4080 fps, 2033 ft-lbs at the muzzle
The 30.06 round has about 4 times the hitting power of the .223 cartridge. It was way more than was needed. Which is why they went to a smaller, lighter, weaker cartridge.
The .30-06 came into being when horses were still commonplace on the battlefield and that was a consideration in its development. In that regard, its power was not considered overkill.
4080 fps, 2033 ft-lbs at the muzzle
“The 30.06 round has about 4 times the hitting power of the .223 cartridge. It was way more than was needed. Which is why they went to a smaller, lighter, weaker cartridge.” [FLT-bird, post 40]
“The .30-06 came into being when horses were still commonplace on the battlefield and that was a consideration in its development. In that regard, its power was not considered overkill.” [Joe 6-pack, post 61]
If horse-killing figured in 30-06 development, the fact doesn’t show up much in the historical record.
Long-range performance of rifle cartridges was a much greater consideration in the 1890s than it is today.
30-06 was a modification of an earlier round, the 30-03. The latter fired a 220gr round-nose bullet at a velocity of about 2300 ft/sec. It was discovered that increased range was possible if a lighter, sharper-pointed bullet was used; the new round had a slightly shorter case neck and fired a 150gr bullet at a velocity of 2700 ft/sec. For several years after, M1903 rifles were modified: 0.25 inch was trimmed off the breech of the barrel and a new chamber was reamed. Sights were replaced with a recalibrated elevation ladder, graduated out to 2700 yds.
The modifications were not over.
After World War One, machine gun performance at extreme ranges was judged to be the key consideration; this led to the adoption of the 30M1 round, which fired a 172gr boat-tail bullet.
Several years after, the M1 autoloading rifle designed by John C Garand was introduced.
It was found that the desired velocity could not be attained with the 30M1 cartridge in the M1 Garand rifle, so a new round was adopted: 30M2, which fired a 153gr flat-base bullet at a velocity of 2750 ft/sec.
This last loading was used all through WW2, and Korea, and as long as the M1 Garand remained in inventory. Max range was still pretty good: about 3450 yds.
Most other major powers introduced cartridges of about the same performance in the period 1888-1905. Loadings were changed in similar ways.
Can’t speak to hitting power. But the 5.56x45mm NATO round develops about half the kinetic energy of the 30-06 in its 30M1 loading. It also weighs only half as much, and rifles chambering it are more controllable in full-auto fire, which was a primary consideration.