.30-06 caliber in mm, its characteristics. Reviews about .30-06 caliber weapons

Would you use a .30-06 cartridge for hunting, for example? Let's look at the capabilities of this ammunition. Tradition has it that he was very popular during the Korean battle. The First and Second World Wars were also not without his participation.

In general, 7.62X63 mm (.30-06 Springfield) is a typical machine-gun or rifle unitary American cartridge of the twentieth century. It was made from 1906 to 1952. This model is used today during hunting and sport shooting.

Chronicle

Interestingly, the .30-06 caliber warhead appeared among American soldiers in 1906 (hence its name). He replaced the cartridge .30-03, released in 1903.

After the end of World War I, new types of ammunition were designed. So, there were cartridges with 11.3-gram bullets - .30 M1 Ball (created in 1926) and with 9.7-gram bullets - .30 M2 Ball (created in 1938).

In 1936, the American army was armed with the latest M1 Garand self-loading rifle, and then work began on the manufacture of weapons for a .30-06 caliber charge. And in 1944, America developed a prototype of the T20 rifle (M1 Garand with a removable magazine that holds twenty rounds of DAR M1918 Browning assault rifle and firing bursts).

In the end, the war in the United States ended, and specialists began to manufacture a new cartridge, which, with small overall dimensions, could save the ballistic data of the .30-06 ammunition (7.62X63 mm). In the 1950s, the T65 charge was created, which entered the army under the name of NATO 7.62X51 mm. Of course, it was the same .30-06 caliber product, but now it had a sleeve shortened by 12 mm. His charge was made of more powerful and improved gunpowder, providing the same ballistics. By the way, since 2000, all manufacturers equip this caliber with the same gunpowder, as a result of which it has a capacity greater than .308 by 20%.

It should be noted that since 2000 this warhead has been manufactured in Russia at Barnaul Machine Tool Plant OJSC as a sporting and hunting cartridge.

Rifle equipment for cartridges 7.62X63 mm

• Springfild M1903.
• Johnson rifle M1941.
• M1 "Garand".
• "Browning" M1917.
• Shosh machine gun.
• "Browning" M1919.
• Johnson machine gun.
• Automatic rifle "Browning" M1918.

Springfield

.30-06 Springfield is a 7.62 mm warhead. The soldiers of the American army armed themselves with them in 1906 for firing a Springfield rifle, and since 1936 they began to use it in the Garand rifle.

In general, the numbers .30-06 indicate a 0.30-inch caliber of the 1906 model. The warhead has been in operation for over fifty years. Then it was replaced by NATO products 7.62X51 and 5.56X45 mm.

By the way, the .30-06 format is respected by hunters of both South and North America.

The Uncrowned King

Do you know that .30-06 caliber is called the “uncrowned king of all kings"? By the way, these "kings" were created by the army: they were needed at a certain turn of history to destroy the enemy. The obsolete ones were replaced by new ones in the US troops, until the small and frisky 223 Rem appeared.

And since these ammunition has not been investigated for a long time, experts only have to adapt them to the demands of the civilian market, that is, for hunting purposes. And indeed, the .30-06 caliber turned out to be amazingly balanced (all the elements of charges of this type were perfectly combined). And .308, among other things, was also a sniper cartridge.

It is interesting that the German military 8X57, later increased in diameter to 8.2 mm, also had to go this way. His models intended for hunting are designated: 8X57 IS, 8X57 JS, and sleeves with edges 8X57IRS. The power cartridge is compared with 30-06 Spr.

Everyone knows that you can improve endlessly. As a result, today .30 caliber has acquired a huge set of bullets of various modifications and masses. It should be noted that almost all the largest manufacturers of cartridges took up their production.

.308 Winchester

Have you ever wondered how a caliber is selected for hunting? .30-06 and .308 are very interesting numbers. Now we will consider them. Since 1952, the .308 Winchester is known to be popular in the non-military market. It differs from NATO 7.62X51 mm only in the internal volume of the sleeve.

