308? 30-06? or 7mm rem mag?

[Ericbc7]

30 cal Tikkas are all 1:11 twist so 180 grainers are close to the limit for stability for longer range style bullets. I believe the 7mm’s are 1:9.5 which limits you to around 165 for best stability. Within those limits, both calibers have excellent options but factory Tikkas wont send the really efficient long range bullets acurately (probably). The good news is You will probably like to shoot your Tikka so much that you will eventually shoot the barrel out so you can rebarrel it with any twist you like!

 

[oldskool67]

30-06. Back to back World War Champion

 

[Lucci]

I am in the exact same boat and looking at the same calibers. I’ve gotten the same responses as you. I personally like how flat the 7mm RM shoots. But I have no real western hunting experience yet! Just my opinion I’ve gathered over all my research I’ve done thus far.

 

[waba520]

thanks everyone!

 

[Luvbowhuntn]

a 140gr Accubond out of a 7mm-08 Tikka is bad medicine for any animal in North America short of the big bears and is plenty rifle for 500yds. The plus side is with its very mild recoil you will shoot it a lot more than you will the 7mag or the 300wm. A well practiced shooter holding a 7mm-08 is a helluva lot deadlier than the guy that shoots his 300wm only occasionally due to the major amount of recoil

 

[hskrhntr]

I am in the exact same boat and looking at the same calibers. I’ve gotten the same responses as you. I personally like how flat the 7mm RM shoots. But I have no real western hunting experience yet! Just my opinion I’ve gathered over all my research I’ve done thus far.

I shoot a 7mm Rem Mag and really like it. You're right about flat shooting. I sight it at 2" high at 100 which puts me in the kill zone to 300 with a mid body hold on a whitetail. Very nice for situations where you can't get the range finder out. The thing is, 300 yds is a long shot...400 is a really long shot in a hunting situation so I don't feel like the ballistic advantages are necessary for most hunting situations. I just won a lighter weight 308 in a raffle so I'm setting it up to hopefully be my go to rifle on deer and elk. It will do everything I need it to out to 400...which is plenty.

Getting back to the OP...you can't go wrong with any of those choices. All will give you the results you want with the right load. Don't stress too much over it. You'll be happy with whichever one you choose. Good luck!

 

[_Scooter_]

I just went through the same dilemma. .308, .270, .30-06, 7mm RemMag, etc. After a month of going back and forth, asking everyone I know that hunts, scouring numerous message boards and reading a bunch of articles I came to this conclusion...as someone new to hunting and rifles (I own other firearms but have never owned a rifle, never been hunting) it really isn't going to make a huge difference what you go with.

I went with the .30-06 simply because of the greater variety of ammunition available in regards to bullet weights. .30-06 is probably also the one caliber where you can find cartridges in literally any shop or hardware store no matter how remote or off the beaten path.

I ordered a Winchester Model 70 Extreme Weather SS yesterday in .30-06. I've had some tell me I should have gone with a .270, other buddies who own .308's said I should have bought a .308, while others have chimed in and said the .30-06 was a great choice for someone who wants just one rifle and one caliber to be able to grow with and hunt literally anything in North America. I have no aspirations to do any long range hunting, either.

After all the research and reading and asking other's opinions I came to the conclusion that it really doesn't matter for someone new to rifles and hunting. But take what I've written with a grain of salt because like I said I'm new to rifles and dont even have the rifle in my hands and haven't shot it yet. But I think many of us get too caught up in the smallest of details and tend to lose sight of the big picture. All of those calibers will do what you want and the gear you end up with is almost certainly more accurate than we are as new hunters.

 

[slowelk]

I just went through the same dilemma. .308, .270, .30-06, 7mm RemMag, etc. After a month of going back and forth, asking everyone I know that hunts, scouring numerous message boards and reading a bunch of articles I came to this conclusion...as someone new to hunting and rifles (I own other firearms but have never owned a rifle, never been hunting) it really isn't going to make a huge difference what you go with.

I went with the .30-06 simply because of the greater variety of ammunition available in regards to bullet weights. .30-06 is probably also the one caliber where you can find cartridges in literally any shop or hardware store no matter how remote or off the beaten path.

