30.06 cannot kill this...

workinwifdakids · July 25, 2007, 04:47 PM

I've heard a number of people say, "The 30.06 will take any game in North America," or "The 30.06 will take anything in North America except..."

What is the truth about the upper end of this versatile cartridge? Assuming the hunter does his part, what in North America won't be taken by a single well-aimed 30.06 round?

teeroux · July 25, 2007, 04:51 PM

I hear the Jackalope is impervios to the 30-06

Just about anything can be taken with the 30-06 unless your a trophy rock hunter.

Barber2678 · July 25, 2007, 04:55 PM

I have seen a few trees that could not be dropped with the 30-06. They were quite robust mind you.

In the right hands a 30-06 can handle all large game in NA. In the wrong hands, it cannot kill a field mouse!

nate45 · July 25, 2007, 04:57 PM

With a well structured 180 or 220gr bullet it will take even the large brown bear although in close quarters they my not die as fast as one might like.

It will kill anything in North America even animals in the zoo with a solid bullet and a shot to the brain.

steveno · July 25, 2007, 05:33 PM

at one time or another the 30-06 has probably killed everything that has walked on the earth with 2 or 4 legs on purpose or not

Kontender · July 25, 2007, 06:12 PM

I can't think of a game animal in NA that couldn't be taken with a well placed shot from a 22 magnum. Not saying that a magnum is legal for all game just that it could/would do the job.

45Marlin carbine · July 25, 2007, 06:13 PM

I read in some hunting/gun ragf few years back that surveyed Alaska guides, 25% used an '06 loaded with heavy slugs for bear. if it was me I think if I was going after them I'd take maybe a little bigger more powerful rifle .338 on up to .375 but I ain't considering myself a 'crack' shot either.

Ledbetter · July 25, 2007, 06:34 PM

Chupacabra.

Actually I like Barber's answer.

Jseime · July 25, 2007, 06:37 PM

The While Albino Snorkasaurus' that live in the hills behind my house can for some reason only be killed with a .177 caliber pellet gun.

Doyle · July 25, 2007, 06:44 PM

The old 30-06 has taken every big-game animal in the world including elephant, lion, water buffalo, rhino, etc. It is far from ideal for these animals, but has done the job. Up until the early 1970's (and the proliferation of the belted magnums), it was considered the ideal cartridge for North America. Nobody questioned its ability.

roy reali · July 25, 2007, 07:31 PM

California Whitetail BALCO Deer!

FirstFreedom · July 25, 2007, 08:20 PM

Blue and Sperm whales - and that's only MAYBE. Everything else including Bison, Yak, Walrus, Coastal Brownies, & Polar Bear CAN.

taylorce1 · July 25, 2007, 08:23 PM

Quote:

The old 30-06 has taken every big-game animal in the world including elephant, lion, water buffalo, rhino, etc. It is far from ideal for these animals, but has done the job. Up until the early 1970's (and the proliferation of the belted magnums), it was considered the ideal cartridge for North America. Nobody questioned its ability.

DITTO!!!!

nutty ned · July 25, 2007, 09:03 PM

[ Quote ]I have seen a few trees that could not be dropped with the 30-06. They were quite robust mind you [/Quote ]
It may not drop the tree, but, if the jacketed bullet stays in the tree. the corroding copper in the brass jacket can kill the tree.

buck460XVR · July 29, 2007, 03:33 PM

Quote:

I hear the Jackalope is impervios to the 30-06

Quote:

I have seen a few trees that could not be dropped with the 30-06. They were quite robust mind you.

thanks for the chuckles guys..........

Heinrich · July 30, 2007, 02:54 AM

The 30-06 was used for many years using 220gr bullets to cull elephant in Southern Africa.

BillCA · July 30, 2007, 03:37 AM

I have an old Speer reloading manual that shows a .30-06 with a 185gr boattail bullet at 2740 fps and still having 2500 ft-lbs of gee-whiz at 200 yards. That's powerful medicine. By comparison, a .338 Winchester Mag gets you into the 3000 ft-lbs at 200 yards, but recoil is defintely "robust" in a sporting rifle.

Were I going into Polar Bear country, I'd certainly take along my '03A3 Springfield .30-06. I'd prefer a .375 H&H because them big white fuzzy fellas are tough, but the '06 can do the job if you do yours. Grizzly, Moose and Elk have been taken with the .30-06 so the cartridge is a very capable one.

roy reali · July 30, 2007, 07:48 AM

In a generation or two the .30-06 will become a useless cartridge.

