7mm rem mag vs. 30-06

[Mike Fontaine]

Just wondering, for those of you that have hunted medium to big size game, how many of you prefer the 7mm mag over the 30-06. I have always used a 30-06 for deer but decided to use my 7mm mag. for a moose hunt last Fall. The Mag did a nice job (with some help from Nosler): 90 yards, 150 gr Ballistic tip, 1 shot through both atria (but I was aiming for the ventricles, Ha, Ha (I teach Anatomy by the way) and the moose dropped without a step. Anyway, I ended up with a nice size bull! Anyone else out there make the switch from the 06 to the Mag?
Mike

 

[Guest]

I carried a 30-06 for two years and changed over to a 264 mag. not the same as a 7mm but darn close and a good contender. I personally would love to purchase a sendero in the 7mm ultra mag, but finances will not allow for it at this time. I think the 7mm is a far better round for North America, being flatter shooting and having one of the highest bc's of any caliber of bullets being made. just my two cents.

 

[remingtonman_25_06]

I have 2, 7 mags now and yes, I prefer them waaay over a 30-06.

The 7 RM will do anything the 06 will, and more..

Its faster, flatter, has more energy, less drift, all those things that are called "ballistics" it spanks the 30-06...

When reloading, I dont even think its a fair comparison..

Your never gonna get the 06 to compare to the 7 mag..

Try finding any load with the 06 that still has 1000 ft lbs erngy at 1000 yards and still traveling at 1600-1700fps. Yah your not going to is my point...

A 7mm 175g is just as deadly as a 30 cal 180-200g...

 

[JD338]

I started my big game hunting with a 30-06 taking WT deer, antelope, and my first black bear. No regrets.
I switched to a 35 Whelen, 280 Rem, and then 338 RUM. Still no regrets.
If you hit them in the right spot, most anything will work. :wink:

I really do like the 7mm bore for the flat shooting high BC bullet offerings.

JD338

 

[buckfever]

I don't need to shoot a 30 06 to know my 7 mag smokes it.

 

[Guy Miner]

Ya know - it's funny, I've got both, hunt with both and think highly of each.

Grew up with the .30-06 - it's an old friend. Got the 7mm Rem mag some years ago and have been very successful with it. To me they seem well suited for the same size of game animals: deer, elk, black bear. Out past 300 yards the 7mm mag seems to shoot significantly better, with less drop and it's less affected by wind too. For most of the hunting I've done over the years though, it really wouldn't matter which one I'm carrying.

The 7mm mag does shoot flatter. No doubt about it, but the .30-06 shoots plenty good enough to get 'r done. Kind of interesting comparing powder charges and ballistics:

7mm mag: 160 @ 3060 fps w/63 RL-22
7mm mag: 175 @ 2970 fps w/62.5 RL-22

.30-06: 165 @ 3000 fps w/63 RL-22
.30-06: 180 @ 2870 fps w/61 RL-22

Figures from my old Nosler #3 manual. Neither of my rifles, the .30-06 or my current 7mm mag reach those velocity figures. I've happily used all of those loads though. Easy to see that powder charges and velocities are pretty similar. The 7mm gains an advantage through somewhat higher muzzle velocity, and considerably better BC bullets. All that can be changed by loading the .30-06 with a higher BC bullet and the 7mm with a blunt bullet.

For most hunting, I just don't see a whole lot of difference between the two.

Regards, Guy

 

[Mike Fontaine]

Hey Guy,
Is the 7 mag used much in competition?
?

 

[Guy Miner]

Not much. The belted .30 magnums were the main players in 1000 yard prone competition for many years, since the mid 1930's. Sometimes a 7mm belted magnums have been used instead, with good results. A few years back I corresponded with a couple of guys using the 7mm Rem mag in competition, and they were doing fairly well. The new 175 - 180 gr match grade bullets have helped too, but much 7mm emphasis seems to be on the straight .284, or the 7mm WSM. Those two cartridges have good case capacity and do away with the belt.

Interestingly, after years of dominance by the 6.5-284, the 1000 yard match at Camp Perry was won by a fellow shooting a .300 Win mag. just last summer.

At one point I intended to transform a 7mm Rem mag Sendero into a match rifle for LR prone competition, but that never happened. The Sendero barrel copper fouled so badly that I couldn't compete with it. It was good for 15 - 20 shots, then needed a thorough cleaning. In prone matches, a rifle absolutely must shoot well for at least 70 - 100 rounds without a cleaning. No fault of the cartridge, it was just that rough Remington barrel that kept it from competition. Did hunt with it a few times though. :grin:

 

[7 STW]

When I stepped up from the 06 to a mag it was 300 and 338 win.I have confidents in most rounds.Lovin the 7 STW now for big game hunting.

 

[taylorce1]

I have both rifles and I prefer the 06 over the 7mm Rem Mag. I don't know what it is about the 7mm Rem but it just doesn't do anything that much better than my 06 or my .270 to get me interested in it. My 7mm definatly is a good shooter but I don't think I'll ever hunt anything with it. I'll keep it as it is the only model 70 I own but it might find some new life as a .300 Win Mag or something of that nature.

I've shot deer, elk, and pronghorn with my .270 from less than 100 yards to more than 500. As long as I use the right bullet it for the animal I'm hunting I've never had a problem. I took my first elk at 25 yards with an 06 and I've taken a black bear at 200.

 

[fredj338]

They are so close it's hard to choose. I would take the 06 if all my shots would be under 300yds, especially in timber (200gr bulets). The 7remmag has a slight edge going beyond 300yds w/ the right bullets. Is one significantly better than the other no. I've just never been a big 06 fan so I would probably go w/ the 7remmag.

 

[Big Squeeze]

As they say, "beauty is in the eye of the beholder!".........Rifle cartridges/rifles etc. are no different.........Each of these two cartridges have certain advantages over the other in terms of ballistics, BC, bullet weights, versatility and so on..........The better bullet versatility/weight advantage stays with the `06 (from 110 gr. up to 220 gr), while the 7MM gains the advantage as a flatter, long range shooter, with better downrange ballistics..............Though, if reloaded properly with the right bullet, if both are used in the field under the same given hunting conditions, on the same big game, the differences in terms of filling the tags vs. not filling the tags, will be determined far more by the shooter, and not, one of these two fine cartridges!!!!!.......As for my personal preference? With my 300WSM and my other favorite, the 300 Win. Mag., (which I recently sold), I have the versatility of the `06, and the flat shooting capability of the 7MM mag. Perhaps the best of both worlds????........Big Squeeze!

 

[Desert Fox]

This is an old debate. Performance wise, both cartridge is almost identical with the 7Mag having a slight advantage in ballistics due to higher BC bullet. For popularity though, the 06 is supreme.