Trading my 7mm REM mag for 30-06

[Harri63]

Good afternoon,
I just have a question for yall. I have a Remington 700 BDL in 7mm REM mag and it getting a little expensive to feed. I was wondering if I would be better served if I traded it for a Remington 700 BDL in 30-06? I never have owned a 30-06 so this would be my first one. I primarily hunt White Tail in Mississippi and Alabama but I am getting in to elk and mule deer hunting. My land here is old cow pastures and 500 yard shots can be common. I would appreciate any advice you could give me. Have a blessed day.

 

[OsoMountain]

Carlos Hathcock and Robert Redford approve.

 

[The Harbor Master]

Hmmm... need something cheaper than 7mm but capable of 500yds... why not .243? 6.5CM if you're not sold on smaller calibers?

.30-06 can be cheaper than 7mm sometimes but premium stuff for either are pretty comparable in price.

 

[Harri63]

Hmmm... need something cheaper than 7mm but capable of 500yds... why not .243? 6.5CM if you're not sold on smaller calibers?

.30-06 can be cheaper than 7mm sometimes but premium stuff for either are pretty comparable in price.

I just like the bigger bore calibers

 

[cnelk]

Do you reload?
That will cut the cost down

 

[Harri63]

Do you reload?
That will cut the cost down

Going to buy a press this year but haven’t yet. I know that will cheapen it up a good bit. As of. Right now I am shooting 7mm rem mag hsm 160 gr sgk and will transfer to the 180gr in 30-06 in the same ammunition. Its about half the price.

 

[cnelk]

^^ I reload 180gr in my ‘06

 

[CorbLand]

How many rounds a year do you generally shoot?

 

[jayhawk]

You can’t go wrong with a 30-06. You’ll probably like shooting it more than that 7mm mag too

 

[Harri63]

^^ I reload 180gr in my ‘06

What velocity do you get and how do you like it?

 

[cnelk]

What velocity do you get and how do you like it?

I haven’t ran them (180gr Hornandy Interlocks) thru the chrono

But they kill shit

 

[RWT]

How many rounds do you shoot a year?. If you want practice more and increase round count you won’t shoot more than 10-15 rounds of 06 in a session. If big bores are your thing drop to a 308. Practice ammo is less expensive and less recoil. You will shoot more/ practice more with less recoil.
You can find 308 for less than $1 per round. Then buy the good stuff to hunt with.

 

[rickyw]

I shoot my 30-06s regularly, typically monthly or twice monthly. 30ish rounds per session is fairly common. My go to load right now is Speer boat tail soft points, starline brass, 57g H4350, 2800 fps.

308 would definitely be nicer and cheaper to shoot.

 

[Jusgunn3]

Re barrel to 300wm

 

[sdupontjr]

I was in that boat as well. Don't shoot my 7 mag as much as I use to, but reloading helped "some", not much. Picked up the kids 308 and starting messing with it, bought myself 2 of them. Now that's pretty much all I shoot. So now instead of 71g of H1000 powder, I run 45.3g of 8202xbr and 49g of Varget. Cheaper on Powder, but primers, brass and such is about the same. Plus my shoulder thanks me for doing it.

You could easily drop to smaller caliber and achieve what your thinking.

 

[Speaks]

I cant imagine performance being much different in any way that matters between the two out to 500. If it saves enough in ammo cost to make it worth it go for it. Personally if staying with the classics I would prefer a 270 to either of them but not like it makes a huge difference.

 

[Harri63]

How many rounds a year do you generally shoot?

Used to be a few hundred maybe down to 150 ish now since kids

 

[CorbLand]

Used to be a few hundred maybe down to 150 ish now since kids

The question at that round level is “is it worth the hassle of trading and starting over to maybe save yourself a couple hundred bucks a year?”

 

[Xycod]

06 is preferred imo cost or not, it’s better now that’s it’s ever been with some of the new powders. Also rem’s have plenty of room to play with in their mags. Load to the same pressure as 308 and you’ll find out how capable it is, you can safely and with not much effort reach win mag box velocity’s. 168’s in the 3k plus to 3100 range and 180s in the 2900s. Barnes harvest has a factory 180 at around 2880 to 2900. It’s one of the few rounds that lives up to and surpasses the hype.

 

[UnckleBob]

Going to buy a press this year but haven’t yet. I know that will cheapen it up a good bit. As of. Right now I am shooting 7mm rem mag hsm 160 gr sgk and will transfer to the 180gr in 30-06 in the same ammunition. Its about half the price.

Reloading is always more expensive if you factor in all the costs. Reliaders always felt nd s wsy yo spend more.

But, I get custom ammo and I enjoy doing it.