This is discussed a lot on this forum as well as every hunting and gun forum I' ve read. So, if you do a search and hang around here, you' ll get as many opinions as people who answer your question .

IMHO, for " Joe Just-wants-a-good-hunting-gun" as opposed to " Joe Makes-a-hobby-of-it-and-loves-ballistics-and-fine-tuning-performance" there is very little perceivable differences in what the 30-06, .270 and 7mm will do to an animal in the field. Yes there are differences in the three, but they are really " on the margins" for and a typical, even serious hunter probably won' t notice them very much at all, imho.

I' m " Joe Just wants" , but I' m not criticizing " Joe Makes a Hobby" - it is a great and interesting hobby and I learn a lot from him. I think he' ll weigh in on this too.

OTOH, the 30-30 I think is a significantly different type of gun, but won' t do much of anything the other three couldn' t do. If you have a slug gun, imho, one of the other three would give you a more versitile gun set than adding a 30-30 to a shotgun.

Even among those who have favorites, it seems almost universal agreement that the 30-06, .270 and 7mm are all extremely versitile guns. They are kind of the " Big Three" , along with the .308, of all around hunting guns.

There may be " ideal" guns for any given situation and game, but I think a strong case could be made that with shooting practice, familiarity with what the gun can and can' t do, and proper selection of scope/sights and bullet, all three (along with the .308) would work very well for anything you will probably hunt, from white tail in the woods, up to and including fairly long shots for moose and elk. All three (4)are reasonably comfortable to shoot.

I have a 30-06 with a 2/7 variable Leupold scope, and hunt moose and deer and hope to hunt elk and/ or antelope some day. I have absolutely no motivation to buy a different gun among those you mention, except maybe to have a back up. The gun has served me well in all situations I' ve encountered so far. The only *very small* second thoughts I' ve ever had is that a 7mm *might* be *slightly* better for a *small* number of situations I' ve encountered, without sacrificing anything except possible comfort in shooting it. That or a 300 win. mag., even more specialized for moose or elk, would probably be my second gun, if that ever happens. Just MHO, FWIW -zeke

Your right...everyone has a different opinion of what to use and what to buy. Take me for instance. I opted for a Henry Big Boy. I love the cowboy lure. So I bought a gun that looks good hanging on the wall and one that I have been told is sweet to shoot. I could have spent less and got a more practical gun but I love the look of this gun. It has iron sights. So when I get the big buck it will mean more to me because I did it the old fashion way!!! So to each his own.

BUY A REM SP 10 ... 10 GAUGE DEER OR ANY THING

BUY A REM SP 10 ... 10 GAUGE DEER OR ANY THING

4MSDeer,
You are getting a little feed back here, but first does your friends use shotguns?
I would never use a shotgun on deer! Unless the brush and tree' s are so thick you cant even see 10yds threw it. I would get a rifle, my choice is a .308! Then the .243.
These 2 calibers have alot of diffrent bullets you can get for them and weights. If you can handload for it or have a buddy that can the .308 has more bullets and loading recipes than I can count. Accuracy to several hundred yards.

I have had bad shotgun experiances. Mostly with using them on coyotes which I will never ever do again. Shotgun just doesnt have the ump for the job. I shot a coyote last year damn near point blank to the head, yep he dropped, but wasnt near dead. He laid there gagging for air, over and over. So I had to put another in him to stop the BS. I dont want know deer running off wounded for long periods of time still alive. Yes there is wounded deer by rifles,but you cannot say that a shotgun will penetrate or do better than a good caliber.

The Buckshot that was used on the gagging coyote was 2 3/4 high brass Tactical.
Which 2 3/4 has more ump than 3" or 3 1/2.

Let the flaming shotgunners begin.


Troy