Is a 7mm mag rifle good for deer hunting or would a 3006 be better?

Is a 7mm mag rifle good for deer hunting or would a 3006 be better?

Either would do fine, use what is more comfortable to you.

According to some on here neither is big enough caliber for a Texas WT. I don't own either one of those two but I do own a .223, 6mm, .270 and .280 and all have killed plenty of deer. Pick one caliber and learn to shoot it well. Place the bullet where it needs to be and that will your best hunting caliber.

Dang how many of these threads you going to make....

Ditto, I have killed a bunch with maybe the 7mm a bit more, but they both get the job done well. Taken many Mule Deer and elk with the 7mm as well, no complaints with right ammo for it.

06 may give you a wider range of ammo choices from small varmint to big game, but I lean towards the 7mm personally for bigger game.

Pick one. Both good.

Get one of each!

Man can't have TOO many guns.....

Could not have said it better myself.

I'd get a .270

+ 1 on 270

I did a lot of research on these 2 guns and the 7mmag has a 1st shot kill percentage of close to 90%, whereas the 30-06 only comes in at a paltry 3.7%.

Choice is clear.

With those calibers you will not hear "shot placement is key," although it is.
Whatever you choose, learn to shoot it well.

It'll kill a bull elk.

If a deer doesn't die from it, it's your fault.

Both flawlessly do any job required in Texas. 7mag is just a bit louder in my experience.

Yup.

Or a 7mm-08 Rem.

Both good.. one is a lot more expensive that the other in regards to ammo

I think the ballistics are a hair better on the 7mag, but I went for the 30-06 because of all the options in ammo. Of course, now I realize that both are pretty much the same thing and reading ballistics is purely a waste of time. I think the 30-06 ammo was a fair bit cheaper awhile ago, but haven't compared them in years. A buddy had a custom 7mm built that is a very nice rifle. I think the trigger used for the rifle is more important then the caliber you choose when you are in the same category of bullet. An adjustable trigger is worth whatever it costs. I personally put a Timney trigger on my Remington 700 BDL rifle.

THIS

Between the two you asked about...my choice would be a 30/06

They will surely both work. If you are new to hunting/shooting I may recommend something smaller to start with. And if you only plan to hunt deer and hogs etc. I might look at something on the smaller side as well. But they are both adequate for the job and will be fine as long as you shoot them fine.

Well, that's just not true.

if you hit him--------- either.
if you miss the shot, neither will work.

Either will work. Personally, I prefer to 30.06 for more all around hunting choices/ammo options and it is usually lighter weight that 7mag if you have to carry it much. Just get comfortable and confident with your gun, i.e. range time.

Between the two you listed, I would pick the 7mm. That way if you wanted to play around in the future with reloading to do some longer range hunting or paper punching you would have more options as far as ballistics.

Oh this one is great. I would like to see where you got your info. I have been hunting with a 7mm mag for years. I have hunted Washington for Bear/Elk/Blacktail Deer/ Mule Deer/ Texas Whitetail/ Asian Water Buffalo. I have never had to use more then one round. And yes I have killed all on list. Yes a 30-06 is a great round. Reason it is still in popular use. But 7mm Mag will get it done at short and long distance.

Sometimes we get caught up in syntax and tense!

Dead, Deader, Deadist

Can one deer be deader than another? Is that "the deadist" deer you have ever seen? How was that determined?

Both are very capable. Just how far are YOU capable of shooting? I don't think there's a difference worth worrying about out to about 350 or 400 yds. I haven't ever seen a deer or elk jump up and complain about either one if the shooter puts the shot where it supposed to go. We're not talking about paper targets here, but go to a range and shoot one of each and see which one you are most comfortable with.

Cameron00, I don't know where you go that data, something isn't right. Is your data saying that of all deer shot with a 30.06, only 3.7% were one shot kills? Do you not question that? If that were true they would have quit making them years ago. I don't know how many deer I have killed over the years, all with a 30.06, and I can only recall two that didn't drop in their tracks with one shot. To me, both a 7mm and .270, at least the one's I have shot, kick more than my 30.06.

