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Big Nate brought out the most reasonable point, especially if hand loading/reloading is part of the equation the amount of powder required by the .300 Win. Mag. and the .300 Weatherby to achieve only a few hundred fps over the .30-06 really seems ludicrous.

My .300 Wins cost 7 cents more for powder than my 30-06s. Since the Win Mags are out-running the '06s by 3-500 fps that has got to be the cheapest performance increase ever.

If you can have your rifle converted to a switch barrel with a similarly matching case. You would have made your first question solved as in similarities and especially weight issues in travel. Otherwise get another Win M70.

Your preference and limitations of 200 yards or less makes the decision a lot easier. Make your PH aware and respectful of your decision. It is your hunt.
Magnum, the burning of extra powder reasons for existence .
The need to extend range and flatten trajectory so less adjustments need to be made in Tennessee elevation. At 200yds or less with the above mentioned centerfires is a mute point. Never mind the extra recoil.
With the right 30-06 payload/bullet such as NP 200grain, swift A frame and may be a Woodleigh 240grain pre sighted for a particular target presentation. Your quarry won't know the difference. Your wife will appreciate the lessor recoil that you also enjoy. It does not hurt to have the .375H&H close by especially for the Eland.
Personally, I prefer the .300 H&H and .375 H&H combination. But it is not about me.
I also have the 235grain Barnes TSX at 3,060fps
that is mild in recoil and a stomper on the other end. for the one rifle battery.
It is nice to have choices and the guidance of many AR experienced members. Have a good hunt and let us know how it turns up after the hunt.

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The need to extend range and flatten trajectory so less adjustments need to be made in Tennessee elevation. At 200yds or less with the above mentioned centerfires is a mute point. Never mind the extra recoil.

Do you also believe that the 30-30 and 30-06 are equals under 200 yards?

The 30-30 is forced to use different bullets in most of its rifles. If they could both use the same bullets then there would be little difference under 100 yards.

ABOVE MENTIONED CENTERFIRES !
416Tanzan answered perfectly.

This thread is like most political arguments, which I suppose it really is, as there are so many unsubstantiated "facts" and mis-leading opinions thrown out that things get muddled.
When the 30-06 is loaded to the same pressures limits as the 300, which is not feasible with most 30-30's, the 300's 20% increase in powder sounds like a lot but in real life it means only around a 5% increase in velocity over the 30-06.
That minimal increase in velocity is a valid benefit for long range target shooters where a slight un-anticipated gust of wind might drift a bullet out of the ten ring and into the 9.
But in the real world of hunting the slight power difference is insignificant and, with range finders, the trajectory difference means even less.

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Originally posted by mlfguns:
ABOVE MENTIONED CENTERFIRES !
416Tanzan answered perfectly.

The 30-30 even with it's round-nosed bullets is quite capable of making 200 yard shots without holdover. If trajectory is everything then it shouldn't be any different than a 30-06 within 200 yards. Would you agree or disagree with that?

My .300s run 300 fps faster (3150 regular as clockwork) than my fastest 30-06 and 500 fps faster than some others of mine which between shorter or slower barrels are doing good to get 2650 with 180s.

I've got a carbine length '94 that chugs along at 2100 fps and a 26" version that seems happy enough to reach for 2300.

Except for 10 grains of bullet it would appear that the 30-30 has more in common with some of my 30-06 collection, then the '06 portion does with the Win mag section.

Funny thing is, I never once thought they were all the same although they all have uses. My dad used a 30-30 his whole hunting life and did OK. I don't particularly care for the '06 but did shoot over 200 big animals with a couple of them in the last two years. At the same time I watched my son shoot 100 more. If this year follows the same pattern I'll take another 100 with that old war cartridge this year. It works, obviously but it still isn't a .300. You are free to believe otherwise.

