Originally named “Cartridge, Ball, Caliber .30, Model of 1906,” most of us call it the Thirty Aught Six now. It’s absolutely one of the best military and hunting cartridges ever developed, and engineers and reloaders played with the base design from the get-go. Wildcatters enlarged the neck to 33 (338-06) and 35 caliber (35 Whelen), and necked it down to 28 (280 Remington), 27 (270 Winchester), 26 (6.5-06 Ackley Improved), and 25 and 24 (6mm-06) caliber. Someone, somewhere is bound to have necked it down to a 17-06, but we digress. One of our favorites is the 25-06. Essentially the 30-06 Springfield case necked down to .257 caliber with the original body diameter and shoulder angle, the 25-06 Remington can launch lighter projectiles than the 30-06 at much faster velocities and with lower recoil.
