I have my eye on two Classic Model 70’s in either 7mm WSM or .30-06. Any advice y’all have would be appreciated. Thanks

I like the old .30/06, they feed really smoothly, and that's good enough for me. Someone else's opinion might vary from mine, of course, but is there anything you can't do with an '06 in this country? My Classic shot really well, and killed stuff real dead, too.

Of course, so will the 7mm WSM, but that's why Winchester made both, to give options.

Unless you're a proper looney, get the 06. Ammo is abundant, there's quite a variety, and it can be cheap.

30-06 is never a wrong choice.

The only hing that concerns me about the WSM is ammo availability, both factory and reloading.

Of the two go 30-06. Way more components available.
GreggH

I would get the 30-06.Not that the 7WSM is a bad cartridge,but the 30-06 has many advantages as previously stated.The 7WSM may beat it at longer distances,but with the powders and bullets available today,the 30-06 is better than ever.I think it hits as hard or maybe even a little harder than my 7mags which are more comparable to the 7WSM.The 30-06 also offers a wider range of bullet weights too.

No brainer, the fact you asked for opinions only proves it. You can buy 30-06 ammo anywhere at about anytime for a reasonable price. If you got to buy a 7 make it a 7mm Rem mag cause you can buy it anywhere relatively cheap. I keep up ok with what ammo costs you can buy 4 boxes of wallyworld blue box Federal 06 loads for maybe the cost of 2 boxes of 7 wsm if you can even find whizzums. The 7 wsm for a factory load shooter will be a god damned headache to keep fed compared to the 30-06 especially these days. You asked and I gave you the straight of it. MB

Get the .30/06.

Unless it’s an election year! First time in history more 7WSM on the shelves than ‘06. Sportsman’s Warehouse was EMPTY. 2 boxes of Barnes 180’s and a box of Scirocco

Crazy.

You mean right next to the 280 rem ammo...

What'ya gonna be shooting?

Between the two, I'd chose the 7mmWSM. It'll shoot flatter than the 30-06, and can easily take anything short of the big bears.

If the rifle is for hunting whitetails (just a guess based on your location), though, I'd say both cartridges are way overkill.

I believe Mule Deer has or had an excellent 7mm WSM, so not a bad cartridge. But like a bad habit, you’ll have plenty of experience feeding it due to ammo and case availability. Of the short fat mags, the .300 WSM and maybe .270 WSM are the only ones that will stay in production.

I think the 7mm WSM has a lot going for it, except as already mentioned, ammo and component availability. If you handload and don't mind the wrong headstamp, you can form it from one of the other WSM cases. 30-06 is the pragmatic choice. If you can swing it, could buy both.

There was a little bit of Nosler 280AI.

30-06, an I'm not it's biggest fan by far.

But, there is a reason it is the baseline every other cartridge In class
is judged by.


Let me get a screaming deal on either of those, I'm buying.
But the 7 would cost me a lot more to get up and running.

Some of the Win 70,s in WSM had chamber issues.

https://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php/topics/14246721/2/winchester-70-issue

.30-06

.30-06 for my thoughts.

7mm WSM...for the cool factor.

I have 2 .30-06's and they haven't seen daylight in years. The 7 WSM goes with me everywhere.

I have a 30-06 and a 300wsm....

My 30-06 can do anything my 300wsm can do. And it can do it with less recoil.

I would say... if you hand load. You can load the 7wsm to fit any need you have and I would buy the 7wsm

If you don't hand load. Buy the 30-06.

I say 30/06 , I hunted with a M77 30/06 for a long time. But what do I know , I own 2 7mm SAUM's and love em .

A 30-06 is very likeable, if you already have one as most people do a 7 WSM could be fun to experiment with.

30-06...all day, every day

I have a 7SAUM, but likely out of those 2 I'd buy the 30-06. Seems like a perfect fit in a Model 70

Thanks all!

The “ammo at the store” argument is the silliest and most elementary argument in the history of ever, even though it’s valid. If I need ammo because somehow it got separated from my gun, it’s just as easy to borrow somebody’s gun that I’m around or use the spare gun that’s in my truck for what I need. If I’m on a far away hunt and my gun shows up but my ammo didn’t, I’m still using the guides gun with confidence. Not to mention if it’s Africa the gun that is missing ammo is likely to be one of a hundred fairly odd ball cartridges like a .470 Nitro or .458 Lott. Ammo for them is likely to be hard to replace anyway. The one time I went to Africa my ammo got lost. Luckily for me, my rifles did to so it took the pressure off the huge decision on if I could find .458 Lott or .375 H&H ammo. I just used the PH’s Mauser .375 and called it good

I’ve always considered myself the worlds best 30-06 fan. I love them and have killed tons of critters with one. They are timeless and yes, ammo and components are generally easy to find. Definitely easier than 7 WSM. That said you can find 7 WSM stuff if you want to, and it isn’t hard to prove that a 162 gr bullet with a BC of .630 at 3000 FPS “out does” a 168 grain bullet with a BC .490 at 2900 FPS.

If it’s me, the worlds best 30-06 fan is picking the 7 WSM because I’ve come to like short actions and performance. You get both with the WSM line of thought.

Todd

30-06, no contest in my mind

Agreed 30-06 is the way to go. Large variety of components for reloading and if purchasing factory ammo it’s more readily available.

The 30-06 is always the popular recommendation, and, 50 years ago, it was indeed a solid choice. Truth is, there are now much better cartridge options no matter what you are hunting.

JMHO

THIS

Easy choice. 30-06.

