I have pondered much about this question.
I have taken many Deer, Mtn goat, Antelope, Black Bear and Elk with this cartridge. All
with success, and one shot kills.
Thing is, I have seen so many kills that have
resulted the same, with lesser cartridges. Epecially with younger hunters.
I know, the younger and female hunters that I have trained shoot better with a cartridge like a .243win or .270win. Why?, recoil.
In my experience, most .30 caliber rifles with over 150gr bullets will kick the crap out of you for a period of practice. I want new hunters to shoot at different ranges and positions many times.
I found, many get the "flinch factor" after 3-4 rounds with anything like a .30-06 or above.
People that shoot a lesser cartridge shoot better, and place more accurate shots as I have seen.
What is your opinion?

I agree that it maybe a bit much for kids and ladies but not grown men. Handling recoil is also about getting used to it with a bit of practice.

Its fine for me. I refuse to use anything under 30 caliber for big game.

I am sort of the opposite of buckeyeshooter. I refuse to use anything larger that 30 caliber for big game. While I do have two 30-06s, I have shot neither in years. I don't know that I would go after one of the big bears with a 30-06, but with a good Nosler Partition, probably.

For the lower 48, there is nothing here that my 308 or 6.5s won't kill cleanly. I just never had a need for a 270, but I suspect that would work just as well.

Why buy one gun for all north American game? There are so many great cartiges designed for different applications. 223 for varmits, 270 for whitetaik and antelope, 308 for hogs, 300 for mule deer black bear, 338 for elk and carribou, and bigger for the scary stuff. think of all the wonderful guns to have and love

Recoil is not a problem with it in hunting shots. You scarcely notice it. All you do is just shoulder it properly and hold it tightly. And don't put your eye up next to the scope. If it helps loop the sling thru your left arm and rest the gun on a tree limb or whatever. As long as you grip it firmly it's not even a problem in range shooting. You can go thru boxes of ammo easily. Teenage kids handle it just fine as do many, many women and smaller men. I recently was there to help a 15 yr old sight his in, but it turned out he didn't even need any help.

I'm in my mid 60s and have used it all my life without recoil being an issue. I have given thought to what I'd do if I ever get to the age when the gun itself would seem too heavy or even the '06 recoil too much. The possible solution would be to move down to something like a Model 700 in .243. However, I suspect the real solution is by then I'd long since have tired of getting up at 3:15 in the a.m. to journey out to climb 20' high and sit in a tree for 4 or 5 hours in sub-freezing temps while facing a strong icy wind. In other words, I'd no longer be hunting at all by then.

One other thing..the '06 is by far and away the choice here for Mid-South hunters and it's a splendid deer cartridge plus we use it because we know it's also adequate if we ever want to go out West to hunt. It's kinda like one-stop shopping in guns.

Personally I think a 12 ga shotgun kicks more and it doesn't kick that bad.

quote:

Originally posted by garretttodd:
Why buy one gun for all north American game? There are so many great cartiges designed for different applications. 223 for varmits, 270 for whitetaik and antelope, 308 for hogs, 300 for mule deer black bear, 338 for elk and carribou, and bigger for the scary stuff. think of all the wonderful guns to have and love

Yes Sir .I agree!!!!!

yeah it's like saying you can play a round of golf with just a four iron. You can but why would you want to.

The 30-06 is just about right for N.A. big game.

It works well.

But like others said whats the fun in owning jsut one cailber. Back when I wasn't making s much I had thoughts that only one rifle would have to do. It was a 06.

But as I was able to make more money I have expanded to many calibers. Now I pick the one I want to hunt with. My last elk hunt was with a 300 wm my next one well be most likely a 338wm.

My next pig hunt will be with my 416. other times pigs have been shot with 338s 06s 308s, 44mags ect they all worked.

My next black bear well be shot with a hard cast 468 gr that I cast, out of my 45-70 because I want to.