Art Eatman · July 30, 2007, 10:12 AM

I dunno, roy. It's been around for five generations, so far.

http://dvc.org.uk/jeff/jeff4_13.html

From Jeff Cooper:

"Some years ago we encountered a young man who inherited from his father's estate the modest sum of $600 and a semi-sporterized 1903 Springfield. This was not much of a legacy, of course, but on examination it took on a certain charm. The line occurred to me: "They're ain't many troubles that a man can't fix with six hundred dollars and a thirty ought six." The monosyllable "six" needed addition, so I tried "seven." The line had a nice lilt to it and I thought it might serve as the basis of a somewhat nostalgic poem. I did not feel up to writing the whole poem myself, so I suggested the task to our number three child Lindy, and she came up with "Grandpa's Lesson." Herewith:

Pappy took to drinkin' back when I was barely three.
Ma got pretty quiet. She was frettin', you could see.

So I was sent to Grandpa and he raised me up real good.
He taught me what I oughta and he taught me what I should.

I learned a heap 'o lessons from the yarns he liked to tell.
There's one I won't forget because I learned it 'speshly well.

"There jist ain't many folk who live a peaceful, carefree life.
Along with all the good times there'll be lotsa grief and strife.
But ain't many troubles that a man cain't fix
With seven hundred dollars and a thirty ought six."

Grandpa courted Grandma near the town of old Cheyenne.
Her daddy was cantankerous - a very greedy man.

He wouldn't give permission for a fancy wedding day
'Til grandpa paid a dowry--biggest ever people say.

Her daddy softened up when Grandpa said that he could fix
Him up with seven hundred dollars and a thirty ought six.

Grandpa herded cattle down around Jalisco way.
Ended up behind some iron bars one dusty day.

Seems the local jefe craved my Grandpa's pinto mare.
Grandpa wouldn't sell her so he lit on out of there.

Didn't take much doin' 'cept a couple special tricks
plus seven hundred dollars and his thirty ought six.

Then there was that Faro game near San Francisco say.
Grandpa's cards was smokin' hot and he took all one day.

He woke up nearly naked in a ditch next early morn'.
With nothin' but his flannel shirt, and it was ripped and torn.

Those others were professionals and they don't play for kicks.
He lost seven hundred dollars and his thirty ought six.

He begged some woolen trousers off the local storekeep there
Who loaned him both a pony and a rifle on a dare.

He caught those thievin' cardsharks at another Faro game.
He got back all his property and also his good name.

He left one bleedin' badly and another mostly lame.
My grandpa's trusty rifle shoots just where you choose to aim.

Grandpa's slowin' down a bit and just the other night
He handed me his rifle and a box sealed up real tight.

He fixed me with them pale grey eyes and this is what he said,
"You're awful young but steady too and I will soon be dead.

I'll bet this here old rifle and this honest money too
Will come in mighty handy just as readily for you.

There jist ain't many folk who lead a carefree, peaceful life.
Along with times of happiness, there's always woe and strife.

But ... aint many troubles that a man cain't fix
with seven hundred dollars and his thirty ought six."

Lindy Cooper Wisdom"

roy reali · July 30, 2007, 10:26 AM

Two Words: Global Warming!

bcarver · July 30, 2007, 08:13 PM

I read where one of the most sucessful ivory hunters was a guy named Bell.
He used 7x57mm mauser with solids to kill the elephants. He was said to have perfected a difficult going away brain shot.
W.M.D. "Karamojo" Bell was his name.

that round is less powerful than the 06.

Art Eatman · July 30, 2007, 08:55 PM

Globular Worming? Sheesh! The high today, here in Terlingua, was 78 degrees! Usually, through the summer, our highs are well above 100. This summer, few days above 100; we're running ten degrees below what's common.

bcarver, in Bell's day, it was a lot easier to get in close to elephants. It's one thing to sneak in on an unaware heffalump, but if you aren't absolute perfection you're gonna make an excellent substitute for a Frisbee.

