Home Forums Hunting & Shooting General Big Game All-Around Rifle (Sheep, Deer, Elk): 270 Win. or 30-06??

My coin has tails on both sides.... <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Don

Since I've owned half a dozen 270's over the last 30 years I'd say I have voted with my dollars a few times....picked up another new yesterday. I am of the belief that if I need a 30 caliber something it is going to be faster than a 30'06...but then I have never killed an elk yet either ...but shoot a 300Winnie in 180's almost as much as I shoot my 270's. For me it is a "this bullet weight range is for this size critter" and so on instead of a one size fits all...and the guns used are nuthin' but tools to get the job done. I have spent less on each tool but like the options of more tools to choose from for the job at hand. JMHO
Ron

There's a reason the '06 has been around for a 100 years - It gets the job done. Put me down on the '06 list.

I'm a 270 fan but if elk are on the menu I would chose the '06.

I too vote for the 30-06. My 24" barreled 30-06 shoots the 168 TSX at 2980 fps. There are seveal others here who have posted similar velocities with 165-168 grain bullets. The difference in trajectory between that at a .270 130 grainer at 3100 fps is not that significant, even to 400 yds. However, the hole the 30-06 makes is bigger.

Take elk out then my vote would change to 270, though the 270 has worked on lek for a lot fo years.

A guy with a .270 has a better chance of buying another rifle than a guy with an .06....not that there's anything wrong with that.

I'd have to go with a 30-06 myself. THe heavier bullets in the '06 just gives you an edge on less than ideal shots. I've never seen the point in having a 270 unless you already have a 30-06.

I admit that I'm biased and yes, I read too much of Jack O'Conner when I was a kid. A .30-06 would do you well but I vote for the .270 with 150 gr. Partitions. I get close to 2940 fps with my handloads and it's the rifle I use for sheep, caribou, etc. Yes, I'd even use it on moose unless I had a good chance of running into a grizzly up close. My attitude is that if I need more rifle than a .270, I'll go to my .338 Mag - which I do. In short - .270 Win. Just my opinion for what it's worth. Bear in Fairbanks

One can never go wrong with a 30-06.

I've used both on deer and elk, it's a coin flip.

I dont know about 3,000fps with a 150gr 270, or the same with a 165gr out of a 22" tube, those loads would be hot for sure. That is unless you were shooting Federal's high energy, or Hornadys lite-mag loads.

Neither cartridge has any flies on it but i would go with the 30-06, the standard that every other round is judged against. If you wanted a high velocity 06 round you could load a 130gr Barnes TSX in the 06 and it would kill deer and antelope like lightning. On the other end you could load a 200gr partiton of 180gr TSX and kill any big game out there, to me the choice is simple.

Probably the greatest fan of the .270 was Jack O'Connor. Yet, when he was interviewed by, IIRC, Jim Carmichel, he was asked this question. "If you were restricted to hunting in North America to one cartridge, what would it be. Jack instantly said, "The 30-06!" Now if the .270's greatest fan bypassed it in favor of the 30-06, what is the mesage here?
The late Col. Townsend Whelen was also a fan of the .270, but he also said, "The 30-06 is never a mistake."
There must be a reason why the 06 has hung around for 100 years. Granted, being our military round for all the years that out military used it, from WW-1 to the Korean War and probably a bit after that as well certainly helped keep it alive. Cheap milsurp ammo didn't hurt either. I remember buying a bunch of WW-2 milsurp 1942 and 1943 issue for $.02 a round. Eight hundred and fifty rounds to be exact. I'm still using some of the brass from that buy which occurred in 1965.
I have rifles in both the .270 and 30-06, and in fact have the .270s set up for my deer hunt this year. I haven't decided whether to use my .300 or .338 Win. mags for elk yet this year, but the 30-06 will be there for the back up for what ever I do decide on.
Like the late Jack O'Connor, if forced to pick on one rifle for everything, it would be my 30-06. I imagine that answers the question on what to choose.
Paul B.

Primarily a mule deer gun = .270 Winchester in my book. Since others have mentioned Jack O'Connor, I will too, both quotes out of "The Hunting Rifle":

On deer hunting in Sonora and Arizona:

"It was my feeling that because of the higher velocity and flatter trajectory, the .270 with 130 and 120-grain bullets was a bit easier to hit with and that it gave me a somewhat higher percentage of instantaneous kills than did the .30/06 with 150 or 180-grain bullets" -Jack O'Connor

On Killing power:

"I have shot a great many animals that weigh between 400 and 700 pounds - elk, caribou, sable antelope, roan antelope, zebras, greater kudu, and grizzly bears, and if there is any difference on such animals in killing power between the 130 and 150-grain .270 bullets and the 180-grain .30/06 bullet, I have been unable to detect it" - Jack O'Connor

I bet part of the reason that Jack didn't find that much difference between the two rounds was that he "got" bullet performance early on (a paraphrase of something Mule Deer mentioned). In the .270, he liked Nosler Partitions, and from what I can tell, used them almost exclusively later in his career. In the .30-06, he liked the 180 gr Remington Core-Loct, which he said would shoot clear through Grizzly Bears. I have seen other gun writers complain about .270 performance on heavy game with regular 130 gr bullets and go on to say how much better an 06 or medium bore would have been with heavier bullets. I doubt they would have had any issues if they used tough 130 gr .270 bullets or even stepped up to 150s at their lower velocity.

In all fairness, Jack did state somewhere else that the .30-06 with 220 grain bullets was something that the .270 couldn't match on really big game. However, I don't think he ever had much use for the heaviest of bullet weights in the .30-06 as when he was hunting game that dictated it, he went to a .375 H&H. His wife, on the other hand, used the .30-06 with 220 grain bullets to good effect, at least on 1 elephant. That in my mind is where the .30-06 pulls ahead of the .270. When you are after truly big game and don't have anything better. For mostly deer hunting, I think the .270 is better. For the occassional Elk, I think the .270 is about on par. For the one rifle to do everything you can ask a rifle to do on big game, but maybe not be ideal for anything, the .30-06 beats the .270 and just about anything else.

-Lou

It boils down to your primary expected use for this light rifle.
If it is really sheep, goats, mule deer and antelope, then I would put on a .270 tube.

If is mainly mule deer, elk, and bears, I would put on a .30-06 tube, although recoil will be less fun with 180 and 200-gr bullets.

Rob;

Flip a coin, or go with what your heart says, 'cause either will do anything you'd hope it would in the field, and the only difference will be semantics as far as the game is concerned.

[color:"brown"]What VA said... except that ya gotta remember that the .30/06 can use considerably heavier bullets if the needs requires 'em... and that the .270 tends to shoot a wee-bit flatter than the .30/06, but not enough to be a factor in most cases.


Strength & Honor...

Ron T.

The .30-06 is a much better cartridge in every respect.

30-06 Sure the 270 might be able to do it but the '06 does the big ones better.
You could always split the dif and go 280

I think exactly 270 angels can dance on the head of this pin.

30-Gov't 06

180 TSX @ 2800 fps

Not too much kick.........very much a KILLER.

Accurate as far as you can see................... <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />