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Posted: 8/14/2015 12:47:33 PM EDT
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Does anyone make a .30-06 AR, or are there parts I can buy to assemble one? I came into some .30-06 ammo and want to shoot it. Any suggestions?
Thanks in advance. |
| Is the .30-06 you came across same for the Garand? M2 Ball or 150 gr bullet at ~2700 fps. Hunting ammo is 150 gr @ ~2900 fps. You can use 165/168 gr bullets at modest speeds but don't use 180 gr bullets. Garands were designed for modest loads not hot ones. Please don't destroy a Garand with inappropriate ammo. |
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Quoted: Is the .30-06 you came across same for the Garand? M2 Ball or 150 gr bullet at ~2700 fps. Hunting ammo is 150 gr @ ~2900 fps. You can use 165/168 gr bullets at modest speeds but don't use 180 gr bullets. Garands were designed for modest loads not hot ones. Please don't destroy a Garand with inappropriate ammo. There are gas blocks plugs that claim to fix that issue. I stand corrected. |
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But if one isn't aware of the reason behind them then one probably won't buy one. And most .30-06 ammo isn't Garand friendly. 
Most factory 150 grain 06 ammo will be fine in the garand. The remington ammo is barely reaching 2800 fps from most 22 inch barrels from the testing I have done and seen done. I wouldn't run anything hotter/heavier than that though. Another option in a semi auto 06 at a cheap price is the remington 7400/750. You could find one of them for 450 and make a bastardized 06 battle rifle. |
| Its not just about FPS though, its about port pressure. Some powders will have higher pressures when it reaches the gas port and the gas cycling the closed gas system is what will damage the Op rod. Since powders can change from lot to lot its generally a good idea to stick to ammo specifically labeled for the garand. |
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Quoted: Not much different on price than a good garand http://i1236.photobucket.com/albums/ff447/nitrousmudbogger/Photoshopped%20BN36%20CArbine%20left_zps7f81cc6f.jpg Sort of want. Would switch out some parts though. |
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Silly question but except for having a pile of .30-06 ammo why is a .30-06 better than a .308? Same bullet, same steel in the barrels, roughly the same chamber pressures, same muzzle energy, same ballistics right? I mean the whole reason 7.62x51 exists is that with modern powders you could shorten the .30-06 by .5 inch and get the same job done, which begat the M14, FAL, AR10, etc.
So, except to say you have an AR in .30-06 what advantage does it have over a .308? If it were me, I'd sell the pile of .30-06 and get into a .308. I have three bolt action .30-06 and a CAI FrankenFAL I use to scare the range newbies with the big bangs. They come up and ask me what I'm shooting, it's louder than everyone else's black rifles. I have about ten times the ammo for the FAL that I have piled up for the .30-06. I like the .308 bullet. A lot. Got into ARs this year for the first time after reading everything I could find about 300blk. The 5.56 is a cute little round. Speedy little bullet though. I built my first (and only for the moment) AR in 5.56 based on advice here, get a 5.56 running before diving in to 300blk, but I have all the parts piled up for the first one. Then a 300blk pistol. Maybe next year Iowa finally changes the stupid laws (came close this year) and lets us common folk own suppessors, so I can get a can on a sbr instead of having a stupid loud 10.5" barrel "pistol". ugh. Hopefully by the time I get those parts in hand. Right now I just have 16" barrel carbines, one in 5.56 and one yet to assemble in 300blk. |
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Quoted:
Silly question but except for having a pile of .30-06 ammo why is a .30-06 better than a .308? Same bullet, same steel in the barrels, roughly the same chamber pressures, same muzzle energy, same ballistics right? I mean the whole reason 7.62x51 exists is that with modern powders you could shorten the .30-06 by .5 inch and get the same job done, which begat the M14, FAL, AR10, etc. So, except to say you have an AR in .30-06 what advantage does it have over a .308? If it were me, I'd sell the pile of .30-06 and get into a .308. I have three bolt action .30-06 and a CAI FrankenFAL I use to scare the range newbies with the big bangs. They come up and ask me what I'm shooting, it's louder than everyone else's black rifles. I have about ten times the ammo for the FAL that I have piled up for the .30-06. I like the .308 bullet. A lot. Got into ARs this year for the first time after reading everything I could find about 300blk. The 5.56 is a cute little round. Speedy little bullet though. I built my first (and only for the moment) AR in 5.56 based on advice here, get a 5.56 running before diving in to 300blk, but I have all the parts piled up for the first one. Then a 300blk pistol. Maybe next year Iowa finally changes the stupid laws (came close this year) and lets us common folk own suppessors, so I can get a can on a sbr instead of having a stupid loud 10.5" barrel "pistol". ugh. Hopefully by the time I get those parts in hand. Right now I just have 16" barrel carbines, one in 5.56 and one yet to assemble in 300blk. .308 was intended to replace the .30-06 M2 ball You can laod it a good bit hotter |