Art

HiBC · July 30, 2007, 09:16 PM

Long time ago was an American Rifleman article on 30 cal bullets in various cartridges
What I gleaned was for a given bullet,like a 180 gr nosler partition for example,you could take a certain class of game.Between a .308 and a .300 ultramag,the difference is at what range.
What backs this up a bit is in their various penetration tests,at very close ranges,the 308 offered the most reliable deep wound channels,as the bullet could perform more reliably at 2600 or so than it can at 3200.
Better bullets have come along,etc,but the idea is still good food for thought.
Karamojo Bell wrote some very interesting books.He also used a 6.5 of some sort,Mannlicher I think.

FirstFreedom · July 30, 2007, 10:23 PM

Love that poem, Art. Though I'm sure that it is more difficult to get close to an elephant than it was in decades & centuries past, I'm also pretty sure that the 7x57 with the right solid bullet, knowledge and head shot, if you get within 100-150 yards, and you know your rifle, you can still kill an elephant with it with one shot. Or, of course, with a .30-06.

roy reali · July 30, 2007, 10:43 PM

The other day I saw one of those dinosaur shows on one of the nature channels. The host said that during those days the Earth was much warmer then it is today. Then an asteroid hit the planet, the climate cooled, and the big reptiles were eliminated.

Now that we are in the process of warming things back up, I wonder if that'll bring the dinosaurs around.

As useful as the .30-06 is, I would consider it a bit light for the T-Rex or Triceratop. Hence, global warming will make this cartridge useless in a few years.

July 25, 2007, 04:47 PM	#1
workinwifdakids Senior Member Join Date: January 15, 2007 Location: SoCal Posts: 216	30.06 cannot kill this... I've heard a number of people say, "The 30.06 will take any game in North America," or "The 30.06 will take anything in North America except..." What is the truth about the upper end of this versatile cartridge? Assuming the hunter does his part, what in North America won't be taken by a single well-aimed 30.06 round? __________________ "Lieutenant Onoda, reporting for duty, Sir!"

July 25, 2007, 04:55 PM	#3
Barber2678 Senior Member Join Date: June 22, 2006 Location: Mud Creek, Texas Posts: 269	I have seen a few trees that could not be dropped with the 30-06. They were quite robust mind you. In the right hands a 30-06 can handle all large game in NA. In the wrong hands, it cannot kill a field mouse! __________________ When in doubt ..... mumble!

July 25, 2007, 04:57 PM	#4
nate45 Senior Member Join Date: July 15, 2007 Location: Illinois Posts: 3,746	With a well structured 180 or 220gr bullet it will take even the large brown bear although in close quarters they my not die as fast as one might like. It will kill anything in North America even animals in the zoo with a solid bullet and a shot to the brain. __________________ "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms."- Thomas Jefferson ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒΕ (>_<)

July 25, 2007, 06:34 PM	#8
Ledbetter Senior Member Join Date: February 23, 2000 Location: California USA Posts: 4,533	They come up here sometimes. Chupacabra. Actually I like Barber's answer. __________________ Regards, Ledbetter from thefiringline TFL #4573 NRA for Life Winchester Canyon Gun Club for Life

July 25, 2007, 06:37 PM	#9
Jseime Senior Member Join Date: December 31, 2004 Location: Canada Posts: 1,775	The While Albino Snorkasaurus' that live in the hills behind my house can for some reason only be killed with a .177 caliber pellet gun. __________________ I love the smell of fresh shotgun in the morning.

July 25, 2007, 04:51 PM	#2
teeroux Senior Member Join Date: December 12, 2006 Posts: 1,512	I hear the Jackalope is impervios to the 30-06 Just about anything can be taken with the 30-06 unless your a trophy rock hunter.

July 25, 2007, 05:33 PM	#5
steveno Senior Member Join Date: June 18, 2004 Location: Minden , Nebraska Posts: 1,407	at one time or another the 30-06 has probably killed everything that has walked on the earth with 2 or 4 legs on purpose or not

July 25, 2007, 06:12 PM	#6
Kontender Junior Member Join Date: July 25, 2007 Location: GA Posts: 14	I can't think of a game animal in NA that couldn't be taken with a well placed shot from a 22 magnum. Not saying that a magnum is legal for all game just that it could/would do the job.

July 25, 2007, 06:13 PM	#7
45Marlin carbine Junior member Join Date: January 26, 2007 Location: South-Western North Carolina Posts: 1,124	I read in some hunting/gun ragf few years back that surveyed Alaska guides, 25% used an '06 loaded with heavy slugs for bear. if it was me I think if I was going after them I'd take maybe a little bigger more powerful rifle .338 on up to .375 but I ain't considering myself a 'crack' shot either.