I ordered a Winchester Model 70 Extreme Weather SS yesterday in .30-06. I've had some tell me I should have gone with a .270, other buddies who own .308's said I should have bought a .308, while others have chimed in and said the .30-06 was a great choice for someone who wants just one rifle and one caliber to be able to grow with and hunt literally anything in North America. I have no aspirations to do any long range hunting, either.

After all the research and reading and asking other's opinions I came to the conclusion that it really doesn't matter for someone new to rifles and hunting. But take what I've written with a grain of salt because like I said I'm new to rifles and dont even have the rifle in my hands and haven't shot it yet. But I think many of us get too caught up in the smallest of details and tend to lose sight of the big picture. All of those calibers will do what you want and the gear you end up with is almost certainly more accurate than we are as new hunters.

You went with the Winchester EW? Sounded like you were set on a Tikka. To be honest I wanted an EW but my local Sportsman's was taking forever to get one, so I ended up with my first Tikka in 7mm mag, and now five Tikkas later I still sort of want an EW.

I think 30-06 is an excellent choice for absolutely everything. 150gr to 180gr, and even heavier if you handload, will cover absolutely everything on the planet. If you do get the tikka, replace the stock pad immediately.

 

[_Scooter_]

You went with the Winchester EW? Sounded like you were set on a Tikka. To be honest I wanted an EW but my local Sportsman's was taking forever to get one, so I ended up with my first Tikka in 7mm mag, and now five Tikkas later I still sort of want an EW.

I think 30-06 is an excellent choice for absolutely everything. 150gr to 180gr, and even heavier if you handload, will cover absolutely everything on the planet. If you do get the tikka, replace the stock pad immediately.

Thats one of the reasons I went with the Model 70 EW. After factoring in replacing the stock and what not I might as well just get the Model 70.

 

[Colbyqueso]

Just pulled the trigger on EW 7mm mag. Have you found a good round for it?

 

[TheGDog]

I went with a .308 Win. And it's not all that bad for recoil. And for just Hunting... yeah.. even when you do mess up once in a blue moon and get up a little close on the scope, such as due to weird extreme lean-in angle to a rock the rifle happened to be sitting upon when you needed to stealthily lean-over and grab it up like a ninja, so the deer wouldn't hear ya... even though I felt that the scope whacked my brow a lil bit due to that extreme awkward lean-in angle... I totally didn't notice it in that moment. Your Adrenalin has ya all amped up! Wasn't til next day when woke up and looked in the mirror and was like "Oh... Hello!" lil shiner forming in corner of eye.

And that was with 168gr Barnes TTSX. Go out and look at the numbers... there's very little difference tween '06 and -08 in terms of energy. The -08 is only slightly less, like an amount not worth quibbling about. And oooweee it struck down that Muley like a Lightning Bolt from Zeus himself! It was impressive!

Go with the .308 Win. You'll always be able to get ammo for it. Do 150gr for deer, 168gr for the bigger stuff. The like 140 or so Lbs 1st deer I got with the 168gr.... had like a 6" circle of bloodshot around the Entry-Wound though. Wasteful, a lil overkill.

And heck... Mr Randy Newberg will tell ya... any caliber you can kill a deer with, you can kill an Elk with. Even .243 he said.

And I'll tell ya... with as much as I've been enjoying both the smaller .223 Rem and .17 HMR lately. I've seriously been considering getting a .243 Win to be a new rifle for my boy to bring on the hunts we'll do together now since he has his license now. Been strongly consider switching over to that .243 Win as a one round solution. Varmints/Yotes/Muleys owhateverBoth clavicles have their "unique custom-bend shapes to them. One with Titanium, the other had an ArthroScopic surgery to do a Sub Acromonial decompression. And with the "custom bend" to my collarbone, the contact patch for the butt of the stock is like only resting on a patch about the size of like a 50-cent piece against my claviclin contact patch. So it can get a little toasty at times after a box or so.

I've always found the .30-30 nice and pleasant... and the charts show the .243 Win less recoil than a .30-30, so I'm like win-win! Figure still keep the .308 for this one area where they present themselves between 200-650yds, but that's a rare case scenario for me. I'm typically sitting on a close-quarters ambush of 25-to-45 yds tops in thick stuff. Where really just about anything will work up that close. Bow did. So now even been considering getting something like a Ruger 77/44 .44 Mag or even a nice long wheel-gun in .44 Mag for this thicker area.