The 06 is a great caliber and a great round but others are just as fun and kill just as well.

the basis of your question appears to revolve around recoil and its' effects on young shooters.

i think most would agree that a lesser recoiling rifle (243) is "easier" to shoot accurately than the 30-06 and larger.

regarding a caliber being "enough", much more depends on the choice of bullet and where it is placed.

young shooters (and probably as many experienced shooters) are usually more accurate with something less than a 30-06, however, most "gun writers" repeatedly tell the reader that the recoil of the average 30-06 is about the maximum MOST people can shoot accurately.

shooting a 243 accurately (all other things being equal) isn't difficult. But then I know there are many shooters who are equally accurate with their 30 cals. certainly, starting young shooters off with a 223/243 aids in all aspects of accurate shooting.

they can graduate to larger calibers at their own pace.

quote:

The 06 isn't perfect for anything but works for everything..

The 06 isn't perfect for anything, but works for anything.

Please define perfect.

The only downside of owning a 30-06 I can think of, is the fact you don't really need anything else except a big bore > 375, 223/22-250, 22lr and a 12 gauge shotgun. But we all know there is no fun in that. And the fact the recoil can be a little more than smaller frame people can comfortably tolerate.

Shot placement relegates all other discussions to secondary importance.

Now, I am a big 270 fan, never killed anything with a 30 caliber anything. I am afraid if I do, I will sell all my guns and implement the battery I quoted above. I just can't have that.

Its the jack of all trades, master of nothing. Arguements, very valid ones, can be made for or against it for any situation you'll ever encounter on the range or in the field.

If you're never going to hunt anything from cow elk on down, then I think it is too much gun for the purpose. You could just as easily kill any small CXP3 and all CXP2 game with a smaller caliber. This smaller caliber would have less recoil, and that means you could have it in a smaller, lighter rifle which is easier to carry, too. But again, that's all semantics! You can load the 06 down to those levels if you really wanted to.

IF I ever have kids, and if any more of my significant others choose to go shooting/hunting with me, I think my first and likely only choice would be the 7x57. It'll do anything the 06 can, maybe not as far out, but the 30 won't be doing it much farther anyways. More mass and energy then a 243, and a LOT more bullet selection for any task at hand. Besides, when kids or smaller framed shooters are really ready to start hunting with the big boys on the hard hunts FOR the big boys, by that time they'll probably have a lot more experience under their belt and likely can step up to bigger calibers, if needed.

The 308 selection of bullets and adequate powder capacity makes the -06 so versatile that you don't need anything else. For starting young or new shooters do the following:
1. Make sure the stock fits the shooter.
2. Load up some light 110-130gr bullets at around 2100fps
3. Set the shooter up on some kind of target and stand back and watch the fun.
When the new rifleman (person) gets comfortable with the above, you can move them up to whatever bullet weight and velocity is appropriate for the game to be hunted.
If the bullet makers had a selection of bullets equal to the variety of 308 in anything between 270 and 338, the above would apply there too but they don't. Prairie dogs to polar bears, what's not to like?

Not arguing, but just pointing out, the 7mm has just as much selection as 308.

I don't buy the argument that being large or small is a primary factor in shooting well and managing recoil, at least not when we're talking about cartridges in the 30-06 class and smaller.

I myself am only 140 lbs (all gut ), and have learned to shoot well with even a 300. My wife's nephew is maybe a buck-fifteen, and he shoots my .270 very well - and the .270 was the first rifle he's ever shot, including a 22!

This same nephew says that my 20 gauge win. youth pump kicks worse than the .270. And that comparison? 20 ga. Dove loads vs. a 140 gr. Accubond pushed by 60 gr. of RL22! Go figure??

My theory is that, with proper technique, if you just let the recoil move you, it's not a big deal.

Contrast that with a friend of mine who is 6'2" and weights in the neighborhood of 300, who is still a bit gun-shy with his 30-06, and I think that proper technique/good mindset = very little noticed recoil.

Merry Christmas!

friar

It might be too much gun for some shooters but there is no such thing as too much gun for big game, lopers on up. We have become a real buch of whimps when a fully outfitted 06 has too much recoil.