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Quoted: Silly question but except for having a pile of .30-06 ammo why is a .30-06 better than a .308? Same bullet, same steel in the barrels, roughly the same chamber pressures, same muzzle energy, same ballistics right? I mean the whole reason 7.62x51 exists is that with modern powders you could shorten the .30-06 by .5 inch and get the same job done, which begat the M14, FAL, AR10, etc. You answered your own question. @ the same chamber pressures, powder capacity always wins. |
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Quoted:
Silly question but except for having a pile of .30-06 ammo why is a .30-06 better than a .308? Same bullet, same steel in the barrels, roughly the same chamber pressures, same muzzle energy, same ballistics right? I mean the whole reason 7.62x51 exists is that with modern powders you could shorten the .30-06 by .5 inch and get the same job done, which begat the M14, FAL, AR10, etc. So, except to say you have an AR in .30-06 what advantage does it have over a .308? If it were me, I'd sell the pile of .30-06 and get into a .308. I have three bolt action .30-06 and a CAI FrankenFAL I use to scare the range newbies with the big bangs. They come up and ask me what I'm shooting, it's louder than everyone else's black rifles. I have about ten times the ammo for the FAL that I have piled up for the .30-06. I like the .308 bullet. A lot. Got into ARs this year for the first time after reading everything I could find about 300blk. The 5.56 is a cute little round. Speedy little bullet though. I built my first (and only for the moment) AR in 5.56 based on advice here, get a 5.56 running before diving in to 300blk, but I have all the parts piled up for the first one. Then a 300blk pistol. Maybe next year Iowa finally changes the stupid laws (came close this year) and lets us common folk own suppessors, so I can get a can on a sbr instead of having a stupid loud 10.5" barrel "pistol". ugh. Hopefully by the time I get those parts in hand. Right now I just have 16" barrel carbines, one in 5.56 and one yet to assemble in 300blk. I tend to agree with you on the "why?" of a 30.06 over .308 in an AR. However, when you go to one of the 300 Win Mag AR's, now you're talking an increase in performance. A bolt 300 WM is probably a more logical choice for that caliber, but c'mon...not everything has to rely on logic. A 300 WM AR is just bad A$$. 
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Quoted:
You answered your own question. @ the same chamber pressures, powder capacity always wins. Quoted:
Quoted: Silly question but except for having a pile of .30-06 ammo why is a .30-06 better than a .308? Same bullet, same steel in the barrels, roughly the same chamber pressures, same muzzle energy, same ballistics right? I mean the whole reason 7.62x51 exists is that with modern powders you could shorten the .30-06 by .5 inch and get the same job done, which begat the M14, FAL, AR10, etc. You answered your own question. @ the same chamber pressures, powder capacity always wins. Sure, but that means slower burning powder in a longer barrel and typically not a semi auto right? I know I don't want the powder still burning when it gets into the gas system of my FAL. I used a full (not compressed) Varget load behind Hornady 147gr fmj for working up my load for my FAL. For damn sure I don't want powder that's still burning getting into the di gas system in an AR. |
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Quoted:
Sure, but that means slower burning powder in a longer barrel and typically not a semi auto right? I know I don't want the powder still burning when it gets into the gas system of my FAL. I used a full (not compressed) Varget load behind Hornady 147gr fmj for working up my load for my FAL. For damn sure I don't want powder that's still burning getting into the di gas system in an AR. Quoted:
Quoted: You answered your own question. @ the same chamber pressures, powder capacity always wins. Sure, but that means slower burning powder in a longer barrel and typically not a semi auto right? I know I don't want the powder still burning when it gets into the gas system of my FAL. I used a full (not compressed) Varget load behind Hornady 147gr fmj for working up my load for my FAL. For damn sure I don't want powder that's still burning getting into the di gas system in an AR. Seemed to work pretty well in the Garand. |
