Ammunition question with regard to a Thirty aught six.?

Question

i took a gun registration course not long ago and i learned a lot about guns and ammunition when i was there but one thing im still unsure of is why they call it a Thirty aught Six round. is this so that it doesnt sound so much like 36? or is there some other reason for it?

cause other ammunitions are refered to as 44-40 not 44 aught 40 and such.

Answer 1

This is from my own calculations:

I looked up Aught and it means Turn of the Century (The year 1900) and this caliber was made in 1906 so you get Aught 6.

Thirty aught six is also written as 30-06

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thirty_aught_six

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The .30-06 Springfield cartridge (pronounced “thirty aught six”) is a .308 inch (7.82 mm)(.300 inch is 7.62mm) caliber rifle round, also known as the 7.62 × 63mm, introduced to the United States Army in 1906 (hence “-06”) and standardized, with use continuing into the 1960s, tapering off in the 1960s and early 1970s.

Answer 2

The reason why it is called the thirty aught six (.30-06) is because it is a thirty caliber cartridge that the army adopted in 1906. It was originally called the .30-03, but made an adjustment to the neck of the bullet when it was adopted. Then in 1941, I believe, the military adopted the .308 because it is shorter, less bulky, cheaper, and is more accurate. By the way, the .30-06 is plenty for an American Elk. One shot, one kill with 180-grain ammunition. Anything 150 grains or less, and a .308 will out perform the .30-06 except in velocity. 7mm mag is too skinny, and moves more in the wind. That's why it was not adopted by the military. The .300 mag is a great big-caliber rifle, and the ammunition is found almost everywhere, second to that of the .30-06 in stores. Handguns are POS!
(slower, not accurate, etc.)

Answer 3

Good luck if you're looking for consistency in the naming of cartridges.As others have noted, the 30-06 is short for US military ball, 30 caliber, of 1906, having been modified from the original design of 1903 for the Springfield rifle of that model year. If your interest in firearms grows, you'll hear of the '03 Springfield as well.
It's 30 caliber because the diameter of the barrel, measured between the lands, is 0.30 inch. The US military replaced the 30-06 with the 7.62x51 NATO round, which is also 30 caliber (=7.62 mm), with a case length of 51 mm (2.015"), and is known in the civilian market as the 308 Winchester, because, though the diameter between the lands in the barrel is 0.300", the diameter between the .004" rifling grooves is 0.308", and they both shoot a bullet of .308" (7.82 mm) diameter, which is why Lazzeroni's cartridges in 30 caliber are called 7.82's. Confused yet?
The 44 WCF (Winchester Center Fire), commonly known as the 44/40, is an old blackpowder cartridge, and hints at a nomenclature system in which 45/90/300 referred to a 45 caliber round loaded with 90 grains of powder and a 300 grain bullet. It doesn't quite work with the 44/40 or its sister case, the 38/40. The 44/40 is actually a 42 caliber barrel, and it's even more off with the 38/40, which shoots a .401" bullet and was normally loaded with 38 grains of powder, so the 38/40 would more accurately be known as the 40/38, but it was based on the 44/40 case, so we have older traditions and parentage at play in the naming process.
This hint at parentage shows up elsewhere, as in the 25-06, developed in the 1920 era by necking down the 30-06 to 25 caliber (and shooting a .257" bullet) and the 7mm08, the 308 Winchester case necked down to 7mm bore to shoot a 7.25 mm (.284") bullet.
The whole subject can be lots of fun, and reloading manuals often give a short history of the cartridges. Or you might want to explore other reference works like the latest editions of the late Frank Barnes' "Cartridges of the World."

Answer 4

First off it is OUGHT not aught.
aught definition is Old English āwiht , literally “ever a thing.” World English Dictionary
ought defined as mathematics zero: zero World English Dictionary

30 = bullet diameter which is = .308.
Ought = 0 or the mathematics term for zero.
06 = the year the cartridge was designed as in 1906.
There for it was called the 30-06 or 30 ought 6

The 44-40 was designed by Winchester in 1874 in that time frame cartridges were designated in many ways, and some of that still lingers today in what is known as Wild Cat Cartridges.
44-40 referred to .44 ( which is .428 ) diameter of bullet, and 40 refers to powder charge as in 40 grains by volume not weight of black powder.
Just for reference a lot of cartridges like 30-30 win, 30-40 Krag and 45-70 Government etc etc were all designated by caliber and black powder charge.
But the rules are not set in stone for there is a 44-40 long which is not the same as the 44-40 Winchester.

Wild cats are again an exception to all rules, until a major bullet manufacture adopts the wild cat and gives it yet another name.
Like in the case 25-06 Remington was in fact the wild cat .25 Neidner designed by A.O.Niedner in 1920 and adopted by Remington in 1969 as the 25-06 Remington.
The US has tried to standardize the bullet designation but to no avail, with the enthusiastic wild cats being produced by individuals and the large ammo manufactures and gun manufactures trying to create a new sales market it becomes imposable to create a standard cartridge designation.
Only in the military weapons and ammo is this achieved.
Example.
50 BMG = 12.7 x 99 mm
308 Win = 7.62 x 51 mm
223 Rem = 5.56 x 45 mm
And the list go on.

Links attached.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/30_ought_6

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cartridge_%28firearms%29




Hunting and Reloading for more years then I wish to count, and still going.

Answer 5

The 30-06 is so named, because that is what they felt like calling it. Cartridge designations really no longer follow a rule. At one point in time guns were simply mark with Bore diameter(.45) and cartridge length(2 1/2). Then it moved to Bore diameter(.45) projectile weight(500) and powder charge(70). The bullet weight was dropped and Bore and powder charge were used i.e. 45-70,44-40,32-40. The first rifles chambered in 30-06 were stamped 30 Govt. The 30-06 name came around because it is a .30 caliber or .308 inch Diameter bullet. It was officially adopted in 1906. The number Zero was at that time commonly called "Aught" instead of Zero. By the way all modern jacketed bullets in 30 caliber are 7.82mm or . 308 inch. The 30-06 Springfield.308 Winchester, 300 Savage, 300 Winchester Magnum, 300 Weatherby magnum,30-30 Winchester,7.62x39 are all the same bullet diameter. The 303 British and 303 savage used .311 and 312 diameter projectiles.

Answer 6

Keep it simple. Developed in 1906. That year can be written '06. Thirty caliber. Therefore the proper designation is 30 ' 06. The 44-40 is 44 caliber and the case holds 40 grains of black powder by weight.

Answer 7

Define Aught

Answer 8

The naming of firearm carttidges has never been standardized. Besides those mentioned above, some are name by the bullet size and company/person that developed them. Best to have a reference book, such as a reloading manual. You can do a search on the internet by the caliber stamped on the barrel.

Answer 9

The 30 is for the caliber. the "aught 6" or .06 is because it was standardized by the US Army in 1906

Answer 10

This is a history question, the 30 stands for the size of the bullet, 06 was when the round entered service with the us military (1906), now a 44-40 is a 44 cal bullet with 40 grains of black power as a 45-70 is a 45 with 70 grains of black power. but with the advent of smokeless powder the round still kept the old name but were no longer loaded with the same amount of powder.