Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Long Range Hunting 30-06 vs. 7mm Mag, real world difference out to 700 yds?

Was talking with my gun mentor on the phone last night... we agree there's no rational reason to do this- I am plenty well armed to hunt mulies, I've got 'em surrounded as you say <g>-- but yeah, for what I want, the various factors do converge rather neatly on a 7wsm Montana or, in distant second, a M700 in that or 7SAUM.

Finding a doner is the next step. I might get lucky and find a 7WSM Montana that shoots but they are rare items so I'm just planning on finding a cheap one and retubing. Then I can have it throated for a particular bullet. Not sure if I've quite drunk the AMAX coolaid enough to throat a rifle for it... but maybe, as long as that doesn't make it wonky to run things like the 160 NAB. Some head scratching there involving ogive location.

THEN, I can flop down in the dirt, with rangefinder and a box of reloads, and see for myself if the ~$1200 I just spent actually does give me anything concrete over my 30-06! And then, go kill a mulie next fall..... at 250 yards... Lol...

Highly likely.....

the ol' 30-06 will handle any situations easily out to 250 yards...and I have done it many times with the 200 BBC loaded to 2800.....but for the Best of the West shots you will most likely need the big 7s...

Do they shoot far on Best Of The West? I don't watch snuff films hunting shows much....

Just to be clear, I've got my '06 dialed to way further than 250 yds. Bob and I joke about how hard one works to be able to shoot "far" (whatever that means)... but then you end up shooting much closer.

I thought I left my Benchmade (knife) up at my new shooting spot the other day so I zipped up there to check my shooting position. No love on the knife but I did shoot the '06 a bit. It was giving an 11" plate a pretty good talking-to at 550.

I only watched Best of the West a few times but those guys made shots further than I can see...650-900 yards...using 7 mags and 168 Berger bullets....on elk, grizzly, bighorn sheep and antelope...

650 is not outside my goal set but I really have no interest in a 900-yd shot on game.

That's not to knock those that do. There are some very talented people out there. And, absolutely top-notch gear has got to help.

I can hit rocks at 1200....with a coach and someone elses rifle.......

Dial me in!!

Was that the Greybull rifle, Bob?

Yes , Jeff.John's 264 lays them in there...that rifle is a hoot!

A good 30-06 can lay game on the ground at 650 for sure and for certain, but so can a lot of other cartridges. Pick one that "floats your boat" and don't look back

Wow...650 yards... I have never shot at anything that far...

Me either! Nothing living anyway. And I may never...

This is kind of an interesting thread, but what concerns me a bit is that this is really a discussion about the ability to hit a target at long range more than what's going to happen, when and if it happens. Target bullets like the Amax are fine for deer because almost any bullet will kill animals this small. If we are talking about anything bigger, there is a serious consideration that needs to be given to terminal bullet performance. The NABs or TTSX that some of the guys suggested are imperative for performance on larger game like elk, especially if angles are difficult (quartering away). Unless we are not shooting anything bigger than deer, the flight characteristics of real performance hunting bullets should be considered. I'm just stating my opinion as something I would see as important to responsibly taking large game.

For me- it's a deer rifle. I've got a couple good mule deer hunts coming up and have been obsessing over "the best" light sporter for open country mulies.

Your point is a good one. The Accubond is a bullet I trust, and the 160-gn wouldn't suck for this, not at all. The Amax is intriguieing but a bullet that soft does give me the willies a bit <g>. So, I agree.

beartrack: we were originally talking about deer....at least I was.

Bullets that are soft and come unglued at normal ranges tend to work very well and penetrate well at distance as the velocity subsides and does not over work the bullet