what is it exactly that you magnum people hope to achieve with you bigger caliber? that only advantage i see is more power. to suggest that a -06 doesnt have enough for a north american hunt is just crazy, this caliber has been tried and tested more than most and has already proven that it does the job well. so it has already been eslabished that power is not the case.

what is it then that makes you want a magnum? is it more accurate? nope dont think so
longer range? magnums MPBR isnt much farther than a standard cartridge so i doubt it.
do they shoot flatter? yea a little bit. does it compensate for less than perfect shot placement? no it does not, a miss of the vitals is a miss of the vitals. thats what a follow up shot is for!! under lighter recoil, you can recover in time for a follow up shot if your first was not spot on, much harder to do after just got railed by your magnums recoil(and heaven forbid the scope didnt pop you in the eye)!!!

but i can see nothing that would make you want a magnum for a north american hunt. the advantages that the magnum brings are quickly outwieghed by the massive recoil degrading accuracy as well as other problems that heavy recoil does to guns and scopes!


magnums and standards both have their strengths and weakness, so neitherreally has a clear advantage, or the other would be extinct! but the bottom line is, both will work. to me a .270, -06, 308 or even possibly 7mm mag(asmallermag.)represents good middle ground, for all around cartridges. these are the maximum most hunters can shoot under field conditions, and the recoil is about all most can take.

but it is in my opinion that the lesser recoil of the standard cartridge contributes to more accurate shooting, there for, thats why i favor it. the -06 has stood the test of time. will the wsm/ultra mag stuff do the same or will it slide into obscurity? who knows!