I have or have had at least 40 rifles of various calibers between 223 and 416, but I've never owned a 30-06 or 7 Rem Mag. I've shot thousand upon thousands of centerfire rounds and I've fired friends' 7 Mags a handful of times but I believe I've never, ever fired a 30-06.

Am I un-American? I've come as close as owning 300WM's and 280's but never those two so very popular cartridges. Is this like telling the world I've never eaten apple pie?

I'm in the same boat as you, except the caliber I've never owned or fired is the .270 Win.

I've always figured that since everybody else had one, I didn't need to support it. Nothing against it, it's a great cartridge, but I guess it's just too mundane for me.

cool, no one says you have to own a 30-06 or a 7mm rem mag. I've never owned a 7mm rem mag and probably won't.

Forrest - you're not un-American and not missing anything, either, BUT - don't you think Bill Carter needs a little more of your money?

Forrest, all the 06's and 7 Rem mags I've ever owned were the result of a trade of some kind, and they usually moved on or were turned into something else. Except for my M1 Garand. That one I bought on purpose. As for the 270, I felt the same way, and years back I swapped my brother for his (he got a new southpaw 7 mag) and I was going to rebarrel to something interesting. Made the mistake of shooting it though, and darned if it didn't turn out to be one of the most accurate cartridge/rifle combo's I've ever had. Go figure. I won't mess with something that shoots that well, so I'm stuck with a 270. Oh well. Some days you get the bear, and some days the bear gets you. I don't think you're unpatriotic (a concept I've always had problems with anyway) just discerning. - Dan

Forrest,
Should we one day find ourselves immersed in heated debate on things guns, I give you fair warning: I'm gonna say "What the hell do you know? ... you've never even fired a .30-06!"

Nick-
Fair warning. It's a glaring hole in my resume. Some days its a gnawing insecurity, other days its a point of honor - I don't know anybody who hasn't fired a 30-06.

I'm not too worried about the heated argument on rifles. I say to each his own. I only get emotionally drawn into the sportsmanship and political threads.

However, I must say to the guys who have never fired or who dis a 270- you ARE un-American. Get a 270 or get the hell out of my country.

ForrestB -

My goodness. Such language. I'll have you know that my two deer rifles of choice are a fifty-two year old Model 94 in .30 WCF, and a pre-64 Model 70 in .30-06 Springfield.

Those two cartridges are, in my most humble opinion, far more flag-waving and American than the .270 Win. The '06 is the first real modern US military round, and our boys won two World Wars with it. What more can be said of the .30 WCF? That, my good fellow, IS the Uncle Sam, Motherhood, and Apple Pie of the cartridge world.

Actually, the reason I don't have a .270 is because the first rifle my dad gave me was a pre-64 Model 70 in .264 Win Mag, which I still use today. Anything the .270 will do, it will do.

OK 6.5, I'll let you stay but you're on probation.

Many years ago, I fell into a trance reading the ballistics tables and decided I couldn't live without a 264 WM. After a couple of years of shooting the 264 I felt like I was just toting a loud 270. I haven't been back down that road again. A friend has a 264 with a 27" barrel and he tells me with H1000 or RL 25 he can fire a 140 gr bullet at 3400+. That's a real difference over the 270, but I don't need it.

My .264 Win Mag can send a Barnes XLC out the chute at 3,380 fps.

I prefer to use a 125 grain Partition, however, for pronghorn/whitetails/coyotes, at a relatively sedate 3,300 fps. Reloader 22 seems to be the trick pony with that bullet weight.

Although I have fired both 270's and 30-06's I never have and never will own either.I have however owned many 7mm's and probably will always own one.

Forest: Who cares? I'm sure you have fired rifles equal in recoil, with better ballistics. Why do you even need one?

A 223 for deer, and a 416 or 375 for everything else...;-)

Sides, a 300 WM is just an over capacity 06, so, what's the difference? It's also a bit better with heavier bullets.

I do like 30-06, but, I wish the case was sexier, sort of like the 300 Rum.

s

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I love 45
santilli@singleaction45.com

I have owned many 30-06's, I like them in my military guns, Garand and 03's, but for hunting I prefer a .270, or 7mm Rem Mag.

Sorry, Forrest, I didn't mean to upset you over the 270 thing. It just never tickled my fancy. As I said, I have one and won't change it because it shoots so well. As for getting out of your country and being un-American, I am out of your country, and the only kind of American I am is North American. Take care. - Dan

It seems to me that this topic is light and has some kidding in it and thats fine for a change.

For me the 30/06 was and is the path of least resistance. When I started shooting it was a .22LR and then a .222R but soon I was a member of a rifle club and we had FREE 30/06 ammo and FREE 30/06 rifles. At first they were Springfields but soon I could get a FREE Garand to keep as long as I wanted it. I could shoot it free and take it anywhere I wanted too!

So to anyone who missed this opportunity I can only describe it. We got the ammo in the steel cans. The only problem was they were heavy to carry. We shot all that we could carry.

Some kid in our group got a .270 (721) from his dad as a gift but soon he was shooting the 30/06.

There is not much difference in these cartridges. Later we started using the .308W. Now it's the .223 which is unfortunate as it's not of much use.

I traded an 06 for another 06 and got a 7mm Mag thru a complicated family deal, they both shoot real good. so I still shoot them.
MR

The United States Army introduced me to the 30 06. I was part of the last basic training class to use the M1. Toward the end of the training cycle, they took the trusty M1s and issued M14s. I liked both, but when I got out, I got a 30 06 for my hunting rifle.

"Now it's the .223 which is unfortunate as it's not of much use."

Really? I thought the .223 was a great cartridge! Not for biggame, but a great varmit, and plinker.

GSF,

The .223 is of no use to me. But it goes bang and must give someone service. I started serious chuck hunting with a .222 Rem in 1953 with a new M-722 and a Lyman Wolverine 6X scope. This was by far the best outfit in our group then. Others had 25-20's and a 30-06. Another only had a 12 shotgun. There was not that much money around as now it seems. But soon we had jobs and not just guns our parents gave us and my buddy got a 22-250. We hunted together and when a shot much over 200 yards came up the inference was that I was to use his rifle. So I bought a .243 M-70 Varmint rifle in 1957. Later I got a .219 Improved Zipper and there was no use for a .222 Remington any longer. I got about 700 chucks with the .222. Unlike parire dogs each one was hunted down.

Since that .222 had a 26" bbl it was about equal to a .223. Perhaps a quick twist .223 might have more range but I am not interested as it will never be a .219 Improved with it's powder capacity.

So for some hunting the .223 is just fine. It's just that I have no use for one.

Forrest, like you I've owned around forty rifles chambered for everything from the 223 to 416. Several of them have been 30-06's, but none have been, or will ever be, 7 Mags... of any kind. Like you, I consider it a louder, longer and heavier 270. Also, everyone and their dog around here has a "7em-em"... I suppose you could say the same for the 270, except it has attained "classic" status by having survived the competiton since 1925. The 30-06 is certainly a great round... Don, that's a great story about free rifles and ammo... man things have changed! Still, name me one hunt and I'll name you a cartridge more appropriate for it than the 30-06... except killing Nazi's of course! Still, it is THE round for the one-rifle man... may I never be such a man!

Brad