ORIGINAL: thebillman
Well, I've spent more hours than I care to admit reading old posts. However, I'm still somewhat unsure of which caliber to choose. I've hunted all my life with a 30.06 and my trusty 30-30. I've killed more Deer with my 06 than I can remember. I'm at the point in my life where I'm financialy able to experience more exotic hunting trips. Myhunting buddies and I are planning a few trips in the upcoming years. I plan to hunt Elk, Mule Deer, Moose and maybe large Canadian Whitetail. Which caliber will accomplish the deed ? What do you reccomend , why ? Your responses are greatly appreciated.
By the way, the trust Winchesterm70 has already harvested Caribou at 252 yds in Canada.
FWIW, when I went for elk in BC this Fall, the outifitter,as well as every one of his guides,expressed a preference for the .30-06 over the 7mm Rem Mag. Their reasoning was that they'dseen many 7mm mag. shots penetrate without much, if any, expansion at 10-40 yard shots in the black timber they have in that area. I'm not trying to be inflammatory: I'm just relating what I heard.
I was at just this same decisionback in August of '05, when I decided that I finally oughta go chase some elk. I did a stupid amount of research on boards like these, but I finally came to the conclusion that I would have to make a choice that
I could live with. Everyone was going to make fun of me no matter what I ended up choosing. As long as the elk don't laugh, I guess that'sall that matters tome!
I ended up going with the .30-06. I liked shooting that caliber more than the 7mm mag. that I'd tried, and I was confident that the '06 would do its part if I did mine. Plus, I found it to be comfortable enough to shoot that I was able to consistently makethe bullets go where they oughta.
It sounds like your '06 has your trust, and that's about the highest compliment you can pay a gun (or a person, for that matter!). If you haven't been shooting premium bullets thus far, then try a few different kinds to see which ones group best in your M70. Then you should be good to go. Or, take the advice of those suggesting a scope upgrade: that may give you a whole new outlook on things (pun intended).
Now, if you're trying to justify buying a new gun, then just go out and buy it! We ALL need more guns! Just don't go saying that your faithful companion, yourM70, doesn't have what it takes!
And most importantly of all, send us pics when you get back from the trips!
FC