30/06- Is It a Good Light Rifle for Safari?

29 June 2001, 16:20

Atkinson

It's right up there near the top and with the new enhanced ammo it really ranks high...

I'd still pick my 300 H&H with 200 gr. Nosler or my 338 Win howsomever!! Why? I guess because I can.

If I had to, I could hunt everything with the 30-06 and I wouldn't feel to bad about it.

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Ray Atkinson

ray@atkinsonhunting.com
atkinsonhunting.com

29 June 2001, 16:29

JJHACK

In ten years of going back and forth to Africa sometimes several trips per year my 30/06 has gone with me on about 80% of the trips. I love the 30/06 because it is pin point accurate, very light, has only a 22" barrel, no recoil, and has just enough power to do in any plains game I care to shoot as far as I care to shoot them. I have killed all the normal plains game with mine including Eland.

There certainly are better plains game rifles but the old 30/06 is a wonderful rifle anybody can shoot. I doubt I will ever part with mine, it's been carried for at least a thousand miles over my shoulder and has taken 100's of head without a single animal being lost or wounded.

If I could not have a 30/06 the 300HH would be my second choice for a light rifle, hope that never happens though!.jj

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The happiest of people don't necessarily have the best of everything, they just make the best of everything they have.

30 June 2001, 00:50

Nickudu

The .30-06 kills as well as any magnum .30 to 300 yards and better under 100. It does so with no muss, no fuss in a handier package. A World Class hunting cartridge then and now.

30 June 2001, 01:11

<DavidP>

Ditto to the above. Of course the key to any cartridge is quality bullets and shot placement. It's hard to beat a 30-06 for plainsgame, especially with the wide variety of bullet choices.

Another good thing that I have noticed is that since it is so popular, a lot of times you can find ammo while in Africa if the emergency should arise.

It helps when the local (Africa) staff have faith in the cartridge you are using and the 30-06 seems to have a very good following over there.

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Good Hunting & Hunt Safe,
David

30 June 2001, 01:12

Saeed

John,

The 30-06 will do just fine for all animals short of the big dangerous game.

Having said that, I am afraid it is not the one I would pick.

I have been influenced far too much by Jack O'Connor, and a 270 caliber rifle is the usual one I pick for plains game hunting.

If I thought something bigger is called for, then I would go to a 338.

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saeed@ emirates.net.ae

www.accuratereloading.com

30 June 2001, 02:22

John S

I must admit that I too am no fan of the 30/06, but I will admit it's a versatile cartridge!
JOC's writings affected me greatly in my mis-spent youth and therefor I am a 270 aficianado in the standard cases. However, my greatest enthusiasm in small bore calibers/cartridges remains the 300Wby magnum. Loaded with 200gr Noslers @ 3000fps it has no equal for 98% of the world's game animals under any/all conditions, in my not so humble opinion!

30 June 2001, 02:36

500nitro

My 30-06 has accounted for hundreds of animals from Dassies (rock rabbits) to eland over the past 24 years.
It is a great calibre.

30 June 2001, 03:09

<Quint 6>

I too am a big fan of JOC, and for years carried a 270. However, once the Africa bug bit, the versatility of the '06 seemed to me to make it the only choice. Ammo variety and availability is a big factor to consider. Plus the M70 I have is a tack driver right out of the box, with 180gr Trophy bonded bearclaws from Federal.

30 June 2001, 03:58

Jim in Idaho

One of our PH's was dispensing some advice his father told him about Americans.

Paraphrasing: "An American can legally own and hunt with any rifle he wants, in any caliber he wants. All are in good supply. But he'd be a damn fool if the rifle he chose was not bolt action chambered for the .30-06!"

I would not go that far , but the '06 has been my magic wand of death since I killed my first deer with one some (cough cough) years ago.

To drop a name here besides Mr. O'Connor, Finn Aagard's "old reliable, do it all" was a Mauser action rifle chambered for .30-06 using Nosler 180 grain Partitions. Except for the Mauser part, my '06 with 180 Partitions has worked just fine as well.

30 June 2001, 06:14

John Frazer

As a fan of both O'Connor and Aagaard, I love the .30-06.

My only complaint has to do with the somewhat anemic actual ballistics compared to what the factories advertise, more so apparently than with some other calibers such as the .270 Win.

I posted some examples from my rifles in the Reloading forum. To summarize, velocities lagged 150-250 fps below listings, from the same length barrel. The Federal Premium load with 180-gr. Noslers was under 2500 fps.

Despite that deficiency, the bullet still didn't bounce off my elk last December.

John

30 June 2001, 11:53

T.Carr

Ladies and Gentlmen,

I used my old 30.06 (180 gr. TBBC) on my first safari and it worked great on zebra, kudu, duiker, gemsbok, impala, nyala and blesbok. It has its' limitations, we ran into a very nice eland while hunting and the PH wouldn't let me shoot it with 30.06.

