The best humor so far is in your comment ," the long standing question is answered once and for all ". As long as there is a campfire and sundowners, this will be a topic od discussion

I had three surprises in this playoff. In the first round I picked the .260Rem over the .270WSM, and figured the .25-06 would beat out the .260 in the next round. But it was pretty clear to me that the good old .270 would make it to the finals.

On the right side, I figured .30-30 would beat out the .308, simply based on the track record. IIRC, .30-30s have logged more whitetail kills in the US than any two other rounds combined. But there's no arguing that the .308 isn't also a great round.

It was always clear to me that the .30-06 would square off against the .270. And the better round won. (Sorry .270 guys, with the right bullet The Champ shoots flatter too.)

Hmmm. I smell a rat, a big, stinky rat that never truly came to know and love the 7-08 also-ran.

Gman,
What you're smelling may be me. That's always a possibility when anyone smells a big, stinky rat. But I've owned a Model 70 Classic Compact in 7mm-08 Also-Ran for years and wouldn't even think of trading it for a comparable rifle chambered for The Champ. I wouldn't trade my .300 Savage Didn't-Run either, and that somehow didn't even make the list.

An aught it's naught. Ouch, that is pretty bad

So I'm not the only one who likes it?

When I was agonizing and reading about everything I could before I bought my field gun, I just wanted to make sure I had "enough gun" for anything I wanted to do in the future. I wasn't sure I could ever buy another rifle, so i didn't want to come up against something I wasn't adequately armed for. I decided on the .30-06 because I felt there was nothing it couldn't do. A big much for rabbits, I'll admit, but not too small for the other end.

I know very little about guns, cartridges or ballistics but I enjoy reading the gun blogs and learning along the way.

Keep up the good work Dave. You'll make a gun hunter out of me yet.

I thought it funny how the on-line censors did not allow me to say "I don't no". "Know" intentionally misspelled to get pass the censors.

When you look at all those registered progeny... the 25 'naught six, the .27 'naught 6, the .28 'naught six, the .338 'naught six and the .35 'naught six. Then you throw in the unregistered progeny from .24 to .375, you have a hell of a thoroughbred!

Long live the Champ!

Rounding the percentages up/down is probably the reason they didn't add to 100%.

Best deer rifle: Winchester Model 70 (yes - pre-64). This is my absentee ballot for next year.

like i said in the first round, i feel slighted that my .300 savage was not included. i have 3 also rans, one runner up and a champ though so it's not so bad.

What's so great about my Remington mod.700 .270 runner up? I inherited from my Grandpa 30+ years ago. It will always be a champ to me!! Wouldn't trade it for the world.

I will wait impatiently for the best Cartridges for Elk, Moose I Grizzly !

I dont think i can wait till next year for the rifle bracket. Could you possibly move it to just before hunting season comes in. My personal favorite is the .308 also ran and i am partial to anything with a "3" in it

Let's have an elk, antelope or muley cartridge tournament ASAP.

Grasshopper, "don't underestimate the power of the AUGHT-6!" Won a many State and Regionals with the Aught-6 (M1 Garand)

aught 6 where i come from is more of household name than wally world.cant beat it even if you dont like it.

Very interesting,I new the champ would stay the champ. been around awhile. Just like Rocky.

let's do the best elk cartridge! i think i know which will win and i think i have one.

Does this mean that those who voted for the '06 get a couple of free boxes of say, 180 gr. fail-safes? :)

The champion is what I thought It was

Dave H,

Maybe you can talk Phil into managing the elk rifle tournament on the Gun Nut blog?

WMH

Hooray for the Old Man!

I will get through one of these posts and feel very comforted that my rifle is still considered respected. Then I read a post like the one above where someone mentions an entire state where rifles are not allowed. That makes me feel sad. But if I had to use a shot gun or a muzzle loader I would go with the muzzleloader. And if I had to use a 12guage I would use it to the best of my ability and smile. Whatever the rules are, the game is the same, there are just different ways to get it done. People have taken whitetails with .22 shorts with great success (often after midnight). Though I am not a fan of poaching my point is that there are many ways to get it done as long as you know your tools.

