Why Compare The 7mm 08 vs 30 06?
In this cartridge comparison between the 7mm-08 and the.30-06, we are comparing two cartridges that are frequently put side by side. Both have their admirers for various shooting purposes, but in hunting circles, they are more frequently contrasted.
Both the 7mm-08 and the.30-06 have the speed and range needed for long-range shooting contests, however they are lower on the list of shooting cartridges used in competitions.
The hunting community is where both of these cartridges are used and used most frequently nowadays. Due to this, the majority of the discussion in this article will focus on hunting-related applications, albeit it would be negligent of us to neglect to discuss functionality in the context of competition.
The selection of one cartridge above another and proclaiming it the king of the cartridges, as some comparisons like to do, is not something we feel is useful or right, similar to other cartridge comparisons we have done on this website.
We aim to better understand what conditions and target shooting applications each cartridge would be more suitable for by looking at a cartridge’s performance stats and other attributes.
One cartridge may be better suited for a particular use, or it may be that certain rounds for each cartridge perform equally well while other rounds for each cartridge perform dreadfully.
In this essay, we attempt to clarify some of the murky regions between these cartridges because it is not always black and white.
History of 7mm-08 Remington
While the 7mm-08 doesn’t have the same lengthy and illustrious history as some other cartridges, it has shown its worth on a few occasions. When the 7mm-08 Remington was first released, it was not immediately popular, but over time, people, particularly hunters, started to appreciate some of its advantages.
In general, you could attain some of the superior terminal ballistics of .30-06 caliber rounds with the 7mm 08 bullets without the significant recoil that was frequently associated with them.
In an effort to imitate the performance of the vintage 7-57 Mauser in a more contemporary caliber and cartridge, the 7mm-08 Remington was created in the 1980s. The.308 Win was necked down to become the 7mm-08 in order to accommodate the 7mm 08 bullet’s lower diameter.
A great hunting cartridge for medium-sized to large animals is the 7mm-08. It was meant to offer less recoil while keeping bullet weight and velocity that could reach out and efficiently dispatch the game. Although the 7mm-08 has a devoted following of users, it does not enjoy the same degree of popularity as other hunting calibers.
The majority of the bullet weight is between 120 and 150 grains, however there are heavier rounds that are more similar to the typical hunting rounds of the.308. Competitive shooters have a strong preference for bullet weight that is 160 grains or more.
History of .30-06 Springfield
One of the earliest cartridges that are still quite popular in the present is the.30-06. It was created in 1906 and had several changes over the years, particularly to the design of it. It was also used in battle throughout multiple conflicts before being supplanted in the late 1970s by the NATO version of the.308 Win.
The.30-06 is a well-known hunting cartridge with a flat trajectory, power, and velocity that, when adjusted, can cleanly dispatch medium to large wildlife up to and beyond 500 yards, despite being withdrawn from military duty.
The .30-06 may be found in almost any retail establishment that sells ammo. The.30-06 may be employed in a wide range of hunting settings because of its enormous weight of bullets and types. When manually loaded, the.30-06 may also be a very hot load, substantially enhancing performance.
Recoil
Recoil won’t be as high on the list of tradeoffs for one cartridge over another for the majority of seasoned hunters. One factor is the commonality of recoil patterns among hunting ammunition used for the same game. And as most hunters are aware, the recoil feels like a flick on the shoulder when you fire a shot at an object in your sights.
However, recoil is a factor we should look at. Recoil may play a significant role in cartridge selection for sportsmen and sportswomen who are younger or less experienced. Recoil affects how quickly you can get accurate follow-up shots, even for more seasoned shooters.
The.30-06 produces noticeably greater recoil energy when shot than the 7mm-08, when comparing the two calibers (7mm-08 and.30-06). The facts shown here support what we said about the history of the 7mm-08, which was created to give some of the other terminal ballistic properties of rounds like the.30-06 Springfield.
In the hands of novice shooters, the five.30-06 rounds’ combined muzzle energy of more than 20ft.lbsf is more than enough to cause a wild shot. Even the most seasoned shooters will suffer enough recoil to induce a lag in response time while recentering back on the target. When trying to make a rapid follow-up shot, this is quite important. On the range, where speed may not be a concern, it might not matter.
Although the recoil of the 7mm-08 was far less, they nevertheless create a little bit more than 17ft.lbsf of recoil. Some people may consider those few pounds to be a determining factor, but we frequently base our decisions more largely on ballistics.
However, if you enjoy shooting through a few boxes at the range, the slight variation in recoil energy can help you avoid wearing yourself out over time.
Velocity
The average velocity of.30-06 Springfield rounds is roughly 2820 feet per second (fps), whereas the average velocity of 7mm-08 Remington rounds is 2830 fps. A Boeing 737 commercial airplane cruises at 600 mph, or 880 fps, to put this in context.
In other words, 7mm-08 Remington bullets fly 3.2 times as fast as a 737 jet at cruising altitude as compared to.30-06 Springfield rounds.
