I'll go ahead and agree that the 7mm Remington magnum is the one I'd go with.

There's a reason the 06 out sells
Every other cartridge every year.

it's called rednecks.

"It's the way we've always done it"

Well, kinda--but that 300 does have
A punch. A few rounds at the range
Makes you notice. The 06 is much
Cheaper and has that available factory
125 grain load up to that 220 grain
Factory bruiser.

"It works, plain and simple."

Why would a person buy 100 dollar designer jeans when 20 dollar Wranglers work just as well? The fact is, the 30-06 will do everything the 300 Win Mag will under 400 yards.

Because 90% of the guys that sell guns behind the counter are old and they push their boring views on to those that have no idea.

Or it could be that when it comes down to spending hard earned money people can finally draw a line between what they need and what they want...

Look knock the 30-06 all you want, it has earned it's place in the caliber world and it's their to stay. That market is saturated with 30-06 rifles making their prices considerably less than most other calibers. If you had to have one gun for N. America the 30-06 will be your best bet.

Or the necked down version, to 7mm called the 280 Remington.

ROFL

^ This. This is why I am even asking questions in the first place. Not looking for "heirloom quality"... What makes an heirloom is the memories and the game it took, and the generations that hunted with the same rifle. I just need a sturdy and reliable gun that can kill big animals a long way off, and that i can realistically expect to last and still be solid and accurate when I have grandkids to hunt with. It will be an heirloom because it's going to take my first of any and every big game species. So it has to withstand the test of time.

you can stop searching now

May wanna check ammo availability or hold out for a .308 or 30.06 but the gun will outlast you and your grandkids.....

Here's another vote for the 30.06. I owned four recently, and briefly, but while I decided to swap the one I kept for a .308 barrel (because I'm trying to reduce the amount of calibers I own), I still found the 30.06 to be an interesting round.

Sure, it dates back to A LONG TIME AGO, and because of that -- apparently its age means it can't compete with the obviously modern rounds born out of superior modern tech and wisdom. LOL. Right.

Then of course, there are the arguments for the round not being able to do the job unless you have the shot -- meaning you pass up shots, umm -- IMO don't shoot unless you really have a shot, that's simple ethics. I imagine that there are those for whom ethics takes a back seat to laziness. Whatever.

If I had $400 only and were looking for a great all-around N American caliber I would personally go with .308, but again -- that's only because I'm trying to limit my calibers. Otherwise, I would probably go with 30.06 -- fortunately I don't have access to the internet and the comments that would hurt my feeling because I'm obviously too old and unable to adapt to modern ideas....

+### for the 30-06. I'm a 7mm-08 fan, but if you look up "one rifle for North America" in the dictionary you will see a picture of a 30-06.

Pretty much.

The 06' is the jack of all trades, but the master of none

It was ok in 1940, but fact is there are better calibers for a do it all rifle.

My brother was in the Army and put a ton of rounds down range and always scored expert, he can't shoot for [censored] or knows anything about guns either.

The .30-06 is boring as he'll, but it will kill anything in Indigenous to North America if you match the projectile to the task and put it where it needs to go. Projectiles range from 110grs for vaporizing colony varmints, to well over 200grs for punching through thick hide, matted hair, dense muscle or heavy bone.


Chupa

well if I had just one rifle I would go 308 but I am not trying to kill everything on the continent if I were and on a budget you can buy a lot of rifle in 30-06.

30-06, 30-06, and ... oh yeah, 30-06

I would say 30-30 but your limited in range.

And the ammo cost the same so your point is mute.

30-06 is waste of good powder and lead, but then again I feel the same about the 308

Using a 400yard and under limit, opens up a can of worms because there are more efficient calibers with less recoil that most can shot more accurately

I traded my 30'06 for a 7mm mag because I wanted a longer range rifle. But I loved my 30'06. I just think for western game and mountain hunting the 7 mag has better trajectory.

Ask yourself if the round you are considering is based on the venerable 30-06 round. Then learn to hand load 30-06 and kill everything you can get a scope on.

Forget trajectory. Think wind cheating.

.308 supressed

Forget BC think stalking, hunting skills