.30-06 Best all Around Cartridge?

[nautiduck]

I personally have a Weatherly 257 mag for most applications, and also have a Weatherly 300 mag barrel for the same gun. I shoot a Blaser and love it.

WeatherBy?

[cravertosu]

Not for Elk............ 30.06 is a little behind the new modern cartridges

7mm.08 is flatter for most animals but still is light for elk.... I killed the biggest elk I have taken with one......... bullets all hung under the skin on far side

Short mags are todays best............ short bolt travel like your small calibers but will take down any North American mammal....... and flat shooting son of a b's

7mm WSM is my choice but there are several...... 300 WSM..... 270 WSM, ect................Ultra Short Mags too

You want be disappointed !!!!!!


Just a Westerners opinion....... have seen 3 Buffalo, 2 Rocky Mtn. Big Horns and numerous Elk taken with them.......... Oh yea, Mule Deer and I shoot whitetail with mine so they ain't to big for them

Great post!

I agree with the short mag opinion. The .300 and 7mm are MY favorite rounds. However, I don't think they are a round I'd want to use on a NC whitetail.

If you shoot well, it's REALLY hard to beat the .270. Short mag or not. I've killed 3 elk out to 350m with the .270. I'd buy the short mag if I had the choice but either will do.

Tim

[Deep C]

Willie from Willies Custom Baits has a Montana gig cutting game for others out there. I had the oportunity to go out a few years back and it was an eye opener on a different world. I toted the '06 with me and had a ball filling all my tags. Laid my one and only elk out at 250 or so with one round and it fell in place.
Got to see what different rounds did at different distances. That 7MM mag was some peoples choice especially for the really long open shots. Locals liked the .270 . Willie uses 25-06.
A lot that came in from other places were using that .300 win mag. I have to say it worked. A bit much though at cleaning time. I saw more than one elk shoulder completely destroyed and a couple mulies that were effectively rendered useless for anything other than burger.
That '06 has served me well. Only two animals I shot with it made more than a couple steps. A white tail doe made about 20 yards after my longest shot ever (about 400+) . The other was a 280lb hog I blammed down here. He went about 30 yards. All others have folded where they stood.

[Glenn W]

Not for Elk............ 30.06 is a little behind the new modern cartridges

7mm.08 is flatter for most animals but still is light for elk.... I killed the biggest elk I have taken with one......... bullets all hung under the skin on far side

Short mags are todays best............ short bolt travel like your small calibers but will take down any North American mammal....... and flat shooting son of a b's

7mm WSM is my choice but there are several...... 300 WSM..... 270 WSM, ect................Ultra Short Mags too

You want be disappointed !!!!!!


Just a Westerners opinion....... have seen 3 Buffalo, 2 Rocky Mtn. Big Horns and numerous Elk taken with them.......... Oh yea, Mule Deer and I shoot whitetail with mine so they ain't to big for them

That's the kind of info I'm lookinfg for. I don't know much at all about the various WSM cartridges, but will check their ballistics out.
I already have a 30-06 ( had it since 1976) and its been a good deer gun for me ( although I much prefer my 6mm for the small Carolina deer I shoot). I'm looking to add a rifle for one of the boys (let them shoot the old one), and am looking for a good versital gun, capable of taking out west--- you know, one size fits all.
Although the 270 in one of my favorite cartridges, it just doesn't seem to have the versitility of the 30-06. I have yet to see a single application (or ballistic category) in which the 7mm Mag surpases the 30-06, but I could have missed something.
I have shot a 300 H&H Mag. and they are on my list, but finding ammo is no easy task.-- the newer 300 Win mag is alos on the list of consideration-- but I seem to keep coming back to ole faithful when I compare anything at various ranges, energies, and bullet weights.

[RWW]

I have a old model 70 30/06 that I love. Never been out west but for MD deer it always does the job.
Finding ammo would be an issue, but the new 30TC has slightly better numbers than the 30/06 and the 308 with a small case and less recoil. If I were in the market for a new rifle a new ICON in 30TC would be on the short list.
http://www.tcarms.com/firearms/icon_...TitleBlockFull
Best of luck on your search

[saltwaterbucks]

Glenn, you will be thrilled with a Winchester Short Mag..... ammo is pricey but so is everything

The short travel of your bolt for such a large caliber can NOT be overlooked and I can not express the importance enough.... less jamming, etc..... just simply smooth

Me and Peerow both have Browning A Bolts in 7mm WSM....
Out here I think more have 300WSM's.... but I agree with Craver a lot....... 270WSM might be your tickets

Give me a call if I can explain my thoughts further, Have A Good Day

[Glenn W]