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Quoted:
Seemed to work pretty well in the Garand. Quoted:
Quoted:
Quoted: You answered your own question. @ the same chamber pressures, powder capacity always wins. Sure, but that means slower burning powder in a longer barrel and typically not a semi auto right? I know I don't want the powder still burning when it gets into the gas system of my FAL. I used a full (not compressed) Varget load behind Hornady 147gr fmj for working up my load for my FAL. For damn sure I don't want powder that's still burning getting into the di gas system in an AR. Seemed to work pretty well in the Garand. The garand used ammo whose performance was the same as the 7.62x51. That was the point in a gas gun there isn't any real benefit unless you are going with a long barrel. You are going to have even more weight and AR10's are heavy enough as it is. Now at least a 300 win mag gives a meaningful power increase. Still if I am going with a larger caliber I will take a Browning bar and be done with it. |
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If you want something to plink 30.06 ammo with just buy a old used bolt action.
If it were me I would either trade the ammo for something more useful like 308, which is basically just as powerful of ammo, or if it's black tip m2 AP ammo pull the bullets and load them in 308. |
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Totally not true, the M1 Garand was designed to shoot the standard Service cartridge of the day, the same round as the 1903 rifle. The cartridge that was in service when the Garand was designed was the M1 173 grain Ball Cartridge. This round being more accurate than the M2 150 grain cartridge it later was revived as the M72 Match Cartridge and issued by the Millions over some 20 year period to Garand shooters. The only commercial cartridges that have been found to pose any possible problem for the M1 rifle are three Hunting rounds loaded with bullet weights above 220 grains and using Slower burning magnum powders than the Original IMR4895 powder invented for use in the M1 rifle. The testing that derived the data that showed these three commercial cartridges as potentially harmful tested over 200 commercial made 30-06 ammo loads. The findings showed the problem was not the fault of the weight of the bullet but the Dwell time in the peak pressure of the slower burning magnum powders. So when ever someone tells you that you can't shoot a bullet X because it's too heavy for the M1 just know this is one person you should not be taking advise from. Know that as long as the ammo you use in an M1 does not developed chamber pressures above SAAMI specifications for the 30-06 cartridge and is not loaded if any form of magnum powder then the ammo should be considered safe for the M1.
Quoted:
Is the .30-06 you came across same for the Garand? M2 Ball or 150 gr bullet at ~2700 fps. Hunting ammo is 150 gr @ ~2900 fps. You can use 165/168 gr bullets at modest speeds but don't use 180 gr bullets. Garands were designed for modest loads not hot ones. Please don't destroy a Garand with inappropriate ammo. |
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You would be making a leap of faith that I'm not willing to take.
Your problem would be magazines and the eventual demise of any company manufacturing the rifle. No company, no warranty. Currently semi-auto BAR's are being made, some with AR type styling and 20" barrels. BAR magazines can probably be found surplus that only need refinishing. This is probably your best bet in .30-06. They are not cheap. The direction of small arms since WWII has been toward smaller, lighter and more ammunition. Hence your dilemma. |
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Back on topic,
The .300 win mag receiver sets will be the correct length for such a project. Bar magazines probably could be made to work but, they may well be too narrow to firmly lock in magnum sized magazine wells. Bolt face will be opened too wide on the magnum sized bolts also. Not to say this can not be done. Saltworks has plans to produce a .30-06 rifle. Looks like the parts will all be sold separely. M6 receiver sets are projected to be released in March of 2016. I know, it is does not help now, but shows how others are thinking along like lines. I would like a .338, .358, or .375 whelen. These calibers hit just hard enough to MAYBE justify the additional expense over .308. And they might feed even more reliably than the rimmed magnums, at least in theory. I would also like others with more enthusiasm than I to support the developement of this type of firearm before I would buy my own. So I am biased and admit I do have an agenda when I encourage others to explore this idea. |
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