What are the advantages and disadvantages of each caliber? I mostly hunt whitetails but I would like to try mulies and elk in the future.

For just about any hunting situation I can think of, there's practically no difference in these two. I own and reload for both and would be confident with either for hunting the game you mentioned. Use a good quality bullet and you're set with either one.

I agree. There is not much difference when it comes to deer hunting. The pro's of the 7 Mag would be slightly better for flatt shooting. The pro's of the 30-06 would be heaviern bullets if you had the need. Both shoot plenty flat for ranges one should be shooting at game so its still a toss-up I prefer the 30-06, the next guy may prefer the 7MM. Take your pick.

James had written: The only thing that I can add, is that I was able to take an elk with my 30-06 at a measured 304 yards, but I believe that I was about at the limit of that caliber's "flat" shooting capabilities in my rifle, with my hand loads. If the bull had been at 375, I would've hesitated to use the 30-06, given the MV for which the cartridge could be loaded and the "holdover" that would've had to be used. With a hot loaded 7mmRemMag, that range could be stretched another 100 yards with little concern for bullet drop. The choice is yours, but for longer ranges on deer sized animals, I would opt for the 7mmRemMag or one of the other 7mmMag cartridges.

Flip a coin. I have owned a few 06's and now own a 7mm rem mag. I went with the 7mm for its flatter trajectories with the lighter bullets and and yet it still is very effective on moose also. One advantage that the 3006 would have is a more compact rifle with a shorter barrel.

it's a toss up, the 06 has two advantages 1)common and plentiful ammo(factory, reloadingall phases) 2)larger bullets(diameter and weight). The 7mag has the advantage of flatter trajectory.

Get the 7mm because the 06 is boring

In my limited experience with the 7mm RemMag, it appears that the 7mm recoils quite a bit more than the old .30-06. My buddy reloads for his 7mm mag as well as for .30-06, and he complains of short 7mm mag case life. He mentioned that the belt made re-sizing the case somewhat more difficult, although I am not quite sure why this is, since I've never reloaded a belted round.

If I needed a bit more reach I would probably pick the 7mm mag over the .30-06, but mos of my hunting shots have been under 200 yards, so the old '06 works fine for me.

I've shot deer with both. As far as terminal performance goes, there is no difference between the two.

I prefer the 30-06 b/c ammo is much, much cheaper (about $8-10/box in my area).

Also, with regards to trajectory. If you are good enough to be shooting at an animal at 400 Yds, you should be able to compensate for the difference in trajectory between the two at this distance, which is only a few inches.

I guess i see this differently than the others here. I've hunted a LOT with both, and the 7 mag with 175 NP's will out penetrate any NP i've ever tested out of an 30-06!!!

When it comes to those two choises,

For big bears i'd pick the 7 mag.!! For everything else, i'd pick the 30-06, and it's NOT because of the cal. !!

It's because the 30-06 normally comes in a "shorter, lighter" rifle than the 7 mag.!! That alone would get me to pick the 06 for most of my hunting!!

I've handloaded thousands of rounds for both, and i've NEVER seen any shorter brass life out of one over the other!! "If" your getting short brass life, you better look for the reason, like "too high of pressure"? "Improper resizeing die ajustment"??? ect......

Drilling Man