When the pressure in the barrel channel reaches 3600 bar, the product accelerates to 880 m / s, and the energy increases to 3840 J. The warhead can be equipped with all types of the latest bullets weighing 9.7-13.0 g and a maximum diameter of 7.85 mm. Here, the maximum length of the sleeve is 51.18 mm, one rifling is 12 inches.

Initially, this product was less popular than .30-06, but it gained popularity very quickly. The cartridge is often used in shooting competitions, in the army it is called sniper, and today it is recommended as the most accurate rifle ammunition among medium calibers.

This cartridge is also preferred by Russian hunters. By the way, thanks to L.I. Brezhnev and truthful information, it is not the first year that it has been manufactured in Russia under the name 7.62X51, but the range of rifled guns of this format is expanding annually. Weak recoil, the ability to use a heavy bullet of 13 g, the natural accuracy and low cost of the cartridge created him great fame. This warhead is known and used by the entire planet.

Interestingly, in Russian conditions it is used for hunting small animals : elk, deer, wild boar. It should be noted that .308 is not the best option for large herbivores, so you need to shoot only "in place", this warhead is very accurate, but its range is small.

What are the features of the .308 Win format? Choosing from a huge number of commercial warheads on the arms market, we can conclude: almost every carbine can be loaded with a cartridge, which will give a good accuracy: for a hundred meters to four centimeters.

In addition, .308 Win can use Russian-made ammunition for training firing. This nuance is welcomed by hunters with modest means, since foreign high-quality cartridges are too expensive.

Universal .30-06

Readers have already guessed that the .30-06 caliber has amazing features? The cartridge of this type was very famous in the USA in the 20-30 years of the last century. At that time, he was lucky to cross American borders. It perfectly combines all the elements of the cartridge - the required capacity of the chamber of the sleeve, its slope angle, the length of the barrel, the diameter of the bullet. In the modern world, this product is a kind of standard.

Cartridges that have a .30-06 caliber can boast amazing photos! In general, this warhead is deservedly called the most famous and widespread hunting product used for firing rifled guns.

And what features does .30-06 have? Thanks to the capacious powder chamber, the 64 cartridge case is successfully combined with the entire line of 7.82 mm bullets weighing from 6.5 g to 14.3 g (with manual equipment up to 16 g): this nuance provides a tool arrow for the broadest range of hunting.

Cartridges of this caliber are produced by a huge number of companies across the earth. They are inexpensive and very common in America, where they are used to hunt a wide variety of game. Of course, the .30-06 caliber bullet has an impressive number of versions, and this is impressive. In general, only 308 Win can be compared with this cartridge. By the way, different bullets for .30-06 have muzzle velocity and energy in the range of 734-942 m / s and 3270-4120 J. The bullet in diameter reaches 7.85 mm, its cut pitch corresponds to ten inches.

In recent years, this warhead has become widely known in the Russian Federation, after taking .308 Win second place. A couple of years ago, our factories began to manufacture .30-06 caliber weapons. Therefore, many hunters are thinking about what kind of cartridge they choose. Moreover, in the world these two warheads have won the same recognition. But, it should be noted that each of them has its own beneficial and useless qualities.

So, for a Russian hunt, a .30-06 warhead is more preferable than a 7.62X54R and .308 Win, with which it is practically in line with the ballistic characteristics. Don't you think that .30-06 caliber in mm outperforms these rivals? The cartridge has a sleeve with a large internal volume, a longer muzzle and a less deep bullet landing. It is perfectly equipped with massive and long bullets, the volume of which is small to accommodate the required amount of gunpowder.

Interestingly, using bullets of 13.0 and 14.3 g, you can get the difference in the initial speed, which will correspond to 80 m / s, and in energy - 650 J. And this is a very important nuance.

In general, with a .30-06 warhead they hunt a wide variety of game. His hand shell increases the distance between him and the .308 Win: his performance is close to the parameters of commercial warheads .300 Win Mag. The maximum mass of a bullet at .30-06 is 13 g, and that of .308 is 11.7 g. In fact, with a .30-06 caliber and massive bullets of 13-14 g, feel free to go to a large beast.

