Are you even a man?

…if you don’t own at least one .30-06?

Was wondering how many else share this opinion.

Also curious if there’s another caliber you think better represents all of mankind.

Mostly joking here but also serious question.

Model 12 pump!!

Well this little girl is out. I have no use for a 30-06. Now the .338-06 is one of my favorites. To me the .270 and 30-06 both have too much recoil for what they deliver. Both great rounds to be sure. The 25-06 is also a great Texas deer cartridge.

Nov 4 can't get here fast enough!

I have a set dies and some brass, does that count?

1903 Springfield/ 03A3 and a Garand so maybe I am binary

I have 30-30, 222, 243, 30-06, 270, and 38-40. Also a foreign gun that I’ve shot once and leave in the country. Don’t remember the caliber on that one.

But, when I deer hunt, its always the 30-06, or if sitting close to a feeder, the 30-30.

The 30-06 is military, from Eddystone Arsenal, scoped, and recently re barreled. I killed my first Arizona bull elk and mule deer buck with it in 1967 while in the USAF.

Guess not.

7mm mag here.

The classic .30-06 is certainly a great, long-proven round, but I don't own one. I prefer 7-08, or jump to 7 mag if needed.

I was a handgun guy before I got hooked into centerfire rifles, but...

This is from a PM I wrote earlier today to someone about a gun deal that won't happen the way I thought I'd like....but it's relevant to this discussion:

I became interested in heavier hitters years after in the late 80s and I'd study Cartridges of the World. I somehow decided a bullet needed to weigh a minimum of 150 grains and move at 3000 fps at a minimum. I'm not too sure how I got that idea. When the time came to select something my uncle suggested the .30-06, but I was the same way about it and just found it unappealing because "everyone and their dog has a .30-06." I kinda developed an affinity for the oddball stuff, choosing .41 Mag over .44 Mag, .280 over .270, .222 over .223, ect. & etc.

One day in the more recent past I read an article in one of the rags---probably Rifle (I don't buy the old standby rags like G&A, ST, and the like) written by Richard Mann, I think. He was talking about an intriguing .30-caliber wildcat, presenting it as though it was new. When he referred to it as the .300 Whelen, I knew I'd been had of course, but I also came away with a different opinion of the cartridge. It just seemed much more appealing for some reason (I still call it .300 Whelen sometimes). Then one day about six or eight years ago an opportunity to swap something I had for a late manufacture Model 70 in .30-06 fell in my lap and I jumped on it. I still have it and I like it very much.

I think about 99% of hunters could do everything they're doing just as well with a .30-06, but the truth is there are a lot of cartridges out there that you could say the very same thing about, and still be right.

It's a great one.

How about a .338 Win Mag? I’ve never owned an -06. Closest I’ve had was a .270 Win.

I love .338 Win Mags. That's a man's gun and perfect for elk and big Mule deer. Mines an old Ruger M77 Tang Safety but I had to tame it years ago with an aftermarket stock, recoil pad, break and trigger job. It's a pleasure to shoot now.

50 BMG

No need for a great big-game hunting round, when I no longer hunt big game.

I haven't been without a .22 LR since the 4th grade, and haven't passed a single year where I didn't find it useful.

I had that same gun in a 338 Win Mag. I have probably shot close to 200 different rifles in my life all the way up to the 458 Win Mag. That 338 Ruger 77 is the only rifle I have ever hated. It would flat out beat me to a pulp so I sold it to another forum member. The new owner had a muzzle break installed and a few years later I saw where he was selling it as well. I guess the muzzle break didnt help. LOL

It’s for sure in my top 3 favorite calibers for North America, I’ll be toting an old red pad here in a few weeks for opening morning. Old one but good one…

I have killed deer with the old 06 warhorse but never owned one. Probably never will.

Wound up with one from a benefit auction, like it more than I thought.

I’ll take a 338 Win Mag over it all day.

I don't have a use for one but am not against getting one some day.

Purely subjective but totally agreed with OP. Not even a man unless you own a 30-06. Mines in a very boring 700.
I'd also request to add to the short list a 1911 in 45acp. 9mm and other calibers in 1911 are awesome but just not a man unless u have at least one on 45.