 

[Where's Bruce?]

I couldn't hit shit at 500 yards before I put a muzzle brake, Timney trigger, aftermarket buttpad and big glass (NF SHV) on my 300WM. Now I'm ringing steel at 1000 yards repeatedly. Before the mods, I hated shooting that damn rifle, it hurt me to shoot and after 3 rounds I was unhappy. It's not the caliber, it's the way you set up the rifle. Whatever you select, ya gotta make it your own.

 

[TheGDog]

Whose rockin' the "Coke nail" holdin' up the rifle in the photo? (HA!)

 

[Breddoch]

I went through the 1 rifle for everything decision about 3 years ago and landed on the 7mm mag with a 160 accubond and I have no regrets. I am however a big fan of the 30-06. Don’t stress over it, there is not a wrong decision between those 2.

 

[mvrk28]

Just went through this with my younger brother, he was looking at a plethora of rifles. Mostly between 308, 30-06 and 7mm Mag. Ended up with a Weatherby Vanguard Stainless in 7mm Mag and got it brand spanking new for like $570.

 

[4Cody4]

I don’t have near the experience of anybody who has commented here. But I am an experienced hunter, but my background was birds. I found quickly that I didn’t handle recoil well and as a result didn’t enjoy going to the range. I had a tikka .270 that I shot horribly.

I ended up getting a .308 in a modestly heavy platform. I love shooting that rifle at the range and I have seen better results on the paper. I have more practice to do, but I don’t dread the time sitting behind it and it is already making me more comfortable at the idea of taking game. I’m more comfortable shooting this rifle to 300 than something that shoots flatter because I’ve quickly become more proficient with it and feel like I am more likely to deliver good shot placement.

 

[Bluumoon]

I went .308 for my elk rifle. Found a Barrett fieldcraft at a good price, lightest most accurate rifle I could afford. .308 seemed like a good option in a gun that light, if I was going to carry a heavier gun either way I would have gone w a magnum round.

 

[Dalen88]

im not a very experienced rifle guy but 5 years ago i was getting into hunting and i was told to get a tikka in a 7mm rem mag, love the tikka but now from what i have learned since i wish i would have got a lighter caliber, im sensitive to recoil and have leaned you dont need such a large caliber to kill animals, made me flinch alot and have had to install a break to help me shoot better. Wish i would have got a 7mm-08 or a 308

 

[thinhorn_AK]

I just went through the same dilemma. .308, .270, .30-06, 7mm RemMag, etc. After a month of going back and forth, asking everyone I know that hunts, scouring numerous message boards and reading a bunch of articles I came to this conclusion...as someone new to hunting and rifles (I own other firearms but have never owned a rifle, never been hunting) it really isn't going to make a huge difference what you go with.

I went with the .30-06 simply because of the greater variety of ammunition available in regards to bullet weights. .30-06 is probably also the one caliber where you can find cartridges in literally any shop or hardware store no matter how remote or off the beaten path.

I ordered a Winchester Model 70 Extreme Weather SS yesterday in .30-06. I've had some tell me I should have gone with a .270, other buddies who own .308's said I should have bought a .308, while others have chimed in and said the .30-06 was a great choice for someone who wants just one rifle and one caliber to be able to grow with and hunt literally anything in North America. I have no aspirations to do any long range hunting, either.

After all the research and reading and asking other's opinions I came to the conclusion that it really doesn't matter for someone new to rifles and hunting. But take what I've written with a grain of salt because like I said I'm new to rifles and dont even have the rifle in my hands and haven't shot it yet. But I think many of us get too caught up in the smallest of details and tend to lose sight of the big picture. All of those calibers will do what you want and the gear you end up with is almost certainly more accurate than we are as new hunters.

that’s a good gun, I have a EWSS in 30-06 myself and it’s one of my favorite rifles. Tikkas are nice (I have a few) but the Winchester extreme is a nicer rifle. its not a lightweight mountain rifle, I think mine is like 8lb 2oz all up but it sure does shoot well.

 

[Ondavirg]

I like my 308. Like many have said, the lighter the rifle, the lighter the round for me.