The Age Old Caliber Question...

Topgun 30-06

Banned
Jun 12, 2013
1,353
1
Allegan, MI
Oh come on Topgun, at least give us a hint about the caliber you like!:p
Ah, what the heck, I'll give it a shot, LOL! I obviously do like the 30-06 for the all around caliber it is because of the different bullet weights it will shoot reliably. I've got three in my safes, a pre 64 Model 70 that I use most of the time for deer and elk out in Wyoming, a Sako Finnbear I take as a backup, and a sporterized 03A3 that I took the walnut stock off and dropped into a Ramline synthetic. My Dad made the walnut stock from a blank for it when he gave it to me way back in 1973 as my first centerfire rifle and I decided to keep it in mint condition because I now use it strictly up in northern MI in the nasty weather we get up there during our November firearms season. I used to use good old Rem Corelokts, but went to the 150 grain Hornady SPs and BTSPs when I started reloading because all three shoot it well. I'll reload their Interbonds for the little bit of cow elk hunting I do once in a while out there.

I also have a Savage 22 Hornet for small stuff at ranges out to about 200 yards. Further out than that for pdogs and varmints I use my .243 Sako Forester with the 58 grain VMax. It's also a tack driver with 100 grain Hornady reloads for antelope. In windy conditions for antelope out in Wyoming I go up a notch with 117 grain Hornady BTSPs in my 25-06 Ruger M77 and I also use it for deer out there once in a while. So even though I have my 30-06 username, I don't let that get in the way of having more guns in the safes! After all, I've never seen a safe built to hold just one gun, so fill em up and keep on truckin, LOL!
 

packmule

Veteran member
Jun 21, 2011
2,433
0
TX
I do like the .30s, really like Accubonds. Past that it's just a matter of how fast I want to launch them.
 

SansSouci

Active Member
Nov 3, 2013
207
0
A hunter can't go wrong with a .30 caliber. No other North American big game cartridge was necessary after the US Army came up with the '06. But that wouldn't have been fun. There are a lot of excellent calibers and cartridges from which hunters can choose.

I'd go with .284 caliber because of bullets' superior sectional density and ballistic coefficients, both of which translate to inter-zipcode travel and deep penetration. To get better, one has to move far right on the recoil continuum.

A long, long time ago, an African hunter killed darn near a thousand elephants with a 7x57 using 175 grain bullets.

The reality is, at distances that most hunters are capable of shooting accurately, it'll likely be subjective criteria that determines what cartridge they'll select. As long as they can shoot 'em, they ought to be able to kill big game.

But I will agree with .30 caliber being an excellent choice.
 

woodtick

Veteran member
Feb 24, 2011
1,492
0
Jim Bridger County, Utah
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shootbrownelk

Veteran member
Apr 11, 2011
1,535
196
Wyoming
My favorite rifle is a Winchester model 70 stainless stalker in 30.06 shooting 165gr. Barnes TTSX bullets. Although I may switch to light for caliber Barnes 150's, as Barnes bullets retain almost all their weight upon recovery.
 

THelms

Administrator
Staff member
Okay, I'm in! Of all the guns I own the one I reach for the most when things unequivocally need to die is my 308 Winnie spitting 150 grain Hornady Interlocks (American Whitetail @ $16.99 per box). Its in a Remington M700 Titanium and wears a
Leupold Vari-X III 2.5 - 8. I've killed coyotes, deer, prongies, elk, and bears with it. Nothing has ever asked for a second dose after the first pill.