Have owned several, including a Michael Petrov-verified Springfield NRA Sporter that, like a fool, I sold. Gave my father's Springfield to my son-in-law. It's a wonderfully versatile cartridge, and load it with a 200-grain Partition and it will do for anything in North America.

He only did part of the fix. Needed fiber stock, upgraded recoil pad and trigger job. I'm shooting mine today, elk hunting next month in Wyoming.

.30-06 is a fine round but the .300 win mag is the Lords caliber.

No need for the 06’ when they invented the win mag

The man purse crowd will be along shortly to talk about how the recoil from a long action hurts their cat.

No murse but I’m in the hurt kitty camp…I’ve been tuning on a 30 Nosler and 300prc lately, they don’t hurt near like a case full of h4350 dies.

I've got no use for a .30-06

I have performed load development on two rifles. 180 gr with +/- 59.0 gr of H-4350 is a Mike Tyson jab.

Over twenty rifles in .300 Win Mag. 200 gr ELD-X, and + 74.0 gr of H-1000 is more of a shove.

Best thing you can do to a .30-06 is rebarrel it for .280 Ackley Improved, .284 Winchester, or 6.5-284. I said what I said.


I do own a .338 Lapua Mag, hunting rifle now.

No 30.06 but several 308s which makes me a short man.

Great cartridge!! Proven forever

BUT

my kitty does not like the recoil either.

have same gun, my Dad hand carved the stock when he sportized it. With that said Its a safe queen, I hate the lock time recoil

Love my Remington 760 BDL in left hand. It’s dropped a few deer since I got it in the mid 70’s.

Had one since the 60's, probably always will.

Concur. Shot a pig with a .300 Win Mag last week just because I felt like using it.

I have a couple .30-06’s, but always seem to pick up a .308 or .300 Win Mag.

The .300 Win Mag is very versatile and can run from mild to wild.

Liking the .300 PRC as a refined version of Win Mag.

Absolutely!

I didn't even order a .300 Win Mag reamer. But I did order a .300 PRC reamer.

If a build is starting from scratch, with brass having to be ordered anyway, it is the better option.

No to 7 STW or 7 RUM reamer, yes to 28 Nosler reamer.

Good thinking!

You sure did, and you're on record!

Remember what Smokey Bear says...




The .300 Whelen is a winner and has been a winner for 120 years!

OTOH...headstamps don't mean chit. It's all about WHAT bullet, WHERE does it hit, and HOW fast is it when it hits. Nothing else matters.

I expect to always have an 06 bolt and a 1911 in .45 cal.

Me too.

I will shoot anything. That's my job.

But I don't have to own just anything.






Got a .300 Norma Mag coming next week.

Powder charge begins at 84.0 gr And I'm not even concerned about it. Because it is a slow burn powder.

So if a .30-06 and a .45 in 1911 is the mark of a true man, I must be a super man cause I have the .338 Win Mag mentioned earlier and a 1911 in 10mm…

Having two superior cartridges, 308 Win and 300 Win Mag, I have no need for a 30-whatever-you-asked-about.

<stir>

1 Rem model 700 LH that has killed a lot of plainsgame and baboons.

'Gave my 03A3, that my grandfather bought for $1.00 in a hardware store right after the Great War, to my son, after I put a decent trigger in it and a better scope on it. My uncle hand-carved the stock.

I get a chuckle when I read where good shooters are whining about the recoil of a 30-06. When I was born in 1960, it was only 15 years after the end of WW2. I grew up around a lot of those men. The men of that era kicked all comers tails with the .45acp and 30-06. They were still their caliber of choice when they came back home. The era of manly men and their calibers of choice they used to kick the world’s tail is the basis of this discussion. When I compare the rugged men I grew up around to today’s metrosexuals, it is predictable that the 30-06 now makes them whine. Undisputed facts and the basis of this discussion.

First deer rifle I owned was a Remmy 760 30-06 pump. Got it as a Christmas gift from my parents when I was 16. It shot horribly. Pie plate groups at 100 yards. Traded it for a .243 bolt rifle before the next season and never regretted it. Also never owned another rifle in that caliber. Guess that makes me a girly-man.

In 1960 there were a lot fewer calibers in existence.

