The ‘Old Warhorse’ .30-06 Cartridge is Not Dead Yet
The “Old Warhorse” .30-06 Springfield cartridge is not dead. That’s the conclusion of Forum member Rick M., who recently compared the 1000-yard performance of his .30-06 rifle with that of a rig chambered for the more modern, mid-sized 6.4×47 Lapua cartridge. In 12-16 mph full-value winds, the “inefficient and antiquated” .30-06 ruled. Rick reports:
“I was shooting my .30-06 this past Sunday afternoon from 1000 yards. The wind was hitting 12-16 mph with a steady 9 O’clock (full value) wind direction. My shooting buddy Jeff was shooting his 6.5×47 Lapua with 123gr Scenar bullets pushed by Varget. Jeff needed 13 MOA left windage to keep his 6.5x47L rounds inside the Palma 10 Ring. By contrast I only needed 11.5 MOA left windage with my .30-06. I was shooting my ’06 using the 185gr Berger VLD target bullet with H4350. I managed the same POI yet the .30-caliber bullet only needed 11.5 MOA windage. That’s significant. From this experience I’ve concluded that the Old Warhorse ain’t quite dead yet!”
Rick likes his “outdated” .30-06 rifle. He says it can deliver surprisingly good performance at long range:
“To many of the younger generation, the Old Warhorse .30-06 is ‘outdated’ but I can guarantee that the .30-06 Springfield is a VERY ACCURATE cartridge for 1000-yard shooting (and even out further if need be). With some of the advanced powders that we have today, the .30-06 will surprise many shooters with what it’s capable of doing in a good rifle with the right rate of twist. My rifle has a 1:10″ twist rate and I had it short-throated so that, as the throat erodes with time, I could just seat the bullets out further and keep right on shooting. My recent load is Berger 185gr Target VLDs pushed by IMR 4350. This is a very accurate load that moves this bullet along at 2825 fps.”
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I simply love the 30-06 and your rifle looks like one sweet gun. I am down to just my 03 springfields and one is sporterized with the original barrel all polished in triple a wood from bishop.
Try competing with a cartridge in the same weight class, like .284 with 180ers…
11 minutes! That’s a heap of windage.
Why would this be worthy? A larger cartridge pushing a larger, heavier bullet with a higher BC at the same speed as a bullet with a lower BC from a significantly smaller cartridge and there is an easily predictable difference in wind drift. Now run the test over with a better 6.5mm bullet, perhaps the 140 Hybrid launched at 2750 fps, and see what the results are.
If anything, this is a demonstration about bullet selection, not .30-06 vs 6.5×47 Lapua.
I do see this as a fair test. Its like comparing a 308 to the 6mmBR at 100 yards. Sure the 6.5×47 can make the shot but thats a light bullet. The 6.5×47 is a low recoil extremely accurate round. My next build is going to be one.
Whitefeather is correct. I recently put together a spreadsheet comparing four of Bergers best bullets to see what speed they would need to be pushed to, to get similar ballistic performance. I found out that the 105gr Hybrid at 3300, the 140gr Hybrid at 3000, the 180gr Hybrid at 2800, and the 230gr Hybrid at 2600 all had almost identical drift and drop at 1000yds. I found this pretty interesting because the barrel life and the recoil of these are nowhere near each other.
I would like to correct my above statement. The wind drift of the various bullets is almost identical at range, but the drop is not. The drop of the larger slower bullets is much greater. This is one of the reasons why you see the 6 and 6.5 calibers dominating in the unknown distance games like the Precision Rifle Series.
The 30-06 (and the 303 British) will show a new lease of life with modern projectiles, powders and rifles.
But they still recoil a lot more than a 6.5 Lapua.
I don’t care what the trolls say. A well-built ’06 and a good load with modern components is a serious competitor, especially at long range. I love it when I show up at the range with mine and the 308 shooters sort of chuckle. That lasts until the targets come back . . .
I can remember a junior winning the long range championship at Perry a few years back with a .308 palma rifle shooting against 6.5/284`s. Sometime the shooter has something to do with it too.
Within the context of F-Class shooting, the ’06 would put you in open class (as opposed to FTR). While the ’06 is indeed an accurate cartridge, the 185 doing 28ish is not going to keep up to a 180 7mm or a heavier 30 doing the same speed. It is certainly a nostalgic cartridge but in the f-open game it is an anachronism
I also shoot a 30-06 with H-4350, but I use a 168gr SMK. The first time you mention 4350 it is H (Hodgdon) and the next time it is mentioned it is IMR. What one do you use?
I don’t think you have the 185’s cranked up enough I was getting 2850 in the 308. The 185 Berger has a nice amount of bearing surface that creates a lower pressure then longer bearing surface bullets. The last year the 30-06 was permitted in the Palma match at Camp Perry it finished #1 and #2. Mark Humpreville won it and I finished 2ed.