Caliber Battle

[cwitherow]

Being a fan of the show, I read most articles they post on their site. I am curious what other HT'ers think of his conclusion. There are other caliber battle articles as well that follow the same structure.

7mm Rem. Mag. vs. .30-06 Springfield - Caliber Battle

In his excellent handbook, “Cartridges of the World,” Frank C. Barnes describes the .30-06 Springfield with the kind of reverence usually reserved for religion, mom’s cooking, and secret hunting spots. “The .30-06 is undoubtedly the most flexible, useful, all-around big game cartridge available...

www.themeateater.com

 

[.270]

I read the article, pretty close to the conclusion I came up with. I hunt coues deer every year and where ever I can pull an elk tag. The shot opportunities are usually longer in the areas I hunt. The higher bc bullets available to handloading 7 mag is why I have one and the velocity numbers they threw out in that article are on the low side. Loading up heavier bullets in a 30-06, sure its beats the 7 mag in that category. I would still take a 7 mag with 177 hammers over any 30-06 200 gr bullets.

 

[nrpate05]

Interesting conclusion. My thoughts are that the 7mm Mag isn't much of a magnum when compared to other cartridges. It shoots 160 grain pills around 2950 fps and the .270 shoots 150 grainers at around the same speed, maybe a bit slower. The .270 also kicks less and it's effective with a 22" barrel which I appreciate. In my view the .270 beats the 7mm Mag, so if thats the case does the .270 beat the .30/06...??

 

[Bambistew]

I've killed enough animals with both, that I will chose the 7mm every time for every application over the 06. They may be peas in a pod, but the 06 does nothing better than the 7mm but the 7 mag does everything better. We can argue about "heavier bullets" all you want, but no one hunts with 200 or 220gr bullets in an 06. The only place a 06 has the mag beat is magazine capacity (because its usually needed).

 

[madtom]

Ugh. The meateater group is capable of producing so much better content than that click bait garbage.

 

[MO Betta]

@nrpate05 same author chose the .308 over the .270 in a previous article that he mentions in his conclusion. This is the kind of clickbait stuff that drove me away from reading a lot of F&S articles.

 

[cwitherow]

@nrpate05 same author chose the .308 over the .270 in a previous article that he mentions in his conclusion. This is the kind of clickbait stuff that drove me away from reading a lot of F&S articles.

I click those for the bad 6.5CM comments now.

 

[cwitherow]

Ugh. The meateater group is capable of producing so much better content than that click bait garbage.

Agreed. It seems hit or miss, depending on the author of the article.

 

[Jape]

I get a little tired of the caliber debates. There are some legitimate topics to discuss, like BC, weight, etc, but it seems a bit redundant since they all kill stuff.

That said, I love my 28 nosler.....

 

[Gr8bawana]

I'm going with the 7mm Mag. After shooting the same Remington 7RM since 1981 and taking countless deer, several antelope, a handful of elk and who knows how many coyotes and jack rabbits, some close and some way out there. It has never let me down.
I guess I'm a bit biased.

 

[HighDesertSage]

I have owned, shot, and killed with both, and as long as a box of premium '06 shells continues to go for 2/3 the cost of a box of premium 7mag shells, I will continue shooting and hunting with an 06'. Yeah the performance of the 7mag is slightly better, but not enough to matter at hunting ranges. If I still reloaded I'd probably still have a 7 mag.

Nosler Trophy Grade 30-06 Springfield Ammo 180 Grain Nosler AccuBond

Nosler Trophy Grade ammunition is high quality, production-run ammunition manufactured to strict tolerances and inspected as it is hand-packaged. Trophy...

www.midwayusa.com

Nosler Trophy Grade 7mm Remington Mag Ammo 160 Grain Nosler AccuBond

Nosler Trophy Grade ammunition is high quality, production-run ammunition manufactured to strict tolerances and inspected as it is hand-packaged. Trophy...

www.midwayusa.com

 

[HighDesertSage]

Or 75% I guess. Whatever...dammit, math hurts.

 

[Deleted member 28227]

I've killed enough animals with both, that I will chose the 7mm every time for every application over the 06. They may be peas in a pod, but the 06 does nothing better than the 7mm but the 7 mag does everything better. We can argue about "heavier bullets" all you want, but no one hunts with 200 or 220gr bullets in an 06. The only place a 06 has the mag beat is magazine capacity (because its usually needed).

The only reason I’d go .30-06 over 7mm for a single quiver gun is bison.

Lots of places the 7mm doesn’t meet the legal requirements

 

[Buschy]

I bought a 7mm Mag at 19 years old. Only gun I have ever shot for every species from jack rabbits to elk. Over 32 years it has stacked up a ridiculous number of animals and done so convincingly! I won’t ever pick up another caliber or gun till they plant me in the ground. Put me in the 7mm fan club!

 

[2rocky]

I'd really love to have a discussions about what good velocity and energy numbers should be rather than the actual caliber.

I appreciated the "1800 ft.lbs for good bullet expansion" comment in the article. I think if we focused on getting there on caliber selection it could be a little more civil.

A commonly accepted threshold for the minimum amount of kinetic energy needed to kill an elk is 1500 ft-lbs. For whitetail deer, the minimum amount of kinetic energy is 1000 ft-lbs.

 

[Bambistew]

The only reason I’d go .30-06 over 7mm for a single quiver gun is bison.

Lots of places the 7mm doesn’t meet the legal requirements

Is that kind of like buying a rifle because you might go elephant hunting one day? Or the classic enough for"brown bear." 99.999% of guys with bear guns will never hunt bears, or bison. I would take a bigger rifle if hunting buff, just because having one rifle is silly.

 

[Deleted member 28227]

Is that kind of like buying a rifle because you might go elephant hunting one day? Or the classic enough for"brown bear." 99.999% of guys with bear guns will never hunt bears, or bison. I would take a bigger rifle if hunting buff, just because having one rifle is silly.

Absolutely... but qualifier still stands.

I told my buddy in AK to get an -06 ... he literally is never going to buy another rifle, unless he were to lose that one or have it stolen just that kinda person.

Mostly he will be hunting moose and caribou, but we are applying for bison tags every year. If either of us ever draw we are going to use that gun, mine doesn't meet the legal requirements either.

It was literally the reason I advised it over the 7mm or .270 which were the other calibers in the running.

 

[Pharmseller]

In practical application they are more alike than different. Shoot an animal through the lungs using a good bullet fired from either cartridge and nothing will know the difference.


P

 

[Talk2elk]

I agree in most realistic hunting ranges for most folks take your pick, there is no wrong answer here. For me I like the 06.

 

[CubSlayer]

The .30-'06 was the most overrated hunting cartridge until it was dethroned by the 6.5 Creedmoor.

Still, for the type of hunting I do, I'd rather have a .30-'06, but I know a few 7mm owners who won't shoot anything else.