Well, the boys from the East Coast are at it again. Of course, I’m talking about Richard Mann and Bryce Towsley. Fresh from their superficial debate about the 9mm vs. .45, they are now pontificating magnificently about the .30/06.

Naturally, knowing both young men, it is clear to me that Towsley has been at the hard cider again. While Mann has spent too long worshiping at the throne of that double-rectified pop-skull stuff that they make way back in the hollers of West Virginia, properly served in a Mason jar.

Towsley seems to want to recommend the .30/06 for anything from Rocky Mountain field mice to Manitoba mastodons, pointing out that one is somewhat UN-American if he doesn’t hunt with one. Mann, on the other hand, is against the whole idea of the .30/06 because he had an uncle who used one and also happened to be a politician and a pervert (we say PREEVERT in Texas). Once again, it seems, I’m must step to the fore and set these boys straight.

The .30/06 is neither a sorry cartridge, nor is it a Death Ray.

Those who primarily hunt whitetail deer, wild turkey, and feral hogs, can do so with a whole raft of rifle cartridges, too numerous to list here. And they can do it without the buck and roar that is part and parcel of the venerable old ’06.

On the other hand, if elk, moose, and grizzly, are your choice, there are a number of cartridges, larger than .30 caliber, that will handle things in a much more significant manner. Lauding the virtues of your favorite cartridge is not high on the list when a grizzly is taking exception to your presence.

What it boils down to is that gun guys, who also happen to hunt, have a rifle caliber for virtually every occasion. Those are the guys that you see in the woods followed by a caddy carrying a golf bag full of various rifles.
On the other hand, the hunter who happens to like to hunt with a rifle, and would rather spend his money on hunting trips instead of buying a new caliber for every imagined occasion, will do quite well with the aging .30/06. It will be too much gun for whitetail deer and not quite enough for grizzly. But, by judicious application, it can get both jobs done and has on numerous occasions in the past. The bottom line, of course, is that it’s your day off, your hunting trip, and you should use what pleases you.

You can read Richard Mann and Bryce Towsley on their individual blogs and then, as you usually do, come here for the unvarnished truth. I apologize for taking your time with this but I occasionally have to take these two young whippersnappers in hand and straighten them out. They mean well but I just wish they would check with me, first, before acting like Stomped Idiots in public. Easing up on that Who-Hit-John would be a step in the right direction.