In general, .30-06 is called a universal product: a faint bullet weighing 8 g can shoot a fox, a wolf, and even ducks. And if it has a mass of 9.7-10.7 g, mountain goats, rams, small ungulates at a distance of three hundred meters will turn into shooter trophies without any problems.

But what about large deer (deer, red deer)? To boast of such prey, you need to use ammunition with lead balls weighing 11.66 g, which are considered slaughter at a distance of 250 m.

Experts advise on moose and large wild boars to use bullets from 2.96 g to 14.25 g, 16.2 g, Vulkan, Teilmantel and others specified in the application to the .308 cartridge. A magnificent feature of .30-06 is its correspondence with all the latest bolt-on weapon systems. Hunting carbines of the .30-06 caliber with a longitudinally-moving bolt, semi-automatic carbines, improved rifles equipped with a movable Colt forearm or Henry bracket are very popular. You can even find single-shots on the market that have a vertically-moving shutter of the Ruger system.

It is interesting that .30-06, without a hem, but possessing moderate working pressure, was able to get into the ranks of the combined weapon popular in Europe. In the countries of this region, the .30-06 caliber receives only positive reviews. Many hunters who own the Steyr-Mannlicher and CZ-550 weapons praise him every minute. And no one speaks badly about this cartridge, everyone notes its excellent slaughter. Many say that they usually use bullets 13 and 11.7 g.

Those shooters who rarely hunt, or do not have large sums of money, can purchase the "Elk" carbine. Very many people buy carbines of the Molot plant (Vyatsk-Polyansk). From foreign weapons, you can safely purchase CZ-550 carbines. Well, of the machines, of course, “Tiger” or “Boar”.

Thirties carbines

Agree, the .30-06 caliber weapon is amazing! It is it that is slowly but surely expanding its niche in the hunting market of the Russian Federation. Many foreign companies that manufacture rifles for hunting offer models for this caliber, so the range of this product is huge in weapons stores.

For example, the Arsenal weapons salon (St. Petersburg) offers its customers .30-06 caliber hunting carbines in huge numbers: Browning samples BAR 2, Sauer 202, Asera, Blaser R93, SBS 96 Steyr Mannlicher, Swiss SHR970.

Here, every hunter can choose products taking into account their individual passions. Have you decided to purchase a self-loading carbine? Feel free to buy BAR 2! But if you prefer a strict sample with a rotary shutter, you will have to pay attention to SHR, SBS, Eurobolt or Sauer.

Do you need a good carbine? Caliber .30-06 will recommend any shooter! You can think about purchasing a Mannlicher carbine with an advanced safety system or reliable Browning, or you can just rely on a well-known brand.

Some hunters revere the Swiss precision SHR and the unusual aesthetics of Sauer's 202 model, which is known for the non-standard mount of the box and trunk box.

Asera and Blaser R93 are very interesting. If the hunter pays attention to the listed carbines and acquires one of them, he will receive a solid and reliable weapon suitable for Russian caliber hunting. Moreover, both the cartridge and the .30-06 caliber bullet are not currently a deficit. After all, on the market you can buy warheads of RWS (Dynamit Nobel), which can be equipped in four versions. By the way, very often arms companies use RWS as a standard when testing the accuracy of fire of rifled products.

Recommendations

Nobody wants to buy foreign cartridges at crazy prices! It is so? Therefore, the owners of .30-06 carbines imported from other countries can pay attention to the products of Novosibirsk factory workers:

• .30-06 Spr. FMJ. The accuracy of the battle is overestimated, the bullet weighs 13 g, tompak shell. The bullet is made of brass. This model is designed for shelling from three hundred meters.
• .30-06 Spr. FMJ. The bullet of this warhead has a tompack shell and a mass of 9.4 g. Here the sleeve is brass, the initial speed of the product is 855 / s. The warhead is intended for amateur and commercial hunting for tetrapods weighing up to 150 kg at a distance of up to three hundred meters.
• .30-06 SPR. SP has a brass sleeve. Bullet weight - 9.4, primary speed - 865 m / s. The product has a tompack shell Copper SP. The warhead is used for amateurish and commercial hunting for animals weighing up to 400 kg at a distance of up to 400 meters.

