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It had its day, and its no less capable than it was back then, but technology has offered better options. It still soldiers on just fine in venues like service rifle and CMP matches.
It still soldiers on just fine in venues like service rifle and CMP matches.
.........You beat me to it. Carlos and some of his contemporaries proved what could be done with a .30-06 in the hands of expert long range marksmen.Carlos Hathcock, Winchester M70 .30-06, Vietnam. /thread
Actually I can’t think of a more perfect vehicle to hustle street racers.it sure doesn’t make sense to buy a minivan to hustle street racers
Yeah and I don't even think his shot all that well. Someone please correct me if im wrong but I seem to recall an article that said his rifle shot around 2" groups @100yards..........You beat me to it. Carlos and some of his contemporaries proved what could be done with a .30-06 in the hands of expert long range marksmen.
I had a minivan I used for coon hunting when I was in high school, it wasn’t governed and over a 6mile stretch of flat road, it could get up over 140mph, faster top speed than most domestic “sports cars” on the street at the time, AND faster than the 120mph governed highway patrol Corvettes, let alone their normal interceptors - which made for some interesting, semi-sanctioned speeeding events among me and my buddies patrolman dads. On a rolling start, the patrol cars couldn’t catch that van. The van was fast, and remarkably stable at speed.
Of course, it needed 5-6 miles of flat, straight road to get up to speed... It was fast and fun, almost as fun as my Ducati 999 or my ‘69 Nova I rebadged like an SS Chevelle, and stuck a 383 under the hood...
That’s kinda what running a .30-06 for long range hunting is like. If you have it, it can work and be very rewarding. A Ruger M77 MkII .30-06 was my first long range hunting rifle, and I took lots of coyotes, deer, and antelope last 600yrds with it. Until I built a 32” 300RUM and a 7-300. Then I rebarreled another .30-06 to 6.5 A-square...
My van worked great for sowing wild oats as a kid, honestly just as well as my more appropriate speed machines, just like my .30-06 worked well enough for long range hunting... but it’s painfully obvious that ugh better options exist, and IF YOU ARE BUYING SOMETHING NEW TO YOU, THE .30-06 IS NOT THE PLACE TO START.
Actually I can’t think of a more perfect vehicle to hustle street racers.
I've always wondered where this "old work horse" fits in the LR (long range) shooter totem pole? In both WWI & WWII it was the most powerful cartridge for main battle rifles. It's still one of the most popular hunting cartridges in North America. But where does it lie with long range hunters?
I think a better question is "how likely are long range hunters to humanely kill game at long distance?" What are the hit statistics at long range? How many animals hit were recovered? How many of the animals "hit" ran off and died a suffering death?
The 30-06 is more than capable of quickly killing within the range of an ethical hunter, who only shoots at animals inside his ability to place the shot.
Not if it’s not stock. Building an ugly car that hauls is called building a sleeper. Guys do it all the time. Got a guy in Tulsa named Fat Cat that runs an 80’s model 4 door Buick. The car looks like it couldn’t run 16’s on it’s best day. But under the hood he has a full billet roller motor. The motor makes just over 350 horse. It has a solenoid controlled drop down exhaust. And computer controlled timing adjustments. So on the juice it makes over 1000hp. He runs consistent 9.20’s on 8” slicks. Looks can be deceiving. He doesn’t have a single high performance product sticker on his car. Hence, the hustle.Gonna have to be some pretty pathetic street racers
I think I said it earlier... hunting carries ethical obligations war doesn't.
Gonna have to be some pretty pathetic street racers
Most original cartridges have been "outclassed".
For the casual shooter it is as good as ever, actually better with today's bullets. But from a competition standpoint it is no longer in the game. If you shoot bullets of similar BC to the same muzzle velocity, the down range trajectory and penetration on game is about the same. A BC between .600 and .700 with a MV of around 2700-2800 fps seems to be the sweet spot. You get the same results with most everything from 6mm to 338 Lapua if you can shoot bullets heavy enough, fast enough. But as the caliber goes up, the bullets get exponentially heavier to make the needed BC's. It gets harder, and harder to shoot them fast enough to be useful, plus recoil becomes apparent.
Most of the 6mm's will do that with 108-115 gr bullets, the 6.5's with 140-147 gr bullets. When we get to 30 caliber you have to go up to 210-220 gr bullets to get the same results. The 30-06 and 308 won't shoot bullets that heavy fast enough. The 300 mags will, but so will the 6mm, 6.5mm, and 7mm offerings. You get the same downrange results with the 6.5 CM as a 300 wm. And the 6.5 and 7mm offerings shoot bullets heavy enough to take most big game. So why deal with the recoil and added costs.
Case closed.Carlos Hathcock, Winchester M70 .30-06, Vietnam. /thread
To actually be serious, if you hunt Alaska, a 30-06 is what all others are compared to.