THE CASE FOR THE .30-06 SPRINGFIELD
When editor Johan van Wyk suggested that I submit an article making a case for the .30-06 cartridge, my first reaction was: “A .30-06 case is made from brass.” His response was a curt: “I suggest you do better than that!”
I own many rifles chambered for an array of cartridges. This would not have been the case if I subscribed to a “one-for-all” cartridge philosophy. I’ve owned a Brno ZKK600 De Luxe chambered in .30-06 for 44 years and am very fond of both rifle and cartridge; so herewith my reasons for purchasing it in the first place.
A FIRST .30-06
At the time I pondered the acquisition, there were several candidates available at Groeneveld & Hicks, across Church Street from Strijdom Square in Pretoria: the .308 Winchester, the .30-06 Springfield and a .300 Winchester Magnum. All were Brno ZKK rifles.
As a bush hunter, my natural inclination was to opt for the .308 Winchester. Having used the cartridge before, I was comfortable with it. The slight size advantage the shorter ZKK601 rifle offered me when passing through brush appealed to me, but unless the barrel was also shorter to compare with my 9,5x56mm Mannlicher-Schönauer M1910 carbine with its 20” barrel, this benefit was minuscule. Be that as it may, it was