July 25, 2007, 06:44 PM	#10
Doyle Senior Member Join Date: June 20, 2007 Location: Rainbow City, Alabama Posts: 7,167	The old 30-06 has taken every big-game animal in the world including elephant, lion, water buffalo, rhino, etc. It is far from ideal for these animals, but has done the job. Up until the early 1970's (and the proliferation of the belted magnums), it was considered the ideal cartridge for North America. Nobody questioned its ability.

July 25, 2007, 07:31 PM	#11
roy reali Senior Member Join Date: August 23, 2005 Posts: 3,248	Here Is One... California Whitetail BALCO Deer!

July 25, 2007, 08:20 PM	#12
FirstFreedom Junior member Join Date: May 31, 2004 Location: The Toll Road State, U.S.A. Posts: 12,451	Blue and Sperm whales - and that's only MAYBE. Everything else including Bison, Yak, Walrus, Coastal Brownies, & Polar Bear CAN.

July 25, 2007, 09:03 PM	#14
nutty ned Senior Member Join Date: November 26, 2006 Posts: 765	[ Quote ]I have seen a few trees that could not be dropped with the 30-06. They were quite robust mind you [/Quote ] It may not drop the tree, but, if the jacketed bullet stays in the tree. the corroding copper in the brass jacket can kill the tree.

July 30, 2007, 02:54 AM	#16
Heinrich Member Join Date: May 20, 2007 Location: Gauteng South Africa Posts: 86	The 30-06 was used for many years using 220gr bullets to cull elephant in Southern Africa. __________________ Those who burn books end by burning men - Heinrich Heine

July 30, 2007, 03:37 AM	#17
BillCA Senior Member Join Date: November 28, 2004 Location: Silicon Valley, Ca Posts: 7,117	I have an old Speer reloading manual that shows a .30-06 with a 185gr boattail bullet at 2740 fps and still having 2500 ft-lbs of gee-whiz at 200 yards. That's powerful medicine. By comparison, a .338 Winchester Mag gets you into the 3000 ft-lbs at 200 yards, but recoil is defintely "robust" in a sporting rifle. Were I going into Polar Bear country, I'd certainly take along my '03A3 Springfield .30-06. I'd prefer a .375 H&H because them big white fuzzy fellas are tough, but the '06 can do the job if you do yours. Grizzly, Moose and Elk have been taken with the .30-06 so the cartridge is a very capable one. __________________ BillCA in CA (Unfortunately)

July 30, 2007, 07:48 AM	#18
roy reali Senior Member Join Date: August 23, 2005 Posts: 3,248	Not For Long In a generation or two the .30-06 will become a useless cartridge.

July 30, 2007, 10:12 AM	#19
Art Eatman Staff in Memoriam Join Date: November 13, 1998 Location: Terlingua, TX; Thomasville, GA Posts: 24,798	I dunno, roy. It's been around for five generations, so far. http://dvc.org.uk/jeff/jeff4_13.html From Jeff Cooper: "Some years ago we encountered a young man who inherited from his father's estate the modest sum of $600 and a semi-sporterized 1903 Springfield. This was not much of a legacy, of course, but on examination it took on a certain charm. The line occurred to me: "They're ain't many troubles that a man can't fix with six hundred dollars and a thirty ought six." The monosyllable "six" needed addition, so I tried "seven." The line had a nice lilt to it and I thought it might serve as the basis of a somewhat nostalgic poem. I did not feel up to writing the whole poem myself, so I suggested the task to our number three child Lindy, and she came up with "Grandpa's Lesson." Herewith: Pappy took to drinkin' back when I was barely three. Ma got pretty quiet. She was frettin', you could see. So I was sent to Grandpa and he raised me up real good. He taught me what I oughta and he taught me what I should. I learned a heap 'o lessons from the yarns he liked to tell. There's one I won't forget because I learned it 'speshly well. "There jist ain't many folk who live a peaceful, carefree life. Along with all the good times there'll be lotsa grief and strife. But ain't many troubles that a man cain't fix With seven hundred dollars and a thirty ought six." Grandpa courted Grandma near the town of old Cheyenne. Her daddy was cantankerous - a very greedy man. He wouldn't give permission for a fancy wedding day 'Til grandpa paid a dowry--biggest ever people say. Her daddy softened up when Grandpa said that he could fix Him up with seven hundred dollars and a thirty ought six. Grandpa herded cattle down around Jalisco way. Ended up behind some iron bars one dusty day. Seems the local jefe craved my Grandpa's pinto mare. Grandpa wouldn't sell her so he lit on out of there. Didn't take much doin' 'cept a couple special tricks plus seven hundred dollars and his thirty ought six. Then there was that Faro game near San Francisco say. Grandpa's cards was smokin' hot and he took all one day. He woke up nearly naked in a ditch next early morn'. With nothin' but his flannel shirt, and it was ripped and torn. Those others were professionals and they don't play for kicks. He lost seven hundred dollars and his thirty ought six. He begged some woolen trousers off the local storekeep there Who loaned him both a pony and a rifle on a dare. He caught those thievin' cardsharks at another Faro game. He got back all his property and also his good name. He left one bleedin' badly and another mostly lame. My grandpa's trusty rifle shoots just where you choose to aim. Grandpa's slowin' down a bit and just the other night He handed me his rifle and a box sealed up real tight. He fixed me with them pale grey eyes and this is what he said, "You're awful young but steady too and I will soon be dead. I'll bet this here old rifle and this honest money too Will come in mighty handy just as readily for you. There jist ain't many folk who lead a carefree, peaceful life. Along with times of happiness, there's always woe and strife. But ... aint many troubles that a man cain't fix with seven hundred dollars and his thirty ought six." Lindy Cooper Wisdom"

