[ScubaSteveU5]

Hey, just a question...what does the -06 at the end of 30-06 stand for?

 

[Jeff_850]

the .30 stands for the caliber of the round
the 06 stands for the year it was developed for the Army

 

[Max338]

i beleive the correct designation for the 30 06 is
Ball, Caliber 30, model 1906 hence 30-06

 

[Jake S]

I think it stands for 1906, the year the bullet was adopted by the Army, not the year they developed it. It was developed in its original form in 1903 with the Springfield '03.

 

[Jeff_850]

good point i didnt think of that
asked someoen today
your right ti was the year it was adopted by the army
dont know when it was developed though

 

[muzzleblast]

I was pretty sure it was developed in 1903 and called the 30-03, with a 220 grain bullet as a replacement for 30-40 krag and then in 1906 they changed it to 150 spitzers.

 

[Jake S]

Muzzleblast is right, though I think they went to the 150 in like 1904, and then upped it to 170 grains to maintain their edge over the German 7.92x57mm bullets. Recoil complaints from the field then forced them, in 1906, to re-adopt the 150.

Recoil complaints? Certainly warranted from guys not used to shooting, but it makes me wonder what they thought of that original 220 grain monster we were throwing at the bad guys!

 

[muzzleblast]

Recipe for broken shoulders and cheekbones :twisted:

Reminds me of reading about the old brit .303 rounds, 220 grain round nose loaded with cordite...lol

Didn't know about that 170 loading, so I learned something new tonight. The krauts changed their own ammo to 199 grain at some point, right? ww2, maybe?

 

[Jake S]

Yeah, 199, 197 grains, something like that. I think it was actually just before they started WW2, probably to try to keep up with the heavier American bullets. Unlike the Americans, though, they didn't lower the grain weight, to the best of my knowledge. But then again, in my opinion the 7.92x57mm Mauser rounds kick considerably less than the old .30-06 did. No real reason to jeopardize performance if it wasn't bothering anyone, merely to stay neck-in-neck with the Americans.


Speaking of the Brit .303 round, the original load (of a different name, though I am unsure of what) Was a 10.4mm .40 caliber bullet of something like 300+ grains! Thats like the same type of bullet the rich people went to Africa to kill elephants with! It was done because the Brits were unsure if they should drop their bore diameters too far from the .54, .68, and .72 caliber muskets they had just recently been defending their empire with. The original Russian Nagant rifle was also of .40 caliber.

Still don't think I would like to be issued one of those...

 

[muzzleblast]

.40 cal at 300 plus grains...That would knock someone into next week...on both ends of the rifle.

I wonder if the performance was a lot better than 450/577 Martini? That one was an evil looking round too...And I didn't know about the Nagant either.

I agree with you on the 30-06 kicking harder than 7.92, but I've never tried any 8mm surplus. I know the factory loads I use are pretty limp wristed by comparison.

Wouldn't wanna be issued one of those Brit rifles either...bet a Limey sarge would beat my ass if he caught me with a pillow on my shoulder under the red coat :?