.30-06 Springfield vs .30-30 Winchester

Contrasting the .30-06 Springfield vs .30-30 Winchester demonstrates the significant performance gap between these two historic American hunting cartridges sharing the same bullet diameter. The .30-06 Springfield (150gr Extreme Point at 2920 fps) delivers substantially higher energy, maintaining 2612 ft-lbs at 50 yards compared to the .30-30 Winchester's (150gr Extreme Point at 2390 fps) 1608 ft-lbs. Both cartridges demonstrate penetration characteristics suited for hunting applications, with the .30-06 reaching 32.6-32.9 inches and the .30-30 achieving 26.3-26.9 inches, both well beyond defensive requirements. The recoil comparison favors the .30-30, generating 14.21 ft-lbs of recoil energy versus the .30-06's 25.02 ft-lbs. While both use identical bullet weights, the .30-06's higher velocity provides significantly better energy retention, making it suitable for longer-range hunting where the .30-30's limited range becomes a major constraint. Remember that performance varies considerably with different ammunition selections and firearm platforms, so these figures represent typical hunting loadings rather than definitive performance benchmarks.