Home Forums Reloading Big Game Rifles Does the 6.5-06 offer any advantage over a .270 Winchester?

If it does, I can't find it, with the possible exception of higher ballistic coefficients in .264 bullets.

Bullets and waaaay more cool factor...

+1

So you fly to bumphuck, nowhere to hunt the rare jiagaloo and the airline loses your ammo.......

Within realistic ability based hunting ranges (400 yards or <) the 270 will do just fine.

The 264 WinMag has factory ammo and, if you wish, can be loaded down to 6.5-06 performance.

Wildcats are fun, I have a 22-06 by R.F. Sedgley, 70 gr TSX at 3600, (the one on the bottom , top is a 6.5x55 same maker), but I'd be concerned to take it anywhere where I didn't have control of the ammo.

If you are into long range shooting, the 6.5 wins due to higher BC bullets. If you have no interest in the long range stuff, 6.5 offers no huge advantage.

John

Thanks,

I love my 6.5-06, but lately, I have been reaching for one of the .270's in the safe instead.

Who flys with their ammo separate from their guncase anyway? Such a silly reason to not pick a cartridge...

If the rifle is gone, you screwed anyway...

When is Rick gonna revert Larry Root's latest Spalding handle to the original..??

DF

I am NOT a 6.5-06 hater by any means...

There has to be a reason/reasons you reach for the 270.


Jerry

You ain't gonna find 264 Winmag ammo in bumphuck nowhere either so it's a moot point.

I'm not gonna get into the discussion (suffice to say I've killed in the west with the 270 out to 400 yards a handful to times,and leave it at that).....


But to clarify,unless something has changed since December, your ammo does not travel in your gun case on any airline I have flown.It stays in your duffel separate from the rifle.

And if we think that duffel and rifle can't get separated you may be a stay at home type who has never gotten to arrive in Winnipeg; or Grand Prairie,or Sitka,etc etc to find your rifles there but your duffel has gone elsewhere. It's happened to me more than once and one time the rifle was a 7mm Dakota, which is not a wildcat but up in Peace River it might as well be...

Not suggesting you don't take your pet wildcat on a hunt but just be realistic about what happens if the ammo goes south. You WILL be borrowing a rifle until you and your ammo are reunited.

I've got a 6.5-06 and if I was flying for a hunt, the 7mm Remington would be in the case.

Larry Root. Again.

I swore I wasn't gonna get involved in this conversation...

But since i have a 6.5 Creed being completed this week, I spent some time on the Berger and Hornady Ballistics calculators this morning.

There is a slight edge to the 6.5/06 but it's not much and is entirely bullet dependent....If you are shooting 140 Accubonds in both, the 270 wins for drop and drift.....At any distance. It all seems to depend which bullet you're shooting, but we aren't talking much.

OTOH compare a Berger 6.5-140 to a 270-140 AB,and the 6.5 "wins".

Compare a 140 Amax in the 6.5/06 to a 150 SST in the 270 (both started at 2900 fps),and it's mere inches between them for drop and drift clear to 1000. At 600 yards the 270 shows 68.2 inches of drop and 24.7 inches of drift; the 6.5 Amax shows 66.9" of drop and 23.4" of drift.(200 yard zero and starting velocity of 2900 fps for both).

That's all? That's lost in the noise of the grouping ability of rifle, load and shooter.

What am I missing?

Nothing, as usual...

You nailed it.

DF

Geezus....gimme a 7mm Mashburn with a 162 Amax.....thanks.

I agree. For the most part, lots of good chamberings are "about like a .270win". That's not a bad thing. Some may burn a bit more or less powder or maybe drift a couple inches more or less at 500yds, but many of us won't see much difference in the field. Those shooting at distances approaching half a mile might see something. A .500-ish BC 140-150gr big-game bullet at 2,900-3,000fps is not a bad thing to compare favorably with. Honestly, my 7mmRM with 160ABs at 3,000fps, or my 6.5x47 with 129LRABs at 2,900, or even my .308 with 155 Scenars at 2,850 are all fairly similar to a good 140gr .270win load at the ranges at which I'm going to be shooting a game animal.

BTW.....what's this?



http://www.bergerbullets.com/introducing-the-berger-270-caliber-170-grain-eol-elite-hunter/

It's a great looking bullet Bob...

Bullets that have come out in the last few years or so have made the .270 into a different animal, no doubt. Grin...

There isn't much difference in any caliber in the 6.5x06 and 270 range it is a matter of preference . Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. But I like the 6.5x06 for the cool factor and better bullet selection.
Joe