That said, I think a .300 mag is a better choice in a light rifle for Africa. However, if you have a 30.06 (or a .270), don't go out and buy a .300 mag for safari. Go out and buy a .375 H&H.

I took a .300 Win mag and a .375 H&H on my second safari. The .375 H&H accounted for buffalo, kudu, eland, 2 zebra, wildebeest and waterbuck. The .300 Win mag never came out of the gun case. Take a few solids and you can hunt the smaller antelopes with your .375 H&H. If you are going to hunt Africa, why not hunt it with the classic African cartridge--the .375 H&H?

[I'm pretty sure that something I said here will upset John S. Right John? ].

Regards,

Terry

[This message has been edited by T.Carr (edited 06-30-2001).]

30 June 2001, 13:30

<JohnDL>

It's nice to see so much support for the '06. To read the gun magazines nowadays it makes you feel like you're undergunned if you don't have the latest overbore supermagnum. I've never taken one to Africa but I have a pre-war Model 70 that keeps asking to go along.

30 June 2001, 14:08

John Frazer

quote:
Originally posted by JohnDL:
I've never taken one to Africa but I have a pre-war Model 70 that keeps asking to go along.

Mine is also pre-war -- my concern is that the safety is backwards compared to all the other rifles I own, and virtually all the other rifles I would want to own. I am concerned that this might cause unwanted confusion when switching to a larger rifle for dangerous game.

I also have some sentimental attachment to it that is lacking with my other rifles. If a rifle is to be lost to an airline or a foreign government, I'd rather it not be this one.

Comments?

30 June 2001, 14:11

<10point>

When I was in the Bush two years ago, in RSA, I broke my .338 and had to go to my 3006, and the Fed 180 HE Partition loads.

Boy what a hell of a load !

For anything over deer I shoot a .338, but I wouldnt hesitate to jump on a plane and go on a plains game, or Elk hunt, with my '06..........10

30 June 2001, 14:27

<JohnDL>

John Frazer, I know what you mean. However, I must say that I've never taken a rifle to Africa that I didn't really like. It's usually a tough decision. In the end though, I've always taken a 300 Wby as my light rifle. Why? I've used the damn thing from Alaska to Tanzania and feel a little funny leaving home without it. I'm going back over in a couple months and this time it stays home. I'm taking a 300 Win. as the light rifle. We'll see....

03 July 2001, 14:09

Atkinson

I suppose that the arguement between the 270 and the 30-06 is instilled in Americans...

Anyone and I mean anyone who has used both will know there is no decernable difference, none...both are grand calibers and fully the equal of each other off paper and in the hunting field...

Add a few more calibers to that scenario, no make that a lot more...7x57, 280, 7 Mag, a few 6.5', some 9 and 9.3's, 284, 7-08 and on and on...all the same boys, sorry to bust your bubble....

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Ray Atkinson

ray@atkinsonhunting.com
atkinsonhunting.com

04 July 2001, 00:23

<Bush baby>

Well guys Iï¿½ve read all the posts and there seems to be a few missed points.
I agree the difference on African game between the .270 and the 30-06 is un-noticeable ï¿½ when all things are equal. When they are not, the 30-06 is the better choice. Let me qualify that, if for example you are shooting a premium bullet (Nosler part. Barnes X, etc.) in the 270, of say 150/160grs, and say 180gr premiums in the 30-06, then no discernable difference.
However if non-premium bullets are used (Hornady, Speer, Sierra etc) then I donï¿½t agree that they are the same. Take 600lbs of Blue Wildebeest ï¿½ on the last day - quartering away from you at 80 yards, aim point is last rib onto the offside shoulder, swat that beast with a little 130gr from a .270 at 3100fps, and perhaps even 150grainers at 2850fps and the chances are fair your going home with a lighter wallet but no trophy. Use a 30-06 with 200-220gr bullets at 2350-2450fps and the chances are now greatly stacked in your favour that your trophy is going down. This is something I try to tell local hunters, most hunters here do not use premium grade bullets ï¿½ they are hellish expensive - but they hear the stories, read the magazine articles, and want to use their .270 on big game in the bushveld ï¿½ ï¿½but it went clean through a Blesbokï¿½s ribs at 250metersï¿½ I hear them sayï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½they are not comparing apples with apples.
Recoil is also a factor to consider, a 30-06 bullet in the boiler room is far better than the same bullet from a .300 super duper magnum in the butt. If you can shoot a .300 mag well, then by all means use it, if you canï¿½t ï¿½ and youï¿½re not a sissy if recoil bothers you ï¿½ use the 30-06. And if you are going to use a .300 mag in the bushveld then the use of premium grade bullets is in my mind, mandatory.
The velocity and trajectory will allow you to use the same load for the smaller species of plains game as well.