No question the men of that era were tougher by nature than the average guy today, but if they would have had more choices they might have chosen other options.

I personally don’t have a use for the .30-06. Too heavy a round for dedicated deer use and I shoot s .300 win for bigger game. My .300 with a good pad and a brake is a cream puff to shoot. My dads old .30-06 wasn’t terrible to shoot but wasn’t fun either.

The Garand is a 10 lb rifle, which significantly reduces felt recoil. It was also a semi-auto, which further reduces felt recoil. Pick up a BAR in 30-06, and even though it's lighter than a Garand, it's a soft shooter. Comparing a Garand to a modern, light weight bolt action sporter is apples to oranges.

Heck bubba, I figured you to be old enough to remember bolt action 30-06’s were a rifle of choice back then. The men I grew up around handled a bolt 30-06 without much fuss. They weren’t soft like men today. That was the era of the Winchester model 70 with the Remington 700 riding on the model 70’s coat tail. 30-06 men are what the 270win targeted.

I will shoot against them for money. We can play rifle range HORSE.

And I will shoot a .30-06

Said I didn't have much use for one. Never said I didn't know how to use it.

I've tracked Ballinger/Winters TX whitetail shot by a .30-06 at 100 yards.

The man shooting it wanted to give up before the two of us blood trailing his deer. We found it anyway.

I've shot a pile of harder recoiling rifles than the .30-06

Your "tough" is out the window.

I don’t believe this discussion is at all about target guns or target shooting. I understand this thread to be about the contrast between respect for the kind of men that made the 30-06 iconic and pansies.

J.G. is a fireman, not exactly a profession for pansies, pretty far from it actually.

fwiw - .30-06 M2 ball ammo in WW2 was a 152 grain bullet running 2800 fps, which is well below today's .308 performance with the same weight bullet.

What made the 06 iconic was the surplus of military firearms and ammunition.

I have two 30'06 rifles, 1965 Winchester Model 70 and a 1965 Sears Ted Williams model 53.

Uncle bought the Model 70 the year I was born from Leonard Brother's in downtown Fort Worth and I found the Ted Williams for sale in Ogden, Utah along with a NIB Model 70 stainless 243 18" Winlite XTR. Bought both in the late 80s, and I don't think I paid more than $500 for the pair.

Now, no self respecting wingshooter's arsenal isn't complete without an Auto-5 and no waterfowl hunter should find himself without a Mag 12 Stalker or 3.

You know, today's hunting rifles weigh about half as much as yesterday's hunting rifles.

And I shoot other people's hunting rifles on a weekly basis.

And today's .308 Win, was 40+ years ago .30-06

Live in the past if you like. Call people pansies if you like. But you're off base on pretty much everything.

I am old enough to remember that. Some of the older guys that I still hunt with were the ones that always carried a 30-06. Ironically, most of them have switched to softer shooting guns.

The ones I grew up around have all died. 9 of them were family that carried 30-06’s in WW2. All served under Patton. They were part of defeating Rommel in North Africa, taking Sicily. Then fighting their way through Italy and into the mountains of Austria before being shipped to Normandy for D-day. They took partin invading and eventually liberating France. Pushed into Germany and were, according to them, a little over 100 miles from Berlin when the Russians cornered Hitler. There is a Nazi flag in the Smithsonian with the names of a lot GI’s from Patton’s 3rd Armored they all signed. 7 of the 9 had at least one Purple Heart but they all made it back home. They all thought Patton hung the moon. After Patton made the statement “the m-1 Garand chambered in 30-06 was the greatest battle implement devised”, a 30-06 is all any of them wanted. I still have a 30-06 but seldom take it out now days. I still like to shoot it. When I do, it is mostly for nostalgia now days. So yeah, to me the 30-06 is the most iconic of rifle calibers.

I have a .30-06 and have owned several. I keep it as a general purpose backup/loaner gun. I will likely never hunt with one, not because there is anything wrong with it, but just because there is a better caliber for any job the .30-06 can do. For whitetail,other calibers are just as good with less recoil. For elk or moose, true magnums deliver better performance. At long range, there are many better options. That being said, it is still a great, general purpose round, so I keep one around.

