My first 30'06 was a gift from my dad on my 16th b'day, I am now 51, he passed last year and I am very glad that through all my youthful bad decisions, getting rid of that rifle was not one of them. Have bought and owned 3 30'06 rifles since that time and after years of tinkering with that one particular rifle it still shoots <moa groups. I can also say I have never lost a deer that I shot with a 30'06 and I have killed a number of them ranging from yearling doe to full grown mature bucks. Pick up some 150gr solid base bullets that your gun likes and you won't be disappointed. From the recoil aspect, that's a rifle range thing and you will get used to it with time and practice. Enjoy your new rifle, the grass is not always greener!

Switching to 150gr bullets will cut recoil, shoot flatter, and in my experience this year at 125yds, will still penetrate a deer lengthwise. I agree with the comments that the 30-06 is about as boring as it gets, even more so if you shoot plain jane 150gr Corelokts. However, after years of shooting other sexier and more exotic calibers, I am hooked on the rock solid predictable effectiveness of the '06.

Try the 150's, and I think you will be pleasantly surprised at the difference.

The 30-06 many not be the sexiest, newest, wizz bang magnum, but it's THE yard stick to how other calibers are compared. There is nothing wrong with a 30-06. You can shoot light bullets at 110 grains, to heavy bullets up to 240 grains.

If you want to reduce the recoil, the 30-06 is easy to load up some reduced recoil ammo. A 150 grain SST bullet at about 2300 to 2500 fps would be about half the recoil of the full power 180 grain loads, and still would be fine for Texas deer and pigs. PM me if you are interested.

And, don't ever sell that 30-06!

1906 and still going strong ... the yard stick by which all others are measured WOW !!!
Must have been an OK choice from the get go .

I'm 65 and started my deer hunting career as a teen ager with an old .303 Lee Enfield. At the first chance I quickly moved up to a .30-06 pre-64 Model 70 Winchester. Over the years I've owned everything up to and including a Model 70 in .375 H&H Mag. Now, today I'm down to a 1952 vintage Model 70 and a new Model 70 Super Grade that's less than a year old, both in .30-06. I've always kept going back to that cartridge and it has always performed very well. I never lost an animal shot with it.

Keeping your Model 700 over the years you will come to look on it as an old and treasured hunting friend. Don't give it a second thought. The caliber will do what ever you ask of it here in the lower 48 and perform well around the world too. Plus you can find ammo for it in any place you may hunt. And if you ever choose to reload, it’s an easy round to load for.

Enjoy your first gun and make lots of memories with it.