All-around cartridge for North American game?

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It is going to be a LONG way down range before the higher BC of 7mm over .30 catches up enough to matter. The other two were somewhat faster than similar bullet weights in .30-06 but I doubt by enough to matter at hunting ranges.

This.

I often hear debates...sometimes heated debates...concerning the advantages of the 7-08 over the .308 cartridge...but the two are so similar that neither has a clear advantage over the other at any sensible or practical range. The proponents of the 7-08 speak of fanciful distances up to 600 or even 700 yards, but I'm not about to take a shot at any animal at those ranges with either cartridge, so it's a moot point.
 
For hunting big game I have never seen a great deal of logic in necking down anything. Just something to toy around with when you are bored. Makes sense for varmints or if you are a target shooter I suppose.

And, a 308 is a fine cartridge but it's only practical advantage over a 30-06 is a potentially lighter rifle like a little Kimber or something.
 
Until you're slap outta ammo and you can't find a box of 7.33X55.25 Murphy Improved and the shelf is overstocked with the boring old standby that strikes the same blow and does exactly the same job. At that point, the silliness changes places while you hear a refrain to that song play over and over in your head:
Has it ever actually happened? Folks repeat this stuff about lost or forgotten ammo all the time but has this ever actually happened to anyone repeating this??? I guess I better go trade in my .405 for a .30/06 and spend the rest of my life hunting with a cartridge for which I have zero affinity, for just in the 1 in a billion chance that I might someday need ammo for it from Walmart. Please. There are myriad rifles chambered in myriad cartridges that are wonderful to shoot, handload for and hunt with that are NOT available at Walmart. Which is kinda a lot of the reason for handloading.

If I had to hunt with a .30/06......I wouldn't. For some folks, what they hunt with and how they hunt is at least as important as hunting itself. Which is why not everyone wears camo and hunts with a stainless synthetic .30/06 with a 3-9x scope. Some of us use leverguns. Some use iron sights. Some use handguns. Some use muzzleloaders. Some even use flintlocks and archery equipment!!!

At least you won't have to compete with me for ammo at the Walmart sporting goods counter. :rolleyes:
 
This.

I often hear debates...sometimes heated debates...concerning the advantages of the 7-08 over the .308 cartridge...but the two are so similar that neither has a clear advantage over the other at any sensible or practical range. The proponents of the 7-08 speak of fanciful distances up to 600 or even 700 yards, but I'm not about to take a shot at any animal at those ranges with either cartridge, so it's a moot point.
were both wrong on this one , see my post #49, I miss spoke , not by much , , but I'm home now and found my Fur-Fish-Game , that ran the test on 260rem-vs-7mm-08-vs-308win, the test used 150gr ,not 140gr , out to 200yards the 308 has more energy , at 300 yards the 260 and 7mm-08 have caught up and at 400 yards they have past up the 308win in terms of velocity and energy, not 600 or 700 yards .
if you are hunting over a corn/bean field say 40ac thats 1325' or 441yards the 7mm-08 would be the better pick not only more energy at that range but less drop and drift,
if your hunting shorter ranges the 308win would have a slight up side, the 308win would also be a better pick if you are hunting bigger game as you can get them in heavier bullets,
so one is realy not better than the other , I would go with the 7mm-08 in my neck of the woods ,I have shots that range frof 75 to 425 yards , and it kicks less

that Fur-Fish-Game article is Nov.2010. page 40 , great article
 
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There is no true all around caliber unless you go with overkill for the majority of the game animals. That caliber would likely be something like the 375 H&H or 378 Weatherby Mag. For me who has no plans of hunting Brown Bears in Alaska, something in the 30-06 > 270 range win works for most things. 7mm Rem Mag, 300 Win mags etc are okay as long as you are willing to tolerate the recoil on the higher power ones.
 
There is no true all around caliber unless you go with overkill for the majority of the game animals. That caliber would likely be something like the 375 H&H or 378 Weatherby Mag. For me who has no plans of hunting Brown Bears in Alaska, something in the 30-06 > 270 range win works for most things. 7mm Rem Mag, 300 Win mags etc are okay as long as you are willing to tolerate the recoil on the higher power ones.
right , but the OP listed 308 and 7mm-08, , and then later brought up the 243 and the 270,
as for recoil on big mags , my 7mmWSM kicks about the same as my 270. , and any gun that punches a hole through a 1/2" steel plate , is in the overkill range, I got friend that hunts with a 338 Lapua Mag !!! over kill ,,, you bet !
 
