30.06?

[CandG]

I've got a Winchester 70 in .30-06, a caliber I chose based on its long, positive history, as well as it's versatility, range, and power. Accuracy has been great as well. Honestly, I think it's best feature is just the amazing variety of ammo available for it. And that variety and availability will always be there - this cartiridge ain't goin nowehere.

[toby]

http://bulletin.accurateshooter.com/2011/04/308-win-vs-30-06-match-results-may-surprise-you/

http://livingprepared.blogspot.com/2014/08/308-vs-30-06-whats-real-difference.html

There are situations where a 308 is equal or a tid bit better velocity than the 30-06, bullets, powder, chambers, pressures all play parts.
Pick one for they are as one for anything other than long range competition shooting.

I own both 308 and 30-06 and hands down the 308 is my cartridge of choice just for the cool factor and I know it will do anything I need it to do.
I handload all of my own ammunition so cost does not even play a part on my decision of the two rounds and besides the cool factor I cant stand it when people say but the 30-06 will shoot 125 grain bullets all the way up to 220 grain bullets, SO effin what if I need a big bullet I'll shoot a larger cartridge. Ponder!

[pennstater]

Ok, lets see here. I have and shoot/hunt with:
Ruger No.1- 30-'06
Ruger MkII- 30-'06
Win. Mod 70- 30-'06
Now let me count my .308 Win.- 0![but, I wouldn't mind having one sometime.]

[TMB 1]

They wanted a cartridge that was short enough it would work in all the NATO countries rifles. They started out with the 300 Savage but it wouldn't work in the 30-06 chamber. 308 was invented to work in 30-06 chamber with an insert during the change over, otherwise 300 Savage may have been the 300 Savage NATO.

[Mojaveman]

Have a Winchester Model 70 Sporter XTR in .30-06 and I'm keeping it until the day they put me under. I like the balance of a long action rifle better than I do a short one. I can also shoot heavier bullets faster out of it than I can a .308. It recoils less than a .300 WM so I can shoot it more comfortably at the range.

The '06 is going to be around for a long time.

[AGGRO]

I've got a few of each but would never claim the .308 is better. You can get 06 ammo that is close to .300 wm. .308 is good for a scout gun as it's a shorter, lighter action.

[JMP]

I've read that it is obsolete because it's loaded for older rifles and that means the same or less velocity than modern .308 ammo.

Kestryll, that is true if you are talking about old ammo for M1 Garands and such. Lighter bullets with less charge are needed because modern 30-06 loads would produce too much pressure and be too hard on the old rifle.

The 30-06 can handle bullets to 200-210grs while the 308 (while many will disagree with me) can really handle bullets to 175-180grs. The 30-06 is probably one of the most popular cartridges for hunting in the world as it'll have signficantly more power than the 308 Winchester. At the same time, it enjoys a much longer barrel life than the 300 Winchester Magnum. The 300WM uses a lot of powder for its size and the barrel life isn't good.

Now, the reason that you will not see 30-06 commonly in precision and other rifle competitions is that the recoil is fairly harsh and shooters will generally opt for a rifle that delivers similar balllitics with less recoil. Calibers in 6mm or 6.5mm short actions can mimick the ballistic results of a 30-06 in favor a smaller case and bullet to get less recoil and more precision. In general, due to the increasing entropy, you will not get as precise results in a larger cartridge as you will in the smaller cartridges. However, the accuracy will be plenty good for most shooters, especially those who are able to hand load and fine tune the accuracy.

The nice thing about 30-06 is that you will have probably as many bullets as any other cartridge to choose from. Just about any bullet in .308" diameter from 150gr to 210gr should work and will get the proper velocity for stabalization..

In that respect, the 308 is a little more efficient as it is quite a bit smaller and delivers results that aren't bad at all for the tiny case. However, the 308 cannot deliver near the power of a 30-06. A modern bolt action 30-06 packs a seriou punch.

It's actually a lot of 308 shooters that have it backwards. Many 308 operators are moving to 1:10" twist barrels to try to shoot bullets like 190 to 200gr that are much better suited for a 30-06. If you want more power than 308, 30-06 is definitely a big step up.

[Garandimal]

30-06... 165 gr. PSP out of a 9.5 lb. U.S. RIFLE CAL. .30 M1. Perfect.

For an 8.5 lb. scoped bolt-gun, like a M700/VXII 3-9? .270 WIN/150 gr. PSP.




GR

[smittty]

For big game hunting think of it like this:
- 30-30 has max effective range of 200 yards
- 308 max effective range of 350 yards
- 30-06 max effective range of 400 yards

Who far can you make me shot count?

[Horrendo Revolver]

Grew up shooting a milsurp 30-06. Have a 30-06 today that doesn't get shot much. I prefer 30-06 over .308 but do not have a rational explanation for why I do. Don't need the heavy for caliber bullets for any animal indigenous to Texas. I use a 30-30 on hogs, .243 on coyotes and 6.5x55 on deer. If I could only have one rifle for all three I'd dust off my .270. If I lived further north where elk and moose were part of the equation I'd dust off my 30-06 instead of my .270.

I also believe the old saying that there is nothing the 30-06 won't do that the .308 and .270 won't do.

[jeffrice6]

308 fanatics love to compare to the 06, 06 owners know better

I wouldn't feel under gunned with either in the lower 48 ~

[jeremyro]

There is no way that the subsonic transition will be different as you can totally send the same bullet downrange. What will make the transition better is using heavier bullets which the 06 will allow.

You could get 30-06 to drop subsonic before 1000 and with a 110gr bullet it probably would. But like I said I can state for a fact that in the real world I can send a 208 grain 1500 yrds and have it impact supersonic.

One of the reasons that there are misconceptions about the 06 is that many factory loads were loaded to low pressure specs to be kind to surplus rifles that were very popular in 06. I can overload a 06 case way past SAMMI max and have no pressure issues at all. I currently put 53gr of WIN760 in a lapua brass case under a 208 bthp. The stated max is 51.5 but I have had no pressure problems up to 54 gr. I gave up and stopped pushing my luck at 54.

Now that makes sense, I could not understand how the 30.06 could only 'match' a .308 under handloads. It sounded too much like saying a .357 Magnum could only be handloaded to the same level as a .38Spcl.


Supersonic at 1500!? Cool. That's another one I have read that kind of confused me, several people saying the 30.06 would drop subsonic before 1000 yards and be more affected by the transition so the .308 was better.
Which again made no sense to me.


Damn! Now that is a nice shot!
I like it, it's a .308 Magnum!


That might well be a large part of why there is so much conflicting info and opinions floating around.

[Shakey]

But like I said I can state for a fact that in the real world I can send a 208 grain 1500 yrds and have it impact supersonic.

You are getting 2900+fps from a 208 amax in a 06? Wow.

[jeremyro]

You are getting 2900+fps from a 208 amax in a 06? Wow.

2670 fps

[Shakey]

2670 fps

Man, I forgot about altitude. You must be up in the mountains.