I have had a couple of nice (one Sako Safari model with quarter rib) in 300 win mag and have sold them all. Stocked one up very nicely and it fit like a charm and every one of them were totally brutal to shoot. I personally think the recoil impulse is much faster than the 30-06 which I shoot all day. It is with my 7x57 my favorite second gun for Africa. We were sitting on the back patio of a friends place in Zimbabewe. I was meat shooting for him as he sold some to the surrounding farms. Mostly Tsseebee and Wildebeest and a few Kudu. We looked across this pond and there was a single Wildebeest drinking . Range was a measured 390 yards (he measured it with a rangefinder afterward). He asked me to take it as he had an order for it. I took my Model 70 custom (prewar built in 1939) has a David Miller stock and looks exactly like one of his Masterpiece Line. It was built by a guy in Murphys Gunshop of Tucson. Scope is a 3 -10 Vari X III. Bullet was a 220gr Nosler Partiton that this gun really shoots. I put one shot from a rest shooting thru a cyclone type fence. Heart/lung shot and on impact the Wildebeest went straight down. The owner said lets finish our tea and Get him later. We finished our tea and biscuits and when we got up he was gone. We went down and when we got there we found a large puddle of nice dark blood. The owner who was a PH and probably the best tracker I have ever seen other than a native. He said he couldn't have gone far and followed him straight up the hill for about 40 yards and he was stone cold. The sad part of it he wanted the cape to replace one that was poor on a clients and this one was even worse. I have never had poor success in Africa with a Nosler 220gr in this rifle. I actually took 2 Impala once at the PH's instructions with one shot. WE found a herd and he said just line up two and take them both with one shpot and we are done for the day. Two of the lined up and I took both out with one heart\lung shot. I have never tried anything larger than Wildebeest with it and probably wouldn't but then I wouldn't with a 300win mag either.

I have killed and seen killed a number of elk with a 30-30 and it killed them very well, most just fell down some went 50 or so yards..but I kept my range to about 100 or 150 yards, maybe a few a 200 never further than that and no Texas heart shots and all broadside standing or walking, maybe trotting..

With my .338 Win I will shoot at up to 400 yards if conditions are good, and I will take a Texas heart shot every opportunity I get and it's a deadly shot with the larger calibers. I will about take elk or Eland as the shot comes within common since.

You can determine caliber by the hunting condition and your ability to not take chances that can lead to wounded animals, know your own limitations and most calibers will work..Like Rikkie said he has killed a Kudu with a 22 L.R. and I killed a big black bear with a 22 L.R. colt Woodsman, and a few Mt. Lions..but you are usually at a disadvantage with the lighter calibers. I passed many a nice bull elk and buck deer because my 25-35 wasn't up to the task for whatever condition presented. I waited for the 100 yard broadside standing and it worked as well as a 416 Rem.

As many Eland and elk and a couple of Moose that I have shot with my 30-06, 308, and 7x57 I tend to grab my .338 Win or perhaps my 300 H&H loaded to the gills with 200 gr. Noslers. but the reasons I pick a gun for a hunt are in many cases nostalgic, and sometimes out of curiosity such as will it work.

I'll always be comfortable with the 06 or .270 but I have quite a few rifles, and they all get used.

The 30-06 is the Everyman's Elk Rifle.

It just works, as do a myriad of other rounds. The world is full of good elk cartridges. The question is really about the hunter, not the cartridge...

Here is the fallacy of this whole thread, almost everyone sez the 308 or 30-06 will kill Eland, but the 300 magnums kill them better? that confuses me!

The 300s have more range, but they really don't in the field, just about 3 to 5 inches better and most of us can wiggle off or on more than that at those long ranges. this also confuses me.

Last of all I have been shooting my max loaded 30-06 and my max loaded 300 H&H for more years than I can count. My chronograph shows about 200 to 300 FPS difference. I can detect that on the chronograph!, but I have never been able to detect that difference in killing effect on game of any kind at any range, I can make just as long a shot with the 30-06 at any range, but I suppose mentally I would have to give an ever so slight edge to my 300 as its an awesome caliber and its real advantage is nostalgic!

I mostly shoot 200 gr. Noslers in both at 2733 FPS with the 06, and its 22 inch barrel, and I can scrape up 3000 FPS in my 300 with one powder its 26 inch barrel. If I circumsized my 300 H&H it would duplicate the 06. If I stuck a 26 inch barrel on my 30-06 it would duplicate my 300 H&H, Nothing would change if I did either.

Could it possibly be that you have forgot more about actual field performance on game than the majority of these folks will ever experience?

I am not personally a fan of the .30-06 but do like both the .300 Win Mag and .300 Weatherby Mag.

But if a new hunter asks me what I would recommend, I don't hesitate to say the .270/.308 or the .30-06 will work just fine and the average hunter and the game they shoot will not be able to tell the difference between the 3.