I'd bet cameron00 was joking around, he's like that, he even likes AR's.

Deer are very easy to kill, being able to hit exactly where you aim, shot placement & using a bullet deigned for the game you're hunting is far more important than caliber.

Ah YES ...another one of those decades old deer camp "discussions" that used to be only about the differences between 270's X 30'06's, and the 7RMg was thought capable of killing runaway locomotives when needed....or incoming Enemy Aircraft back in those barely post Sputnik days of my impressionable youth

So...in the interest of keeping my own boring IMO's to myself, I'd suggest the OP compare the statistics that SAAMI aka Sporting Arms & Ammo Industry? Institute? uhhh the guys that serve the Gun Industry as to what the Official definations and designs of Sporting Firearms guns, ammo and performance parameters actually are.

So IMO, I'd check SAAMI for the #'s on what sells best in whatever caliber new standard factory rifles & ammo is being considered...'cause that'll determine what the Great Unwashed Average Deerhunter thinks about what is best.... by voting with their SS's...and not what your mother's uncle's brother's son in Law in east Egypt Ohio thinks...with all due respect to Hunters in Ohio....'cause we all know WTail deer in Texas are nigh on to being bulletproof with anyhting short of a Barret 50cal BMG topped with a scope that can chart the craters of the moon....and at twice the average weight of a Texas Wtail .... Ohio( Alaska, Alabama, Canadian Et Al) WTails really are subject to being harvested by Gamo .177 Air rifle's as the weapon of choice.

OR... the OP can do their own research himself on the: ballistics & energy of various designs of ABCXYZ's projectile weights, along with the projected expansion and effects of deeper penetration by the construction of the target medium at KNOWN & UnKnown Distance's but still under a mile from the box blind unless there is a deer feeder involved... and then prove those Assumptions by actually satisfying himself/herself as to the acceptance and viability of that data as being valid.

Otherwise I'm gonna enjoy the memories of the good old days and smell of mesquite smoke and sound of taking a leak in the fire while uncapping another Lone Star Draft....'cause I got my own ideas about all this that I'll check and see if they corroberate with the OP's findings ...WHEN & IF he publishs that Data in a Hardback book like the rest of the Bullet Mfg'ers Loading Manuals still are.


Ask a simple ?? and get a simple answer about where to find that data and how to make your own decisions. Everbody'd Got'sa Nose and everbody'd got their Opinion based on their own experiences. I hope the OP enjoys the quest for data based on his own quest for the minutia of the differences between the 2 rifle calibers he's asked about...
...or as said earlier ...just go buy'em both and see what works best for you....and Tell Us about it.
JMHO & YMMV
Ron

hook, line, and sinker...

yeah, but that's in Washington, which is like 1/4th the size of Texas. that 7mm just wont cut it down here, much longer shots.

FJG...is a 1km shot on a WTail in Texas still the same distance as a 1km shot on a Black Tail in the Snake River Valley or a Mule Deer near the 4 Corners?

I'm not talking about the effects of altitude or the affects of 100 % humidity on the coast of Alaska on the ballistics of a given caliber or bullet...just 5,280' feet being the same distance everywhere for a bullet to travel from muzzle to target.

Inquiring Minds are doubting the veracity of that statement.

Ron

Yes

Huh!? Who the heck was shooting? I've been shooting a 30/06 for 17 years and have never had a deer live longer than 2 steps from impact spot. It's done so well I decided to try a .270 last year and the first 2 deer went about 20 yards from impact spot, but it was a 1 shot kill.

Yep,,, some folks...

7mm ammo is more expensive along with the gun. I would favor the 7mm if I were planning to shoot longer ranges. For most of Texas I would go with the 30-06. You can get ammo any where if you run out plus a wider variety.

They just need to fill in the blanks and cameron00 will sign it for authenticity

There is no way your theory can be proven by science, Ron.

Couple dense folks on this thread.

I'd put 7mm Mag up there with 300WM, great for Elk and anything smaller. There are options that'll do it quieter and with less recoil but for as little as you'll shoot it why not have enough stick for bigger game as well.

