Evaluating Two Granddaddy Rifle Cartridges 

The .30-30 Winchester and the .30-06 Springfield are two of the preferred rifle cartridges of all time, particularly amongst hunters, and each are nonetheless alive and kicking after greater than a century.

The latter was created for the battlefield and was adopted by hunters for its many attributes. The previous was constructed and marketed as a recreation getter for the woods simply as hunters and the remainder of the world had been getting used to smokeless powder. 

In any case these a long time, each of those cartridges are nonetheless beloved by of us who love traditional and dependable firearms. Put merely, the .30-30 Winchester is a strong alternative for large recreation searching at shut ranges, just like the whitetail woods of the Midwest, whereas the .30-06 is the extra versatile large recreation searching cartridge with extra long-range potential. However let’s dig into the small print of the .30-30 vs .30-06.

.30-30 vs .30-06 Specs

.30-30 Winchester

• Launched: 1895
• Designer: Winchester
• Case Kind: Rimmed, bottleneck
• Guardian Case: .38-55 Winchester
• Bullet Diameter: 7.8mm / 0.308 inches
• Neck Diameter: 8.4mm / 0.330 inches
• Shoulder Diameter: 10.2mm / 0.401 inches
• Base Diameter: 10.7mm / 0.422 inches
• Rim Diameter: 12.9mm / 0.506 inches 
• Case Size: 51.8mm / 2.039 inches
• General Size: 64.8mm / 2.550 inches
• Max Strain (SAAMI): 42,000 psi
• Bullet Mass: 7 grams (110 grain) – 11 grams (170 grain)
• Velocity: 2,230 fps – 2,680 fps 

.30-06 Springfield

• Launched: 1906
• Designer: Springfield Armory
• Case Kind: Rimless, straight walled, bottleneck
• Guardian Case: .30-03 Springfield
• Bullet Diameter: 7.82mm / 0.308 inches
• Neck Diameter: 8.6mm / 0.340 inches
• Shoulder Diameter: 11.2mm / 0.441 inches
• Base Diameter: 12mm / 0.471 inches
• Rim Diameter: 12mm / 0.473 inches 
• Case Size: 63.3mm / 2.494 inches
• General Size: 85mm / 3.34 inches
• Max Strain (SAAMI): 60,000 psi
• Bullet Mass: 10 grams (150 grain) – 14 grams (220 grain)
• Velocity: 2,500 fps – 2,900 fps 

.30-30 Winchester Historical past

The .30-30 has that extreme bottleneck, a giant ol’ rim on the backside of an every-so-slightly tapered case, and — normally — a round-nosed bullet on the high. There’s no mistaking the distinct silhouette of a .30-30 cartridge.  

Formally, this cartridge’s full title is “.30 Winchester Heart Fireplace,” or “.30 WCF.” You may also see it marked “7.8x51mmR” in case you occur to be in Japanese Europe. However to most, it’s merely the outdated, dependable “thirty-thirty.”

The .30 Winchester Smokeless first confirmed up in Winchester’s catalog No. 55 in August 1895 — however when chambered within the Mannequin 1894, it was generally known as the .30 WCF. Within the spirit of rivalry, the opposite large lever gun firm within the U.S. on the time, Marlin, chambered its Mannequin 1893 rifle for the cartridge, however that firm referred to as it “.30-30” or “.30-30 Smokeless” utilizing an outdated naming conference for black powder rifle cartridges with the extra “-30,” which means it had a typical load of 30 grains of smokeless powder. 

The Union Metallic Cartridge Firm didn’t need rival Winchester’s title on its ammo packing containers both, in order that they caught with Marlin’s designation, and it sort of caught from there. Finally, the 2 names merged to change into “.30-30 Winchester.” 

Not like many standard cartridges of its day, it wasn’t launched for the battlefield however the sporting area. The .30-30 was first marketed together with the just lately launched Winchester Mannequin 1894 lever-action rifle a 12 months after John Moses Browning’s legendary lever gun debuted. It went on to change into probably the most standard cartridges of the next century.  

In 1895, the .30-30 and the .25-35 Winchester turned the nation’s first devoted small-bore sporting cartridges launched after the ammo world had shifted to smokeless powder. They put long-range energy (relative to the time) within the fingers of common hunters. 

To grasp the .30-30’s reputation, you need to have a look at the spherical’s specs in context.

The .30-30 debuted with a velocity of 1,970 fps, which made it a fantastic performer inside 150 yards. That’s spitting distance for many rifle hunters in the present day, however on the time, riflescope expertise was not solely primitive, however fairly uncommon. The top of searching rifle tech for the plenty was a lever gun with good iron sights, maybe a rear ladder sight.

Even when scopes had been extra frequent, a lot of the nation’s searching grounds had been on Japanese terrain the place that 150-yard efficient vary was excellent.  

Whereas optics superior all through the twentieth century, good glass remained costly (too costly for a lot of hunters) for greater than 100 years after packing containers of .30-30 had been first stuffed into the pockets of searching jackets. So, the spherical remained standard and inexpensive, identical to the weapons that used it.

