30-06 Springfield

.30-06 Springfield
.30-06 Springfield cartridge with soft tip
Type	Rifle round
Place of origin	United States
Service history
In service	1906–present
Used by	USA and others
Wars	World War I, World War II, Korean War, Vietnam War, to present
Production history
Designer	United States Military
Designed	1906
Produced	1906–present
Specifications
Parent case	.30-03 Springfield
Case type	Rimless, bottleneck
Bullet diameter	.308 in (7.8 mm)
Neck diameter	.340 in (8.6 mm)
Shoulder diameter	.441 in (11.2 mm)
Base diameter	.471 in (12.0 mm)
Rim diameter	.473 in (12.0 mm)
Rim thickness	.049 in (1.2 mm)
Case length	2.494 in (63.3 mm)
Overall length	3.34 in (85 mm)
Case capacity	68 gr H2O (4.4 cm3)
Rifling twist	1 turn in 10 inches (25.4 cm)
Primer type	Large Rifle
Maximum pressure	60,200 psi (415 MPa)
Ballistic performance
Bullet mass/type Velocity Energy 150 gr (10 g) Nosler Ballistic Tip 2,910 ft/s (890 m/s) 2,820 ft·lbf (3,820 J) 165 gr (11 g) BTSP 2,800 ft/s (850 m/s) 2,872 ft·lbf (3,894 J) 180 gr (12 g) Core-Lokt Soft Point 2,700 ft/s (820 m/s) 2,913 ft·lbf (3,949 J) 200 gr (13 g) Partition 2,569 ft/s (783 m/s) 2,932 ft·lbf (3,975 J) 220 gr (14 g) RN 2,500 ft/s (760 m/s) 2,981 ft·lbf (4,042 J)
Test barrel length: 24 inch (61 cm) Source(s): Federal Cartridge / Accurate Powder

The .30-06 Springfield cartridge (pronounced "thirty-aught-six" or "thirty-oh-six"), 7.62×63mm in metric notation and called ".30 Gov't '06" by Winchester, was introduced to the United States Army in 1906 and later standardized; it remained in use until the early 1980s. The ".30" refers to the caliber of the bullet, and the "06" refers to the year the cartridge was adopted—1906. It replaced the .30-03, 6mm Lee Navy, and .30-40 Krag cartridges. The .30-06 remained the U.S. Army's primary rifle and machine gun cartridge for nearly 50 years before being replaced by the 7.62×51mm NATO (commercial .308 Winchester) and 5.56×45mm NATO, both of which remain in current U.S. and NATO service. It remains a very popular sporting round, with ammunition produced by all major manufacturers.

In the early 1890s, the U.S. military adopted the smokeless powder .30-40 Krag rimmed cartridge. The 1894 version of that cartridge used a 220-grain (14 g) round-nose bullet. Around 1901, the U.S. started developing an experimental rimless cartridge for a Mauser action with box magazine. That led to the 1903 .30-03 rimless service round that used the same 220-grain (14 g) round-nose bullet as the Krag. The .30-03 achieved a muzzle velocity of 2,300 ft/s (700 m/s).

Many European militaries at the turn of the 20th century were adopting lighter-weight (roughly 150-to-200-grain (9.7 to 13.0 g)), higher velocity, service rounds with pointed (spitzer) bullets: France in 1898 (8mm Lebel Balle D spitzer 198 grains (12.8 g) with boat-tail), Germany in 1905 (7.92×57mm Mauser S Patrone 153 grains (9.9 g) [S ball])), Russia in 1908 (7.62×54mmR Lyokhkaya pulya [Light Bullet]), and Britain in 1910 (.303 British Mark VII 174 grains (11.3 g)). Consequently, the round-nosed U.S. .30-03 service cartridge was falling behind.