The Demise of the .30-06 Semi-Automatic?

[Raissermesser]

Was browsing through the Cabela's site, and noticed something odd. Go to Shooting, Centerfire Rifles, and Semi-Automatic. Now, scroll through the calibers. The .30-06 isn't listed. A quick check showed Browning still makes the BAR Mark II in .30-60, but on the Cabela's site, BARs don't turn up going through the above navigation. It's not even there under brand selection.

Does this mean the venerable .30-06 is on its way out as a semi-automatic round?

 

[Lightcs1776]

I don't deer hunt. In fact, I rarely have time to get to the range these days (hopefully that will change in a year or so). However, several friends enjoy deer hunting and the 30-06 is a common choice. I would be surprised if it goes away.

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[Russrat]

Ain’t going nowhere. I’m on a few leases. Several members on each still shoot .30-06 rifles.

 

[Acmemfg]

.30-06 will be active in the hunting community for many years to come. A proper bolt action ‘06 (Browning A Bolt-top) and .30-30 lever action (Henry H009-middle) are really all the hunting rifles anyone needs for a hunt on the North American continent.
A .12 gauge shotgun should also be included to cover 99.9% of any hunting activity requiring a long gun.
The Browning BAR (below) in a hefty caliber like .300 Win Mag shown here...or 7mm, will really round things out.

 

[Raissermesser]

The cartridge probably isn't. I've seen .303 Enfield for sale during Deer Season. But don't remember seeing a 21st century bolt action made in that caliber - which means it probably exists. But my question is more whether the .30-06 is going away as a semi-automatic rifle, meaning demand is drying up to the point that a store like Cabela's doesn't have them on their drop down anymore.

 

[nortac]

The firearms market can be fickle for what's in and what's out. While the '06 will always be a viable hunting cartridge, more efficient calibers exist for the limited civilian semi-auto platform, I would think.

 

[simon1]

Well, @Raissermesser, I hadn't really noticed since I have Dad's old bolt action Remington 721 from the '50s with a period Weaver scope. It does appear that they are few and far between...if you can find one in stock.

Able Ammo

.30-06 Springfield Semi-Automatic | Rifle | Guns | Sportsman's Guide

Maybe the .308 is a better seller in a semi-auto. Bolt action '06s still seem plentiful.

I've been thinking about getting a CMP Garand...if I still can.

 

[Brian Sinclair]

Mike, do the Garand soon, the pickings, they are getting slim. The wife and I went down to the north store, a couple months back, no service grades, rack grade, hackberry stock, and the specials, were all that were there. The specials are definitely, a good choice, left with another of those. They are working on a special grade m1D, that I will definitely be saving my pennies for! As for the semi auto 3006 hunting rifle, AR platform rifles have become the new thing with the younger generation. At least the kids are hunting. The 06, will probably never disappear

 

[jkingrph]

My first centerfire rifle was a Win. mod 70 featherweight, bolt action in 30-06 back in 1963. I had just graduated high school and was starting college and my dad found a sporting goods shop that had a reloading setup, and they taught me to reload for a set price per round, being a poor college student it was the only way i could afford to shoot it very much. I still have the rifle, and honestly have gotten interested in so many other types of guns that I have not shot it much over the last 25-30 years. What impressed me about the cartridge was that I could load some of the very light weight bullets for varmints or low recoil for fun shooting, or go to the heavy end for larger game and everything in this country in between. I knew a man a work who was in the national guard who would get me some of the excellent Lake City match ammo, probably the best brass I ever reloaded. Sometime in those school years I got a bullet mold and other accessories and started loading homemade cast bullets

 

[Bhugo]

My Dad still occasionally uses his old ‘06 7400 at deer camp. He likes his bolt action rifles better though. Probably because they are easier to clean. He likes the round though.

 

[sharktown]

The .30-06 is a great cartridge period.
It will be around for many years to come just like the .30-.30, 308 & 270.

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[jkingrph]

I bought one of the new Springfield Armory M1 Garand's about 15 years ago. I had heard tales about how hard they kicked and could not believe how soft it was. I guess I was used to my Win 70 featherweight, which kicks like a mule with heavy bullets. A few years later a local mom&pop store, kinda like a Wal Mart, but much friendlier and better products was going out of business, and i called over to their sporting goods, and located a Ruger #1 single shot in 30-06 and had them hold it until i could get over later that day. That one's about as far from a semi auto as you can get.

 

[Omaha-BeenGlockin]

The .30-06 isn't going anywhere-----the semi-auto .30-06 was never much of a thing other than the M1---the last one of those was made in what--1945?? 46??

They aren't popular and never really were as a hunting rifle---manufacturers are going to make what sells---period.

 

[JamesBlades]

Yeah, the 30-06 definitely isn't going anywhere, but it probably is dying in semi-automatics. The .308 is much better in semi-auto's because it's shorter, which makes it more reliable. The AR Platform is taking over the semi-auto hunting world, and they never use long rounds like the .270 Win and 30-06. They stick with the shorter rounds like a .308 and 6.5 Creedmoor.