Am a crazy to say that .30-06 Springfield is the oldest and most versatile cartridge? I mean, I've seen 55gr bullets(factory)and 220gr bullets for this same rifle. Doesn't that mean that it could tackle just about any animal?

Yes. Undoubtedly the finest cartridge ever. It'll kill anything from Kodiak to squirrels to Japs and Germans. Ammo is everywhere. Don't trust me, trust Jack O'Connor. For the last 50 or so years, there's been every kind of BS round you could imagine, but the American workhorse 30-06 beats 'em all. The only thing that comes close is the .270 and .308. Everything else is marketing, macho magnum BS, and krap some blowhard like Elmer Kelton was pushing. That is all, I have spoken.

Yep, it's a hard one to top.

I also think that the .30-30 comes pretty close

The late Elmer Kelton? I thought he just wrote good western novels.

I believe it was Jack O'Connor that said 2 kinds of men shoot the 30-06. Those that know nothing about guns and those that know everything about guns.

who was it that said " Ain't many problems that can't be fixed with $700 and a 30-06"
Some things have changed in this world, 700 bucks don't go near as far now, but the 06 is still the same.

nothing wrong with the tirdy nought six

The 30-30 winchester is an older cartridge, and has probably killed more game in the US. . . .

But no one denies the staying power of this classic cartridge.

retfuz meant Elmer Keith, another gun guru during the same time as Jack O'Conner. Keith thought anyone who shot a cartridge smaller than a .416 Rigby was a pansy. I imagine Keith also thought you should at least drive a Dodge Hemi to run over a rabbit or squirrel. Craig Boddington who is a current writer for Guns & Ammo has said when the smoke clears and he has to chose one cartridge it will be the 30-06. I am not saying these writers know any more than any of the members of this forum, only they get paid for their opinions. And yes, Kelton was a writer of western stories, most centered around his beloved San Angelo.

Keith simply understood about momentum, breaking bone structure on big animals and exit wounds.
He was a voice of reason in a time of the world going bonkers over light bullets and speed.
He was the reason you are shooting a 44 mag today.
He had a lot of respect for the 30-06 with heavy bullets.
And he was and still is right.

Close to what? Why do you think?

30-40krag or .30-03'

Older, just as capable.

After 45 years of deer hunting, I'm fixing to find out. I just got my first 30-06. Its an M1 Garand but I bought an adjustable gas plug so I can shoot commercial ammo.

I bought a savage 116 with a Nikon 3x9 in 30-06 many years ago when he was getting divorced. That thing has sat in the safe for 15 years without ever being shot. I guess that me in the school of dummies.

The old '06 kinda takes it on the chin for being ordinary, common, and even mundane. Look at the ballistics and think of it as a .300 Whelen, and it becomes a lot sexier and more interesting!

I thought I read somewhere in a hunting/shooting magazine that it was estimated the 30-30 is the #1 used cartridge that has taken game followed closely by the 30-06 at #2 and the 30-06 will eventually become #1. Also this e 2 cartridges have taken more game than all others combined.
#3 was the 270 but was a big gap between #2 and #3.

Just always thought that was an interesting piece of info.

Close to the 06. Because it has been around for some time and wasn't it used to kill buffalo?

I agree about the .30-03.... I read about 03 and how they changed it into the 06. Also the Brits' .303 was pretty good, no?

you need to quit posting so much and do some reading.

the 30-30 was the first commercial cartridge loaded with smokeless powder. in 1894 it fired a 160 bullet at somewhere around 1600 fps, which was screaming back in them days.

now you can get a 150 grain bullet to around 2300 fps in a standard load, the 170s are around 2200. the 06', which came out in 1906, fires a 150 grain bullet at 2900 fps.

buffalo were all but extinct by the time winchester introduced the 1894 model rifle.

IM0 the 06' is the equivelent of a single cab long bed truck. nothing fancy about it at all but it does the job in most cases

it is a workhorse, time tested and probably what 90% of hunters should be shooting, if they are not shooting something smaller already.

You do realize that I read right? I agree with you, though

The 30-06 is miles ahead of the 30-30 when it comes to performance. I would not use a 30-30 past 200 yds where Ill shoot my 30-06 out past 500 any day of the week.

for one, its not the oldest. Many factory cartridges loaded today, such as the 45-70, 30-30, 44-40, etc, are alot older.

as far as being versatile, its jthe jack of all trades, but the master of none.

Its really overkill imo for southern whitetail. recoil in a standard weight rifle, while not excessive, is not light either. there are alot better whitetail cartridges. There are also alot better Whitetail/mule deer/elk combo cartridges.

its trajectory isn't as flat as the .25-06 or the .270.

it dosen't have the knockdown that the .7mm mag or the .300 win does for bigger animals.


if WWII had never happend, the 30-06 would not be near as popular as it was.

it was a familiar cartridge with the returning GI's comming home from overseas....thats why it sold so well

still a good cartridge though.....