Doesn't matter how you slice it or dice it, the versatility and performance of the 30-06 is in fact the "GOLD STANDARD" for all cartridges to be measured against. Yes, you can come up with the argument that this cartridge does better than the 30-06 or the 30-06 does better than that. The fact remains that the 30-06 is a cartridge to be measured against. I find when someone measures a cartridge against another one; they talk about drop and foot pound energy. But the fact of the matter, there is two more parts of the equation that is left out. The two parts is "Initial Impact" and "Hydrostatic Shock". This is where the fight begins and this is where experienced hunters will agree on. For example, take the 7mm Rem Mag vs 30-06. What is going to cause more damage on initial impact, a .284 diameter or a .308 diameter object? Stand on the side of the road and have a car pass you then a semi, the blast of air from the 18 wheeler will almost knock you over. It’s know as displacement of matter and individuals will argue the other based solely on bullet drop and foot pound energy and will also agree that Dihydrogen Monoxide should be banned from our water supply and stop dumping this raw substance into our streams and oceans and must be treated like hazmat!

Gotta run, wife's monitor at work just went "Tango Uniform"!

Cogley,
I didn't tell you I'd be driving the bus. Shoot. I meant to tell you that.
Seriously, thanks for helping out with this. I hope you'll be back for the rifles version. After all, I'll need someone to throw under the bus for that one, too.

Looks like a little roadkill on the information super highway (web)!

If you repeat this survey (next March?) I suggest you bracket the sub-quarter calibers together, the .25s-7mms together, the .30s together and the +30s together. That way the final four won't come down to being 2 .30s against 2 .277s again. It may not change the results, but it could provide some interesting fodder for discussion.

Correction Sir

The BEST deer rifle out there, is the one you get your deer with!

Every time I take my M1A out, all I see is does and spikes nothing legal! Nest season the charm!

I just have too through in my two cents worth. I do love the 30/06. I also have a soft spot for all the other cartridges listed. Please call the champ by it's real name. Thirty oh six. You know, thirty caliber of 1906. There is nothing ought, naught, or anything else about it. The oh 6 is a wonderful cartridge. Everybody seems to think so. I've used it here and Africa and it left nothing to want. All comes down to shot placement and bullet used.
We Americans are power crazy. An oh 6 is way powerful on deer. It has more then enough power for elk (ask Jim Zumbo). In Europe the 7.62x63 has a devout following. I believe that most people would be better served hunting deer with a 257 Roberts because it kicks very little. Hits real hard for deer. Most guys don't shoot enough. Life gets in the way and, of course, the cost of ammunition is crazy. If a hunter isn't afraid of the gun, they should shoot better/ more accurately/ no lost game. Everybodies happy.

Who cares about all the different grain bullets a 30-06 can shoot. Only ONE grain is ideally suited for any caliber. And that is based on 2 factors--ballistic coefficient and sectional density in the right proportions. Which means yes you can shoot a bunch of different grains in lots of calibers--BUT NOT NEARLY as accurate. So that point of versatile is a moot point. And the .270 whips all comers (before wsm rounds as no tests with same criteria as follows)-- In a 15 mph crosswind drift at 300 yds the .270 had(.36) of a foot drift. The 300 mag, the 7mm, the 30-06 and a host of others couldnt touch that--they all drifted further. Ive read this but for the life of me I cant remember where exactly. But I do recall the details. So if a true unadulterated test picking the PROPER GRAIN BULLET for each was done--the .270 in 130 grain, no doubt will win---after all it is IN FACT a necked down 30-06 case. So the .270 has the same powder capacity,is faster, shoots flatter, recoils less, drifts the least, and a smaller caliber is inherently more accurate. So who came up with "and the winner is"? . Must be a 30-06 fan not putting out all the facts against their pick.

The truth is, they are BOTH awesome, and far more than adequate for whitetail. In fact, the contest would have made more sense if it had been "The Best Mule Deer Cartridge". Of course, the .270 is derived from the '06, and uses it's case. There are some gains to be had by dropping down to a 20 cal bullet, but at the same time, you lose a little here and there. But there's something magic about any 30 cal (7.62) round. Just thinnk of it...... the 30-06, the 30-30, the 30 carbine, the 300 Savage, the Mosin Nagant (amounts to a Russian 30-06, but resembles a short mag with it's fat case), and on and on. I pick the 30 cal (30-06) because of the great velocity, available mass, and knock down power. There ain't none better.