Energy
Additionally, a 7mm-08 Remington round has an average muzzle energy of 2450 ft-lb compared to a.30-06 Springfield cartridge’s average muzzle energy of 2920 ft-lb. A foot-pound, which is a unit of energy equal to the amount of energy needed to lift a one-pound weight one foot, is one way to think about muzzle energy.
Therefore, a.30-06 Springfield round leaves the barrel with kinetic energy equivalent to the amount of kinetic energy needed to move 2920 pounds vertically over a distance of one foot, while a 7mm-08 Remington round leaves the barrel with muzzle energy equivalent to the amount needed to move 2450 pounds over the same distance.
As a general rule, muzzle energy is what most shooters consider when determining what caliber of rifle and ammunition to choose when it comes to hunting or target shooting. Generally speaking, the stopping power increases with increasing muzzle energy.
Be aware that each load of the 7mm-08 Remington Magnum uses more aerodynamic bullets than the corresponding load of the.30-06 Springfield. In a moment, more on this. A 200 yard zero was used for all six cargoes. As you can see, the 7mm-08 Remington Magnum performs better at all ranges than comparable due to the muzzle energy.30-06 Springfield loads because of its flatter trajectory and higher kinetic energy.
Furthermore, as range rises, the performance variation between the 7mm-08 Mag and other rounds widens in favor of the 7mm-08 Mag because it employs a more aerodynamic round with a higher ballistic coefficient. Particularly, the muzzle energy of the 7mm 08 is 2-4% higher than that of the 30 06
Ballistic
Whatever your shooting needs, you should be familiar with the ballistics of your preferred cartridge. Knowing the restrictions of your cartridge and how your bullets behave in flight are essential for making the right modifications in the field.
Several ballistic categories, including velocity, ballistic coefficient, and the short- and long-range trajectories of the 7mm-08 and .30-06 will be examined in this section. Knowing how these two cartridges perform in flight will help us make decisions about which shooting situations one of them may be more suitable for.
Average Supersonic Limit (Yards)
The averages reveal that there is hardly any difference between the two cartridges. Both often continue blasting just before the 1,000-yard mark. On average, the.30-06 round outlasts the 7mm-08 round by over fifteen yards.
Now, if you examine each round separately, you will see that there is a significant difference in the rounds of each type of cartridge. Both include shots that can travel more than 1,200 yards and ones that are less than 1,000 yards.
Trajectory
It is inevitable that we would look at some long range trajectory data because both the 7mm-08 and the.30-06 are promoted as long range hunting rounds, and even for competitive distance shooting to a lesser extent.
However, shots may also be made at much lower distances and are frequently done so, particularly for hunting. In light of this, we will also examine the short-range trajectory.
Any hunter, recreational shooter, or skilled marksman is searching for a flat trajectory. This indicates that the bullets don’t lose much velocity as it travels downrange. Along the flight route, there will inevitably be a dip in height.
Simply said, it is not possible to produce that much force within the chamber without running the danger of a catastrophic collapse. Nevertheless, we aim to reduce that altitude drop as much as we can.
From the muzzle out to 500 yards, the trajectories of the Federal Ballistic Tip 140gr 7mm-08 and the Federal Ballistic Tip 150gr.30-06 are quite comparable. Until they are 300 yards apart, there is barely any difference between the two, and even then, it is barely noticeable.
You should expect a maximum variation of 3 inches between the two, with the.30-06 being slightly flatter. Most people would go to other categories with this much resemblance to decide whether to use one or the other.
Applications
We frequently observe the employment of both of these cartridges in similar circumstances when comparing 7mm-08 and.30-06 applications. Although they are not as well-known as some other available cartridges, both of them have been used in competitive shooting circles, particularly in long-range precision events.
The ballistics data we analyzed didn’t truly prove that one cartridge was better than the other; rather, it revealed that some rounds for both cartridges had better ballistic performances than the others. It could come down to recoil and availability.
The 7mm-08 could be more enjoyable for many range shooters since it creates less recoil, which could reduce fatigue when firing a number of shots downrange.
Both of these cartridges are utilized in many of the same applications for the 7mm-08 and.30-06 calibers. Even though neither of them is as well-known as some of the other cartridges on the market, they have both been used in competitive shooting circles, particularly in long-range precision events.
The ballistics data we examined didn’t truly prove that one cartridge was better than the other; rather, it revealed that some rounds for both cartridges had better ballistic performances than the others. Possible factors are recoil and availability.
Since the 7mm-08 produces less recoil than other calibers, it may be more enjoyable for many range shooters and minimize their potential for tiredness while firing several rounds downrange.
Conclusion: Is The 7mm 08 Better Than 30 06?
In this post, we contrasted two cartridges that are designed to function well in many of the same situations. And while there are certain overall performance patterns that favor one cartridge over the other, we hope that we have demonstrated that both offer alternatives that will take care of business in the field.
Users of both rounds will constantly argue back and forth about the advantages of their preferred cartridge. It’s a feature of the shooting world, and we hope that we’ve given you a fair comparison of the 7mm-08 and.30-06 to assist you make a choice.