.270 vs 30-06 & 308

Forums > Rifles-N-Guns Community > Gun Discussion > .270 vs 30-06 & 308

Sergeant Major of the Army

Points: 26

Aug 15, 2007 9:07 pm

I would like to get some of your opinions on the .270 cartridge. It seems alot of people that write in these forums lean towards the 30-06 and 308 calibers. I am looking to purchase a rifle that will be mostly used for White-tail and Mule hunting. However I eventually want to get into Elk hunting as well. Hopefully by that time I would be able to buy another rifle for Elk hunting, but in case an opportunity arose before I could afford another rifle, I would like to be able to use the one I am looking to purchase now. I am leaning towards the .270 because of the flatter trajectory. And in most loads, from what I can find on websites like Winchester.com and Remington.com, the energy per foot pounds is not much lower than the bigger calibers. Are the bigger calibers inherently more accurate than the smaller .270? Any advice is appreciated.

I have also considered going with either the 270 WSM or 300 WSM, but am not sure that it is really needed for Whitetail.

Osiris5432

Lieutenant Colonel

Points: 360

Aug 15, 2007 10:13 pm

I've used a Ruger M77 .270 to harvest three mule deer and two elk and it's a great flat shooting, and accurate round, with the right bullet rifle combination it can be just as effective as most any rifle. i traded it off for a .243 win. the worst gun related choice of my life, i hate the .243 lol. god damn it.

Jollyroger

Major General

Points: 812

Aug 16, 2007 4:35 pm

Yeah I prefer the 30 06 and 308 due to a number of reasons, price and availability, plus those calibers were the ones I was raised on so I have a biased. While I've never hunted with the .270 I've fired a couple of times and enjoyed it, but never practiced at long range. the 300 WSM seems a bit much for deer hunting and even elk. The price of the gun and ammo is a major turn off.

"We deal in Lead, friend." Steve Mcqueen from the Magnificent Seven.

randolphbr549

Sergeant Major of the Army

Points: 35

Aug 17, 2007 6:37 am

working incognito
buckhunter.its all in the ballistics.a 30-06 and a 3.08 have a heavier round that travel at a greater valocity and have a harder inpact.however thats not always better.when hunting you need to consider the impact damage to the animal.watchout for overkill.another consideration is your surroundings in indiana we can't even use a rifle to hunt deer.this year the state DNR inacted a new law that allows a rifle that chambers a pistol cartridge.the reason.indiana is flat as a pancake and a high powered rifle has the potential to travel long distances and hit sourrounding homes etc.another consideration is personal taste do you like the rifle and do you shoot it well.will it work best for you.i have some ballistic info for you to show you the ballistic differance in these three rounds.

.270 winchester soft point 150 grain fps:2625 energy/impact: 2289
.243 winchester soft point 100 grain fps:2861 energy/impact: 1877
30-06 winchester fmj 180 grain fps:2673 energy/impact: 2866
.308 winchester fmj 147 grain fps:2808 energy/impact; 2581
.303 british fmj 180 grain fps:2438 energy/impact: 2382

naturaly the ballistics will change if you change the grain of the bullit and the type of projectile.the type of barrel on the rifle can effect ballistics.a longer barrell may increase speed or impact energy.i saw an add for a 175 grain .308 round. that round would be faster and stronger than the .308 info you see above.you may or may not want a soft point considering you will be shooting at flesh on a deer you need to consider wound damage a hard FMJ round may do less damage.instead of splintering it would go through the animal causing less damage.i saw a guy shoot a deer with a 50 cal round from a hunting revolver and atomized a good chunk of deer flesh.it splintered so bad a good section of meat was inedible because of all the metal fragments. myself,i have a bad habit of wanting to use to much gun for the job.i guess its a male thing.i am really considering your question about rifle calibrs to.im going hunting this fall with a pistol round chambering rifle and am considering what caliber to use.let us know how the .270 works for you.

buckhunter

Sergeant Major of the Army

Points: 26

Aug 19, 2007 8:41 pm

Thanks for the input guys. I will probably go with the 270. Now I just need to decide on the rifle. Not looking to spend a whole lot, but want accuracy. Right now I am thinking Browning or Remington.

esqinaline

First Lieutenant

Points: 92

Aug 27, 2007 1:55 pm

Go with the Mossberge ATR-100, in .270. Very affordable and a great shooter. I have one now, and as predicted, I love it.I hope you find your rifle too.