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30-06 – Still a Good Choice
by: Scott Davidson
Get a group of hog hunters together for any period of time, and the conversation will invariably turn to suitable calibers for hog hunting. For the most part, any rifle/cartridge combination that is used and suitable for other big-game hunting will do nicely. As hog hunting becomes more and more popular, many hunters are looking for a suitable combination as an all-around hog rifle.
In late November of 2006, a group of us was standing around a skinning rack while one soul labored to skin a hog, and we were having the discussion mentioned above. After almost all present had verbalized their choice, listing practically everything under the sun, one voice said, "I still like to use my .30-06."
Let me tell you, that statement was a show stopper. Why in the world, I silently wondered, would anyone choose such a lame, old, BORING, non-sexy round as the .30-06 when such exciting things as the latest Whiz-Bang Short Magnums are available? I mean, after all, everybody and his brother uses one of those. Why would someone intentionally choose that round when so many other, more exciting things were available? Why, indeed...
The .30-06 Springfield cartridge was introduced to the United States Army in 1906 and standardized, hence the '06 in the caliber designation. It replaced the nearly identical .30-03, and about a zillion Springfield 1903 rifles were quickly modified to accept this newer round. The .30-06 served this country in two World Wars, the Korean "conflict", and saw some use in Viet Nam until the early 1970's. The early U.S. Marine sniper rifles were Winchester Model 70's in this caliber, and the famed Carlos Hathcock is noted for preferring this combination even when other things were available. His feats and accomplishments in combat, as well as the target range with the .30-06 are well-known to the shooting and hunting fraternity.
As several other cartridges have done with a military beginning, the .30-06 was a natural to transition to the sporting world, and quickly became one of the most popular sporting cartridges in the world. And why not? With bullets ranging in weights from 110 to 220 grains, a suitable combination could be found for almost anything that walks on this planet – from thin-skinned deer and antelope to the biggest of bears. Eleanor O'Connor, the wife of famous gun writer Jack O'Connor, is credited with killing at least one elephant with a .30-06 and 220-grain solids. The .30-06 quickly established itself as a reliable performer on game animals of all sizes, and soon became a contender for "the most popular hunting round", at least in the United States.
My own personal experience with this round was virtually non-existent until December of 2006. I am a huge fan of the .270 Winchester and the .280 Remington, and since both have "similar" ballistics, didn't see the need to try anything else. That changed in early December when my Dad presented me with a gift in the form of an aluminum luggage-style gun case. Nestled in that case was a vintage Sako Finnbear with a beautiful blonde stock, bluing and action/trigger functioning only a Sako can provide, topped with a vintage Redfield variable scope – from an era when Redfield scopes were a more viable choice than they are today - and in .30-06 caliber. It seemed fitting that in the year this fabled round turned 100 years old, I would get a rifle in that caliber. Certainly, with the diversity of ammo and premium bullets that are readily available, a person wouldn't have to look much farther for a really good, all-around, dedicated hog cartridge. I couldn't stand to miss the opportunity to try it.
A little research was in order since I couldn't remember ever actually firing a .30-06. It seemed that the most popular bullet weights ranged from 150 to 180-grains, and represented by every ammunition manufacturer I could find. There were even a couple of "managed" or "reduced" recoil loadings listed with light bullets in the 125-grain range, which might be interesting for another day and time. The trajectory tables didn't show anything spectacular, but the round performed well enough out to a little over 300 yards for most practical hunting applications. And for me, in this day and time, 300 yards is a long, long way. For anything past that, I would probably need to change my setup rather than my caliber.
The ballistics charts I have available showed a difference of about one inch in trajectory between the 150 and 165-grain factory loadings, and many consider the 165-grain to be optimum for this round. Most, who are familiar with me, know I am a fan of the Fusion ammunition marketed by Federal, and Fusion offers this particular loading. A trip to the closest sporting-goods store resulted in a couple of boxes of this fine ammunition. Considerable experience with Fusion in two other calibers left me anxious to try some on hogs out of the venerable, albeit somewhat blasé .30-06.
On my next foray to a property where I am tasked with controlling hogs (I know, tough job, but I'm thankful I'm asked to do it), the Sako .30-06 made the trip with me. After setting up my field expedient shooting range – which consists of a backpack on the hood of my truck and an empty feed sack with the convenient target printed on the back – I discovered that whoever sighted in this rifle with the vintage Redfield scope did a good job. At 100 paces, the first round hit a little high for my liking, but one adjustment took care of that. I was now ready to go hunting.
One of my stand locations seems to attract large groups of hogs on a more-regular basis than others. After freshening up my Black Gold tree – which is more of a stump now – I situated myself in a tripod stand and settled in for the afternoon. As it turned out, I didn't have long to wait. After sitting there for about 45 minutes, a large hog appeared out of the brush. A glance through my binocs showed a nice boar, easily over 150 pounds, although a little short in the tooth department. Nevertheless, he was a good specimen to try this rifle on, and one I was glad to be able to take. The crosshairs settled in the sweet spot just in front of his front leg, and the trigger broke like a glass rod. At the shot, the hog dropped like he had been struck by lightening. That hog didn't seem to notice that he had been shot with the old, boring .30-06 instead of a hyped-up super round.
Riding back to the truck, I reflected over the questions I originally had on this caliber. Why would someone use a .30-06 when so many other things are available? Why would someone use such a boring round as a .30-06 when so many more exciting cartridges could be chosen?
The answers were simple: Because it works. There is a reason the .30-06 is, and continues to be, one of the most popular rounds for hunting game in the United States – it works. It may not do all the things perfectly, but it certainly does any task asked of it more than adequately. If a person has a .30-06 in their battery and they are looking for a dedicated hog rifle, they need not look much farther.
Admittedly, this rifle is much too nice for me to be dragging around the swamps and tangles I get into. But my experiences have got me to thinking. With all the action and rifle types available in this splendid round, I just might have been without a .30-06 for too long.
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