30/06, 270 or 7 mag?

     What is the best deer cartridge --- the 30/0,6 Springfield, the 270 Winchester,  or the 7mm Rem Mag.  This is the oldest debate among hunters and rifle hunters.   I am also sure that many seasoned hunters could add the 30/30 Winchester, the 308 Winchester, and a host of other great deer rifle cartridges to this list and you would be all right.  For this debate, lets look at these 3 cartridges and I will give my slant on it which may or may not be your opinion.
     I will start first with the 30/06. Springfield.   A plus is availability of ammunition as well as a brought spectrum of factory bullet weights and reloading options.   I think you could literally spend years of reloading and still find new things to try with the 30/06.  It has the plus of having military experience as well as field hunting experience that few can compare.  You can easy load it with a 150 grain bullet or even go up to hard hitting 220 grain bullets.   With the large grain bullet, you have the options for for hunting larger game.   What can be said,  the 30/06 is a deer killer that is chambered in about every good hunting rifle, manufactured by most every bullet manufacturer, and stocked by most every gun shop or Walmart in even the most remote locations.  The down side is that it can have recoil in the wrong rifle, however you could argue that one could use reduced recoil ammunition if that was an issue.
     The 270 Winchester.   The only reason the 30/06 is not more popular is because of its offspring the 270.   The 270 has a slight plus on the 30/06 as it is loaded a little hotter by manufacturers and it is a little flatter shooting.  You can get a 130 grain bullet easily for it and its slightly flatter than  your average box ammunition for its Daddy the 06.   The 270 like the 30/06 can be found in about any gun store, made by most any gun manufacturer, and is just a good choice.   As compared to the 06, the 270 has less reloading options and you can't go as heavy on bullet choices.  We were talking about deer rifles here but if you were a one gun guy and hunted in an are with Elk, Bear, or Moose then maybe  the 30/06 wins out. 
     My favorite is the 7mm Rem Mag.   It does however kick more than the 270 or 30/06.  The 270 and 30/06 perform nicely out of 22 and 24 inch barrels where the belted 7mm needs a 24 or 26 inch tube.  A down for my cartridge is bullet capacity in most bolt actions.  You get an extra bullet in a 30/06 or 270 in most manufacturers as compared to the 7 mag.   I like the wing bucking capabilities of the 7mag over the other 2.   I personally prefer its reloading capabilities over the 270 but admit that it falls short to the 30/06.  The 7 mag is the flatter shooting of the three but again you pay for it will recoil and/or muzzle blast.  Like the previous two, you can almost find in as many rifles  and made by as many bullet manufacturers.   It is not as common as the 30/06 or 270 and I admit that but its my favorite for the way it drops deer!
     So I talked myself out of my favorite winning.  I like a 270 but again all it is a necked down 30/06.  I think the winner for me is a 30/06.  The 06 is truly a gun for the one rifle man.  Any of these three will make you a great deer rifle but for this discussion I will pick the 30/06.   I myself would pick either a 150 grain or 165 grain bullet and try to shoot it out of a 24 inch barrel.   The middle rifle in the  attached picture is  a 30/06 that I built for a client.  He wanted an all around rifle that would allow him to shoot 400 plus yards and again we picked the 30/06.   The top gun is a 7mm Rem Mag that shoots sweet and the bottom is a 270  that has a few custom options.  Good luck with your favorite rifle!
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