There is no true all around caliber unless you go with overkill for the majority of the game animals. That caliber would likely be something like the 375 H&H or 378 Weatherby Mag. For me who has no plans of hunting Brown Bears in Alaska, something in the 30-06 > 270 range win works for most things. 7mm Rem Mag, 300 Win mags etc are okay as long as you are willing to tolerate the recoil on the higher power ones.
Put the usual suspect's name in a hat and pull one out. The end results in the freezer will be the same.
 
Since I don't think of critters below Coyote much of as game - I gotta go 30-06. Can be hard on stew pot bunnies and squirrels but still...

Enough when used, loaded and selected well for anything and too much for very little.

Exceptional range of platforms in the caliber. Quality surplus through high end customs.

Unmatched options in projectiles.

Controllable and non-fatiguing in use.
 
Back when the American Rifleman was a little bit technical, they had a test of a Winchester Model 70 in 7mm Remington Magnum. Why did they shoot a Winchester rifle in a Remington caliber? Who knows?
Any road, they gave actual chronograph data for the loads shot. As I recall, three out of the five factory 7mm RM loads used gave LOWER velocity than .30-06 I have shot in my own old M70. It is going to be a LONG way down range before the higher BC of 7mm over .30 catches up enough to matter. The other two were somewhat faster than similar bullet weights in .30-06 but I doubt by enough to matter at hunting ranges. I don't care what a hunting rifle is doing at 800 yards. And my target .308 does well enough I don't have to plot and plan over that, either.


I did already show McGunner the data at 500y for the best 30-06 and 7mm RM hunting commercial rounds I could find, from Double Tap (not your ordinary Remchesteral stuff) using Nosler bullets of various weights....no energy differences.....still he keeps making his point about the supposedly higher effectiveness of the 7mm RM at long range for hunting.....

He responded that he does not limit himself to commercial loadings, he has a press and dies...fair enough, you can reload and squeeze even more performance out of a 30-06 too.....

And I totally agree with you that nobody would use either caliber beyond 600 yards (and that is really pushing it) on deer.....so totally moot point

On the other side, talking about versatility, for bear defense would you rather facing an angry bruin with a 7mm RM or with a 30-06 loaded with 220-240 grainers??
 
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Since I don't think of critters below Coyote much of as game - I gotta go 30-06. Can be hard on stew pot bunnies and squirrels but still...

Enough when used, loaded and selected well for anything and too much for very little.

Exceptional range of platforms in the caliber. Quality surplus through high end customs.

Unmatched options in projectiles.

Controllable and non-fatiguing in use.


Amen to that.....;)
 
I did already show McGunner the data at 500y for the best 30-06 and 7mm RM hunting commercial rounds I could find, from Double Tap (not your ordinary Remchesteral stuff) using Nosler bullets of various weights....no energy differences.....still he keeps making his point about the supposedly higher effectiveness of the 7mm RM at long range for hunting.....

He responded that he does not limit himself to commercial loadings, he has a press and dies...fair enough, you can reload and squeeze even more performance out of a 30-06 too.....

And I totally agree with you that nobody would use either caliber beyond 600 yards (and that is really pushing it) on deer.....so totally moot point

On the other side, talking about versatility, for bear defense would you rather facing an angry bruin with a 7mm RM or with a 30-06 loaded with 220-240 grainers??
That really is the issue especially where we live in northern Idaho. Sadly, many of the bear attack victims are hunters who spook a bear. In that case, you have to have something that has not only the hunting ability to drop a deer with a heart lung shot, but also to drop a bear in full charge. For me, that puts the 30-06 as my minimum hunting rifle.
 
The '06 is a great all around choice, no question. I just don't like to recommend one caliber when so many are very similar in preformance. The 243 is too small in my opinion for an all around caliber in the Lower 48. I like the 270 win a lot. That is what I use for my deer rifle when I use a rifle. I don't so much use a rifle often any more. I just don't really care that much if I score. I just like to be out there and enjoy the hunt. I use handguns more than anything.
 
7MM-08, or 7MM Mauser.

I have always had a soft spot for the 7x57. GREAT cartridge and very capable and light on the shoulder. It can handle the 175 grain RN which is the only thing my Spanish 1916 would shoot due to fast twist. The gun was kinda cool, but stupidly, I sold it. GREAT rifle to 250 yards even with that round nose pill and it was a great game stopper.
 
