Another point regarding my decision on .308 or 30-06.

[Never No More]

One,

How about a 1903a1 or a P-17. Both 30-06, with stand lots of abuse. C0mes with great open
sights.

In your price range too

Mount a bayonet and use it as a polearm, or a club if necessary

 

[halesb]

The .30-06 is like Betty Page, it will never go out of style !

 

[45s save lives]

I agree with onewithgun, to not try to forsee all possable outcomes or scenarios would be most unwise. As to the saying "it will never get that bad" or you wont see the sunset if you shoot it out with the military, I disagree simply because there is no way to know. And when I referred to getting ammo from troops I meant dead ones, let's not forget we were talking end of world or shtf scenarios which are always the worst case scenario. We never want to see any of this stuff happen, but let's get real, and "step away from the tv and go outside for awhile", we live in an unpredictable world, and sh*t does happen sometimes. I would never wish anything ill on our armed services or law enforcement, but if I felt I was being wronged and my life was in danger, I would defend myself. I am sure the British never thought it would get that bad either, or the Australians perhaps. The list goes on. So yes it can get that bad! Unlikely, yes, but not impossable. As for the people not being a match for the military (god help us all if it comes to that), I think the people would be. Look at Afghanistan when the Russians tried to take it over. Look at the Colonial Americans fighting the British. Look at the fight the Brits had in the Falkans. Look at the fight We're having in Iraq. Look at the Greek 300 Spartans and their Phocian allies fighting the Persians, History is full of war histories full of David & Goliath battles and wars, so nothing is impossable. But let me reiterate, I never want any of this to happen!!! But there is no harm in being prepared. Better to have and not need than to need and not have! By the way I still say its a damn hard choice between the 06 or the 308, and I still wouldnt let ballistics influence it.

 

[MCgunner]

Well, I'm not tacticool and don't worry about caca and fans, so I wanted a compact, light weight short action rifle that was less effected by the short barrel length of a carbine sized hunting rifle. I got a M7 Remington in .308 Winchester. It's easy to tote, maneuvers in a box blind or stand easily, shoots hard enough and flat enough for ANY game in the lower 48, much less Texas, and I appreciate its efficiency with my handloads. Brass is EVERYwhere cheap and the round is inherently accurate. In a long action heavy rifle, I skipped the 06 for a 7mm Remington Magnum, a popular caliber that's flatter shooting with better BCs which translates to better exterior ballistics than .30 caliber. It's a friggin' cannon, though, and I hardly ever hunt with it anymore, much prefer my .308.

I hunt with my rifles. If they start tossing caca at fans, I'll just sit back and watch the action. I don't live in Watts or Nawlins. I have plenty of rifles and shotguns if I ever need one, though, and a stash of 7.62x39 I bought back when it was cheap to do.

BTW, Betty WHO? Patty Page? Betty Boop?

 

[rino451]

Funny, I was looking for a similar rifle about a week ago and other than milsurp, I'm not sure that there are any options left. My criteria was a bolt action, preferably in 06, with receiver mounted combat sights. Frankly, given the price of Rem 700's I'm tempted to get one and have sights made/fitted by a smith. Won't be cheap, but try finding a cheap, mint 1903...

 

[MCgunner]

BTW, re-reading the original post says you want iron sights, but that .30-06 has "more energy, less drop" than a .308. If you're using irons, what does it matter? You ain't gonna hit anything at 4 or 500 yards with either one using irons. Oh, you'll get his head down, but hey, you need a scope if you're going to do those 1000 yard "self defense in a SHTF scenario" shots. You'll also need a legal team, but that's another thread.

 

[General Geoff]

Slim pickin's for your criteria in .30-06.

.308's got the advantage of a shorter action, which means (slightly) less weight in the receiver, as well as a shorter bolt cycle.

I like both cartridges, and to be honest, choosing either one will serve you just as well. You're really splitting hairs between the two, and the practical advantages of a shorter cartridge length seal the deal in .308's favour for my tastes.


BTW, no real point in a 26" barrel for either cartridge. 24" is ample (and ideal) for a long range tack driver bolt gun, but 22" is more likely to be found (and is also suitable).

 

[islandphish]

.308 being more available/common that 30-06 is a myth.

I do the Wal-Mart test. Go out there and look at the ammo section. How many different types of 06 loads? Probably 5 or 6. How many .308 loads? 1 or 2.

Just get both.

 

[Regolith]

island.... .30-06 may be more available than .308 Win, but 7.62x51mm NATO is still a military round, where as .30-06 is not, and hence there will be large stockpiles of it in any NATO nation. While .30-06 may be easier to get at the local Wal-Mart, 7.62x51mm can be scavenged from friendly or dead troops, or abandoned military posts. And if there isn't a war going on, military surplus 7.62 NATO can usually be bought cheaper and in larger quantities than civilian .308, so its easier to stockpile.

