Virginia7

Hey DD,
C'mon now, those two Texans see this, and we'll have another thread going on, and on,
and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on ...................

Gundigest

They are very close but that doesn't mean you shouldn't get one. I have a 7x57, 30-06, and a 300 WSM. If I was going to get a new 7 mag I think I would get the 7mm WSM. I personally would go with a 7x57, 7mm-08, or a .260. The 06 is more than adiquate for everything you listed, as would be the three I listed. A .223 or 22-250 would be a fun gun to play around with and shoot varmints.

zrexpilot

every animal on the planet has been killed with a bow and arrow.
think about it.

Doe Dumper

Not sure if its that kryptonite light speed bullet that kills em with the 243..or the extreme gush of hot air

popeye

Where would you primarily use this rifle. If your looking at mountain use then maybe a light weight in either 308 or 7mm-08, both are outstanding cartridges with little recoil; if it's for plains use a standard weight 25-06, 270 or 280 would give a little extra range over your 30-06 and still flatten antelope and deer with ease.

James B

Mabe even to much gun for mere mortal animals. I would go 25-06.

SHoNUFF

i think the 7mm-08 is gonna be a nice rifle. And i like the 308, 300, and 30-06. 270 just doesnt hit any list i have becuase the 30s can do its job and better.

razormatt

The '06 is such a versatile cartridge, such that it's fine for medium range shots on Antelope, Deer, Elk, or even Moose.

I have both an 06 and a 7mm Rem Mag and love them both. I feel more comfortable hunting fields where 200+ yard shots are possible/likely with the 7mm. In the woods or in small fields I'll take whichever I want to take. For all practial purposes, the big 7 shoots as flat as a 270 (a .270 is a 30/06 case necked down to take a .277 bullet, about 0.03 smaller than the 30 caliber (.308)) that hits as hard as the '06.

You could go smaller, such as the previously suggested 25-06, .243, 257 Weatherby Mag, etc. Each of these calibers (especially the larger powder charges of the 25/06 and 257 Wby) would be great for antelope and long range deer hunting. The 25/06 is a 30/06 case necked down to .257, similar p owder charges as the '06 and .270 only with a smaller diameter and lighter bullet. Usually the 25-06 stays in the 100-120 range, the .270 in the 130-150 range, and the 06 in the 150-180 range on bullet grain weights.

However, if you do go smaller, you limit what you can do when it comes to how far you should be shooting at stuff with the bigger '06.

If you go bigger (7mm is such a small increment bigger than the 06....then you should go WAY bigger), such as a 300 magnum (winchester, weatherby, Remington Ultra Mag), or .338 mag (Weatherby, winchester) or split the middle with the 325 win short mag, then you get longer range killing power on bigger game such as elk/moose -AND- if you're going to be reloading, you can get 150 grain bullets on those big 300 mags and REALLY reach out and touch an antelope.

Of course, what you REALLY ought to do is just check out some ballistics of popular factory produced ammo and see what types of ranges they appear to be competent killers with. THEN you ought to do a quick search at (www.gunbroker.com -or- www.gunsamerica.com) or even at www.walmart.com and see if you can find any type of rifle that you're comfortable with in price/style/action (whatever) that are ALSO chambered in one of the calibers that you think would benefit you're gun collection such that you could either hunt a different set of game with the new gun -OR- hunt the same set of game in different fashion (prepared for longer shots, whatever).

I love ballistics of the 300 Weatherby (and the 300 Rem Ultra mag is awfully similar) and view it as a longer ranged and harder hitting 30/06, but that's just me AND the fact that guns chambered in the 300 weatherby kick ass (Mk V and Sakos).

FastShootingCarts

7mm Rem mag. Not a lot of recoil and flat shooting.

2ndtimer

I sort of agree with razormatt in that I see three distinct options:
1. Go smaller, a lot smaller, like a .243 Win, 6mm Rem, .260 Rem or 25-06. Or really smaller
like a .204 Ruger, .223 Rem or 22-250 for varmints only. Cheaper to load and shoot, no
recoil and amazing accuracy potential in a tuned heavy barrel rig.
2. Go bigger, .325WSM, .338 Win Mag, .375 H&H. Prove that you have testosterone! Rattle
your teeth with each shot. Invite osteoarthritis as you get older.
3. Go frugal. Stay with the same bore size, use the same bullets and primers for both rifles.
Smaller option .308 Win. Potentially improved accuracy, cheaper to load (less powder per
round), reduced recoil. Can be had in short handy rifles. Bigger options .300WSM, (nice
short action, potentially more accurate, increased power, without overwhelming recoil),
.300 Win. Mag, slightly more power potential, improved long range performance, .300
Weatherby or Remington Ultra Mag (see option 2 above).
Were it me, I would look hard at the .300WSM in option 3. I am cheap, so using common bullets and primers, maybe even powder, (4350's work well in both, H-414, too from what I hear). Nice short action, increased power without kicking me to death. Sort of dovetails with my future plan of adding a .270 Win to my tiny battery, which currently consists of a .270WSM and a 6.5x55 Swede. Common bullets and powders keep inventory at manageable levels which annoys my wife less, still provides good performance on big game. Probably a better varmint cartridge than my 6.5x55 with its' accursed SAAMI spec long throat. It can't shoot lightweight varmint bullets to save its' life, to my dismay.
Anyway, that's one way to look at it. Be sure to let us know which way you decide to go.