30-06 or 7mm
 

I am getting a new rifle for elk hunting in eastern Oregon and wanted to know if i should go with a 30-06 of 7mm, i am looking at the Thompson/center venture in both calibers, any suggestions would be helpful.

I have always considered the .30-06 and the 7mm Rem mag equals in most respects.

The .30-06 however is available in featherweight models and is somewhat less costly for ammo....There probably isn't a more versatile cartridge than the .30-06.....you can never go wrong with one of these.

What other calibers do you own ?

7MM = as flat as a .270 and hits like a .30-06


However;

"There probably isn't a more versatile cartridge than the .30-06" Vapo

I own a 270 win, and i was thinking about just using it to hunt elk, but i was also thinking i might want a dedicated elk rifle.

How much have you shot a 7mm Rem Mag? The recoil is more than a 30-06, and you may not be as accurate with a higher recoil firearm. You don't want to develop a flinch.

Why not just stick with the .270 ?

Dezmick,

A .270 & a .30-06 is what some call a "perfect pair".

http://www.chuckhawks.com/perfect_pair.htm


IMO a VERY GOOD place to start...............................


However, I now have a "line-up" of dedicated rifles for the game their intended to take (2 schools of thought).

.............and I still don't own a .270 or a .30-06.

I honestly don't know why people think chuck hawks (or any of the writers on his web site) knows anything more than any average Joe. His site is quoted endlessly but I have yet to see any value to his articles that couldn't be obtained from almost any other gun writer (including the many, many internet experts) on the planet.

This is a good example. I have seen a Perfect Pair, and believe me this guy is missing the boat!

Kidding aside, a .270 with the right bullet is an effective elk rifle and to significantly improve on it you would have to go just a little further up than either a .30-06 or a 7mm. I would look at a .300 Win Mag as the next logical step up, but if I had to choose between a .30-06 and a 7mm Rem Mag - I would choose the .30-06.

Both are equally good choices for larger game in my opinion.

I killed my bull this year with a .35 Whelen. 225 grain partitions at 2700+ FPS and at 300 yards by shooting just under it's top back profile it killed the elk dead with the first shot.....Down like a flash. Does that make it a dedicated elk rifle?.....it sure has the energy at that range and a couple hundred yards further.

I'm already working on next years elk rifle.....a .280 Remington using 175 grain a-frames (or accubonds ....to be determined). It too will deliver 1500 ft-lb of energy at 500 yards and will be a fair bit lighter than the whelen. I have a lot of load development to do and a lot of practice (it's a bitch of a job but someone has to do it:D) and I'm very confident that if a good shot is presented, it too will put them down on a single shot..... (BTW....both are M-98 rifles)

One can look to the .338-06 or even the .338 Magnum for a dedicated elk rifle.....or even a lot more like the .375 H&H but you won't have a more appropriate rifle.

I've beat this thing to smitherenes and can't really come up with a better round as a dedicated elk rifle than the old .30-06!!!!!

Load it with good 180 grain bullets.....get a good 1500 yard range finder (at least 1500 yards) which I'd recommend with any rifle, a good pair of shooting sticks and learn it's trajectory all the way to 500 yards. You'll kill as many with this rifle and load as anyone with a lot more gun.....and the .30-06 is available in featherweight rifles and is easy to load for. I get 2800 FPS with 180 grain accubonds in my 22" barreled M-70 in .30-06 and so can you. It still has nearly 1500 ft-lb of energy at 500 yards and that's good enough for elk.

More and more it's less the rifle and cartridge that "getserdone" it's the shooter.....can he judge range? (the rangefinder is necessary) and does he know his rifle? and can he actually shoot it?.....The .30-06 takes some practice but is still not too hard to manage.......and it works.....( so will the 7mm Mag)

The .270 is good to 400 yards.....a bit short of the .30-06 but still may be good enough for you.....

If you want to buy a rifle and dedicate it to elk hunting....you could do a lot worse than the old .30-06 but don't buy one, stick it in the safe, wait until the week before you go hunting and sight it in and expect to get your elk.....It just don't seem to work that way!

BTW....a used Rem 700 for about $400 give or take is about the best one can get.....you don't have to spend a lot of cash!

if you currently own a 270 win, you have an adequate elk rifle imo. if you want a dedicated elk rifle, neither you nor the elk will be able to tell the difference between an 06' and a 7mmremmag in "killing power". throw a few to your shoulder and buy the one that feels the best. or you could practice some more with that 270 win, get her sighted in with 150 grain partitions, and kill every elk you see within 400 yards. good luck with your decision.

Dezmick,


Maybe this will help you;

http://elkhunter2.tripod.com/rifle.html

I you reload it is 6 of 1, 1/2 dozen of the other. They are very similar in on game performance. If you are buying factory ammo I would go with the 06. 7mm Rem mag ammo is approx 50% more expensive when comparing the same type bullet.

I do lean toward the 30 caliber bullets or larger for bigger game like elk if I have a choice. As others have mentioned though you 270 will be a good choice for elk out to 400 yards with the right bullet.

Look at the specs. Velocity between the two are so close it doesn't matter. If you reload they are even closer according to some reloading manuals. The 06 barrel will last longer, ammo is cheaper. If ya reload it is a lot cheaper. I can get all the 06 cases I want for almost free.

.270 should be fine. Just max load with a premium bullet like a Barnes X.

If you really want something suited for Elk, why not a .300 Win mag.? Really, the .270, 7mm Rem mag. and 30/06 are so close it is hard to see a clear advantage to any of them. 7mm has a slight ballistic edge, but not all that much.

My thoughts exactly.

rh stage 2
 

no pun intended, i wouldnt use any thing but a 300 win mag fer starters , unless ur hunt would be guaranteed ur shots would be within 100 yds with a ot 6 or a 270 my friend u need to anchor that puppy down not wound it ,nor track it fer hours , the key word hear is dead is dead , wounding a animal such as a elk with a round that wont take it down and u will regret it :throw:

I've seen elk wounded with a lot bigger calibers. Ya'll need to understand one thing!

SHOT PLACEMENT IS EVERYTHING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Learn to shoot your rifle.

Elk are not armor plated.

Elmer Keith died long ago along with his raking shot. That philosophy was BS to begin with. If you can't shoot it won't matter if you take a 50 cal. with you.

This is a fantastic discussion. I was lucky to draw a tag to hunt elk in western pennsylvania, now they may be 100 pounds shy of roosevelt elk size but 800-900 pounds is not too scoff at. I put one hole in my elk with a 150gr partition in 280 rem puttering along at a pitiful 2800 fps. The shot placement was a high shoulder at 150 yds in brush. The animal stuttered took two steps and feel down. Now I am an AVID 7mm fan, I only own one other centerfire in a caliber in something other than a 7, but....guess what it is....an '06. If you are not recoil sensitive and dont mind 24 inch+ spouts, a 7 mag is hard to beat. A 280, for me is better, I feel just as confident with my 280. But the '06 hole is not much bigger and it does have some nostalgia.

and like Blackelk said...SHOT PLACEMENT IS EVERYTHING!!!

get something right in the middle. get a 280rem. no one has added that. used to own one in a older rem 742 i think it was. to bad the guns i like don't come in that caliber.

i live and hunt oregon,my prefrence is the 30-06 because of versitility.the 270 will work well here as long as ya remember your shot placement.unless your shooting 400 yrds and up your fine.