.30-06 Revisited — The ‘Old Warhorse Ain’t Dead Yet’
This article first appeared in 2014. We are reprising it at the request of many readers who are fans of the .30-06 cartridge.
The “Old Warhorse” .30-06 Springfield cartridge is not dead. That’s the conclusion of Forum member Rick M., who has 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Rick likes his “outdated” .30-06 rifle.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“To many of the younger generation, the Old Warhorse .30-06 is ‘outdated’ but I can guarantee that the .30-06 Springfield is a VERY ACCURATE cartridge for 1000-yard shooting (and even out further if need be).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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Tags: .30-06, .30-06 Springfield, .308, M1 Garand, Reloading, Service Rifle
… and if a 284 was being used?
Modern components help old cartridge designs a lot – I want to put a 303 British on a modern action and make that run.
Interesting results, I’d be keen to know the powder charge as I used IMR4350 and 190grn Sierras 35yrs ago in my old ’06. I loaded them up for 1000yd matches (56grns) and backed them off a bit to 54grns for 300m. The big loads would make 8″ groups off the shoulder at 1000yds and 1.5″ at 600yds off a rest. At those pressures, the cases only lasted a few reloads before the primers fell out of their pockets…
You can’t improve on perfection. The 30-06 is as close to that as they come.
Because of the absolute dearth of .311 / .312 “match” bullets, something that has been around for decades now, is the “.30-.303″, which is nothing but a .303 chamber cut in a .300″-.308″ barrel, usually with a 1:10″ twist. Swap out the reamer pilot for the smaller size and it’s easy. It will also shoot ammo with .312″ bullets without ill effect because of a relatively long throat, cut to ensure chambering of the Mk7 .303 bullet and other “long” projectiles. Really good “gun-plumbers will custom-cut the throat for your ammo of choice.
It is not a “bench-rest” grade conversion, but so far I have put two nice deer in the freezer with “Franken-girl” And the same no4 is my primary “service rifle” although I occasionally get eccentric and drag out my old Swiss K-11, using Oz-made HBC 155gn bullets, just because I can.
I built that “.30-.303″ years ago on a scruffy No4 that had a hideously corroded barrel. There is a LOT of barrel hidden under the scraped-out woodwork. Shoots up a storm with “match bullets” and all I changed with the dies was the expander ball. There have been articles about such conversions in the shooting mags for decades. You could also do one on a Ruger No1 or 3 without too much drama.
True eccentrics would use a Mk3 Ross, or, for a real challenge, a ’95 Dutch / Romanian Mannlicher.
“The .30-06 is never a mistake.”
Col. Townsend Whelen
.30-06, 185gr with 0.278 G7 AND 2825fps? Pretty hot.
6.5×47 pushing out 123gr scenar so it clearly loses windage? I suspect relatively moderate, below 2900, load.
Comparing comparable? Hm, no.
I’d wager that as loved and effective as the .308 Win is, if the 30-06 became permitted in F-TR, it would soon overtake its “successor.” Want to say “sure, but is longer” and so you can carry more .308, well, first go take a look at a typical “.308 Winchester” cartridge OAL used today in F-TR. There is good reason the ‘06, the .223, and 50 BMG share proportions. A long column of powder develops velocity with less peak pressure because it spteads out ignition.
https://web.archive.org/web/20150309205624/http://riflemansjournal.blogspot.com/2012_01_01_archive.html
Everything you wanted to know about the 30-06 from 300 to 1000 yards on paper, match winning scores, and reloading specifically for it. Wrote that blog from 2009 to 2012 so no new powders, but the best thing about the 06 is if you follow what did work good, it probably still does. Enjoy.
Editor: The Author, aka GS Arizona, has requested that his name not be used.