The cartridge went on to be so standard in lever weapons just like the Marlin 336 and Mannequin 1894 that it virtually turned synonymous with the lever-gun platform. When the Marlin 336 hit the stage, it was chambered in .30-30. Early Savage Mannequin 99 rifles got here in .30-30, and you will discover loads of .30-30s in most lever gun firm catalogs in the present day practically 130 years later. 

That mentioned, because the twentieth century gave technique to the twenty first and essentially the most inexpensive bolt-action rifles had been capable of outperform even the very best .30-30 lever weapons, the spherical’s reputation waned amongst hunters who opted for a extra versatile bolt gun topped with an inexpensive variable-power scope. 

Certain, in the present day the .30-30 may be loaded hotter and topped with extra environment friendly bullets like Hornady’s Leverevolution or Federal’s Hammer Down, and these developments have pushed the cartridge farther than anybody utilizing it within the deer woods of 1925 might have ever imagined. However nonetheless, there’s now an entire universe of newer, extra highly effective, and extra environment friendly deer rifle cartridges, and the .30-30’s massive rim means it doesn’t precisely stack effectively in {a magazine}. 

.30-06 Springfield Historical past

The .30-06 Springfield was developed as a cartridge to be used by the U.S. navy in 1906. It changed the older .30-03 Springfield, 6mm Lee Navy, and the .30-40 Krag. All three had been in service on the time and so they had been all thought-about underpowered.  

Whereas the navy readily adopted early smokeless cartridge choices because the nineteenth century got here to a detailed, ammo and rifle tech was shifting quick, and on the daybreak of the Age of the Bolt Actions, one thing higher with longer efficient vary and extra energy was wanted. 

The .30-06 Springfield turned the U.S. Military’s main rifle and machine gun cartridge and remained so for 5 a long time. 

It was first chambered within the famed bolt-action M1903 Springfield rifle, the M1917 Enfield bolt gun, and the semi-auto M1 Garand rifle. It was additionally used within the Browning Automated Rifle (BAR) the M1941 Johnson rifle and a number of other machine weapons, most notably the water-cooled M1917 Browning and the air-cooled M1919 Browning machine gun platforms. 

The U.S. navy used these firearms and their .30-06 ammo in WWI, WWII, the Korean Conflict, and the Vietnam Conflict.   

The .30-06 Springfield cartridge additionally has a few different names. In metric, it’s 7.62x63mm, and Winchester referred to as it the .30 Gov’t ‘06. You’ll discover it additionally makes use of the outdated black powder naming conference, however the “-06” doesn’t check with the variety of grains within the casing — it refers to 1906, the 12 months the cartridge was launched. The “.30” is, after all, the caliber of the bullet. Regardless, the best technique to say it’s “thirty-aught-six.” Don’t ask why, that’s simply the way in which it’s.

The navy started phasing out use of the .30-06 with the introduction of the select-fire M14 rifle and M60 machine gun, which had been each chambered in 7.62x51mm (.308 Win) within the late Nineteen Fifties. The .308 Winchester used the .30-06 as a mother or father case and was finally loaded to roughly equal the ballistic efficiency of the .30-06 Springfield in a short-action rifle with much less recoil. 

The M14 was quickly changed by the M16 platform in 5.56mm (.223 Win) within the Nineteen Sixties because the navy moved towards a smaller-caliber, higher-velocity mindset for common service rifles. 

Whereas the spherical has decidedly navy origins, the .30-06 caught on within the sporting world in an enormous means. It turned the spherical utilized by rifle hunters going after large recreation. Because it was designed to cycle effectively in belt-fed machine weapons and semi-auto rifles, that meant it labored very effectively in bolt motion rifle magazines, too. 

And as manufacturing facility bolt weapons, just like the Remington 700, had been made for the searching plenty, the .30-06 bought extra standard. 

.30-30 vs .30-06 Ballistics

The .30-30 is milder cartridge and higher at shut distances, whereas the .30-06 is simpler at longer ranges but additionally recoils tougher. Right here’s a more in-depth have a look at the ballistics of every.

.30-30 Ballistics

On the time it hit the gun market, the .30-30 pushed a 160- or 165-grain bullet at 1,900 to 2,000 fps with a 4-inch drop at 200 yards. That was thought-about flat taking pictures. The most typical masses finally settled on 150-grains or 170-grain bullets. The lighter load might transfer at 2,390 fps from a 24-inch barrel. Not too shabby. 

Relating to recoil, that 150-grain load feels a bit lighter than a 20-gauge shotgun, however it kicks tougher than a .410. In comparison with a .30-06, a .30-30 produces just a bit bunny kick — about half the felt recoil.  

As you’ll be able to think about, a cartridge that has been round for the reason that mid Eighteen Nineties has been pushed to its extremes in each instructions. At present you will discover masses and bullets from 130 grains to 190 grains. Customized masses have used even heavier bullets with trendy propellants. 