Why? The 30-06 will be around in 20 years. Not too confident that any of the WSM cartridges will be with us at that time.

C'mon. 30-06 or 7 WSM???? Is this a serious question?

.30-06 as to me, it’s a more versatile action than a short mag action. If the question was between a .30-06 and .280(/ai) I’d go with a .280ai

Easy choice. 7mm WSM.

30-06

30-0-Elmer Fudd....

With more information a better decision can be made. I'm a 30-06 fan. I have two rifles chambered for it. If you reload and are willing to stock up on 7mm WSM brass to me it's a wash. The only WSM cartridge that would interest me is the 7mm. That said, the 30-06 is never a bad choice.

If you're a handloader, perhaps another world. I'm a Walmart loader! The exotics are interesting! But to me, as much as I love the 7mm chamberings, such the case. 7mm08, 7x57 or 7mm Rem Mag; the 'great ones'; what they are & where you can reasonably get them! Your choices... I'd do the good old ever reliable, to be found about everywhere & no bankruptcy for six boxes or so, ... 30-06!
Just my take.
Best & Stay Safe!
John

If you regularly shoot game at 350yds and under, of any size, 30-06 is your huckleberry. "To me", on elk size game, no real diff between 30-06/7mm Rem Mag. IF one likes short action rifles, well hey, hard to beat any WSM. But this is way too tame for a gun looney to be thinking!

It is hardly a “silly” argument for those that don’t handload. For those that do, finding brass can be more difficult and is likely to become more so as time progresses. .30-06 brass is common and cheap and will remain so.

For 99% of hunting needs, the 7mm WSM and .30-06 are peas in a pod.

Ammo selection for the 30-06 is head and shoulders above the 7mm WSM. Midwayusa lists 12 different types of ammo for the 7mm WSM. Midway lists 117 for the 30-06.

Between the two, the choice is easy – 30-06 all day every day.

It is silly. I never mentioned reloading. 7 WSM ammo has always been available. You only need one brand that will shoot and nobody buys 117 different types of ammo to see which one the rifle likes. They usually pick 3 to 5 and go from there.

Your midway USA reference is Absolutely terrible advise right now. Out of those 117 ammo choices, only blanks are available there and there are 3 x the selection of 7 WSM ammo. Hit the “available” filter and get back to us on which ammo is more available from Midway right now.

It doesn’t matter, judging by his classifieds post he chose the 7mm WSM. It will serve him well.

Yep, 7 WSM.

Anything a 7 Mag can do, a 30-06 can do as well or better.

I've never liked the 7 Mags, so my vote is '06, of which I currently have 3 (one in Denver). And a 7X57.

The only place a 7 Mag might have an edge, begins about 400 yards out, IMO. But I'll put up my 27" heavy barreled '06 against a 7Mag even then, for accuracy, to the range I'm willing to shoot -500 yards.

The rifle is a 1,000 yarder, easily, but I'm not.

I've owned both and without question 30-06.

Not silly at all. The 7mm WSM has never been very popular and it isn’t gaining ground in that area. Regardless of current shortages, .30-06 ammo is available, at least locally, and in greater variety than 7mm WSM. The point was to show the huge discrepancy in the types generally available.

You are right that no one shoots 117 different types of ammo. With 117 types, though, non-reloaders are more likely to find ammo that meets their budgetary, ballistic and accuracy goals.

I have had a 30-06 of some flavor or two for almost 30 years. I havent killed anything with a 30-06 since 2006.

I killed an elk with my 7 WSM last year.

Been using Hornady 7 WSM brass for a couple years, no complaints, Grafs has it in stock right now.

I would take either chambering if forced to chose.

You have a point. Just like my original post says. The “ availability” argument is still silly in my opinion. The 7 WSM is one of the hardest modern chamberings to find ammo and components for. It’s the prime example. The fella that asked this question here went to the classifieds and within a day had multiple sources of ammo found. One being MidwayUSA that has way more 7 WSM ammo available than 30-06 currently. And since the rifle in question is a model 70, chances of it shooting any ammo accurately enough to hunt with are better than not.

I guess we’ll just have to disagree. Nothing at all wrong with the 30-06. Nothing at all wrong with a 7 WSM either.

Todd

Todd -

We agree there is nothing wrong with either the 7mm WSM or .30-06. The disagreement is whether it is "silly" to consider ammo availability in choosing a firearm - and particularly factory ammo.

To test the validity of an idea it is often useful to take it to the extremes. Would you choose a 45-120 for hunting if using factory ammo? How about a 28-30-120 Stevens? In either case you might be years searching for ammo. So we agree it is a valid concern.

How about silly? You posit the case of a guided African hunt in which you could just use the guide's rifle. What about unguided hunts away from but closer to home? It would be pretty silly for me to take my .375 Winchester thinking that if I left my ammo at home I could just pick some up somewhere. I've thought about selling or giving that rifle to a SIL who lives in Iowa as a deer rifle, but the limited factory ammo is a problem even if he hunts from home.

In "normal" times there is a much greater selection of .30-06 ammo on the shelves than you will find for 7mm WSM. In many places you might be lucky to find any 7mm WSM without driving to a larger metro area, even though the shelves are well stocked with .30-06. I contend that if a concern is "valid" it isn't "silly" to consider it. Whether it becomes a limiting or the deciding factor is something else entirely.

Easy choice, get both. But the 30-06 first.

Coyote Hunter well said couldn't have said it any better or more civil. Choosing the 7 wsm over the 30-06 without being being a handloader is plain stupid in my book this day and age. MB

The 30-06 is hardly ever the wrong choice. I sure do prefer it to most others.

30-06