30.06 vs 270 yes I'm going there

[*Klutch*]

With the selection of bullets available and particularly with bonded and solid copper bullets you really don't have to worry so much about caliber these days.

The .270 does shoot slightly flatter and recoils slightly less. The .270 will eat a barrel a little bit faster if you shoot a lot.

Flat shooting may not be important for some, but there is a real advantage to shooting your rifle in 3" high at 100 and only being 4" low at 400. It's why I chose a faster magnum and has paid off in several nice deer over the years that weren't about to let me use a rangefinder and dial the turrets (although I do that too). In your case the differences aren't so pronounced, but there it's there.

For most people, this comparison is a moot point and I'd start looking for the nicest gun in your price range that just happens to be in one of these calibers.

Lycanletthedealsmakeyourchoicethrope

Lycan thank you for the input. As much as I love the 7mm mag for me I don't see the benefit. If I have an opportunity to shoot at 60-80 yds I don't want it to pass through without expanding.
I feel the 270 or the 06 is all the gun I will need.

I voted for the 06. Did I read U reload? In that case the 06 is right on.
I did own both at 1 X. Kept the 06 Ruger MR77. It is a older 1.

Ammo & bullet selection=endless
Now, the 308?

My ? to U? What rifles are U looking at? New Or Used?

I've been looking at the 308 all morning online while not working at work today😜 it may be an option. I do however prefer the 06 for several reasons already listed.
As far as rifles I've looked at Win 70 and weatherby vanguard for new ones. I'm open to others but they need to be looked over in person. I'm not to keen on Rem700 as of new cause of ongoing issues. I had a savage but it didn't impress me even though it shot well. I prefer the Win 70 over the others and I like the weight and trigger on the weatherby as well as the 24" barrel

[saleen322]

Both are fine calibers but I lean toward the 30-06. More 30 caliber bullets available for reloaders and a lot of folks forget it was a great target round even through the 1960's. The drying up of military surplus match ammo was more the cause of the switch to 308 around then than anything else.

[pennlineman]

Lycan thank you for the input. As much as I love the 7mm mag for me I don't see the benefit. If I have an opportunity to shoot at 60-80 yds I don't want it to pass through without expanding.
I feel the 270 or the 06 is all the gun I will need.

I don't think you'll ever have an issue with a 7mm mag not expanding at that range provided you're using bullets designed for deer hunting and not match shooting. On the other end of the spectrum varmint bullets may "blow up" and not penetrate much at all.


I've been looking at the 308 all morning online while not working at work today�� it may be an option. I do however prefer the 06 for several reasons already listed.
As far as rifles I've looked at Win 70 and weatherby vanguard for new ones. I'm open to others but they need to be looked over in person. I'm not to keen on Rem700 as of new cause of ongoing issues. I had a savage but it didn't impress me even though it shot well. I prefer the Win 70 over the others and I like the weight and trigger on the weatherby as well as the 24" barrel

I have a lot of different makes of rifles. Check out a CZ 550 if you get a chance, very nice rifles.

I found this web site awhile back. He goes more into just trajectory, muzzle velocity and energy. I found it to be good reading, you can research any cartridge you like on it using the search function.

http://www.ballisticstudies.com/Know..._utmk=44874148

[Noah_Zark]

Thanks big guy. I always value your input...

I voted "Yes" because for PA hunting IMO it's a coin toss 30-06 vs 270 for many reasons already posted above.

WDM Bell used the 7x57 for African big game, the Scandanavians use the 6.5x55 for all of their hunting, and if those cartridges from a rifle in the hands of someone who knows how to use it can do what they do, then the 270 can certainly do for PA game. Heck, in these parts (Elk, Cameron, Jefferson, McKean, Potter Counties) a popular deer cartridge is the .243 in 100 gr flavor, assuming it can be found. It and the 7mm-08 are very popular "starter" cartridges for youthful deer hunters, the way the Model 94 in 30-30 or the Remington 141 in 35 Remington was for me and my contemporaries.

The late Jack O'Connor was probably the best-known advocate of the 270, as anyone who read Outdoor Life from the late 40s to the late 70s can attest. O'Connor regularly used the 270 on sheep, often at 300-400 yd ranges out West. If the 270 can take a sheep at 400 yds, it can certainly take a PA whitetail at 50 to 150 yds.

Sure, there are technical reasons for choosing the 30-06 over the 270, and technical counter-reasons for choosing the 270 over 30-06 but IMO and experience there's not a whit of practical difference.

It boils down to economics and the Total Cost of Acquisition -- what are the price and availability of the ammo or reloading components if you're into reloading, and what is the price of the rifle/scope/rings combination? Let your wallet decide; the deer won't know the difference.

Noah

[*Klutch*]

Thanks Noah. I can't add rep to you I gotta spread some first but good post!!
I have 400 30.06 casings and 200 270 bullets and dies for neither but powder for both. It's a draw for me.

[mpan72]

I own neither and have shot neither. I researched both extensively. That is why I checked out this thread in the first place.

I have come to the same conclusion as several others who have replied. Both are very capable for all Pa. big game. The 30-06 may be slightly better for the biggest and the
.270 a hair better for the smaller. The overlap is substantial and probably negates any real life difference.

I decided to that the caliber choice is irrelevant to my decision. I will buy the gun that fits me best and I like the most with price as a third variable if it comes into play. I do understand that most if not all choices of gun would include both calibers. In that case I have no idea which I will choose.

So all in all I ain't no help. Sorry.

[Bang]

Mentioning scopes, I'd like to add I never missed a deer standing or running with open sights but did find a scope made getting on a running deer impossible a couple of times. If my eyes would return to what they were (20/5) in my twenties I would not have a scope on a deer rifle. Nowadays I have to make a best guess at which is the real bead on that multiple bead I see.

[pennlineman]

Mentioning scopes, I'd like to add I never missed a deer standing or running with open sights but did find a scope made getting on a running deer impossible a couple of times. If my eyes would return to what they were (20/5) in my twenties I would not have a scope on a deer rifle. Nowadays I have to make a best guess at which is the real bead on that multiple bead I see.

I always use the one on the right, I just can't make myself go left.

[unclejumbo]

Lycan thank you for the input. As much as I love the 7mm mag for me I don't see the benefit. If I have an opportunity to shoot at 60-80 yds I don't want it to pass through without expanding.
I feel the 270 or the 06 is all the gun I will need.

My first deer I took with a 7mm mag. It was only about 30 yards away and I hit it in the shoulder. It dropped where it stood and the bullet remained in the far shoulder. It formed a nice mushroom.

If you like that caliber, I wouldn't discount it. I really don't see anything being too much for deer until you move into the .33+ caliber magnums. The nice thing about your 7mm and 30 caliber magnums is that you can take a whitetail with the same rifle you could take on a big hunt out west.

The only downside is recoil. Some folks are recoil adverse and for them I wouldn't recommend a magnum caliber.

[frankski]

As far as rifles I've looked at Win 70 and weatherby vanguard for new ones. I'm open to others but they need to be looked over in person. I'm not to keen on Rem700 as of new cause of ongoing issues. I had a savage but it didn't impress me even though it shot well. I prefer the Win 70 over the others and I like the weight and trigger on the weatherby as well as the 24" barrel

A long time ago (40 years) I had the Winchester 70 in .270. Win made a sweet gun in those days - my little bro' has it now.

A few months back I got a Vanguard S2 (in .308 as you may have guessed). Yes it does shoot sub MOA out of the box, but much more consistently with a B&C Medalist upgrade. The trigger is excellent. Reloading for it has been almost as much fun as shooting it.