The '06 is a great all around choice, no question. I just don't like to recommend one caliber when so many are very similar in preformance. The 243 is too small in my opinion for an all around caliber in the Lower 48. I like the 270 win a lot. That is what I use for my deer rifle when I use a rifle. I don't so much use a rifle often any more. I just don't really care that much if I score. I just like to be out there and enjoy the hunt. I use handguns more than anything.
I just spoke at church tonight with my rancher friend who has hunted elk, bear, deer for years here in northern Idaho almost exclusively with a .270, 130 gr bullets. He noted that the .270 was developed in response to the popularity of the 30-06 as well as the .280 which never really caught on. The loads were all very similar. It is no surprise that there is so much overlap since this was the market place response to the popularity of the 30-06.

I guess imitation is the greatest flattery.
 
Alaska444 - I've lived and hunted in the Idaho panhandle for almost 40 years now. I have several friends who shoot everything with a .308. The difference between the .308 and the '06 is academic at best. Having said that I don't own, have never owned and probably will never own a .308 as I have other calibers that do the same thing. But that doesn't mean the .308 won't work for moose, elk and bears. And like I said, I know plenty of guys around here that hunt everything with their .308 rifles.
Bear defense? Personally I've never seen a grizzly here in N. Idaho. I know that there are some out there, but you have to admit that very few people around here have even seen one, much less having to worry about defending themselves from an attack. The recent incident near Bonners Ferry, where the guy killed his buddy while trying to shoot the grizzly off of him, was a tragic comedy of errors. I worry more about running into a pissed off moose than any bear that roams the Panhandle. As a matter of fact I got chased off the North Fork of the CD'A river near Big Hank campground by a cow moose while I was fly fishing last summer. It's funny now but it sure as hell wasn't funny when it happened. If one was to be charged by a grizzly and had to shoot it at 25 yards or so the difference between a .308 and a 30-06 disappears. Lets be realistic here. Bear defense is the last thing I'm thinking about while hunting our woods. If it happens it happens, sort of like being struck by lightning or winning the Power Ball. I guess you'd have to dance with who ya brung.

To the OP - For goodness sake man, go buy either the .308 or the 7mm-08, buy a couple of boxes of ammo, sight it in to hit 2" high at 100 yards and go hunting. You can't go wrong either way.
 
The difference between the .308 and the '06 is academic at best.

That is like saying that the difference between a 30-06 and a 300 Winchester Magnum is academic at best.....

Can you shoot 220 and 240 grain with a 308??? Or shooting well anything over 180 gr.??

The fact that you a 308 work as well as a 30-06 in a broad range of situations does not means that the 2 cartridges are equal in capability....
 
You can get from 204-338 50 fps and 10 grs at a time with the same academic reasoning and each step will be spliting hairs.
I do not and will never subscribe to any notion of an all around cartridge for North America or any other place.
Anybody who has tried to download/upload for a single rifle probably has not been met with near the success that one would have with three seperate (min) cartridge rifle combinations like a 22, 6mm-25, 7mm-338. Having some quick change barrel is an option but IMO not a good one since buying barrel/scope ends up costing near what 3 good used guns would cost if not more.
119 posts and what? Anybody convinced of the perfect one yet?
 
If you need 220gr-240gr loads in the .30-06, you need a bigger cartridge

220 gr. is pretty common ammo for 30-06 from Remchesteral and found even at Wal Mart....

That said from 180 gr. up a stout -06 is very good big bear medicine...
 
I think it is time for some of you to go read the OP's post again , he is not going to be hunting bear or moose , he is looking for a versatile round , not a perfect one, he MAY be takeing shots out too 400 yards , and he has counted out the 30-06 , his picks were 308win, 7mm-08 , 300blk , then later added 243 and 270, , with that said I'd go 270, 7mm-08, 308win, then 243 in that order and in that order only because of the 400 yard factor
 
All this thread has shown is that for some strange reason some people don't like the 30-06.
Their misfortune, I personally have never met anyone who disparages that round like some here have.
 
All this thread has shown is that for some strange reason some people don't like the 30-06.
Their misfortune, I personally have never met anyone who disparages that round like some here have.
nothing wrong with , works great has for over 100years , but the OP is laening to something else, would a 30-06 work for him ? maybe? but I shoot alot and I would not try a 400 yard shot with a 30-06 or a 308 and he is looking for round that might need to get out to 400 yards and remember he is looking at a HUNTING gun
 
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