.30-06 Springfield: History, Specifications and Uses

The .30-06 Springfield, often written 30-06, is a U.S.-origin centerfire rifle cartridge adopted by the United States Army in 1906 and standardized today by SAAMI and C.I.P. In current standards, C.I.P. lists alternative names including 30-06 Springfield, 30-06, and 7,62 x 63.

Names and standards

The same cartridge may appear under several names depending on the source. SAAMI states that its Z299.4 centerfire rifle standard provides “pressure and velocity performance and dimensional characteristics for centerfire rifle sporting ammunition.” The cited SAAMI standard is Z299.4-2025.

C.I.P. lists the cartridge as 30-06 Spring. and gives the alternative names 30-06 Springfield, 30-06, and 7,62 x 63. C.I.P. also lists the country of origin as the United States and gives a revision date of September 23, 2008.

For a beginner, the main point is simple: .30-06 Springfield, 30-06, and 7.62 x 63 are names or standard references for the same cartridge in the sources cited here.

History and U.S. military role

Lapua summarizes the cartridge’s origin this way: “The story of the .30-06 Springfield began in 1906, when the United States Army adopted the cartridge.” That 1906 adoption is the source of the “06” in the common name.

The cartridge is closely associated with the U.S. M1903 rifle. The National Park Service says Springfield Armory produced more than one million M1903 rifles between 1903 and 1936, and that Rock Island Arsenal produced an additional one-third million rifles. In a National Park Service comparison involving the Pedersen .276 cartridge, the NPS identifies the “.30" '06 caliber cartridge” in a five-round clip as used in the U.S. M1903 rifle.

The M1903 also gives useful context for barrel length. The National Park Service says tests found a 24 inch barrel on the rifle was as effective as the 30 inch barrel, and that the shorter barrel allowed one weapon to be used by both infantry and cavalry.

The .30 caliber U.S. service-rifle story continued with John Garand’s M1. The National Park Service says the M1 rifle was officially adopted by the Army in 1936, with the Marine Corps and Navy following by 1940. The NPS also says the M1 fired semiautomatically from an eight-shot clip, and another NPS page states that Garand’s rifle was adopted by the U.S. Army in 1936 and designated the U.S. rifle caliber .30 M1.

Specifications table

The table below uses the C.I.P. values named in the ledger. C.I.P. values are from the 30-06 Spring. TDCC page with revision date September 23, 2008.

| Item | Published value | Source | |, -|, -:|, -| | C.I.P. alternative names | 30-06 Springfield, 30-06, 7,62 x 63 | C.I.P. TDCC, revision 08-09-23 | | Country of origin | US | C.I.P. TDCC | | C.I.P. maximum cartridge length L6 | 84.84 mm | C.I.P. TDCC | | C.I.P. Pmax | 4050 bar by transducer method | C.I.P. TDCC |

Bullet weights and published velocities

The cited manufacturer example below shows 150 grain and 180 grain .30-06 Springfield loads.

| Source | Bullet or load | Published muzzle velocity | |, -|, -|, -:| | Hornady 2025 international catalog | 150 grain and 180 grain InterLock American Whitetail loads | Velocity not included in the cited ledger quote |

Treat these as published source values, not a guarantee that every individual rifle and every box of ammunition will produce the same number. The source matters. Manufacturer catalog figures are tied to the manufacturer’s own published load data.

The ledger also asked about typical 165 grain loads and the broadest SAAMI table range, including a saboted 55 grain entry. The source excerpts provided for this page did not include quotable 165 grain or 55 grain rows, so those figures are left as open questions for a future update from the official SAAMI table or manufacturer catalogs.

Hunting and sport-shooting use

Lapua describes the .30-06 Springfield as “one of the world’s top hunting cartridges” and says it became popular in hunting and sport shooting use. Current catalog examples from Hornady show that a major ammunition maker continues to publish .30-06 Springfield loads.

The cited load examples include Hornady American Whitetail loads with InterLock bullets. Hornady also describes its Precision Hunter ammunition as factory-loaded hunting ammunition using the ELD-X bullet, with accuracy and terminal performance as the stated design goals.

For hunters, the important caution is regulatory. This page is a cartridge reference, not a hunting-law ruling. Before using any cartridge or bullet for hunting, confirm the current rules with the relevant state, province, tribe, or federal wildlife agency for the exact species, season, location, and method.

What to check in official sources

Use SAAMI and C.I.P. for dimensional and pressure standards. Use current manufacturer catalogs or product pages for the exact load, bullet weight, and published velocity you are considering. Use the relevant wildlife agency for hunting rules, including caliber, cartridge, projectile, season, and area requirements.

Open questions from the provided ledger: the cited excerpts did not include a quotable 165 grain .30-06 velocity row, and they did not include the requested saboted 55 grain SAAMI row. Those should be verified directly from the official SAAMI document or manufacturer data before publication in a load table.