...but would you have hunted those things with a 30-06? Sure, there are things you should hunt with a 338/340/375, but but they're in a different class of cartridges than the 6.5x55 to 30-06. The question is not whether the 340 WM is more powerful than the 6.5x55 - it certainly is - but whether the critters we choose to hunt with the 30-06 show any greater effects with the '06 than the 6.5.

I always believed the bigger hole made a quicker kill, but look at Mule Deer's 24 Jan 07 post on the Scandinavian alg study (the comments are his):

Code
Scandinavian Moose (Alg) Study, per John Barsness in 24-Hour Campfire			
24-Jan-07			

This is not about bullet construction. Here are some of the
 numbers from the Norwgian moose survey:			

Cartridge	Animals	# of Shots	Moose Travel*
6.5x55 	          2,792	   1.57	             43
7mm Rem. Mag. 	    107	   1.32	             40
.308 WCF	  1,314	   1.67	             41
.30-06 	          2,829	   1.57	             47
.300 Win. Mag. 	     27	   1.83	             16
8x57 	            575	   1.53	             57
.338 Win. Mag. 	     83	   1.20	             31
.358 Norma 	    219	   1.16	             19
9.3x57	            134	   1.50	             41
9.3x62 	            449	   1.50	             34
.375 H&H 	    211	   1.33	             31

*how far moose went after first shot			

This list makes the .300 and .338 Winchester Magnums lok pretty
 good--but note the low number of moose killed with each. 			
Also the .358 Norma beats the .338--and with a more statisically
 significant number.			
The two calibers with the most valid statistics are the 6.5x55
 and .30-06. Look at those closely.


There doesn't appear to be any real difference between the 6.5x55 and the 30-06, which is why I asked the question - what effects make the '06 preferable?

Jaywalker