.30-06

I'm sure I'm not the only one who noticed, but the .30-06 Springfield cartridge will be 100 years old in 2006.

I just did a Google search on .30-06 and found 9.7 million entries. That is a lot of entries for a short search string. My father-in-law has a nice example. It is an Enfield action that was sporterized sometime in the early 60's. That old thing shoots good too, turning in Minute of Beer Can accuracy out past 150 yards with a variety of ammo. It has accounted for more than its share of game and more than its share of beer cans.

I don't own a .30-06, for a number of reasons. For a time in my shooting history, I liked blackpowder, muzzleloading, caplock rifles and shot those almost exclusively. For ten years my small battery of centerfire rifles was ignored as I came to appreciate that the old muzzleloaders were capable of fine accuracy and were not a handicap in the woods. Familiarity, in this case, bred confidence. In the thickets where I hunted deer, the possibility of a second shot was remote. The muzzleloader would take game with authority. Lead, powder, and pillow ticking were just about all I needed to replenish.

I still like blackpowder for teaching kids to shoot. After a time with a .22 rifle, teaching the proper way to handle a muzzleloader is good practice to reinforce gun safety. The front-stuffer will also stress the value of one aimed shot, along with teaching the basics of reloading centerfire cartridges. With a muzzleloader, it is easy to understand what is happening when you pull the trigger.

The first centerfire cartridge I reloaded was the .38 Special, which has been around forever in one incarnation or another. The jump to .357 came quickly. Nowadays I shoot mainly .30-30 Win and .45-70. Both of those cartridges are older than the .30-06. The one modern cartridge I currently reload for is the .243 Win, a recent derivation of the .30-06, via the .308 cartridge. Oh, and my son's 7mm Mag. I don't shoot it, I just reload for it.

Now that the .30-06 is a hundred years old, I guess it is more than a passing fancy of the gunwriters. I guess I should put one on layaway and see if it is really as good as people say it is. After the first of the year, I'll put one on layaway. Bolt action, of course, probably a Savage. I see that Stevens in re-entering the rifle market, and that might be a good value.

I wonder how many of the modern cartridges released last year will still be with us, going strong, in 2106?

Merry Christmas, y'all.