7mm mag vs 30-06

[winibojo14]

Hi, i am a brand new member and joined to ask some questions. I am a 14 year old working farm hand jobs for a hunting gun and hav narrowed down the guns i am looking at. i would like a 7mm mag or a 30-06. I love very long range acurate guns and would like to buy a gun to last a long time. The 30-06 that i am looking at is a mossberg and i am very fond of mossbergs. i hav a maverick 88 that i have droped in water and beat the crap out of and i can still out shoot the field of guys i hunt with. the 7mm mag that i am looking at is a remington and i know 7mm are very acurate. i lov long range challenges. I am not asking for opinions of dif manufacturers but for experience with the gun. LOL i just wana quit hunting deer with my 12g slugs. i also plan on hunting elk. bear, ect.

i also buy the least expensive ammo i can.

winibojo

 

[mnrivrat]

i also buy the least expensive ammo i can.

The answer might lay in that issue alone - check the difference in cost so that you at least know how much more the 7mm will cost to shoot.

Both of these cartridges are in top standing for what you are wanting to do. The 7mm is bit flatter shooting out behond 300 yds, but both can be shot to longer ranges and still carry enough energy to be effective. The .30 cal generaly has about as wide a range of bullet weights and styles as what can be had .

PS: WELCOME TO THR !

 

[hankdatank1362]

>30-'06 for cheap and plentiful ammo selection. 7mm Rem Mag typically shoots flatter, but for your hunting purposes, .30-'-6 should be just fine.

Oh, if you can't find your post soon, it's probably in the Rifle section of Tools and Technologies. One of the mods may move it.

Welocme to THR.

 

[Z71]

I prefer the .30-06 myself. Ammo's slightly cheaper, recoil's less, rifle will usually hold another cartridge or two in the magazine with .30-06.

If you look at the ballistics, energy and trajectory charts, the two cartridges are quite similiar. Lots of different bullet weights for the .30-06, but also quite a few options for the 7mm mag too. Both great cartridges with huge numbers of hunters who swear by them.

Might get some dissagreement, but for bear(which I personaly have never hunted!), I would probably choose the .30-06 and use heavier premium bulleted ammunition.

 

[esmith]

For your purposes i would hands down go for the 30-06. First, both of these cartridges will perform fine say out to 400 yards and upwards. Second, you will find 30-06 in every place that sells ammunition, every. Plus its going to cost you a good amount less on average. Third, the 7mm Rem Mag will usually push a smaller bullet faster or the same speed in turn giving it less barrel life, however this isn't that big of an issue as barrel life is not horrible. In comparison with the 06 however, is where it makes a difference. Fourth, the 06 is going to give you more options in bullet variety in various loadings, since it is a more popular cartridge.

 

[trstafford]

Use the cheap ammo for targets but spend the extra $$ to buy a box of top notch hunting ammo. You don't shoot large quantities of ammo in the field so a box could last a long time. It is a bummer to loose an animal after spending all the time and money for a hunting trip because you didn't want to spend a couple of extra bucks on good quality ammo.

 

[SDDL-UP]

Geat question and one there just isn't a right or wrong answer to.

Both are great calibers, no doubt about it!

30-06 will be cheaper. 7mm Mag. will shoot better at long ranges. Both have excellent bullet selection especially if you plan on handloading, the 30-06 will have an advantage, but it's not a "practical" advantage if you handload. Both have enough bullet weights and styles available to do anything you could ever want. If you plan on shooting high volumes of ammo in a short time neither barrel will last, shoot wisely and you'll probably never wear either one out.

Get the one you want!

 

[Float Pilot]

One thing a lot of folks also forget is that the older standard cartridges like the 30-06 usually hold more rounds in the magazine and they often are more reliable in chambering from the magazine. The larger diameter cases of the 7mm mag take up a little more room and they have that pesky magnum belt.

 

[MCgunner]

I've never found the bullet selection in 7mm lacking and the bullets that are available are superior in BC and SD to .30. Just thought I'd toss that in. The 7 mag has AT LEAST a 50 yard advantage in PBR, too, even against Hornady light mag in the 06. But, neither will kill game any deader than the other and if I hadn't been a handloader all my life, I probably would have swung to the .30-06 when I bought the rifle, but I wanted to play with the magnum and I really like the 7mm caliber for its bullet BCs and selection. Some prefer 6.5mm which has even better BCs, but less bullet selection. 6.5 has never been a darling of the American shooter.

I'll probably never own a .30-06 at this point, no need. I have a .308 that covers ALL my hunting needs and a 7 mag if I really think the .308 isn't enough, which I can't really imagine, LOL. Basically, it'll do anything the 06 will do in a shorter, lighter rifle up to 180 grain bullets. I guess if I ever found a moose hunt in Texas, I'd take the 7. Oh, yeah, if I ever get enough money to book a Nilgai hunt on the King or Kennedy ranch, I'll take the big cannon and shoot 160 Nosler partitions. Otherwise, all my bases are covered with the lowly little .308 pop gun. It puts the whammy on deer and hogs of any size and is so much handier in the field.