drjdog5150 said:
Looking at getting a hunting rifle and stumbled upon a very nice older (1972) Ruger M77 in it. Prior hunting rifles where 270 and 30-06. But this looks interesting. If you have any opinions I would love to here them!
Thanks,
Jason
I look at these questions through a pragmatic lens. IMHO for big game in AZ MY choice of those three would be the 7mm Rem Mag. Why?
Ballistics - The other two are great cartridges - totally capable of taking most game in AZ (some might say that they are "suboptimal" for taking large bull elk at distance - but there are plenty would would argue the opposite). That said, the 7mm Rem Mag is faster, flatter, harder hitting that the other two and can be loaded down as necessary for "smaller" big game. You can load it down to energies that match the other cartridges, but you can't make the 30-06 shoot as flat as the 7mm if you get drawn for antelope in a place where you are likely to see the need for a long range shot and the .270 can't be loaded up to the same energies as the 7mm. If you were somewhere where your hunts were going to be happening in thick brush I guess you could make the case for the 30 caliber - but if you were there then there would be even better cartridges for that use case...
Availability - In my recent experience these are a wash - I don't know that either of the other two cartridges are more available today (years ago the 30-06 probably was - but when I look at store shelves today I don't seem to remember seeing a lot more of it than other "relatively common" hunting cartridges.
Recoil - There are lots of factors that impact how hard a rifle hits the shoulder - but in this case the others probably have the edge on the 7mm. That said - I'm not recoil shy - so for me - and for a big game rifle - if it's not something absurd (think 6 lb synthetic stocked rifle with a narrow brass butt plate in .338-378 Wby) I don't see this as a major factor. If I were buying a hunting rifle for my 12 year old's first hunt it would probably not be any of these... (it was a .243).
Barrel Life - The 30-06 probably wins here - but does it really matter? The 7mm's barrel won't last as long as the 30-06 - it might only be good for a couple thousand rounds. Well - at $1.60 each (cheapest on Ammoseek.com today) you'll have $3200 in ammo through it before you need to rebarrel. It's a hunting rifle - you aren't going to put 500 rounds a week through it for match prep and shoots. The odds of you burning the barrel out of it in your lifetime (when used as a hunting rifle) are really really small - and if you do - then buy another...
At the end of the day - it is a fantastic cartridge and if it is in a platform that you like, and the price is right - I'd get it...
Just my 2 cents.
Interesting read here...
https://thebiggamehuntingblog.com/7mm-rem-mag-vs-30-06/#:~:text=The%207mm%20Rem%20Mag%20fires,30%2D06%20has%20less%20recoil.
