The difference between the muzzle velocities of the "standard" 180-grain factory loads in the .300 Winchester Magnum and the .30-06 is 260 fps, which is about as much velocity as the .300 Winchester 180-grain load loses in the first 100 yards, given the BC of the average 180-grain bullet.
This is also about the difference when enthustiastic handloaders load each cartridge up pretty warmly.
In other words, the difference between the .30-06 and .300 Winchester Magnum is about 100 yards. Yet somehow many .300 WM fans are willing to shoot at elk 600+ yards away, but don't think the .30-06 is "adequate" (that wimpy word) past 250 or 300 whatever number they come up with.
This anomaly always puzzles me whenever this subject comes up, especially since I have shot some elk with both cartridges.
One guy who got into this discussion previous threads even went so far as to state that he had taken "almost 10 elk" with the .300 Winchester, and that it killed a LOT better than the .30-06. (What is "almost 10?" Nine? Eight? Even six would be closer to 10 than zero.) He said the elk he'd shot with the .30-06 traveled an average of 100 yards farther than those he shot with the .300 before keeling over.
This was very different than my own experience, since none of the elk I've shot with the .30-06 have even anything close to 100 yards. So I pressed him for details. It turned out that by the time he started using a .300 he'd also started going for spine/shoulder shots. Well, yeah, elk shot through the lungs will go farther than elk shot through the spine, no matter what the cartridge.
To some guys the difference between a .300 Winchester and a .30-06 will always be like the difference between a Volkswagen bug and a Ferrari, despite what Bob Hagel called "cold, hard ballistics."
