How much longer before the 30-06 becomes an "antique?"

[Crapshoot]

I plan on living at least another 25 years so to answer the OP's original question, at least 25 more years.

 

[Newtosavage]

I plan on living at least another 25 years so to answer the OP's original question, at least 25 more years.

People still shoot calibers that are considered antiques you know.

 

[_Scooter_]

Would be funny if after this thread we see a resurgence of .30-06 builds and NGD's for those hipsters who want a more "retro" or "throwback" and/or just be be ironic.

 

[Newtosavage]

When I was tearing down and assembling Savage rifles for a couple years, it was amazing how plentiful and cheap '06 barrels were. You could find them for $40 all day and some weren't even fired.

 

[Dustin the wind]

30-06 Rem 700 is all I use. Doesn’t get much more American than that.

 

[Newtosavage]

30-06 Rem 700 is all I use. Doesn’t get much more American than that.

I would expect nothing else from you sir!

I'm almost 1/2 German ancestry, so the 7x57 Mauser is still okay in my book

 

[Dustin the wind]

I would expect nothing else from you sir!

I'm almost 1/2 German ancestry, so the 7x57 Mauser is still okay in my book

Don’t worry, I have a great affinity for anything German made, going back before ww2.

 

[wyosam]

The ‘06 isn’t going anywhere. The average Rokslider is a long ways from the average hunter. This and other hunting sites aren’t a great representation of the “average hunter”. The notion that most hunters own a whole closet full of hunting rifles is not reality. A great many hunters have one big game rifle, and they’ve had it forever. Many got it when they were a kid, or had it handed down to them. A good chunk of those are in ‘06 or .270. Those of us hanging out in a firearms forum on the internet can rattle off dozens of reasons why we NEED something other than a 30-06 for hunting big game. Every single one of those reasons is BS, other than “I want it”. Sure there are many cartridges that are better if we’re talking very long range, but you can always get a little closer. There are many that are faster, flatter, pack a bigger punch. But at the end of the day, if you can’t get it done with an ‘06, it’s not the gun’s fault. With modern powders and projectiles, the 30-06 is great out to 600 and beyond.

*None of that applies if talking to one’s significant other. In that case, all North American big game has developed resistance to the 30-06, and can no longer be expected to succumb to a cartridge developed 114 years ago. Regular old rifle stocks and barrels not wrapped in carbon fiber- same thing. Modern game animals are not even visible in an optic that doesn’t cost more than a decent used car, either.


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[Marbles]

Count me in the boring 30-06 club, I have owned four of them. A Remington 700 that I traded for a Remington 7600 carbine that I then sold and bought a Sako 85. I am about to sell the Sako as I just picked up a Kimber Montana. If I don't find anything to bad about the Montana it will end up semi custom as I plan to cut the barrel to 18.5-20 inches, add iron sights, and bead blast and nitride (salt water is hell, even on stainless). Then hunt with it for the next 50 years. Part of the reason for a lighter rifle is to allow a heavier scope while still having a reasonable overall weight. I feel a 20 oz Nightforce or SWFA will be more reliable than a 13 oz Leupold or Swaro and reliability is king in a field gun.

With 180 gr Accubonds I will have a rifle and bullet that will perform out to 450 yards. If I change to the 190 gr Accubond Long Range the combination will take me out past 800 yards (based on velocity the bullet is designed to expand at). At the moment, I would not feel ethical shooting past 300 yards, and I don't see myself wanting to shoot past 500 yards.

The only other rifle calibers I own are 22 LR, 5.56 NATO, and 308. Neither of those two center fires are used for hunting any more, and both may end up being sold.

I will probably end up with a 7mm-08 for my kids to use, I would a also like to add a 22 WMR.

The selection of 30-06 has to do with the following: availability of factory ammo, variety of bullet selection (up to the 240 gr round nose), level of recoil, reliability (the tapered case), effective range, and cost of ammo. If I did not live in the US, I would probably pick whatever comparable cartridge was popular enough to have good ammo variety and availability.