Due to its massive rim, the .30-30 even bought standard in handguns constructed for metallic silhouette taking pictures. Right here’s a have a look at a primary .30-30 load in the present day.

Ammunition Instance: .30-30 Winchester Tremendous-X 150-grain Energy-Level

Muzzle Velocity: 2,390 fps
Muzzle Power: About 1,900 ft-lbs 

Permitting ballistic-tips for use within the .30-30 was a reasonably critical recreation changer. Hornady’s LEVERevolution ammo line makes use of polymer tipped bullets which can be protected when set towards the primer of one other cartridge underneath rigidity in a lever gun’s tubular journal. 

Relating to efficiency, the 150-grain bullets within the chart above drop a hefty 12.1 inches at 300 yards going 1,852 fps. A spherical topped with a 160-grain FTX LEVERevolution bullet is just going 100 fps slower at 300, however it solely drops 6.5 inches. It flies one other 100 yards earlier than you see a 12-inch drop.  

Ammunition Instance: .30-30 Hornady 160-grain FTX LEVERevolution

Muzzle Velocity: 2,400 fps
Muzzle Power: About 2,000 ft-lbs

.30-06 Ballistics

The rationale the .30-06 caught on with hunters after being launched as a navy cartridge was as a result of it had a flatter trajectory and carried extra vitality than the .30-30. Plus, it was extra versatile and could possibly be loaded with then state-of-the-art spitzer bullets starting from 110 to 220 grains, giving it the ability and flexibility essential to take down North America’s largest recreation, and in addition mid-sized recreation, with out unnecessarily destroying meat. 

It’s all-around efficiency was lauded by standard gun writers of the primary half of the 1900s, like longtime Out of doors Life taking pictures editor Jack O’Connor. Teddy Roosevelt even packed a .30-06 within the large crate of firearms that accompanied him on his well-known African safari along with his son, Kermit, from 1909 to 1911.

Topped with a 150-grain bullet, the .30-06 is right for medium-sized recreation with a muzzle velocity of about 2,900 fps and it doesn’t begin to drop considerably for 300 yards.

Heavier bullets within the 165-168-grain vary supply a better ballistic coefficient to chop via crosswinds and carry extra vitality downrange, however in addition they produce a bit extra of a curved trajectory. Even heavier masses from 180 grains to 220 grains are favorites amongst hunters for taking elk, moose, and brown bears. 

When it comes to primary recoil estimates, the .30-06 produces 25 ft-lbs of felt recoil in a seven-pound rifle (in comparison with 14 ft-lbs with a .30-30). Right here’s have a look at the ballistics of some standard trendy .30-06 masses.

Instance Ammunition: .30-06 Federal Premium 180-grain Nosler AccuBond

Muzzle Velocity: 2,900 fps
Muzzle Power: About 3,500 ft-lbs

Ammunition Instance: .30-06 Federal Premium 220-grain Nosler Partition

Muzzle Velocity: 2,600 fps
Muzzle Power: About 3,400 ft-lbs

The Legacy of Two Basic .30 Calibers

What are the .30-30 and .30-06 as much as in the present day? The .30-30 remains to be doing what it’s all the time performed finest: getting loaded into lever weapons and taking whitetails. Loads of hunters nonetheless depend on it, particularly in the event that they hunt in locations the place photographs on recreation are sometimes inside 150 yards. 

For others, a connection to a searching rifle that has been placing meals on the desk for generations is one thing value holding, and having a prepared provide and vary of .30-30 ammo accessible is completely fantastic. Plus, the capabilities launched by Hornady LEVERevolution ammunition have prolonged the general life and usefulness of this venerable cartridge.

As lever weapons take pleasure in a resurgence in reputation, the .30-30 is giving start to the following technology of lever gun ammo. In 2023, Remington got here out with a brand new straight-wall cartridge constructed for medium sized recreation utilizing the .30-30 Winchester as a mother or father case: the .360 Buckhammer. 

This new cartridge was created by blowing out the shoulder of a .30-30 case and necking it as much as accommodate a .358-caliber bullet. The ensuing .360 Buckhammer generates extra stress, about 8,000 psi, than the .30-30, and delivers exceptional efficiency in carbine-length lever weapons.

As for the .30-06, there are flatter taking pictures, extra environment friendly choices which can be simply as versatile. For lots of contemporary shooters, the felt recoil generated by a .30-06 simply isn’t value it. Then on the opposite finish of the ability scale there’s the .300 Win Magazine, which provides a greater stability of energy and vary. 

The .308 Winchester was launched as an improved model of the .30-06, and lots of view it as simply that (learn our full breakdown of the .308 vs .30-06 right here). And, after all, there’s the correct, versatile, and standard 6.5 Creedmoor.  

However the reality is, most recreation within the U.S. is killed inside 300 yards, and the outdated battlefield-tested .30-06 is as efficient as ever when it comes to accuracy and energy inside that vary. Whereas there could also be higher options on the market for particular use instances, the .30-06 remains to be a fantastic all-around large recreation spherical — perhaps simply not the very best one.