I was far more impressed with his rounds impacts on moose than the latter, and latter had 338 win mag and had as good if not better hits than the 308 client.

Of course I once again came to the conclusion that Partitions are not reliable to me at all. While Barnes continue to be.

I'm curious. I know this place bashes the 30-06. Does it happen much on other boards?

Most of the 30-06 bashing, and 270 bashing as well, reminds me of high school. It was cool to bash authority, your parents music, old people generally, etc. because teen boys want to be accepted by their peers. Like Chester here.

What happened with a Partition on this particular hunt? Care to share the details?

I've still got 2.............

I just re-barreled my last 30-06 to 7X57, it is no longer boring.......

Luckily I still have several 308's to shoot up my .30 cal bullet stash

I don't blame you but be forewarned, you'll want more than one as they are worse than a bag of Lay's!

SD

Weight and recoil...

Nothing wrong with the 30-06, really.
But it never caused the excitement that the 5.56/.223 does...

After decades of endless '06 articles eventually they had to move on to something else

It's boring to a hobbyist or loony who likes to experiment and has the means to do so. To a guy who wants a serious, dependable killing tool he can rely upon to keep his freezer stocked with meat, boring is good. He's not interested in being entertained.

Name a bottlenecked centerfire cartridge, introduced since 1930, and larger than .20 caliber that might fail substantially in that regard?

Hmm. 22 TCM and 5.7x28 come to mind. They would likely work, but I doubt a majority would consider them "a serious, dependable killing tool" for hunting what a guy would use a 30-06 for.

........Aside from its wonderful all around capabilities it is too common and too generic........

Ok. 308 Win. 168 Barnes TTSX. Shots around 125 yards or so. Low through heart and leg meat. Pass through. Moose don't realize they are dead. We decide to take another shot. Same distance basically. Enters rear of lungs, exits through shoulder meat and part of scapula. Pass through. Moose still not aware of death. Third shot enters shoulder meat, exits center of neck, pass through bang flop.

Move onward. 338 Win Mag. 250 partition. Pretty slow. Range just under 100 yards. First shot broadside centers both lungs, just at the crease of the leg. Caught a hair of shoulder meat, no bone other than rib. Moose is sick. But moves off a bit. Still standing so lets do it again. This hit is about 5 inches from first, basically same perfect placement. No exit on either shot. In fact neither of the 250s even made it to ding the inside of the ribs on the off side. Guessing they were both in the off side lungs somewhere. Normally I dig but lets just say it was a super long day and even longer night working on getting him back to camp which was complete by about 9am the next morning. I didn't dig.

JB told me once on an issue with NP on small whitetail and 300 mag that the 180 was NOT a mag bullet, but the 200 was. I'd be impressed with that bullet. But Barnes was around and figuring out how to shoot them and then along came the TSX and the TTSX and between them and a few bergers here and there I'm good. Not a nosler in the household anymore other than some old 6mm partitions been here for years.

I guess this will happen to the 6.5CM then. Endless Creedmoor articles have been happening for a while.

I wonder what the next big thing will be?

Wow. I'm just as surprised that all three Barnes exited as I am that neither Partition did. Thanks for typing that up!

Some years ago during a rodeo with a big muley buck, my brother shot him in the ass as he was hobbling away at about 400 yards with a 200 gr Partition out of a 300 SAUM. When I was gutting that buck, I discovered that the Partition didn't make it out of the guts, so then we started measuring and digging. It penetrated 14-15" tops. Not what I would have expected.

Not many, and that's the point. Part of the hobby is arguing minutia.

In the end, boringness is subjective and determined by application. A 30-06 doesn't make for a very good 13-stripe ground squirrel rifle. But it might prove entertaining!

I have never witnessed a partition penetrate as well as a TTSX or TSX

I bought my son a 30-06 when he turned 14 and loaded it with110 grain bullets. Well today I bought my first 30-06. Figured I'd stimulate the economy with a new Kimber Montana.

Don't you think this is comparing oranges to apples? 168 grain .308 Barnes to 250 grain .338 Partition?

I've shot a lot of big game with the 180 grain .308 caliber Partition. Never had a failure or problem. Only recovered one bullet. All 1-shot kills except for one caribou that I flinched on.

1 Garand and 1 turnbolt for High Power comp's, and 1 custom hunting rig for slaying dinner...still not boring

Of course it will....Eventually

Everything has it's day in the sun. Shooters were just as excited at one time about the latest flintlock as baby boomers are about the '06 as the current generation of shooters is about the Creedmoor. Folks get upset about it but they may as well be shouting at the tide.

What comes along next? Who knows. It's been said that nothing is as powerful as an idea whose time has come. That's what makes predicting the next big thing usually little more than a guessing game. Widespread adoption of a new military round. Perhaps a new technology. Maybe a new shooting discipline catches on in popularity.

Whatever it is, at the end of the day it's just a piece of brass. No need for people to lose sleep over different shapes of metal

It may be just a piece of brass, but a segment of the board got worked up over it. Some still are. Until the 30 Blammer arrives and they will chase that butterfly.

I wonder how the Short and Super Short crowd are these days? Or the Lazzeronian Church? The Compact Magnum folks? There's a few left. I wish them well.

At least it keeps them out of the bars. 😄

Mebbe shoulda gone one of those routes 'cause that's all that's left on the store shelves....

My WSMs and WSSMs are working fine, thank you.

To answer the OP's original question, maybe they just don't know any better.
Paul B.

When your performance becomes the standard for comparison, you become "boring."

The 30-06 is the baseline reference cartridge, plain and simple.

Because it's been around for over a century and just works, plain and simple.

My only full-power rifle is a .270 so I can't speak from personal experience, but the variety of .308 projectiles available, coupled with the insensitivity of manual actions to varying loads makes it far from boring in my eyes.

My Weatherby has never shot any factory ammo since I got it either. I find it easy to load for.

the 30-06 just might be needed here in America ? again

Yeah, its needed every Fall in the hunting woods from what I see. Where have you been?

I was one of the guilty ones. Boring, always something better. Only owned one a Browning Bar for a short period of time. Took it out to WY to coyote hunt with a buddy in January during a arctic cold front many years ago. My lack of experience with keeping that auto action properly lubricated for sub arctic conditions -20F caused me to be with a froze up rifle all day long. Not the cartridges fault. Fast forward to today. I just had a full blown custom rifle built, had a choice of any caliber, it’s a 30.06.