30-06 Springfield and You

The 30-06 Springfield is by far the most popular and best known centerfire cartridge to ever be developed. To this day it remains the number 1 cartridge for reloaders to reload and the number 1 in die sales for reloading them. Not only is it popular among the reloaders but the 30-06 has also served our military successfully for 3 wars. The 30-06 Springfield has accumulated countless numbers of game taken by it all over the world and still holds many target shooting records after all these years.

The U.S. military adopted the 30 caliber cartridge in 1903 in the now famous M1903 Springfield service rifle, just like ever other military ammunition to become commercial has gone to celebrity status immediately upon release. However the original 30-6 Springfield is not exactly the same cartridge that was originally released in 1903. The cartridge that transitioned in between the two is called the 30-03 to help clearly separate the version from the final adopted cartridge.

Ballistically the 30-03 was similar to the 30-40 Krag and using the 220 grain bullet at only a slightly higher velocity. But in 1906 the 30-03 cartridge was evolved into the 30-06, which incorporated a lighter spitzer bullet at a higher velocity. The case dimensions were also shifted enough to designate the cartridge as a new different cartridge. The Ball Cartridge, caliber 30, Model of 1906 or 30-06 Springfield for the commercial name, was the new cartridge created.

Over the years hunters have found that the 30-06 Springfield has impressive power for 1906 and that the 30-06 Springfield was a very versatile shooters for all types of game. Since then it has been used on every single type of species available on American land. With that in mind although there are reports of large bears being taken with the 30-06 Springfield it is highly discouraged and many suggest a bigger bore and cartridge are needed for a relatively safe bear encounter.

Factory loaded ammunition is loaded with a very large range of bullets from 125 grain soft points to the 220 grain bullets meant for large game. These options within the factory ammunition has help keep the 30-06 Springfield in its high seat of popularity among the American shooters. The big game bullets usually fall between 150 to 180 grains in the ranks of popularity, although like state somewhat underpowered for the larger bears you might run into. Come to think of it I don't know where you may run into a bear unless really out looking for the :"nature" of the world, but in case you see one at the super market mugging someone you might want to think twice before engaging one with the 30-06 Springfield cartridge.

For North American hunters who like a range of variety of game to be taken with one type of rifle instead of owning about 100 different types, the 30-06 Springfield is very hard to beat, although the velocities to run 200 to 400 feet per second slower than most of 30 calibers, the 30-06 Springfield has less powder and lower kick, generally meaning better shots and cheaper reloading.