Most Texas hunters are shooting deer at feeder and less than 100 yards. Just get a 30-30 and be done with it. This argument is old and wore out. I've got a 30-06, a 7mmRM, and bunch of other belted magnums. They never leave the safe because they aren't required to kill deer. Even at moderate distances of 300-400 yards. In fact, there's not much on continent that I wouldn't pursue with my .270 Win. Just saying.

Have killed 3 elk and can't count the wt and mulies I killed with the 270, as always when you let the air out they don't go far.

Let's consult Achmed...



Well, there ya have it, just pick one... or pick something else. Both work. Many others, bigger and smaller, will too! I prefer my 308 Win or my venerable 22 LR.

Crap I forgot about Texas being bigger. Well live and learn I guess. LOL

For whitetail 30.06. If I could only choose one or the other.

If I had one choice for whitetail of any it would be 270.

These never get old

Where is RiverRider's sig when you need it?

So why these two rifles? Have you shot them? Do you know whether you are sensitive to recoil?

If you are settled on one of these cals I would go with the 7mag.

If you are just wanting a great deer caliber I would try something like a 7mm-08, 6.5x55, or even a 6.5 Creedmoor. They will do the job without anywhere near the recoil of the 30-06 and 7mag.

You mean this one

Got an extra Longneck? I'll bring the Popcorn......

No, this one at the end. Although the first one is pretty good too.

FWIW...in my rant there was a reference to someone in Ohio's opinion on the veracity of one or the the other Best Choice 'tween the '06 & a 7Mg...and nobody caught the inside joke...Ohio is a Shotgun Only for Deer state.

Just Sayin' that Ross Baby had it right when he said "The devils's in the details"

Ron

Either one will kill anything in North America and most the things on earth graveyard dead.

Generally speaking, when someone asks "what's best?", the answers merely reflect whatever the responder owns. That's natural, since they bought it thinking it was the best. Besides, do you really think I'm going to say "The (whatever) sucks!" when I have three of them?

Anything less than a .950 JDJ is disrespectful to the deer.

I'm surprised no one brought up .243, I started with 30-06, and years later found the pleasure of the 30-30. however my 30-06 was a 1970's Remington 700 woodsman and even with a pad kicked like a mule. I always figured if it had weighed at least 7.5 to 8 lbs it would have been more fun to shoot.

With a muzzle break, either will feel like a 30/30. My 7mm has the BOSS and isn't bad at all, loud as the dickens though. Traded my 06 years ago.

The answer is pretty simple, the 7-mag is ballistically superior to the 06 and far more versatile especially if you hand-load. Plus the bullet selection for the 7mm's is far better than it was when I was shooting them. I own both but shoot neither due to my affection for my Weatherbys but were I to go back I wouldn't even consider the 06.

The subject of the thread is 06 vs 7 Mag, why would any other caliber be mentioned.

7MM and 30/06 are both similar when it comes to recoil and effectiveness. I would argue that any difference in felt recoil comes down to the rifle itself, but neither should be that bad to shoot.

Recoil sensitive folks would want to go with .243/.260/7-08.

And yes I am responding to a troll thread.

man...hunting season needs to get here quicker...lol

Party Pooper!

Haha, totally forgot about this post. Musta been drinking...

Anyhow, as others have correctly surmised, my precision information was derived from completely making it up.

I think it's pretty spot on though. If we're being honest.

Both are great calibers for deer hunting. The price of the ammunition for the 7mm mag is higher.

If you don't reload, the 30-06 ammo would be more likely found in a mom & pop store in the middle of somewhere

If you can't kill a deer with a.243 don't use one enough said !!!!they always die for me at a 130 yards .now the question you asked it's the same gun how dead is dead enough 7mag probably shoots flatter the 06 cheaper shells and easier to find both great guns.just like John Wayne said to much gun

I vote for a 25-06

Wasn't an option here

7x57 or you may as well stick to archery!

Asking a question like the OP did is like stirring up a hive a bees!
Nothing wrong with the question it's the answers that are entertaining.