An accurately placed .22 LR will kill anything . . .
Is a 30.06 a Big Bore Rifle?
- Thread starter MCorps0311
- Start date
An accurately placed .22 LR will kill anything . . .
What's above .50 BMG?
If it will stop a Big Bore then it;s a big bore caliber.......
If it won't..then it aint.
The bore is in in the eye of the beholder.
If it won't..then it aint.
The bore is in in the eye of the beholder.
.30-06 is a powerful round, but like others have mentioned it's probably not "big bore". There are a lot of calibers larger and much more powerful than .30-06.
It's big enough to do anything your average shooter would need to do but it's also versatile enough that it can be downloaded so that going to the range and shooting for an extended session isn't too difficult. In my mind it's kind of like a .357 Magnum, powerful enough to mean serious business but in today's world the quest for the most powerful round has left it in the dust relatively speaking.
It's big enough to do anything your average shooter would need to do but it's also versatile enough that it can be downloaded so that going to the range and shooting for an extended session isn't too difficult. In my mind it's kind of like a .357 Magnum, powerful enough to mean serious business but in today's world the quest for the most powerful round has left it in the dust relatively speaking.
< .338 caliber = light rifle
.338 to but not including .416 = medium bore
.416 - .470s = heavy rifle
> .470 = big bore
This seems to be the consensus of what I've read for the last forty years or so. Must be true!
My own opinion is that the '06 is a light rifle almost anywhere, except maybe Europe. The smallest caliber I would call a big bore, with straight face, is .45.
.338 to but not including .416 = medium bore
.416 - .470s = heavy rifle
> .470 = big bore
This seems to be the consensus of what I've read for the last forty years or so. Must be true!
My own opinion is that the '06 is a light rifle almost anywhere, except maybe Europe. The smallest caliber I would call a big bore, with straight face, is .45.
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Its caliber bullet weight and velocity a 45/70 is not a good big game (dangerous game round) a 458 is bare minimum in velocity (considered inadequate by many) for proper penetration.
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Well, by old military terminology, a "gun" pretty much has a projectile that weighs in pounds/kilograms and a bore over 1 inch and is crew served. Everything else is considered "small arms".
By those same standards, "caliber" is the length of the gun tube by bore diameters. A 5 inch, 50 caliber gun has a tube length of 250 inches. "Calibre" is bore diameter in small arms.
My reference books are buried, but I expect they really don't consider the BMG to be small arms.
Totally off topic, but typical of the average response to the average post here "I saw what you posted about ducks. Here's what I know about cotton thread spinning . . . "
Geez . . .
Geez . . .
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THE PILGRIM
Member
Us Southerners are very a-feared of big bore rifles.
That's why there was no blockade running during that 68 Caliber time frame.
I always thought a 30 Cal was a medium.
When my Buddy Eddie headshot that Turkey down in S Miss,
He used buckshot.
He was loaded with Buck, Ball (Slug) and Bullet.
The Bullet was a 9.3mm.
He was carrying a Drilling.
So a 9.3 is a Large Medium?
Medium Large?
That's why there was no blockade running during that 68 Caliber time frame.
I always thought a 30 Cal was a medium.
When my Buddy Eddie headshot that Turkey down in S Miss,
He used buckshot.
He was loaded with Buck, Ball (Slug) and Bullet.
The Bullet was a 9.3mm.
He was carrying a Drilling.
So a 9.3 is a Large Medium?
Medium Large?
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What the man said! .30 cal is the top end of "small bore" since the days of 303 British, 30-40 Krag, 8mm Lebel et all.
.45-70, 577-450, 577 Snider 416 Rigby would suffice as big bore. You don't like that answer, feel free to draw your own lines in the sand.
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RobertJ.
Member
Is a 30.06 a Big Bore Rifle?
Jack O'Conner: Yes, without a doubt.
Elmer Keith: Absolutely not.
Jack O'Conner: Yes, without a doubt.
Elmer Keith: Absolutely not.
577 Nitro Express, 600 Nitro Express, 700 Nitro Express, 12 Bore, 10 Bore, 8 Bore, 6 Bore, 4 Bore, 550 Magnum, 577 Tyrannosaur, 600 Overkill. That is just hunting rifles. Pretty much all rifles used in the Civil War. Nearly all rifles made in Europe and about half made in America prior to 1800 were over 50 caliber.
Absalom
SWCA Member, Absent Comrade
Now for my serious contribution:
Anyone's attempt here to sell an actual "objective" delineation between these terms "big bore" and "small bore" and even "medium bore" in-between is trying to nail jello to the wall.
These are purely relative terms and are productively used only as such.
If you show up to a squirrel hunt with a .30-06, it's a big bore. If you bring it to a hunt for a rogue elephant, it will definitely be considered small bore.
Anyone's attempt here to sell an actual "objective" delineation between these terms "big bore" and "small bore" and even "medium bore" in-between is trying to nail jello to the wall.
These are purely relative terms and are productively used only as such.
If you show up to a squirrel hunt with a .30-06, it's a big bore. If you bring it to a hunt for a rogue elephant, it will definitely be considered small bore.
It largely depends on geography and local nomenclature, but looking at rifles from a world-wide perspective, the .375 is generally considered the bottom end of the big bore continuum; in Africa it's usually considered a medium bore. However, in the US, I often hear rifles referred to as varmint, small, big and dangerous game. Although the '06 has taken critters from varmint to dangerous, it's generally referred to as a "big" game rifle.
Biggest I ever fired, but I'm not much of a rifleman.