 

[Ash]

".308 being more available/common that 30-06 is a myth."

I agree. 30-06 is generally more available in my neck of the woods. But, 308 is readily available, too.

But, to those who wish to prepare for any possibility, more power to you. For me, it is a tremendous waste of money for that to be the goal. I have an FAL, AK, and Mini-14. I also have an SVT-40 and M1 Garand. That means I am prepared for invasions of every kind, right? Nah, just interested in those designs. Semantics? Perhaps, but I am a bit more comfortable about MY neighbors and fellow citizens in south Mississippi. We tend to get along pretty well. If civilization collapsed, it would not really collapse locally and we would probably continue okay. See, in all the places I lived, the Great Depression affected the populace but not to the John Steinbeck extent. No, folks merely continued to farm, hunt, fish, make a living. Money was short, but then it had always been short so nothing changed.

Today, there are a larger number of helpless folks who would have trouble should bad things happen. But, the salt of the earth still remains around here and I doubt too many bad things would happen. At least, after Katrina, nothing bad happened. The police were busy, but not at looting. Security was heightened, but nothing went wrong. We got in line at the artesian well for our daily share of water (no running water). It tasted a bit rusty, but it provided us our need. That well had been capped and ran directly into the river for decades. After Katrina, the city uncapped it and let it run free over the ground. That was our solution. No water? Okay, let's uncap that well over there. No power? Okay, let's clean things up so we can get it restored. It took weeks to get power here, much longer in the more rural areas. But folks managed to keep their clothes on and did not paint their faces ala Lord of the Flies.

So, having experienced SHTF, I am very comfortable about how to endure in my neck of the woods. Of course, I found out about New Orleans only after several weeks of taking care of business in my own home. Guess southerners are just more civilized. (No, New Orleans is not in any southern tradition anymore).

Having lived through Fredrick in 1979 and several smaller hurricanes in the intervening years, and having had family go through Camille in 1969, I have always been hurricane prepared. Being hurricane prepared means you ARE prepared for SHTF.

So, any rifle will do. You will not run out of ammo if you have several boxes at home. If you really are worried about SHTF, then spend more time on pioneering skills. That would really be more valuable than which rifle will do best. Any rifle in a common caliber and of a rugged design will fit the bill. Minutia of which ammo is carried by the military is way, way down on the list. Think about that after you have your own emergency shelter in the mountains somewhere, know about riding horses, how to build a real shelter, know how to determine potable water, how to tie proper knots, build a proper fire even in rain and without matches, etc. Those are actually more valuable skills to focus on.

Ash

 

[MCgunner]

island.... .30-06 may be more available than .308 Win, but 7.62x51mm NATO is still a military round, where as .30-06 is not, and hence there will be large stockpiles of it in any NATO nation. While .30-06 may be easier to get at the local Wal-Mart, 7.62x51mm can be scavenged from friendly or dead troops, or abandoned military posts. And if there isn't a war going on, military surplus 7.62 NATO can usually be bought cheaper and in larger quantities than civilian .308, so its easier to stockpile.

I love reading these wild scenario posts. ROFLMAO!!!!! I think you need to put down the Jerry Ahern "Survivalist" novel. I haven't seen any black helicopters over the house, lately, but maybe it was some SHTF nut case that shot at the Coasties in Nawlins a while back? "TAKE THAT YOU GOV'MENT NINJAS!!!!"

 

[CajunTim]

Get the 30-06, get anything but the .308 and advise everyone else to do the same.

This way when shtf there will be more of this unaccurate .308 ammo for me.

 

[The Annoyed Man]

For what it's worth, I think that scoped and accurate bolt rifles have a perfectly legitimate place in a SHTF scenario, but for the reason that only a truly benighted soul would prepare for SHTF with just one weapon.

For me personally, I think that it makes sense to have an accurate .30 caliber rifle for stand off shooting, and a large caliber handgun for close up shooting. For me, that means a heavy barreled varmint rifle in .308, and either a 1911 in .45 ACP, or a .44 magnum revolver.

But that's just what works for me.

 

[Oohrah]

Well lets see! Guess I own more 30-06s than 308s. Barrels from 18
to 24 inches. Semi autos and bolts with the exception of a 308
Savage lever. Open sights, scopes, and a combination of both.
Favorite for hunting is a scoped A3 with a 20" barrel has put down
more big game than anything. Perfer the 30-06 for all around
anything rifle. Each rifle has it's own personality. Due to
decline in eyesight, I use scoped rifles for all purposes and
will outshoot open sights at most distances, target or game.