....not this again

[nrpate05]

While I'm a 7mm Mag owner, I always recommend the .270 win. Ballistics are pretty close to that of the 7mm mag. Between a .30-06 and 7mm mag there isn't a ton of difference. 7 mag will generally be flatter but you can shoot a bigger bullet with the '06. They'll both kill anything you hit well and they kick about the same in my experience. I just ordered a VX3i 3.5-10 last night (thanks to everyone on the forum!). I don't see a big reason to have a scope that goes to 14x I've shot at 12x and it seems a bit too twitchy and the field of view is tiny. I suppose if you're shooting something past 400 yards it could be nice.

 

[fishing4sanity]

Get a zero stop. No matter what scope you end up with. mtmuley

+1 on the zero stop. If you use your turrets a zero stop becomes a great tool to make sure you know what the scope is truly dialed for. I've seen more than one guy miss a shot because the dial said "0," but it was a full turn past zero.

 

[Deleted member 38069]

.300 win!

 

[VikingsGuy]

.270 Win or .308 Win (I know it is SA) will kill anything a 30-06 can in lower 48 and burn less powder and provide less recoil (resulting in better accuracy for most shooters).

 

[Tikka06]

I have a T3 superlite in 06 topped with a Vx3i 4-14x40 CDS. With nosler's trophy grade 165gr accubond factory load, it's a .5 inch grouping setup at 100 and am very comfortable out to 400. Recoil is stiff. The whole setup is sub 7lbs. Get the limbsaver pad. It's a little light for most of my hunting but is nice to carry. I have had 7mm's and am fond of the caliber but it would be pushing it for me in that kind of setup weight wise. I have a lot of confidence in this rig. Keep in mind I'm just shooting whitetails but it kills them promptly. I did however take a lope with it 2 years ago at 345 yds.

 

[Don Fischer]

Let's say you had to go into the heavy brush after an Alaskan brown Bear you just wounded at any range. You have two rifles there, your 7mm mag with a 175gr premium bullet and a 30-06 with a 200 gr bullet, premium or otherwise. Which would you take in? For all other hunting, tell me one animal a 308 or 30-06 will not down well with a 180 gr bullet? I'm a big fan of the 6.5's and the 7mm's. But, prudence being the better part of valor, om the bear, I'm going with the 30 cal and big bullet! Your shot at that bear you wounded could be rather close! My own experience with deer tell's me that getting withng 200yds even of one is a pretty simple task. You don't need a cartridge that will reach out 500 yds to kill a deer. If you do, the 308 and 30-06 ar pretty good long range cartridge's! For a 500 yds shot, you don't need some super slick magnum to pull it off, what you need is some very well practiced shooting! I'm with the guy that said throw a dart at the list of cartridges and then learn to shoot with it!

 

[Millsworks]

Of the two calibers you have narrowed it down to , my vote is the good old 30-06.
The 7 mag is a flatter shooter though. But unless you will be regularly shooting 400+yrds that won't matter much.

 

[onpoint]

Learn to actually hunt and close the distance - that's the fun part bullet drop calculating, wind doping, turret twisters miss out on....... And then who cares what caliber. They're all interesting.
They must be, judging by the sheer number of words penned ( I was raised on books, magazine and such) -keyed on this topic.

 

[TheJason]

I've been reading a bunch of articles and forums and eventudally you end up just going in circles

It’s called paralysis by analysis, and is roughly the equivalent of picking fly shit out of the pepper.

 

[ImBillT]

In regards to the scope, mostly wondering if it is worth it for the the zero lock on the vx5. I'll take a look at the 2.5x8 as well

As someone who doesn’t like to dial in the field, a money saving option is a scope with screw down caps covering the adjustment knobs.

 

[CuttersAndRakers]

Wow, lots to read over here, thanks for the input everyone. My takeaway: everyones got a favorite and it comes down to more of an personal preference than anything. Mentions of the .270 have me looking at that cartridge, admitaddly I skipped over it early on, seriously considering going that route with a vx3 3.5-10 cds for a lighter recoiling lighter rifle.

 

[noharleyyet]

It’s called paralysis by analysis, and is roughly the equivalent of picking fly shit out of the pepper.

Bingo...

 

[Cerebral Stalker]

As far as accuracy is concerned, the difference between calibers is negligible with factory ammo. You'd be better off to reload with any of the calibers listed than try to find the "best" caliber. As far as factory ammo is concerned, it's hard to beat the options, price, and availability of the .308. As far as scopes go, unless you've got the money to burn, I don't think the VX-5 is worth the increase in price over the VX-3i if you're on any kind of budget. Just my 2 cents.

 

[std7mag]

Nothing in your parameters that a 7mm-08 can't do.

 

[1_pointer]

Since you'll be using factory ammo I'll suggest you go with the 30-06. If you were a handloader, I'd suggest the 7 Mag as there are some pretty interesting bullets available for that.

The 270 Win would work too since you've added that to the choice!

 

[elkduds]

20 years ago 06 would have been the choice. Now I like 270 better because of faster, deeper penetrating mono bullets. Both have the same size case, meaning essentially the same horsepower. This is the reason 7-08 is competitive w 308, and makes killing big bodied game w 6.5 caliber a realistic proposition.

 

[MT_Chad]

280 remington might be worth a look. Check out eurooptic right now, they have some sweet meopta 4.5-14 scopes on sale with or without turrets and a couple different recticles. Nothing against the leupold but those meopta scopes are amazing, especially for $450.

 

[CuttersAndRakers]

Thanks for all the info, thought I'd update this thread.

Sportsman's had Sako A7 roughtechs (Stainless fluted with what looks like a bell and carlson stock) on sale for $699, $50 less than the Tikka superlights. Seemed like a good upgrade, especially since it seems the Tikka SLs aren't dropping down below $700 when on sale. I ended picking up the last one in the store in 30-06.

 

[Scarey]

30-06 ,.270 are both great rounds. The .270 is a flat shooting round and is big enough to take a moose at moderate distance. 30-06 will be a little heavier an won't reach out as far. The 7 mag will be a hot rod out as far as you can push it but it kicks harder. You can get close to.the same reach as the 7 mag with the .270 and .280. If you have the cash you can step the 280 up to an AI and get magnum preformance out of a non magnum round. Personally if you don't reload and want a good all around gun either 30-06 or .270 will kill anything you point it at and ammo is affordable.

 

[coleslaw]

My go to "everything rifle" is a .270WIN. I actually have about 3 of them. I actually had a dilemma when I bought my X-Bolt pro as to whether I should stick with a .270 again or go with a 7REM and after studying load tables and ballistics I decided that for anything within 500 yards (my personal ethical limit), the .270 matches up with anything out there just fine and without the recoil and possible extra barrel length.
With that being said- there is nothing wrong at all with the 30-06. If you want the little bit of extra insurance and warm fuzzy feeling when you touch the trigger, then the 7REM would still be awesome.