7mm or 30-06 for the long shot?

7mm mags seem to be all the rage at my range lately, and their owners are shooting some really nice groups at 6 and 8 hundred. Myself just to be contrary just ordered a new barrel in 260 Remington, a lot less fatigue and better than decent ballistics.

30 -06 is a good old workhorse, was my cartridge of choice in the 70's and 80's
 
Tim, my 300 RUM weighs in around 20 lbs and has a very effective muzzle brake. The only problem is the cursing from the bench neighbors whenever it goes off :)
 
Out to 350-ish yards, both cartridges track together fairly well... so it won't make much difference.

After 400 yards, both cartridges are dropping like rocks:

- If you aren't ranging (either by registration points or laser) NEITHER cartridge will do much for you
- If you are ranging, EITHER cartridge will do just fine --and bullet energy on impact is the criteria

Personally, I'd take the `06.
 
One problem with 7mag and 30-06 is barrel twist in factory rifles since OP wants to shoot targets @ 1000yds and still hunt with rifle under 500yds.

That new Berger 7mm 195gr bullet needs a 8.5 twist and they saying 2800/2900fps little less than the 180gr with 30" long barrel.

I'm not saying it can't be done it's little harder than other calibers as some have pointed out from their own experience.
 
I have fired at paper as long as 1,000 yards away with .30-06 and .308 Win out of rifles that were <1 MOA shooters at 200 yds. I've even hit what I was shooting at, though no "X"s were harmed in the experiment.

The longest hunting shot I would take is <300 yards...I've hunted strictly for meat so I keep within distance I know I can hit within a 6-9" vital zone. All 6 of my hunting rifles (a .25-06, a 6.5x55 SE, 2 .308s, 2 .30-06s) shoot to <1 MOA at 200 yards...from a rest...while I am seated. As I do use shooting sticks or a bipod when hunting, if possible, or a decent field position seated or off my pack, frequently after a bit of a hike, sometimes uphill, in the cold with heavy clothing, I find my additional likely error is 1-2 MOA on top of the <1 MOA of the rifle. At 300 yards, that's a 9" circular error from my POA...about a deer's vital area. An elk's vitals might be 15-18", but I want reliable vital area hits, so even my elk shots will stay within 300 yards.

Now I actually practice from field positions using the equipment I'll take with me and, while I consider my self a pretty fair shot, to quote Dirty Harry, "a man's got to know his limitations." While I know, and have practiced with my rifles at various ranges with and without holdovers (I have RapidZ reticles on 4 of my rifles and duplexes on 2), I challenge most hunters (myself included) to distinguish 1-2" differential holdover at 275 to 300 yards...and that's the difference between the MBPRs of the .30-06 and the 7mm Rem Mag. I also find that the two rounds out of the same rifles (I've tried the 7mm magnum out of the M70 EW, the rifle I frequently use in .30-06) present me about the same felt recoil with 150 gr bullets.

Net, net, either caliber is a perfect match for hunting almost anything in North America, though if I was limited to Brown bear Country in the lower 48 or Alaska, I'd probably opt for either a .338 or .375 mag...not for distance but for hitting power. I have considerable personal experience with Rem, Win, Savage, and Ruger rifles and recommend all of them (as they have worked well for me). Pick either caliber, though the .30-06 will be marginally more flexible and cheaper because of the choice of components and weight of powder. Practice a lot, and think long and hard about your limitations as a guide to ranges for your shots.

Good luck.

FH
 
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Now Im not saying that at this point in time I can shoot 500+, because I do poorly, but want to learn. I may never get a 500 yard shot while hunting, but I would like to know I have the energy at that point to make the shot. This is what I ment about the 500 yard shot on game. I would, however like to start shooting out to those ranges.
 
mehavey says:
Standard 1:10 does fine in the 30 calibers -- from 150-220gr
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True, for factory sporters shooting game up to 200 or maybe 300 yards. Such rifle barrels are "twisted" for acceptable Hunting accuracy with a wide range of bullet weights at shorter ranges. For longer ranges, it depends on how fast a given bullet's fired at. Lighter ones are best with a slower twist. That is, if you want no worse than 1 MOA through 1000 yards. Groups don't keep their same MOA value from 100 to 1000 yards due to muzzle velocity spread and subtle winds down range.

For example, 147 to 155 grain 30 caliber spitzer boattails leaving 2900 to 3000 fps shoot most accurate through 1000 yards with a 1:13 or 1:14 twist. Any twist that's faster will often cause those with less than perfect balance to be less accurate. Benchresters shooting 30 caliber 135-gr. bullets out of small cartridges do best with a 1:15 to 1:17 twist.

Note the original M1903's .30-03 bullet was a 220-gr. round nose and 'twas fired from a 1:10 twist which is exactly what it needed. Three years later they changed to a 150-gr. spitzer but kept the same twist rate for .30-06 ammo. 33 years later, the M1 was designed with the same 1:10 twist but the standard bullet then was a 172-gr. spitzer boattail from the late 1920's which was more accurate than the original 150-grain spitzer and the new 150-gr. spitzer that replaced it a short time. 50 years after the .30-06's began using 150-gr. spitzers, the 7.62 NATO round was being developed at Remington. Mike Walker (and his engineers) decided a 1:12 was best for combat range rifle accuracy....even though its 147-gr. bullet left 100 fps or more slower. That's one reason why the M14's were more accurate out of the arsenals than the Garands were.
 
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boy now this needs some explaining. How do you come up with to much dead air space in a 7 mag case? How do you figure your going to have more air space in a 7mag then a 300 ultra or any other rifle round for that matter if your using a powder of the proper burning rate.
I have a 7mm Rem Mag. Too much dead-space in the case where ignitions can vary.

I went up a notch to the 300 Remington Ultra Magnum. With a great muzzle break, it kicks like a .308win. Superbly awesome rifle coming in at 7.75lbs with scope. Custom Remington 700.
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