I've owned several in the past and may own one again in the future if I see one that I take a liking to. My most recent 30-06 underwent "the change" and now identifies as a 25-06. I figured that having a 300 WM, a 7 Rem Mag and several 308's left the 30-06 standing on the outside looking in. I didn't own any quarter bores so that's why I went with the 25-06.

Oh boy, looky here, a bunch of guys pounding their chests and making a ruckus while some others point out facts the chest pounders aren't open minded to.

I neither have a love or hate affair with the 30-06. But like its reputation it will do damn near everything pretty well. I seem to see many talk of it’s bad recoil, but never really thought it kicked to bad. Some claim the 270 shoots flatter and recoils less I fail to see the big difference on both fronts. Similarly I have shot very few 300 win mags but my very similar 300 wby is a significant step up in recoil and muzzle blast from the old ‘06. I have enjoyed hunting with mine, even my wife has taken several deer with it without issue. In the past year I’ve seen it take from javalina to nilgai with one shot.

It’s like the Dallas Cowboys, it’s had some great glory days, can still kick butt every now and then, and is the number one franchise in the world…but has lost a lot of luster.

I gotta disagree the 06 still has it, the cowboys suck azz.

Lol. My generation, and the one before it, and the one before that, all the way back to WW1 disagree with you. Per the OP, this thread is not about the cartridge best suited to shoot for money. Or the best hunting cartridge. The OP asked for the cartridge that best represents mankind. He indicated it is 30-06. I agree with the OP, based on its battlefield history. Others chimed in the .45acp for the same reasons. I stated that I get a chuckle out of the recoil being judged as excessive by some good shooters. That is a recent development that I deem soft. I stand by that comment. None of the calibers you mentioned have a history even close to the 30-06 sir. I believe you to be a skilled long range shooter. I admire the work that goes into that. The big guns you have recently built to push the range envelope are cool as heck. But then when I come back to the caliber that most represents mankind, it brings me back to the caliber American GI’s carried and used to great effect in the two world wars that shaped the world as we know it, which I believe comes closest to what the OP asked about. Call that living in the past if you like but I don’t think you are following what is being discussed. If it is not the 30-06, then what is it?

30-06 is the cartridge of the Greatest Generation! Used through the First and Second World Wars plus Korea. It is an old war horse that also works well in the game fields around the world. Every game animal in the US and most around the world has been cleanly taken with it effectively. At 117 years old it has stood the test of time quite well and will continue to be used for many years to come. I have heard things to the effect of this; 'tough times make for tough men, easy times make for less tough men". I think we can see that generally speaking today we have been in easy times for a long time when you look at the general population.

As i stated earlier in this thread I have never owned a 30-06 but have hunted and killed deer with the old war horse and it does very well for that. The first centerfire rifle i ever shot was a Remington semi auto 30-06 to I think an 11 year old skinny boy that was fun, recoil didn't seem as bad as my old ivory Johnson single shot 20ga that I was hunting deer, squirrels and rabbits with in those days.

My first center fire was dads rem 700 mountain rifle I. 280 rem… it had a boat load more bite at sub 7 lbs than any of the 30-06’s I’ve shot.

Maybe the biggest plus I noticed about the ‘06 was during rona etc .308 were among the most available hunting bullets in stock anywhere by a decent margin.

[/quote]

The ones I grew up around have all died. 9 of them were family that carried 30-06’s in WW2. All served under Patton. They were part of defeating Rommel in North Africa, taking Sicily. Then fighting their way through Italy and into the mountains of Austria before being shipped to Normandy for D-day. They took partin invading and eventually liberating France. Pushed into Germany and were, according to them, a little over 100 miles from Berlin when the Russians cornered Hitler. There is a Nazi flag in the Smithsonian with the names of a lot GI’s from Patton’s 3rd Armored they all signed. 7 of the 9 had at least one Purple Heart but they all made it back home. They all thought Patton hung the moon. After Patton made the statement “the m-1 Garand chambered in 30-06 was the greatest battle implement devised”, a 30-06 is all any of them wanted. I still have a 30-06 but seldom take it out now days. I still like to shoot it. When I do, it is mostly for nostalgia now days. So yeah, to me the 30-06 is the most iconic of rifle calibers.
[/quote]

Big Patton fan here. “Lead me, follow me, or get the hell outta my way”

If someone tells me he shot a deer with his .30-06, at least I know he’s not ghey.