July 30, 2007, 10:26 AM	#20
roy reali Senior Member Join Date: August 23, 2005 Posts: 3,248	Re: Arteatman Two Words: Global Warming!

July 30, 2007, 08:13 PM	#21
bcarver Senior Member Join Date: February 22, 2007 Location: Jackson,Mississippi Posts: 838	7x57mm I read where one of the most sucessful ivory hunters was a guy named Bell. He used 7x57mm mauser with solids to kill the elephants. He was said to have perfected a difficult going away brain shot. W.M.D. "Karamojo" Bell was his name. that round is less powerful than the 06.

July 30, 2007, 08:55 PM	#22
Art Eatman Staff in Memoriam Join Date: November 13, 1998 Location: Terlingua, TX; Thomasville, GA Posts: 24,798	Globular Worming? Sheesh! The high today, here in Terlingua, was 78 degrees! Usually, through the summer, our highs are well above 100. This summer, few days above 100; we're running ten degrees below what's common. bcarver, in Bell's day, it was a lot easier to get in close to elephants. It's one thing to sneak in on an unaware heffalump, but if you aren't absolute perfection you're gonna make an excellent substitute for a Frisbee. Art

July 30, 2007, 09:16 PM	#23
HiBC Senior Member Join Date: November 13, 2006 Posts: 8,286	Long time ago was an American Rifleman article on 30 cal bullets in various cartridges What I gleaned was for a given bullet,like a 180 gr nosler partition for example,you could take a certain class of game.Between a .308 and a .300 ultramag,the difference is at what range. What backs this up a bit is in their various penetration tests,at very close ranges,the 308 offered the most reliable deep wound channels,as the bullet could perform more reliably at 2600 or so than it can at 3200. Better bullets have come along,etc,but the idea is still good food for thought. Karamojo Bell wrote some very interesting books.He also used a 6.5 of some sort,Mannlicher I think.

July 30, 2007, 10:23 PM	#24
FirstFreedom Junior member Join Date: May 31, 2004 Location: The Toll Road State, U.S.A. Posts: 12,451	Love that poem, Art. Though I'm sure that it is more difficult to get close to an elephant than it was in decades & centuries past, I'm also pretty sure that the 7x57 with the right solid bullet, knowledge and head shot, if you get within 100-150 yards, and you know your rifle, you can still kill an elephant with it with one shot. Or, of course, with a .30-06.

July 30, 2007, 10:43 PM	#25
roy reali Senior Member Join Date: August 23, 2005 Posts: 3,248	Re:arteatman The other day I saw one of those dinosaur shows on one of the nature channels. The host said that during those days the Earth was much warmer then it is today. Then an asteroid hit the planet, the climate cooled, and the big reptiles were eliminated. Now that we are in the process of warming things back up, I wonder if that'll bring the dinosaurs around. As useful as the .30-06 is, I would consider it a bit light for the T-Rex or Triceratop. Hence, global warming will make this cartridge useless in a few years.