.30-06 Springfield

About .30-06 Springfield

.30-06 has been in continuous service since 1906 and has probably taken more North American game than any other cartridge. Its enduring argument is loading range: factory ammunition runs from 125 grain varmint loads to 220 grain heavy bullets, which is a wider spread than almost anything else on this page.

Against modern short magnums it gives up a little velocity and gains a lot of availability — .30-06 is stocked in rural hardware stores that have never heard of 6.5 PRC, which matters more on a hunt far from home than any ballistic table does. It needs a long action, so rifles are marginally heavier than short-action equivalents.