30 06 does it all

30-06 does it all? Haven't spent a lot of time hunting quail have you? :D

I have a couple of 30-06 - An 03A3 my dad sporterized in the Sixties and a 700 ADL I bought in 91. Definitely my go to caliber for deer. Lots of different calibers out there but I rarely feel a different one would be any better.
 
Badhammer said:
Not the only 30.06 I own but this one is my favorite. Suppose I could hunt with it in a pinch.

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Wow that's sweet I would have to take it out hunting at least once.
 
upnorth said:
My old man killed a lot of moose with his 06. He also told me a story about back in his youth working in a Yukon mine. They choppered them in and one copter caught a power line and was laying upside down in the water, when he went in once. He also told me that they had a grizzly hanging around camp and that one time they came back and it had punctured the tin in a Coleman stove with its teeth and trashed their camp. He killed that bear with his 06 as he had the only powerful rifle in camp. He said that he hit it until he emptied the magazine and that at one point the bear was getting close. Growling, jaw popping and still coming to him by its front legs only. The bear was way too close for the old mans comfort when it finally stopped. He told me that he grabbed a tree after and barfed his guts out. This is the best of my recollection from a story told to me as a kid in the 60's.
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From all the stories I have read over the years, the Swedes still use the old 6.5x55 for Moose. It is another cartridge that works much better than ballistics charts would have you believe.
It's a good thing he had that rifle in camp. Things like that, are just another reason I really like the 338 win. mag, and the old 375 H&H
 
I have an old plane jane savage 110 that I call " the bitch". It is the only rifle I lend out to friend to hunt with. A solid 30.06 with a factory trigger that always puts the first bullet exactly where you want. The next two if they are necessary are always 1 1/2" high and 1" to the right. I never bedded the action to correct as I figure if I hit it once in The right spot and the other 2 are close enough. If it is still alive it deserves to live. She is called the bitch because she kicks hard and everyone gets a turn with her. Still a great rifle I will never get rid of.
 
fast14riot said:
October 1918 stamped Eddystone 1917 in Gov't .30. My main hunting rifle.

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My U.S. Model 1917 is still in original configuration with period Parker Hale rear sight.

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Currently my only other .30-06 is a high number Rock Island M1903. Once had a Winchester M70 I traded for a pickup truck.

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My '06 is a Mark 1 if you know what that means !! Wish I had all the parts .
Most Swedes use something other than the 6.5x55 especially 308 and 30-06. Then 6.5 is limited to the heaviest bullets though when I asked they admitted that a 140 gr premium will do about the same though not legal.
 
The 6.5X55mm Swede and 6.5X54mm Mannlicher Schonauer are EXCELLENT cartridges. The bullets have exceptional sectional density as well as ballistic coefficient.

In Hawaii in the 1990s I rescued, for the princely sum of $80, this Steyr M1903 Mannlicher Schonauer (6.5X54mm MS) action from a fool who was going to try to modify it for 7.62X39mm. By 2000 I had a custom gun built on it. Action is from 1909. Barrel is from a custom Krieger blank with 0.0012" freebore. Stock is hand carved from a blank a I got from Missouri.

Any man who fancies himself a marksman should have one gun custom made just for him once in his life time.

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Leghog, is that the Steyr that has the cooking cam on the barrel tang? Never did like the look of the spoon handle bolts, but they are fine guns!


-Xander
 
I use a mauser action that I got rebarreled into a 6.5 -06 . im very happy with it. usually use 140 grain sst's in it. I would prefer corelokt but it dosnt seem to like them.
 
Very versatile caliber. In my teens, I chose the 270 win over the 30-06 because my Dad had a '06. Funny how you think when you're 16 years old.
 
My son is the 3rd generation in my family to have a 30-06 as his primary hunting rifle. My dad has a Savage, I have a Remington 700 and my son has a Weatherby. I've hunted more with my Savage MVP 223 lately but that has been mostly yotes and hogs. My wife's family are big on 270's so it was a pretty big deal for her to marry a 30-06 guy.
 
That's funny about marrying an '06 guy. I used to actually care, but now I think anything in the 270-308 win range are very sound choices for deer. In other words, non-magnum calibers in the 130-180 gr (30cal ish) for deer is my choice. Never was a fan of the 300 win mag or 7mm unless you have a specific reason for choosing it over slightly less powerful calibers. If I had reason to take 400 yd shots, I might consider one especially for elk.
 
Back then (early 80's) there was kind of an 30-06 & 270 rivalry of sorts which is silly since both are versatile and capable cartridges. You should have seen the raised eyebrows on my future in-laws when I showed up at their place for a dove hunt and out shot them with my 20 gauge pump when they were all shouldering 12 gauge autos.
 
22-rimfire said:
That's funny about marrying an '06 guy. I used to actually care, but now I think anything in the 270-308 win range are very sound choices for deer. In other words, non-magnum calibers in the 130-180 gr (30cal ish) for deer is my choice. Never was a fan of the 300 win mag or 7mm unless you have a specific reason for choosing it over slightly less powerful calibers. If I had reason to take 400 yd shots, I might consider one especially for elk.
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I feel the same way about the 300 and 7mm mags. I don't think there is enough difference between these two, and a 30-06 and a 280 Rem.to justify a longer barrel and burning extra powder. I know people will quote ballistics charts, but realistically there isn't that much difference. Especially since most people don't shoot heavier bullets in the magnums, and very few people shoot animals at 400+ yards.

I do like certain magnums though, as you can see by my user name :D
 
I have a Savage 30-60 I bought about 15 years ago or so, black synthetic stock, internal box, bolt action. I think it is a model 111.


Been a great rifle for me. Taken about 20 deer with it, only had to take a second shot 3 times. Most of the deer went down hard and folded up like a lawnchair.
 
Here is my old 1950s Sears Mauser in 30-06. It's had some work done on it over the years. A friend was hunting with it and fell on the rifle, snapping it at the wrist. A gunsmith friend glued it back up with dowels, glass bedded it, and it shoots as good or better than before. You don't find wood of this quality for under a grand nowadays, so I had it repaired. He also added the ebony forend tip. I put a new adjustable trigger in it about 20 years ago, and added a 3-9x Tasco variable.

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For whitetails I shoot a light load of 2520 under 165 Cor-Lokts for about 2650 MV and it just hammers them. It approximates the old 300 Savage load. I started load workup with a new can of 2520 and the first load put three shots at 100 yds into .4", almost touching, so I just stopped right there and called it good. I've shot piles of deer with it, and none have gone more than 25 yards after the shot. You don't need high velocity to kill well.
 
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