All my 308s are 1-10 except the Tikka. I-10 will let you shoot just about anything. I have some bullets you can try if you want. I have some Sierra TMKS and Gamechangers.

lost the bid, so back shopping

A .30-06 is certainly a capable rifle, but most of them I've shot kicked quite a bit. For a deer rifle, I much prefer the .270. For a commonly available, easy to find ammo for rifle in a caliber suitable for pronghorn up thru moose, then its certainly adequate and very versatile.

My personal opinion is, if i'm gonna tolerate 06' level recoil, I'm gonna shoot a .300 win mag, so my .30 caliber wears a belt.


As for the .308, I think its actually gotten more popular in the last 15 years

It's a damn fine cartridge.

Based on the availability of said cartridges during "crises," I'd say neither are going anywhere any time soon.

I have 2 guns in 30 06, and neither kicks very bad. Both are rather pleasant to shoot. An old Ruger 77 and a H&R single shot. I cannot understand why some say it kicks so hard.

Men used to be tougher in the old days. Now they are sensitive.

Men are still tough, it's the definition off what men are that has changed. Now are you an "old school or new school"

It’s a better deer cartridge imo due to the short action and lower recoil.

I would prefer a .30-06 where I had an overlap of deer size game and bigger animals.

The O6’ is extremely popular in South Africa where you have a diverse amount of animals...in any one day you will come across deer sized animals like Impala and Bushbuck to Elk sized animals like Kudu and Sable

The other popular hunting countries haven’t caught magnumitus like we have over in the U.S

This thread reminded me when I bought my first deer rifle of my own. It was 1967 & I was 16 years old. I saved up my lawn mowing money & bought a Rem 700 ADL .270 Win, IIRC for $75. When I brought the rifle home my dad was very proud & congratulatory. When he saw the caliber his stunned response was "What, didn't they have any .30-06's?"

everything is relative. There are obviously some that kick less and some that kick more. I have never heard anyone say they were pleasant to shoot so you may be the toughest person I know.

Thats a good story and it is telling of that era. My Dad likely would of said the same thing.

Last year I made some reduced 125 grain ballistic tip loads for my son but have another year or so before the rifle fits him. This year I have a few 220 grain round nose I’m gonna load up and kill a deer or two for kicks.

I’m not sure if the American male is losing their ruggedness or many today just don’t learn fundamentals when they start shooting. 30-06 Is not too big of a kicker for high volume shooting. 30-06 being the chambering of the standard battle rifle of the US Military during the WW 1, WW 2, & Korean War confirms that fact.

I am sure it's got something to do with starting out on a cheap plastic rifle and lightly built cheap chinese scope, that are very light weight and no brakes or etc. Light, cheap, poorly designed, cheap scope with bad eye relief. Adds up to alot of recoil and a good chance for a cut eye.

My first deer rifle was I think a Savage/Stevens 200 combo in .308. I picked it up in '99, eventually sold it and went to boot camp before I ever got to go deer hunting with it.

It was manageable but definitely kicked hard. 12 gauge slugs or even 3.5" 00 buck loads, to me, were no worse than that thing though. I cut my eye wide open with it first trip to the range.

Now imagine a synthetic mossberg patriot, I think it actually weights less than 6 pounds.

A good solid 8 pound gun in a wood stock, that was built right, plus a sturdy scope and bases is a different story. In about a ten pound package, I think most young adults could probably handle a 30/06 just fine.

For comparison, my wife shot the .243 ruger American twice, set it down and said no more. But can blast away with 20 gauge slugs and has a great time.

There's no doubt that some rifles are made for comfort while carrying and hunting and others are made for comfort while actually shooting. Both have their place, and it's up to the owner to select the right tool for the job.

I shoot my awwwt 6 with Vortex 150 grain copper and my Harvester 300 suppressor. No recoil and 3 bullets tough at 100 yards. Also shoot a Weatherby .308 with a different Harvester 300 shooting Winchester Razor Boar XT 150 grain copper for my Hog and Aoudad gun. They also touch at 100 yards.

Bringing the Awwwt 6 to Wyoming in September on a self guided trophy Antelope hunt (unit 72).

So many people now are are starting out with ARs as their first centerfire, I'm sure it spoils them in the recoil department. I started hunting at 12 with a 20 gauge H&R single shot so I got used to recoil. I have my limits. Don't particularly enjoy shooting my CZ 9.3x62 Full Stock from the bench for more than about a dozen shots. It's fairly light. Shooting offhand or in the field , no problem.

While there is no denying the average American male today is but a shell of what he was 50 years ago, comparing a 11 lb gas operated M1 Garand to a cheap economy bolt gun found on the Wal-Mart shelves isn't exactly an apples to apples comparison. And they scrapped the 06' for the .308 and shortly after that they got the 5.56mm in Vietnam, which had virtually no recoil.


I don't think anyone would describe the 06' as a light kicking round. Unbearable....not for most people. But I don't know many people who would enjoy sitting at a bench and going thru a box or two just for kicks.

I have shot the same M70 3006 pretty much exclusively for almost 50 years so I guess im "rugged" enough to handle it. Im not rugged enough to call it "pleasant" to shoot and I wouldnt want to shoot it for a large number of rounds. I definitely dont notice the recoil in the field at all and I think that is normal.

Funny post! The 30-06 using proper shooting form is no hard kicker. Seems you might need some schooling on how to shoot hunting rifles.

Things have changed. Springfield 1903 had a longer active service life than any other US military rifle of over 70 years. A bolt action 30-06 so close to a Mauser that we paid the Germans royalties prior to the war. 30-06 was the us military sniper rifle of choice for a very long time. Regardless of whether or not many of today’s shooters are soft or not, our best riflemen used to put a lot of rounds through a 30-06 bolt gun on the range.

Those 1903s had a nice soft metal stock pad.

For what it’s worth....

I’ve seen a lot of game shot. Not as much as some but I’ve seen 200+ Game animals meet their demise with calibers ranging from a .22 lr to a .338 win mag. Lots of .25-06’s, .30-06’s and .270’s. More than a few with a .243 and 6mm’s

The most impressive I’ve ever seen was a WT doe shot with a 165 grain ballistic tip from a .308. Shot broadside, I watched as lung flew 15 feet behind her after impact. DRT kill. Same gun killed a mature buck shot thru both hips the day before.


Most unimpressive was a .22-250 with bonded bullets.