I would think that there might also be some small effect on the "feel" of the recoil based on the burn rates of the powder used, and the amount of powder needed to develop the specified velocity.

i haven't read all the posts so someone may have mentioned this, but the browning and the remington in 7mm rem mag are both 26" bbls, the the browning is 22" in both '06 and 270 and the rem is 24" in '06 and 270. So as if you weren't already confused enough by looks and ballistics, now you have to consider handling, carry weight, and reloading issues. i shoot an A-Bolt in 26-06 and sometimes wish I had a little more barrel to burn all the 4831SC powder!

Are you kidding? The 7mm Rem Mag is one of the most popular deer cartridges, and it's in no way overkill, it's got a small bullet diameter, and I think it's the most "practical" magnum there is, 'cause when you get into .300 Win. Mag, and .338, you're starting to talk elk cals, but I wouldn't worry evenabout hunting with a .300 Win. Mag. on deer, either.

The 7mm Rem Mag, works for the vast majority of hunters, and the 7mm Rem Mag and the 30-06 are ballistically similar at 100 yards, but out to 300, the 7mm Rem Mag, is MUCH better.

It's a very practical choice, my dad has a 7mm Rem Mag, and it's no overkill. With a 4x12x40 scope on it, it's a great gun.

I don't think he's kidding at all, and I tend to agree with his statements. He did qualify it by the "vast majority" of hunters. I would bet that the "vast majority" of shots at deer in this country are taken at less than 150 yards. At 150 yards or less, for deer sized game, heck, even for moose, elk and caribou, a 7mm Mag is way more than what's needed to put the animal down humanely. The gentleman who asked the question said he's primarily hunting whitetails, and hogs up to 400-500 lbs, and he's suggested that he already knows that the three calibers (.270, .30-06, and 7mm Mag) he's trying to choose from will fill the bill for him with regard to trajectory and range. All three calibers will work just fine. But, there are penalties to be paid for choosing the 7mm Mag in the form of more recoil, more noise, more costly ammunition, and more unwieldy rifle (since the magnum barrels are usually a couple inches longer than on standard calibers). For the vast majority of shots, I'd agree that the 7mm Mag is overkill. The added power doesn't make for more humane kills on this type of game at usual ranges(i.e 300 yards or less), the recoil is not pleasant, the cost of ammo is ridiculous, etc.

If you're one of those rare hunters that takes 400-500 yard shots, then, maybe you need the slightly flatter trajectory of the 7mm, but, for most instances, the standard calibers will work just fine.

For what it's worth, to the original poster, I'd also take a serious look at the "short-action" cartridges as well. .308, 7mm-08, .260, and even the .243 will all do the job you've described.

7mm Rem Mag, isn't in any way, overkill. Not even shooting a deer at 100 yards with a .338 is overkill, it's just more power to the cartridge, and why do pople worry about overkill anyway? You've killed a deer, and you can't hurt it anymore now, there is no such thing as overkill.

Recoil? My dad's Browning A-Bolt 7mm Rem Mag, kicks as much as my Remington673 .308.
His has the BOSS system, and strangely, the noise wasn't that horrendous as we thought it was going to be, sure, no doubt it was the loudest of the guns we had, but if you have hearing protection, or are taking one shot at a deer, it's no problem.

Sure, ammo is more expensive, but the 7mm Rem Mag, has no downfall, other than the fact that the ammo is more expensive, but the 7mm Mag, IMO, had pleseant recoil, and I would like to try a .300 Win Mag someday.

There is a satisfaction that comes with versatility, and because of the 7mm Rem Mag's longer case, it's able to have very wide loads available in factory ammo.

And if you're making a 200 yard shot, there will be a difference in ballistics immediately, compared to the .308,and the 30-06.


I, most of all, would say that you can't go wrongwith the 30-06 or the 7mm Rem Mag, and personally, I would pick the 30-06, because it has more mass, and, honestly, I'm a .30 cal fan, but saying the 7mm Rem Mag is overkill is just plain ignorance, IMO.
The bullet caliber of the 7mm Rem Mag is smaller than that of the 30-06, actually, since the 7mm Rem Mag is either a .277 or a .284, I forget which, whereas the 30-06 has a .308 diameter.

It just doesn't make sense to say that the 7mm Rem Magnum is overkill, why they labeled it "magnum", I'm not sure, I guess 'cause of the cartridge stucture in comparison to the other cartridges at the time of the 7mm RemMag's arrival.

BTW, I think the .308, 7mm-08 are great cartridges, and if he still wants the power of the long action, with a smaller bullet, and satisfactory recoil, he could also get a 25-06, I hear Ruger makes a good one.

I don't mean any offense, in case you might find something offensive in my post.