Leave that to the 6.5 Gaymoors

Ha! Must admit I also shoot a 260 ackley which is dangerously close in size to the man bun gaymoore.

Joking aside, it’s a great round for targets, shot a couple deer with it but never owned one.

Dad always shot a 3006. He shot this buck in 71 with a M70 3006. He died in 72. He was a man.
I inherited that rifle in 72 and it’s the only rifle I’ve ever killed a deer with.
I hope I’m half the man he was.

Great photo freerange

700 BDL 30.06 very good and accurate, that is why I like it. Could say the same for the 243 but for some reason the 30.06 is my go-to.

Love this. Good stuff.

When I was 16 I acquired an old Rem ADL 30-06 with the steel butt plate. It wasn't fun to shoot off the bench for a skinny teenager, and was stolen before I could take it hunting.

I currently have a new never fired 30-06 in the safe that I got a good deal on years ago. I don't know what I'm going to do with it. Plan was to scope it and shoot big pills for nilgai but I dunno.

Battlehorse for sure that still works.

Y’all know we’re talking about two different things right.

Nobody wants to sit behind a 30-06 and put 50-100 rounds down range for fun.

Vs

An iconic traditional hunting rifle that is capable of most anything short of dangerous game.

Yeah, me too.

For the manly man:

https://texashuntingforum.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/8931700/tikka-t3-30-06#Post8931700

Seems it got derailed from the OP's intention when the resident expert challenged everyone to shoot 30-06's for money. What a surprise. A good 'ol 30-06 and a Nosler partition will still kill 99% of big game animals all over the world. That's not even arguable.

Nothing wrng with a 30-06, but and dang it, never knew I wasn't a man. I will have a lot of fun with my now suppresed 270 this year. Put 40 shots down range with it a week ago Saturday. I am fairly certain I will be putting holes through some animals this year with my open sight 45-70. If so, can I get my man card back?

Have always shot 3006, what I was started on as a skinny 12 year old. Will always own one.

If you have to ask I think you know the answer…

Ditch the leather shorts and I’ll think about it….

Red, the question was entirely rhetorical. Btw, it takes a real man to wear leather shorts.

I got a pair but don’t think they have fit since I was 4.

Did shoot a 06 - Garand - in boot camp. I have other parts that ID as a man.

Can’t stand the 30’06… but I have a 300 win mag, a 375 H&H mag, and a 45/70 so I guess I’ll start buying skirts

Funny how shooters (who are also hunters) have no use for it.

But Fudds do.

Regardless of what the flat-brimmed, sniper wannabe hunters think, the 30-06 has held it's own for over 100 years and counting. I'm personally not surprised.

https://backfire.tv/popular-cartridges/

Been a shooter and hunter longer than you've been breathing air. I use one.

Aren’t you the shooter that touted putting a muzzle break on a 7-08?

Same guys who say the .30-06 is the best round still think the 300 I-6 4.9 liter ford is the best engine ever made.


It’s certainly capable of killing anything that needs killing short of the Big 5 or large bears, but it’s not the end all be all of calibers. It’s certainly not a baseline for being a man or not.

Lots of calibers are better suited to whitetail deer hunting, which is what 98% of the people on this forum hunt as well as 2/3rds of the United States.

It became popular because it was cheap, and readily available in the form of surplus rifles and it was all that many shooters knew who started shooting in the military.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think the OP ever said or represented the 30-06 to be the "best round ,today or ever" did he? His point is that this venerable cartridge was a standard adopted military round that became immensely popular with the hunting crowd when hunting rifles started making rifles chambered for it. It was a natural and very effective choice.......that's the point.

Well, this one will keep going awhile…..

30-06 is an iconic love/hate cartridge, Why people have to get married to cartridge until death do they part is beyond me. I dont know if its a different powered or what but my 1903 06 thumps hard. I cam not do extended range seasons with it.