One of my friends changed over to the 30-06 as his primary hunting rifle recently as well.

 

[Gen273]

LOL, is this the joke of the day? The 30-06 is going nowhere anytime soon; it is one of the most popular high-powered calibers ever. It is also arguably the most versatile and efficient rounds available. Go look up the thread about if you could only choose one rifle to own forever; the 30-06 was hands down the choice of the majority in that thread.

 

[16Bore]

130’s to 220’s. What’s not to like?

 

[kevlar88]

Interesting responses. In my view, not really in line with the amount of discussion on this board about the '06. I almost never see anyone asking or talking about or building an '06 here. Usually the only '06's I see here are for sale. It would be interesting to know among the member here, what % of them actually consider their '06 their primary hunting rifle.

I enjoyed mine while I had it. If it had been in a heavier rifle, I would have enjoyed it even more. LOL

I often find myself following this same line of thought and have to remind myself that Rokslide, and all other hunting forums, is a very small segment of the hunting community as a whole. Anyone care to guess at a percentage; 2%, 3%, maybe 5% of hunters post on all forums combined? Not every hunter feels inclined to share what rifle and caliber they shoot, what binos they use, what underwear they have holding their nuts up, or even the trophies they hunted for years on end.

To answer the original question, I don't see the '06 going anywhere. There are so many in circulation I see it as almost self sustaining. People buy ammo, manufacturers look at the numbers and say dang we should build more rifles in '06. I have one, it's killed everything I've asked it to so far. As far as my primary hunting rifle goes, it's probably number three behind one of my 7/08's and a .280, but that's pretty good considering I have a stable of about 20 to chose from.

 

[kevlar88]

I would expect nothing else from you sir!

I'm almost 1/2 German ancestry, so the 7x57 Mauser is still okay in my book

I forgot to mention, even over here the 30/06 and 308 seam just as popular as the 7x57, 7x64, and 8x57.

 

[Marbles]

Interesting responses. In my view, not really in line with the amount of discussion on this board about the '06. I almost never see anyone asking or talking about or building an '06 here. Usually the only '06's I see here are for sale. It would be interesting to know among the member here, what % of them actually consider their '06 their primary hunting rifle.

I enjoyed mine while I had it. If it had been in a heavier rifle, I would have enjoyed it even more. LOL

Another thing to consider is the 30-06 is "boring" simply because it has been around so long and used so much. So, people are much less likely to write about it, even if they use their 06 more than the 6.5 or 300 mag they are writing about. A different, but applicable example, I am much more inclined to write about the S90V steel in my Benchmade Altitude than I am the 440c or 1090CrMo in other knives I have. Why, I can add almost nothing to what has been said about the latter two, however the first is still new enough what I have to say might be useful to someone else.

 

[easttex]

Just an observation, "experienced" a/k/a old guys, tend to gravitate toward traditional rounds, i.e. .270, 7x57, 30-06, .300 H&H, .375 H&H

 

[16Bore]

With age comes wisdom and the understanding the difference between shit and shinola.

 

[Gorp2007]

I’m technically a millennial and my first hunting rifle was a 45-70 because I was living in Ohio and needed something with straight walls.

My second hunting rifle was a 30-06 because I already had an M1 and 400 rounds of CMP practice ammo.

I reload for both and don’t see a need for any other hunting rifles. Of course need generally has nothing to do with it.

 

[Blockcaver]

There was a poll on a British Columbia Hunting site (Hunting BC) a couple years ago for the "best BC hunting cartridge" The 30-06 got 43% of the votes, with the 7mm RM @ 21%, the .338 WM, and .270 Win ea getting about 11% of the vote. The other cartridge choices got only a few % each.

 

[ARK_Ginger]

I would say functionally 30-06 was an "antique" by the mid 20th century. That doesn't mean it's not an effective and popular hunting cartridge though

 

[thinhorn_AK]

The 200g partitions are awesome in my 30-06 rifles, it’s pretty much all o load these days.