Discussion

There is not a single shooter in the world who at least once in his life has not discussed and compared ammunition .308 and .30-06. Of course, the Springfield product appeared due to the Spanish-American conflict that erupted in 1898 (countries fought for the possession of Cuba). The Spanish soldiers were then armed with Mauser M-1893 rifles, and the US forces had only the “Krag Jorgensen” caliber .30-40 (US troops received a good lesson).

Further, in 1903, US troops armed with new Springfield M-1903 rifles . They were very similar to Mauser, so the States had to pay in court for using German development.

Interestingly, the initial .30-06 caliber in mm did not exceed its competitors, it had a heavy bullet weighing 14 g with a blunt end. In 1906, a new pointed lead charge weighing 9.7 g was created, the product turned into the most powerful cartridge at the dawn of the twentieth century. US soldiers fell in love with him very quickly.

And what information do the creators of .308 and .30-06 provide us? They argue that, in principle, hunters were always interested in saving energy during a fire. But this parameter directly depends on speed and weight. Here we observe that at the muzzle end the discrepancy of this parameter is 291 J, at a distance of 200 m it is reduced to 122 J and reaches 66 J at 300 m.

In terms of speed, a priority of 9 m / s at a distance of 300 m is not particularly impressive, as is the extolled firing range. Indeed, few can catch the eye by a difference of nine meters. The reproaches of excessive pickiness of the calculation are not taken into account here. It is clear that these are averaged data, but they were obtained using equipment, and not by eye.

Reviews

I wonder what sights for the .30-06 caliber are praised by hunters? Many are advised to purchase NIKON 2-7X32, as it works great. They also recommend using bullets 1.7: they claim that they are sufficient for any trophy. Others say that this bullet is rather weak for a Kamchatka bear or moose, but everything is learned in practice.

Very often, hunters say that they tried 13 g bullets during bullying, at distances of up to 150 m, but did not notice any discrepancies, although they could stop the beast. When shooting a boar, many people advise giving the advantage to a bullet of 11.7 g.

In general, the arrows say that if you hunt a boar, goat or moose, then you need to give preference to .30-06 caliber. In heavier bullets, it has a better stopping effect, which means that you need to run less for wounded animals.

And in conclusion, we will pay a little attention to the Tiger carbine. After talking with an incredible number of hunters, we can confidently say that the reviews about these weapons are only positive. For him, only semi-shell bullets (13.2 - 13 g) are acquired. If they are more weighty, they are not used, since they have a steeper trajectory, which complicates aiming.

As a rule, 13.2 g perfectly lays an elk at a distance of 250 m from the Tiger carbine. The mechanism from the SVD perfectly prevents sudden misfires and plugs.

Accuracy of shooting at short and medium distances in cropped versions of the "Tiger" often exceeds the performance of samples with a barrel of standard length. In general, it is very convenient when the weapon has a low weight, and better maneuverability.

Arrows do not recommend purchasing plastic. Indeed, in the cold, he cools his hand, and sometimes creaks. Therefore, most prefer the tree. Many trees from SVD are sought from warrant officers in military units.

On the market you can buy "Tigers" under the .308 Win and 9X64 warhead. Of course, the use of the "NATO cartridge" is welcomed only by a narrow circle of shooters, although with it you can solve many problems in the hunt. As a rule, hunters claim that this 9-mm carbine is a specific weapon that can overwhelm a large beast.

Basically they say that it is one of the most prominent Russian semi-automatic hunting carbines. It is accurate and unpretentious to use.

We hope we have helped you sort out some issues. Have a good hunting!