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.