For what I'm looking for, the 7mm WSM looks very appealing. I don't need to reach ot and touch anything @ 400+ yds, case I coldn't do it with any cartridge or weapon ( just ain't that good in my old age). That being said, the 270 WSM looks cool with the higher velosity and energy out past 300 yds ( compared to the regular 270 win), but it would seem the heavier bullet weights available in the 7mm WSM make it more versatile. The 300 Mag or 300WSM jst seem to be too much for the smaller game.
I am concerned a little about ammo-- not so much the price ( I won't shoot it enough to hurt the pocket book), but rsather availability. On the other hand, my go to gun here in NC is the obsure 6mm Rem and I just stock up on ammo and know I can't pick it up anywhere--- hasn't caused a problem yet.
I'm guessing the recoil on the 7mm WSM would be similar to my 30 06?
I'll give you a call to talk more about this 7mm wsm in the next few weeks.

[JPH]

Not for Elk............ 30.06 is a little behind the new modern cartridges

7mm.08 is flatter for most animals but still is light for elk.... I killed the biggest elk I have taken with one......... bullets all hung under the skin on far side

Short mags are todays best............ short bolt travel like your small calibers but will take down any North American mammal....... and flat shooting son of a b's

7mm WSM is my choice but there are several...... 300 WSM..... 270 WSM, ect................Ultra Short Mags too

You want be disappointed !!!!!!


Just a Westerners opinion....... have seen 3 Buffalo, 2 Rocky Mtn. Big Horns and numerous Elk taken with them.......... Oh yea, Mule Deer and I shoot whitetail with mine so they ain't to big for them

The interesting thing about hunting cartridges and rifles is they are like boats in many ways, there are many ways to get the job done.

I disagree with this short mag phase based on personal experience, I had a 300 WSM jam on me twice, once in Namibia and once in Alberta. They just don't feed well and this was with a big name custom rifle with super sharp feed rails. And you are only about 50 - 75 fps faster with these short mags than a standard cartridge like a 30-06. I've never before or since had a rifle jam on me after I got rid of that cartridge.

270 with these super modern bullets is all you need and I've killed multiple elk and moose with one shot with this rifle.

Good luck!

[cravertosu]

For what I'm looking for, the 7mm WSM looks very appealing. I don't need to reach ot and touch anything @ 400+ yds, case I coldn't do it with any cartridge or weapon ( just ain't that good in my old age). That being said, the 270 WSM looks cool with the higher velosity and energy out past 300 yds ( compared to the regular 270 win), but it would seem the heavier bullet weights available in the 7mm WSM make it more versatile. The 300 Mag or 300WSM jst seem to be too much for the smaller game.
I am concerned a little about ammo-- not so much the price ( I won't shoot it enough to hurt the pocket book), but rsather availability. On the other hand, my go to gun here in NC is the obsure 6mm Rem and I just stock up on ammo and know I can't pick it up anywhere--- hasn't caused a problem yet.
I'm guessing the recoil on the 7mm WSM would be similar to my 30 06?
I'll give you a call to talk more about this 7mm wsm in the next few weeks.

If you're not going to be shooting any further than 400m then you really don't need a 7mm or .300. If you shoot well out to that range, the .270 will handle anything you're going to hunt in NA. I don't know that I would take the .270 out after grizzlies but other than that you'll be fine.
The kick from the 7mm is going to be a bit more than the 06. You can do things to any rifle to help with the recoil though. I wouldn't let that affect your decision a whole lot.
If you already have a 6mm for hunting in NC then the 7mm might not be a bad choice to give a little more versatility to your line up. I love my 7mm for the civilian side. LOVE my .300 for the work side!

Tim

[nautiduck]

Not for Elk............ 30.06 is a little behind the new modern cartridges

How do you figure? The 30-06 has taken more big game around the world than any other cartridge, even in Africa. After WW1 the 30-06 served as one of the most often used big game guns in Africa used to kill everything from Kudu to Rhino to Elephant. With the 30-06 you find bullets from 55gr to 250gr what magnum round has such a range available to it.

For Elk, maybe some people need the latest greatest magnum round, the last one I took was at 350 yds with my old Remy 722 in a .300 savage. For that matter it has taken half a dozen bears one over 600lbs, 3 elk, and countless deer.

As far as the 30-06 Glenn, it is by far the best all around cartridge and used by far more people the world over than all the fancy magnum cartridges together. I have several magnum rifles, .300 weatherby mag, .300 wm, 7mm mag, 250 weatherby mag, and everytime Im in the woods its either my .300 Savage or my old -06 which was actually my first deer rifle. If I had to pick one it would be the savage, but thats just because it fits me like a glove not because its better than an -06. I wouldnt knock the .270 either, as far as availability, if there are two cartridges you'll find at Bobs hardware and gun emporium in BFE Kansas, it'll be the 30-06 and the .270.