Aka the
Thirty Aught Six Springfield, this
cartridge was the
thirty caliber cartridge that was adopted for use in the
M1 Garand back in
1906, hence the '06.
Aught Six came from
"Naught Six" which meant the
numbers zero and
six.
It is a semi-rimmed cartridge that fired a 166 grain bullet at about 2850 fps. Different bullet weights and load levels are also available.
Now no longer a NATO adopted round, the 30-'06 continues to serve as a fine hunting round and all purpose big bore rifle caliber.
Some high powered rifle matches even have a special category for people who like to compete using a M1 Garand which fires the 30-'06.
The 30-'06 is much more powerful than the current NATO 30 caliber round which is the 7.62mmx51 and has a NIJ threat level rating of IV which is the highest threat level. The 7.62mmx51 is rated at threat level III.
Be aware that caliber nomenclature does not make any sense and that the cartridge 30-30 means something else entirely. The first 30 does mean the caliber but the second means that it is a cartridge that is loaded with 30 grains of black powder. Like I said, caliber nomenclature does not make any sense.
We all have the 30-'06, the M1 Garand, and the brave men who wielded them to thank for the freedom (well, at least we aren't under Nazi rule or jap rule for that matter) that we have today.