My wife and I just returned from the Eastern Cape of South Africa

We used the boring old 30-06 with 150 grn Accubonds at just over 2850

10 animals had little time to complain that the bullet that tore through them was not at "magnum" velocity

5 of those 10 having a reputation of being big or big and tough

Blue Wildebeest
Waterbuck
Kudu
Gemsbock
Black Wildebeest

My problem is.....I just don't know any better (hard headed)

I've heard the argument and advice

Would you take a mid size cartridge on a trip of a lifetime?

Yep.....and I'll do it again

I settled on a .30-06 Sporter. 24" tube and the same stock configuration as the SE. The mysteriously named Featherweight did not match quite as well.

Thanks to all who actually addressed my questions.

Great choice, a rifle you will keep forever.
A 30/06 well shot and with good bullets is nothing to trifle with.

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Originally posted by Seamaster:
I settled on a .30-06 Sporter. 24" tube and the same stock configuration as the SE. * * *

Finally, a sensible decision.
Stick with shots inside 200 yards, using quality 200gn or 220gn bullets, and you'll have no worries.
Happy hunting.

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Thanks to all who actually addressed my questions.

You're welcome.

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Originally posted by lavaca:
My point, inarticulate as it was stated, is that I'd go up rather than down if I wanted a companion rifle to a .375. The .375 is a great cartridge and is a good long range cartridge as well. I've carried a .375 to Africa multiple times. It's always been my light rifle. Frankly, it's a good one-gun battery should you choose to go that route.

Well all has been said, actually it was all repetition form the middle 1930s or there abouts.

My final word on Eland is hand me my 30-06 or my 300 H&H, which ever one is the closest to my breakfast table as I finish this last cup of coffee.

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The .375 is a great cartridge and is a good long range cartridge as well.

I suppose that depends on what you consider long range.

yes,
in Africa 200-400 is long range.

And today, of course, I'd recommend one of the little 20" Ruger Alaskan in 375 Ruger with a pepper-laminate stock. Easy-carrying and a lot of gun for plains-game.

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Originally posted by Crazyhorseconsulting:

I am not personally a fan of the .30-06 but do like both the .300 Win Mag and .300 Weatherby Mag.

But if a new hunter asks me what I would recommend, I don't hesitate to say the .270/.308 or the .30-06 will work just fine and the average hunter and the game they shoot will not be able to tell the difference between the 3.

I have seen an awful lot of folks who felt that while the 30-06 was OK, they were so good that they "needed" some sort of 300 magnum.

I guess I have never felt that I was that good, so stuck with a caliber suitable for the "average" hunter. It does seem to work just fine so I guess I have to agree with Crazyhorse.

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I have seen an awful lot of folks who felt that while the 30-06 was OK, they were so good that they "needed" some sort of 300 magnum.

I guess I have never felt that I was that good, so stuck with a caliber suitable for the "average" hunter. It does seem to work just fine so I guess I have to agree with Crazyhorse.

How does using a .458 align with that thinking? Is it because you are that good, or need that much help? Or is it because you think a .458 is suitable for the average hunter.

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Originally posted by Seamaster:
I appreciate the responses that actually addressed the subject of 30-06 v 300WM. It is odd to see so many opinions about my 375 and other matters ancillary to the proposed topic.

The heavy bullet (180/200) traveling a couple hundred fps faster will of course have more energy. The 300WM is my favorite elk rifle.

It is remotely possible that I can talk my wife into shooting a warthog or an impala this next trip. She does very well with her .270 on deer and elk but has not wanted to shoot while in Africa yet.

How many here other than Tsquare2 have actually taken an eland with a 30-06, and at what distance?

Thanks guys!

Any .300 (many more to choose from than just 30/06 and 300 WM) is a great tool for a wide variety of African game. I took a Cape Eland at 200 yds with my 300 WSM, it never took a step and dropped in its tracks from a shot through the top of the heart with 180 gr Trophy Bonded Bear Claw.

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Originally posted by Dogleg:

quote:

I have seen an awful lot of folks who felt that while the 30-06 was OK, they were so good that they "needed" some sort of 300 magnum.

I guess I have never felt that I was that good, so stuck with a caliber suitable for the "average" hunter. It does seem to work just fine so I guess I have to agree with Crazyhorse.

How does using a .458 align with that thinking? Is it because you are that good, or need that much help? Or is it because you think a .458 is suitable for the average hunter.

Are you seriously comparing the 300 mag, and it's intended usage, with the 458 ?

Nothing of the sort.