AZHunter
Iowa Boy At Heart
I have both and I will always go to my .30-06 over my .300 Win Mag every day. If you ever hear "you need a .30 cal magnum round to kill an elk" walk away and ignore it. You don't. A .30-06 will kill ANY north american game animal and has the largest selection of bullet sizes available. You can get or load 100 grain bullets for varmint hunting and up to 220 grain bullets for grizzly bear and moose. Plus, the recoil is way easier to deal with on a '06 than Win Mag. Yes, a .300 Win Mag shoots "flatter", but don't let anyone tell you that you can't reach out with a .30-06. Springfield 1903s chambered in .30-06 were the ORIGINAL 1000-yard open sight rifle and are still capable of accuracy well beyond that (not that I condone 1000-yard hunting shots, especially with open sights).
Don't get me wrong, I love my .300 WM, but if you truly want a rifle chambered with an all around cartridge, .30-06 is your best bet. If you get into (or are into) reloading, I can share my best recipes for .30-06 hand loads. Good luck!
Don't get me wrong, I love my .300 WM, but if you truly want a rifle chambered with an all around cartridge, .30-06 is your best bet. If you get into (or are into) reloading, I can share my best recipes for .30-06 hand loads. Good luck!
HorseDoctor
PMA Member
Either will do you very nicely! I hunted with a Winchester model 70 30/06 for many, many years taking coyotes, deer, antelope, elk & even a moose. It did the job & they all got dead. I love that gun & still have it. A few tears ago I broke down and bought the Model 70 Featherweight in 300 Win Mag that I had long lusted for and it quickly became the favorite gun in my vault. I now have 2 300 Win Mags. Ammo is a little more expensive & recoil is a bit more but neither is prohibitively so. The down range energy and trajectory of the 300 is better just in case you have the opportunity to stretch things out a bit. Again, you won't be far wrong with either but the 300WM gets my vote.
HorseDoctor
PMA Member
LOL... Typing at the same time. Same story, different ending. Can't go wrong either way. :drink2:
AZHunter
Iowa Boy At Heart
Well said! :way:
2-bucks
PMA Member
Ditto and ditto to what AZHunter and HorseDoctor said!!! If you hand load you can make both do almost exactly the same thing, with the 300 shooting a little faster if you load it hot.
For me the 30-06 can shoot plenty flat out to the end of my capibilities (350-400 yrds) that I get no advantage out of a 300. So the variety and availability of 30-06 ammo wins out for me.
No doubt it is splitting hairs though. You could throw a 7MM Mag or some others into this debate too and still be splitting hairs. The model that fits you well, quality of construction, weight of rifle, quality of trigger, quality of optics, etc will all make more difference in how good it is at taking game than 30-06 vs 300 mag will.
For me the 30-06 can shoot plenty flat out to the end of my capibilities (350-400 yrds) that I get no advantage out of a 300. So the variety and availability of 30-06 ammo wins out for me.
No doubt it is splitting hairs though. You could throw a 7MM Mag or some others into this debate too and still be splitting hairs. The model that fits you well, quality of construction, weight of rifle, quality of trigger, quality of optics, etc will all make more difference in how good it is at taking game than 30-06 vs 300 mag will.
AZHunter
Iowa Boy At Heart
Out of curiosity, which Savage?
I honestly don't think you'll go wrong with a Savage. I was a die-hard Remington guy (all 3 of my hunting rifles are Rems) and never really thought much of Savage. I kept hearing that Savage's out-of-the-box quality and accuracy was pretty much the top for "run-of-the-mill" rifles (excepting, Kimber, Tikka, Sako, etc.). I recently bought my daughter a Savage Axis youth model and I have been very pleasantly surprised at its accuracy! It's got me thinking about my next hunting rifle. In short, you won't go wrong with that Savage (or a .30-06)!
