Choosing caliber if you're going with one rifle only

Of the 3 you listed, I would recommend the 30-06 for the following reasons. 1st ammo is readily available in different weights. 2nd, it is inexpensive. 3rd the 30-06 will perform much better than the other 2 with weights of 190gr and up (good thing to have for moose and bear).

All in all, the 30-06 is a great cartridge that is suitable for almost all situations (its a bit rough on squirrels, groundhogs and such).

Whatever you choice, welcome back to hunting and may you be successful.
 
Did you consider the Weatherby Vanguard, the Howa 1500, and last but never least the Savage
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I did consider the Savage. I liked it second after the TC.

I didn't look at a Howa. And I am aware of the Weatherby Vanguard but was unable to find one to try out live fire. I did hold and play with one in a store. It wasn't fitted with a scope though. It felt good with seemingly good workmanship but I basically excluded any rifle I couldn't get my hands on to test.
 
30-06

Hands Down 30-06. Lots of versatility in ammo. You can go from 55 grain accelerator rounds all the way up 220 grain rounds. The 30-06 has killed pretty much every game animal on earth at least once. Plus, ammo availibilty, I don't know about where you live, but I can Find 30-06 ammo anywhere and everywhere that sells ammo.
 
I'd opt for the .308 cartridge, a choice predicated on the fact that the ballistics and general versatility of the round is very close to the fabulous 30-06; that the .308 is considered by many serious marksmen to be one of the more intrinsically accurate cartridges; that the cartridge and its attendant cases (due to its military heritage) will always be readily available to the general public and because the .308 can be chambered in rifles with shorter actions than .30-06 length ones. Though not quite as well-rounded in terms of bullet weight choices as the 30-06, the .308 can be found in factory iterations ranging from 110 grain to 200 grain bullets, a far greater selection in bullet weights than that offered by the 7mm-08.
Admittedly subtle and some might argue unimportant differences but enough of them for me to choose the .308 Winchester over the .30-06 Springfield and the 7mm-08. It should go without saying that you would be well-served with any of the three cartridges you have in mind for the purposes you envision.
 
From those, I'd go with .308 Win.

Widely available, inherently accurate, enough power.

But the chances that you'll stumble into a big game hunting opportunity like that is pretty slim. So in reality, I'd go for a .243 Win instead. It'll be better for all the stuff you're more likely to do.

The others beat up the shoulder too much just to shoot for fun, IMO.

If you hand load, everything changes, and .308 is great for everything.

"Well begun is half done."
-Aristotle
 
.308 WIN.... FTW!

I've taken down every large game species in North America with it except a griz (never hunted for one). It doesn't have all that much recoil IMHO and factory match ammo is cheaper and more widespread than the others if I recall.
 
My vote is 6.5x55 Swedish. Very good down range ballistics and power. Light recoil. Easy to reload.
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Against the rules! The op stipulated:

.308 Win
7mm-08
30-06

These are commonly available, reasonably priced with a wide variety of loads available commercially (I do not and probably will not ever reload), and all the rifles I'm considering can be had in all 3 calibers.

If you had to pick one of the 3 and only one of these 3 which would it be? Why?
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So play fair like the rest of us had to. :p
 
I would get whichever comes up at a good price in the rifle you like best, assuming ammo selection and prices are the same for you.

Personally it seems to me that .308 is available in a wider selection of ammo at a better price than even .30-06. I love the .30-06 and grew up hunting W&E Washington with one while my dad hunted with a .308. Both will take deer, black bear and elk. His furthest elk was 340 yds with one shot from the .308 using 180 gr PowerPoint. But most shots in Washington (West or Cascades at least) are going to be more like 100yds so it would make no difference which of the three cartridges you used.

With premium bullets available today I think you could take anything in NA except brown bear with 165 gr ammo (Partition, Accubond, etc.) in a .308. You can get rifles in .308 with a shorter action so you have a little less length on the bolt throw, and supposedly the shorter action is stiffer for better accuracy.

I would lean toward the .308, but the .30-06 is so close if I found a better deal in a rifle I liked I would go for it, too. Fit, feel and price would be more important than any of those three calibers in your situation.
 
I shoot two high power rifles with the same caliber a 7mm mauser which the 7mm-08 replaced and a 7mm Rem Mag. The mauser is for 50-300yd shots and the mag for shots in open country 200-500yd anything past that you are just
taking a chance on hitting it unless you have sniper training or have spent considerable time & ammo practicing at that range. My experience with my mag is 1 small entrance hole on mule deer and no exit hole. From what I have
seen with deer shot with 30-06 is a medium size entrance and huge exit hole.
I have had less meat damage with my Rem mag with about the same recoil as a 30-06.:)
 
You initially narrowed the field to three excellent choices.None of them would be wrong.As others have suggested,there are more good choices,but,it just does not matter.One great thing about shooting is we get to have our preferences.
Great about the 308,barrels last a long time,probably 4000-6000 of real good performance,then they still keep shooting.
There are a lot of good loads,but we have found WW brass,Varget powder and,for practice,168 gr Nosler Comps(a little cheaper than MK's),165 gr Ballistic tips for lighter game and the tougher,and expensive,165 gr Accubonds for elk works out well.Likely same zero,same ballistics for practical purposes.
You can be confident you chose well.(I would say the same for your short list)
 
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