Kyle,

If inherent accuracy/target shooting were the sole criteria, then I wouldn' t recommend the 30-06 at all (nor the 338WinMag for that matter -- both are just plain good hunting cartridges). I can' t speak from a personal perspective regarding 260' s or 7mm-08' s -- seems like a lot of folks do like them.

Caliber and cartridge unrelated to accuracy? All cartridges created equal when it comes to accuracy? I guess it could be, but I don' t think so. At least in my world some are easy, not picky what you feed them, and they close in on the bullseye like they WANT to. Others, like a 220 Swift I once had (and I wasn' t alone) were just the opposite. Most the ranges I frequent, the 308 boys whip butt on a pretty regulation basis. The U.S. military uses it as a sniper rifle as do many SWAT/Tactical teams, and now even the Slav' s --- perhaps I have been misled. You will have to judge that to your own satisfaction:

FYI, as a starting point
Go to Google
Enter:
" .308" and " rifle" and " record"
" .260" and " rifle" and " record"
" 7mm-08" and " rifle" and " record"
or
" XXX Cartridge" and " rifle" and " record"

Thumb through the pedigrees. It may provide an interesting starting point. .308 has been around longer so that will skew things some in its favor but I think its target/accuracy credentials are quite respectable. I' ll stand by the " .308/friendly/accurate/joy" comment. It was not intended (and still isn' t intended) to " put down" the .260 or 7mm-08 in any way. Ultimately it' s your choice.

BTW, was there another rifle that you already own?

Good Hunting,
EKM