I honestly don't think you'll go wrong with a Savage. I was a die-hard Remington guy (all 3 of my hunting rifles are Rems) and never really thought much of Savage. I kept hearing that Savage's out-of-the-box quality and accuracy was pretty much the top for "run-of-the-mill" rifles (excepting, Kimber, Tikka, Sako, etc.). I recently bought my daughter a Savage Axis youth model and I have been very pleasantly surprised at its accuracy! It's got me thinking about my next hunting rifle. In short, you won't go wrong with that Savage (or a .30-06)!
JNRBRONC
Well-Known Member
I think every gun manufacturer goes through cycles of quality. Belgian made Brownings vs the Japan made as a prime example.
When I bought my HPR, Remington was hot, Savage was cold. I think maybe the tide has turned.
Back in 1983 when I "pulled the trigger" on a HPR purchase, the rave was 7MM Rem Mag, which I bought a Remington 700 bolt. I had always said I would buy a 30-06 due to versatility and availability of ammo. Think that probably holds true to this day, even though I don't regret buying a 7MM. Living in Iowa, any HPR probably spends most of it's life as a Safe Queen.
When I bought my HPR, Remington was hot, Savage was cold. I think maybe the tide has turned.
Back in 1983 when I "pulled the trigger" on a HPR purchase, the rave was 7MM Rem Mag, which I bought a Remington 700 bolt. I had always said I would buy a 30-06 due to versatility and availability of ammo. Think that probably holds true to this day, even though I don't regret buying a 7MM. Living in Iowa, any HPR probably spends most of it's life as a Safe Queen.
Last edited:
I had a .300 Remington Ultra Mag - I LOVED IT! Tight groups, shot extremely flat & absolutely blew anything away I shot with it. I think I coulda taken down an elephant 
Yes, I did shoot a deer in KS with it - ballistic tips, blew 3 lbs of intestines 8' outta the deer. I sure never had to worry about wounding a deer. Few less lbs of burger vs not hardly ever worrying about wounding an animal is a good trade off for me. I don't have experience with the 30-06, I'm sure it's a great way to go. I sure loved my .300 RUM and my buddies like their .300 win mags really well.
Yes, I did shoot a deer in KS with it - ballistic tips, blew 3 lbs of intestines 8' outta the deer. I sure never had to worry about wounding a deer. Few less lbs of burger vs not hardly ever worrying about wounding an animal is a good trade off for me. I don't have experience with the 30-06, I'm sure it's a great way to go. I sure loved my .300 RUM and my buddies like their .300 win mags really well.
Handcannon
Well-Known Member
I vote for a Savage 300WM. I've had 2 & still have 1. Savage makes one of the most affordable & accurate rifles of anybody less than $700. Be sure to get the Accutrigger, you'll like it. You can get the Savage package w/ the Nikon Spot-On scope w/ the Accutrigger for $500 or less. Trophy Hunter 111 XP.
BDAHMS
Be here Now
I have a .17hmr from savage with accutrigger and love it. I chose to look at getting a savage just because I have heard nothing but good things about savage and they are a great gun for the price. I'm new to rifles as I have only hunted with bows and shotguns but I want to try coyotes and go out west in a year or two
DoubleDropTines
Member
Slap an eyeball on the browning x bolt also. I own some savages and decided I wanted a "pretty" gun also. Now I can't put it down. I bought a medallion and it looks way too nice to shoot but the triggers in the Brownings have come a long ways from what they were. You can pick up a synthetic or hunter model for low 7's I believe.
The most important thing you don't want to skimp on is the glass. I have a few Nikon monarchs and love them.
The most important thing you don't want to skimp on is the glass. I have a few Nikon monarchs and love them.
Tim Bannen
Active Member
I have shot a lot of deer with both of those calibers...30.06 would be my go to gun over the 300 mag. The mag is a bit heavy for whitetail size animals, i have lost alot of meat to the bruising/coagulation it leaves behind. For my do all gun I have a 300 WSM, The short mag has a lot of versatility to it and can be loaded down or up for different size game. There are a ton of different bullet design and weights to pick from.