Obviously you haven't been to Saskatchewan - 300 yard shots are not out of the realm of normal here. Not saying all are upto this feat but manydo practice longer ranges and given the right situation we may elect to shoot 300+ yards. That said the 3006 is more then capable of shooting past 300+, just a matter of lots of practice to know its drop, wind drift, etc. Not unlike any cartridge!

winmag300, as far as recoil between the wsm and standards given most are in light packages and assuming your wife may want something a little lighter chances are the recoil will be very close. I have shot a T3 Lite in a 300wm and 300wsm they are the same weight/style and the difference to my shoulder was minimal, if at all.IMHO if she doesn't like your win mag the 300wsm will be no kinder.[&:] Do you reload? If so may I suggest a 280 rem, little faster then the 3006 but same level of recoil as it and the 270win, it will allow you to load it up for elk/moose or down for deer sized game and a faster/flatter load. If you don't reload the 3006may be the option or if you think she can handle a little more punch the 7mm rem mag.

I like the 7mm 08 as well, it is a dream to shoot my wife (who doesn't hunt) can handle it with ease at 5.0' but around here factory ammo suitable for the larger game maybe an issue...though it certainly would be worth looking into if your at all interested in this cartridge. As a reloader it can do what the other .284's will do just a little slower so would be another choice if you roll your own!

An addition of a aftermarket recoil pad or buying a rifle that has one already installed (like rem does now on a number of models (R3 - aka sims) will do a lot to help ease felt recoil. Personally I would avoid a breaked rifle - LOUD. You mustplan to wear ear protection everytime it may be fired (field or range), as a single shot may result in perm. hearing damage.

Good luck