As soon as I was able , I started shooting Dad's 721 30 06. He had a bunch of military surplus ammo, So I shot a lot. ( ears are ringing right now,
50+years later), As I remember the black tips kicked harder that the others. When it came time for me to buy my own rifle,
I chose a .270 ( thank you Jack O'Connor). The .270 has served me well , but I think I would have done just as well with the 06.


your mileage may vary

Mo

Muzzle brakes are the second best thing to a suppressor.

I've spotted and shot a whole lot of short action cartridges, that were wearing muzzle brakes. When a person has to be their own spotter, and has to see their bullet fly to the target, and spot where it hit or missed, brakes make that so much easier.

It's not about comfort for the shoulder, it's about keeping your rifle and optic on target during and after the shot is fired.

Go watch a PRS match and count the number of muzzle brakes you see. It will be most rifles. Because, when anyone misses, a range officer on glass is not going to say a word. The shooter has to be his own spotter. And everyone is shooting short action cartridges. That is one reason. The other reason is the round count per stage is so high, long action cartridges generate too much barrel heat.

Good for you.

It doesn't make you more of a man than anyone else.

And it's not about years. It's about rounds fired. Just like there's young men and women half my age that would way out shoot me with a shotgun or a bow. Because they have shot them both for more shells and more arrows than I have. And intentionally worked to get better at it, year after year.

Not seeing anywhere i stated it makes me more of a man, please show me.
Absolutely contradicting your statement that shooters who are also hunters have no use for it.

This has become ludicrous.

Lol.
I had to re-read the original post to remember what is was actually about.

I went and looked in my safe, yep, the old 30-06 is still in there, no scope and oiled for storage, been that way for the last 25 years at least.

Yeah the original post was meant to shame everyone who doesn’t own one. (jokingly)

It’s like saying you hate baseball and apple pie.

I’d bet that all the PRC and gaymoor cartridges will be long forgotten in 100 years.

…but there will still be guys shooting the ‘06

It’s the most versatile cartridge if you judge by compatible bullet weights and powders.

So, if you own one and never shoot it, are you even a man? Asking for the OP…….

I sold guns in from the 1966 to 1971 at a large discount chain sporting goods. I will say that bolt action sales were mostly .30-06, but I sold 20 times as many lever action 30-30's, mainly Marlins with a Win 94 every once in a while. All those guys looked like men to me. LOL BTW I never sold sell a single "deer rifle" to a woman all the time I was there.

Would not own a 30-06 or 270 or 6.5 Creed….even if they were given to me.

Forum caliber debates are silly.

No explanation as to why, just leaves us wondering.

A 1/2 dozen .22 rifles!

I've owned three 30-06 rifles and killed my first several deer with them. I've never been bothered by recoil, but one of my '06 rifles (Winchester mdl. 70 Featherweight) did earn the nickname "Thumper". I loved that rifle but it was not one to shoot a ton of practice with. I haven't had one in years because I've bought, sold, and traded for many other rifles in different cartridges to try out. Come to think of it, right after I sold my last '06 I started sitting down to pee...

Grizz, that’s a classic.

I own a lot of different calibers but rarely hunt with anything but my ancient, but rebarreled and butchered(scoped) Win 1917 Eddystone 30-06. I hand load so I have options.

If sitting close I use my re 64 Win 30 30.

Either of them will make meat anywhere I go.

What I don’t have are any evil looking black guns.

This is the key right here intentionally working towards getting better no matter what your favorite caliber is, I personally enjoy hunting with a 45/70 its an absolute hammer. I have never had any animal take a single step after getting hit by it, the cartridge is a classic for sure. The 30’06 for its time was leading edge for early 1900’s, but there is so many more efficient cases out there its kinda a fudd in many ways. Reasons like inconsistent brass, long and inconsistent neck has to be in a long action, uses a medium to faster burn powder so it has a sharper quick puchy kick.

Wanna test your man hood come shoot 5 groups of 5 with a 45/70 or a 375 H&H mag or better yet get into something bigger like a 460 wby or 500 t-rex

45/70 vs 30-06 on most scales…really??

My daughter-in-law is a preschool teacher. Maybe she should moderate this thread.

provide photos

Its beginning to compete with The Longhorn Lounge

You're the creepy uncle no one wants to be alone with, aren't you?

