When it comes to this discussion of 30 caliber being "more" of everything than 7mm and smaller stuff, I'm going to string along with JJ Hack,since i assume that's where he was headed without saying exactly so.
I did not have time to read everything in the thread.
I like and use 7mm's but think the reason they perform well is that the heavier bullet weights creep squarely into the middle 30 caliber range. You may end up with dead stuff with either but side by side and shot into enough animals, i think that a 30 caliber magnum with a 200 gr bullet is more gun than a 7mm shooting a 160 to 175 gr. Shoot enough animals with both and you will see more damage from the 30's,assuming bullet structure is the same. It simply has the advantage in bullet weight and expanded frontal area(cross section of expanded bullets).
I had some knowledgeable and very experienced trophy elk hunters tell me this back in the 1980's and made the observations many times myself using 300's on elk sized animals.
With heavy 30 caliber bullets at magnum velocities,these guys felt the 30 caliber magnums broke up heavy bone,penetrated more reliably,destroyed more tissue.
This does not mean I doubt the capabilities of 7mm magnums with good heavy bullets,since they work too, but I simply think the 30 caliber magnums with good 180-200 gr bullets are "more gun" based on what I've seen,assuming equally good bullets.
