Monday, December 08, 2014

Its Time to Put the Old Girl Down

Today... there is a good chance I am gonna hurt your feelings.  I'm gonna tell you something that most are just to nice to say.  See familiarity is something that's very comforting to us...  and comfort breeds confidence which often breeds success.  At some point though we're clinging simply to that comfort.  We get lazy.  We get stuck in a rut and before you know it you've missed the present and the future is about to hit you with a hay-maker.

But its time we faced reality people.  Its time to put your 30-30 away.  Its time to put your 303 enfield away...  and yes...  its time to put your 30-06 away.

These are outdated curiosities.  They are not proper modern hunting cartridges.  There is literally nothing the 30-06 does that a 7mm mag doesn't do significantly better. 

I'm not saying you should throw out your old guns.  I'm not saying you should throw out your newer guns that are chambered in these.  I'm saying you shouldn't be buying additional weapons in these, when there are better options available.

Compare a 7mm mag to a 30-06.  Velocity wise you're looking at 200fps difference for common north american game sized bullets. At least in factory loads.  And the 300 win mag?  Well its not even close.  I mean its a whole different sport practically.  A 30-06 is pushing a 150 grain bullet around... oh... 2900 fps.  A 7mm mag pushes that same bullet about 3100 fps.   A 300 win mag throws a 165 grain bullet out at over 3200 fps.

Oh but it isn't fair says you!   Those are magnums! 

So what?  The 30-06 is a long action round.  Its practically the same size in terms of length as the 300 win mag.  Sit them side by side and you would think they are extremely similar.  But they aren't.  Because one was designed in 1906... and the other was designed in 1963.

But that isn't even the most damning comparison.  No... the absolute proof that the 30-06 is obsolete... is the 308.

30-06 performance... out a short action?

Why would you bother with a long action throw?  Why does the 30-06 do so little... with so much case capacity?

Well... because it was designed in 1906.  That's why.

Now... I know you're going to be upset... and you're going to come up with all kinds of reasons why your beloved 30-06 is still just as good as it ever was.  Hey the 30-30 killed dear for over 100 years!  and I know I know... most shots are taken from under 200 yards right?  Its ok.  Let it out.

Tell ya what...  Keep your 30-06... and enjoy shooting it.

Just don't buy more.

They don't have 30-06 in cowboy action shooting.  So I suppose you'll have to come up with some other excuse to live in the past.



20 comments:

Susan said...

Great post Nate, but I was hoping you would have some thoughts on the Remington model 7 rifle recall.

I cannot figure out why or how a trigger could fire by itself.

Besides, you and Josh always say that firearms are never off topic.

Susan said...

As to your post, I am feeling a little nostalgic because you are talking about the stuff that was in my father's gun case.

I guess there comes a time when even some of the good things need retirement after awhile.

scipio afircanus said...

Nate,
This is off topic, but I bet you 1$ that OSU beats Alabama.

Sincerely


cheddarman

cheddarman said...

On second thought, I will up that wager to a McDonalds Happy Meal, OSU over Alabama.

sincerely

cheddarman

Nate said...

Now susan... its not a recall right? its just a company asking everyone to bring their guns in to be fixed.

Totally different.

Also... the 700 is a piece of shit.

Russ said...

Hey, what do you know. I agree with completely with Nate in a cartridge post.

Res Ipsa said...

Nate by your logic no one should buy a 7mm because we have the 7SAUM.

Res Ipsa said...

Susan,

The recall is because some trigger assemblies have a flaw in their construction that allows the trigger sear to disengage without the trigger being pulled. When a trigger does this the gun can go off unexpectedly.

This isn't a problem that is unique to Rem. All trigger manufactures can have issues with hammer/sear engagement. I have a Timmy trigger that is going back to my gunsmith for the same reason. It happens sometimes. In the case of the my Timmy the failure won't allow the weapon to stay cocked which makes it impossible to fire the gun at all.

Rem has simply identified a production issue that may or may not be wide spread. Probably what happened is a couple of guns came back with a sear issue and they saw that they came out of a production lot with the same trigger assemblies. Rather than pretend it didn't happen they are asking their customers to send the guns back so they can check out the trigger assemblies and be sure their isn't a problem.

It's just good customer service, and maybe a little preventive measure to discourage lawyers.

Nate said...

more like saying we dont' need the 7mm rem mag becase we have the 7m wsm. Which is true.

Cheddarman said...

Nate,

From what I read, Saban beat Meyer two out of 3. Meyer won the last of the three games. So, based on this record, OSU has a 33% chance of winning vs 'Bama. That is a lot better chance than your typical Big Ten - SEC match up.

cheddarman said...

On a firearms related note, I have started the process of manufacturing the recoil buffer. Paid the machinist/manufacturing engineer my first down payment for the CAD drawings. Once we nail those down, he will do the cnc machining then i will test it at the range. I even have a sweet petite southern girl from Texas who wants to give it a try at the range. She "likes the idea of a 308 that wont knock her back 50 feet" or so.

sincerely

cheddarman

Nate said...

yes.. meyer and tebow won the first matchup. Then Saban beat him twice.. and after the second he quit coaching he was so discouraged.

I suspect he'll be looking to quit again come january.

Susan said...

The original article said the word recall because of the trigger mechanism.

Several million is a lot of guns to bring in to fix. Like I said, that was the info in the original article.

I wasn't sweating it, I just know that when I want the straight poop on firearms of any kind, I come here for information verification.

Stilicho said...

Cheddarman:

Good stuff. Haven't heard from you in a while. How's it going?

Outlaw X said...

Now I have found that the 30-06 is better for shooting down the triangular UFO's with hyper gravity drive than the 7MM mag.The new quantum 6 cigar shaped UFO's you need the newer cartridge design. The Aliens hadn't come out with the quantum 6 until the late 40's. Besides I like the nostalgia of shooting down one of the old hyper gravity drives, reminds me of the good old days.

Viidad said...

What do you think of the SKS as a hunting rifle? I picked one up with a polymer sport stock on it for a great price. Feels good and solid, though the test will be when I attempt to bag some deer at a friend's property next month.

Toothy said...

Got rid of my last 30-06 several years ago.

I agree: The 06 provides nothing you can't do with a 308 or 300 Win Mag.

Additionally, I heart my 300's. And the 308's are cool, too.

Ben said...

I still want a Garand though.

You guys have any experience with the Zestava PAP M77? .308 AK, dirt cheap when I've seen em. Yes the dumb thumbhole stock, it can be fixed. Might have to pick one up when the wife is distracted by her new kid...

Patrikbc said...

I love my .308, but when it comes to killing deer, I put my rifles away and take out my Parker Tornado.

Russ said...

There's no doubt that the SKS will work fine. The 7.62x39 has slain many a deer.