While the .30-06 has been around for almost 100 years, it hasn't been until after WWII that it become popular.....A heck of a lot of troops returning from WWII with a real knowlege of the cartridge and then the selling of a lot of Springfield O-3 and A-3 rifles. Yes some Enfields too and later M1-garands.

A lot of sporting arms was also produced for it and the .30-06 has taken a just place in shooting history.

Fact: a 7MM Mag truly has no advantage over it that can be used in the field except by incredibly few shooters.
Fact: A .300 Win Mag has marginal advantage over it!! Possibly 50 yards of extended range at the most!!
Fact: If you need more muscle than a .30-06, you really need to start looking at the .338 Win Mag and possibly the .375 H&H

It's by no coincidence that it's the most popular cartridge for big game in the world, and it's as good now as it ever was.

Thousands of elephants have been killed by lesser cartridges and in 99.9% of all applications it's used for it's at least 100% overkill.

It really ought to be renemed the .30 Govt. Magnum!!