8 hours ago, JackstrawIII said:

his is 100% true. I often feel very jealous of the guys who hunt out west on large tracts of public land. The spot and stalk style of hunting very much appeals to me, but there’s nowhere to do that in NY where I live

I hunted in NW Nebraska for a few years. Out there it was huge tracts of land. To put it in perspective we hunted a 30,000 acre buffalo ranch. My first year we’re out there opening morning waiting for daylight and in the distance on neighboring land I see cargo lights on top of hills. That’s how the locals hunted, out of their trucks. We’d sit in high probability areas or spot and stalk. We’d always tag out with big bucks. At the tagging station we’d have comments along the lines of how’d you all get big bucks. 😂

 

Not everyone out there took advantage of what they had, they didn’t want to work for it.

If you can't be successful hunting any North American big game with a 3006 you may need to hunt a different area, improve you stalking skills, and or work on your marksmanship.  Regardless of the reason, or combination of reasons, the caliber is not a contributing factor to lack of success.  I have witnessed animals as small as cayotes to as large as Alaskan moose and brown bears, effectively harvested with a 3006.  As the old saying goes, beware of a man with one gun, because he probably knows how to use it.

8 minutes ago, king fisher said:

As the old saying goes, beware of a man with one gun, because he probably knows how to use it.

 

Great words!

I've done a little hunting, but it didn't run in my family, so I'm starting against a hard learning curve. I've killed a few deer and squirrels. My boy who is 4 though, has the itch because I do, and he'll grow up hunting, and his kids will hear about grandpa.

 

I can see how the 30-06 is a great rifle for all around big game, and even small game with reduced loads. I even have taken a deer with an 06, but... it ain't my style. I prefer leverguns and rimmed cartridges. So 30-30, 44 Magnum, 45-70, and of course 22 LR.

 

That said, yeah... I've been thinking about getting another 06, probably a Ruger M77.

 

The 06 lends itself to shooting cast bullets pretty good, and that's another thing I have a passion for. Reloading and casting are as much fun as the guns themselves.

My go-to rifle is my old winny model 70. I don’t even have the desirable pre64, but mines a tack driver. Mine is scratched and the scope has a tiny dent. I fell off a mountain with it strapped to my pack. Yup. 30-06.

The ONLY downside is it’s boring as heck. At camp nobody asks me about my rifle. I mean nobody.

It’s taken so much game. Boringly:). It’s like sliced white bread