Duck!! This has ran its course. The 30-06 is an iconic mainstay, that sucks [censored] and something other can outperform it. But yet it preservers.

The 30-06 got a head start over the newer calibers. Lots of guys came back from Europe with experience using them. They were sold as war surplus with every gun shop and pawn shop selling them. Ammo wasn’t hard to come by. Everybody either used them or the 30-30. Other calibers were around but I don’t recall anybody talking about efficiency. You could get them from every gun store, pawn shop, and department store.

Next big push for guns came about in the 60’s due to the mess in Vietnam. That necessitated a new type of weapon to suit the jungle terrain. Thus the 223. The first ones were reported to jam and got a lot of American boys hurt or worse. Accuracy wasn’t all that important when you were in the jungle and couldn’t see very far. I was on the USAF pistol/rifle team during the 60’s. We, and the other branches, used the old standby 30-06. The little pew-pews were considered more short range guns and not built for accuracy. They also jammed a lot. At the All Service meets, the armorers for the different services weren’t too impressed with the AR’s.

My safe now has 9 different calibers and hand loading gear for all of them. And yet, when November comes, I reach for my butchered 1917 Eddystone or my ancient 30-30 Win saddle gun. I haven’t fired one of the evil looking black guns since 1968.

Post WWII the .30-06 and the Garand were making today's .308 Win ballistics.

My son has a Garand made by Winchester, and it is near flawless. He had to replace the operating rod, to handle more pressure. And I had to investigate hand loading for a Garand. H-4895 was the powder, and I started as low as I could. 168 gr HPBT was what was seated. Mid way up, it shot a 1" 3 shot group at 100 yards, with battle sights. I told him we need to stop. That's a great load, and let's not hurt the rifle. Recoil was not memorable.

But an 8 pound, modern bolt action, and 59.0+ of H-4350 and its terrible to shoot. Each side of it is better in all ways. .308 Win and .300 Win Mag.

Macknamera (sp?) and the "Whiz Kids" F-ed up Stoners rifle, cartridge and powder type. Failure to fire, and failure to eject did get lots of Soldiers and Marines killed. Over 60 years later, the AR-15 has been the number one selling rifle in America, and for a long time. The 5.56 NATO, and the .223 Rem have been experimented with at extreme length. Now days, it is reliable, fast, and is literally a +1000 yard cartridge.

If I could go back in time, it would be so fun to show up 50 years ago, and display a .223 Rem hitting 1000 yard targets, with today's hand loads, and lessons learned.

That is what it is all about. Pay attention to the learning that came before us, and use it to our advantage.

The average intelligence person learns from their mistakes. The truly brilliant learns from someone else's.

The same mantra applies to experimentation that lead to successes.

I've three:
1) M1 Garand
2) M1903A3
3) Winchester pre-64 Model 70

H-4831sc and a Sierra 168 HPBT in a 30-06 bolt might be more agreeable to you. Like beer and ice.

Yes i love this too. Now it makes more sense why I've always loved my 308. 6.5 creed is not enough but 300wm is too much for me.

Just call me Garth.

Dang, Huntnfly, you make a guy work for your meaning.......

Even more than the 300 ultra?
Lol

Guess I need to get me a 308 looks like a winner

Dead???

Certainly cannot slight the cartridges. Just never was a bandwagon buyer.

If the cartridge is 100+ years old, is it really jumping on a bandwagon? Unless, of course, you are close to 100…

Ya, that didn’t really make sense to me either.

The manliest gun I own is a S&W 460 xvr with 3” barrel. Also own 30.06 338 win mag 7mm and 300 wby

What’s unmanly is missing your target.

I will NEVER own a 30-06. I do love my 308’s on the other hand.

Do you own a .454 Casull? It sure is more manly than an '06.

I did.

Performed a resto-mod on a .454 R92. Doubled my money. It's really pretty tame from a 20" rifle. People think .30-30 is tame ... but those people haven't shot a .30-30 WIN single action revolver.

Perspective...

^^^ This

We used to have a few guys shooting 30-06 for deer at our camp, but I believe all have moved on to another caliber.

Probably a combination of the recoil and the fact that most of the shots are inside of 50 yards in tight cover. Some guns shoot friendlier than others in the same caliber too.