When I started deer hunting around 1970 I had to make the caliber choice and wasn't at all knowledgeable about it. I handled a relative's 30-30 and knew enough about that from the cowboy movies, but knew little of the more powerful rounds except the '06...and that was mainly from all the war movies or from handling war surplus Springfield's that various friends owned. I knew nothing of the 270, except for seeing it in Winchester ammo handbooks. Nothing about the technicalities of the 308. And zero about the 7 Mag.

But those were the calibers most mentioned and recommended locally for deer at the time. I was told that basically you could flip a coin between any two of them. I kinda wanted a Weatherby in 06 and also a 7 Mag in a BAR, but shaky finances dictated only the Weatherby Vanguard which I hunted with for years before moving up to a German Mark V also in 06. Back then I only knew one person who had a 270 and one more with a 308. Everybody else had the 06. This year one of the guys showed up with a 25-06. Others in camp had the 30-06.

My only departure from it was brief ownership of a custom Mauser in 257 Weatherby (my four 06s have been more accurate) and use of a shotgun with deer slugs, muzzleloader and more recently handguns (I've become a pistolero of late).

The point being, this many hunters can't all be wrong. And the question about young shooters doesn't lend itself to generalizing. It all depends on which youngsters.

The 30-06 is like the non model wife, she may not be the most beautiful girl in the room, but she will love you, cook for you, and clean for you. She will be faithful, and will love everything you give you. In the end, do you want something that will impress your friends, or do you want something that will make you happy.

John

It is not the caliber or the gun, it's the hunter that matters most.

I remember in the 60s being deathly afraid of the '06. I had never shot one, but I heard that it would knock you down, break your shoulder, and stomp on you, before you could get up. Knowing in my heart that was true, I bought my first deer rifle in .308 Win, Remington 600 that weighed about 6.5 lbs. It probably kicked as bad as a heavier '06, but it wasn't an '06 so I knew it wouldn't kill me. I loved the .308 and shot more game over the next 15 years than I can remember or count. I reloaded for it, and had a weight bullet for every animal I hunted (not a caliber for each animal). I felt I could hunt up through moose simply by going to a heavier bullet. I think I was right. (Conventional wisdom was that you needed 150 gr. bullets for deer sized game and 180 for elk. I found that wasn't true, but that is a different topic.)

Looking back, I wished I had been braver and bought a 300 Win Mag and loaded it for whatever I was hunting. I think that caliber is the all-round best North America cartridge, assuming you reload. I still don't have one, but when they came out with the 300 WSM they tipped the balance, I bought one, and love it. It will be homing in on a 60"+ bull moose next September.

I think I could load the '06 for everything in North America from jackrabbits to moose, including grizzly. (Having said that, a brown bear is a grizzly on steroids. I would want an '06 on steroids to hunt it; my 375H&H.

quote:

Originally posted by ldkier:
I know, the younger and female hunters that I have trained shoot better with a cartridge like a .243win or .270win. Why?, recoil.

While the .243 has recoil in the 8 to 9lb range for most loads, the .270Win and 30-'06 have nearly exactly the same recoil (17lb VS. 17.6lb) with the same weight bullets (150g) in the same weight rifle. See table in link:

Recoil Table

Sorry, but the .243 is not in the same league as the 30-'06 in performance nor recoil. I agree that the recoil of a 30-'06 is on par with a 12G medium load.

I have found over the years that recoil is a function of a person's mind more than the rifle, especially in hunting situations...

quote:

Originally posted by TJAY:
We have become a real buch of whimps when a fully outfitted 06 has too much recoil.

+1

If recoil's the crux of this discussion, I wholeheartedly agree.

The utility of the '06 for N.A. game is that of a Crescent wrench. It'll most likely turn most of the nuts most of the time. But I'd rather have a pouch full of Snap-On combination wrenches.

quote:

Originally posted by Big Bore Boar Hunter:
The 30-06 is like the non model wife, she may not be the most beautiful girl in the room, but she will love you, cook for you, and clean for you. She will be faithful, and will love everything you give you. In the end, do you want something that will impress your friends, or do you want something that will make you happy.

John

I've only shot two big game animals with a 30-06, but I think thats a perfect analogy.