I was reading an article the other day about the 505gr 58 cal minie ball used in the civil war. During the war between the states. These guys were putting those slugs through 8 - 1inch thick pine boards at 600 yds.

I would say that was a favorite round in it's time.
Is there anyone out there that can do that with a 7 rem mag or a 30-06.

You won't see a lick of difference in the results, between the 7 rem mag and the 30-06.

What I'm getting at is why do people have to act like the 7mm and 300 magnums can work miracles and they're the only way to go?

I never said either were poor choices. If you shoot at long range, a 7mm or 300 Mag is applicable, but it doesn't make the difference between a hit or miss.

It is true that the 7mm Remington Magnum outranges the 30-06 in killing power and the 300 Winchester Magnum outranges both (the 7mm by only a narrow margin), but when can you use that extra thump? The only situation I can think is a shot where the range is in excess of 400 yards. Closer than that, it's not going to make a difference which round was used. If the animal was a Kodiak bear and you made a bad shot, we're still talking a closed-casket funeral.

I'm not a big fan of decrlaring cartridges over-kill, so I wouldn't say a 338 Win Mag is too big for deer, or a 375 H & H is too much for elk and moose, but when it comes to something powerful enough to make a polar bear do a cartwheel after being hit, I would say the line's in the sand (or snow).

LOL ok Don let me rephrase,I WANT my Magnum!! I reload everything i shoot so bullet and ammo avaliability have no effect on my preference,I own a 30-06,I have killed deer,elk,antelope and bear with it,nothing wrong with the round its just not the round the 7mm RM is,I know the difference,I have seen the difference in effect on an animal in the field,not on a piece of paper or a chrono.If i could only keep one rifle out of my current selection I would keep the magnum.Im sure anyone who hunts brown bear or Cape Buff could honestly say they NEED a magnum.Im sure the majority of us honestly dont NEED a magnum but why not?To save a couple grains of powder or $2 on a box of noslers?Not me!

How much deader was the game you shot with a 7mm than the 30-06 and won't both get the job done?

Dead is dead and the animal won't know the difference! Just ask all the dead 30-06 game and they'll tell yah that a 7mm won't knock 'em down any different.

Shot placement and choice of bullet makes a much bigger difference than arguing over .284 versus .308 caliber bullets.

I've shot deer with both and they fall the same way and look the same way when struck.

The topic is not a critique of magnum owners, its intent was to illustrate that they are not magic.

I think the biggest problem with magnums is the advertising. New shooters think that with a magnum in their hands they are capable of shooting red squirrels at 600yds when in reality they can't hit oxen at 50 yds. The recoil also makes all but the most avid shooters want to leave them in the gun case and not practice at the range. Magnums kick! I shoot about 500 rds a year out of my RUM and it takes concentration by the end of the range sessions (about 30 rds of RUM and 30 rds of another calibre) to keep on target. My shoulder knows it by the end of the day but without the practice I would not feel comfortable shooting any firearm. Besides, don't we buy rifles to enjoy shooting them... not looking at them.

my 7 mag dosent kick at all,my 300wm kicks like a mule,that Ruger 300 is way to light for that caliber,i dont like the weak stock it came with either,im gonna try to find an aftermarket stock for it,I dont know if that will help the recoil at all.After shooting mags for so long the 30-06 feels like a .22 lr.Ill stick with my magic 7mm Rem Mag no common sense reason to change,and if you own one and shoot everything with an -06 why keep it around?Might have to shoot somthing as big as an elk at long range some day? ::-kDo we need magnum rifles?Do we need rifles at all?Its very possible i could fill all my tags with my bow that shoots a 100 gr point at 322 fps and then I wont need any rifle at all,so in reality we dont even need firearms to be proficient hunters...wait a minute...do we need compond bows?Couldnt we kill everything with a recurve?......hmmmmm

Chester just hit the nail on the head.

I agree with ChesterGolf's objective summary on the magnum phenominum, which adds to my earlier point that dead is dead, whether from a 30-06 or magnum caliber.

I also respectfully disagree that a 7mm Mag doesn't kick, as the average rifle in that caliber produces a tad more recoil than a 30-06.

7mm Mag and 30-06 perform equally on Big Game IMHO; afterall, dead is dead!