Home Forums Hunting & Shooting General Big Game Is there any real difference between the 25-06 and 270 win

in terms of trajectory and performance?

Seems the one and the other are interchangable.

How does the 257 WBY stack up against the 25 WSSM and the 270 WSM?

The .257 Roy is the flattest of the ones you've mentioned.

As for the .25-06 and the .270 Win., trajectory wise, the .25-06 might be a hair flatter across the board with comparable BC/SD loads, but I doubt seriously if you'd ever really notice the difference in the field.

While I truly respect the above reply and note that I tend to agree with it in a certain larger sense, I also have to point out that some have wondered just what real difference there is between a .270 Win and the .30-06, based on field performance with good bullets of integrity.

My point here is that at some point this argument must fail. The .25-06, a great item, isn't actually in the same league as the .30-06. (Or, is it, in fact?) <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/ooo.gif" alt="" />

none!!

There is no discernable difference between the .25-06 with a 120-gr and the .270 Win with 130-gr, especially on antelope and deer sized game.

The .270, though has a lot more choices in bullets, including tough bullets as light as 130 grains.

When you move up to the 140-gr BT, the .270 is a different class.

The 150-gr bullets for the .270 will clobber big deer, wild boar, black bear, caribou, and elk - without having to cross your fingers.

I have both and I REALLY like my 25-06 but I have simply accepted that the 270 is the benchmark that all sub-30 calibers should be measured against (kinda like the 30-06). Still, if I could only own one, it would be the 270 as it is in a different class loaded with 150 or 160 gr bullets. Still, the 25-06 is a killer of deer and is just cool. I had a 257 roy but never warmed to it, I think if you are going to burn that much powder, the bullet may as well be a 30 cal. also, for long range hunting, I think a shooter is better served with a heavier (ie 165 gr or better 30 cal bullet). Just my $.02, I am sure many of you have a different opinion.

David:

I will only answer your title question. No - a 25-05 is not a .270.

The old 06 case was, I believe, first made prior to 1906 but the 30 designation was added. Since that time the 30-06 case has been modified by either necking it up or down to different bullet diameters. The smallest that was current was the .22-250. Then the 250-3000 Newton. And the .270. It was necked up to some .35 caliber bullets. I'm sure I failed to list a whole range of others.

Whenever you double the diameter of a circle you don't double it's area - you quadruple it. So going from a .257 caliber ( 25-06 ) to a .277 calber ( .270 ) is actually a bigger step than assumed.

The 26-06 will shoot bullets from 60 grains to 120 grains tops. It is excellent for prairie dogs, varmints and small game such as whitetails, mule deer and antelope. It is not a moose or elk gun although I did shoot a moose with a 25-06. Spined it and it dropped in it's tracks.

The 270 shoots bullets from 90 grains to 160 grains. It is adequate for moose, elk and caribou.

The 25-06 performs better and more accurately on smaller game and varmints while the 270 is better for larger game.

The footpounds of energy are more with bigger bullets.

The rifling twist, bullets size and shape, ratio of diameter to length, BC ( ballistic coeficient ), sectional density all enter into the mix to distinguish the ballistic characteristics.

The two calibers meet and overlap at the high end of the 25-06 and low end of the .270 but they are quite separate at the extremes of bullet weights.

Somewhat similar, yes, - the same, no not at all. The difference, however, is indeed quite small.

Bill Tibbe

The above posts hit it pretty well, IMHO, There is little difference between the two when we are talking about deer, but the 270 does get the edge if one is to hunt larger game. As to the .257WBY, I have owned two and the one I have now is and will likely remain my favorite deer and antelope rifle. With moly coated TSX's I am getting chronographed speeds of 3650 (worked up to 3850, but the primer pockets were useless after only two firings) out of my 27.5 inch PacNor tube and with the high BC and excellent terminal performance of the TSX, it is very easy to hit with and kill quickly with. Several big mule deer at 350 to 460 laser ranged yards, all bangflops! Recoil is very mild. I am taking this rifle with me in 4days as a backup to my .300Ultra on an Elk hunt. If the rifle or scope on any rifle in camp goes bad, I would have no qualms about myself or someone else using on a big bull elk out to 300 or so yards if a broadside shot were presented. Since you live close by, I would be happy to let you or one of your boys try it out.

The 25-06 certainly is not a 270win just as the 270win is not a 7mmremmag.However on deer sized game all three will do a great job in almost any situation.When it comes to elk and moose,bigger is better.

The .25/06 loaded with 115-120 grainers compared to the 270 loaded with 130's is much the same in the field. There is no animal you can take with one, that the other will not replicate.

The .257 Weatherby even loaded with standard bullet construction and lighter weight, such as 100 grains compared to either the .25/06 or .270 Winchester is a superior killer on deer sized game.

The .270 Magnums, either of them, only offer additional performance over the smaller cartridges if you load the heavier 150 or 160 grain bullets and then only on larger elk/moose sized game. (Because of the more difficult angles and heavy timber hunting terrain often encoutered.)

If we go back to deer sized game, they all do the same thing which is introduce the effects of gravity to the game.

The choice you make needs to consider the largest animal you will hunt with the caliber of choice and the terrain most likely to encounter in the extreme.

The .257 Weatherby will chronograph at or near 3700 fps with the 100 grainer and it cannot be described adequately to anyone in print.

If you havn't seen it work, you will never know how deadly and efficient it is and that is before you take the trajectory advantage into consideration.


There has been very little written about the .257 Weatherby over the last 30 years. But, unkless you have lived the life of a barrel or 2 on game, you cannot claim athority to speak of it.

It really is something special.

Perhaps with a 28" or 30" barrel or at pressures well above the design pressure for the cartridge..

Please note that I specified a custom (smoother than a factory) 27.5 inch barrel and moly in my post. That said, the .257 WBY is something quite special when it comes to absolutly SMACKIN deer sized stuff. 9 years ago I shot a mule deer that was running full out after having just been shot at. At 75 yards the deer just hit the ground sliding immediately upon being struck. No continued running for a bit, no limping along, no NOTHING, and this was with a typical behind the shoulder rib / lung shot. Just bang and down sliding. Standing deer have yet to take a step from thier tracks when hit. So far only 6 deer with this caliber, but very impressive to this date.

To amplify WETIBBE's commentary, it is the cross-sectional area of the bullet that forms the wound channel, you know the part that *does* the killing. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

The .25-'06 .257" bullet goes .0519 in.sq., while the .270's .277 bullet goes .0603 sq. in. The difference is about 11%. The .270's 150 grain bullets will do a lot more killing with that increase.

Of course the real jump is to the .30 calibers, they all kill "better" than the smaller bores.

jim

I was actually quoting someone else and I did mention a longer than normal barrel,which 27.5" certainly is.

You were reffering to Aussiegunwriters note I believe. I have found that the longer tube really helps with this round. It is probably true that 3700 fps would be difficult to achieve safely with the standard 26" barrel, although with some of the newer slower powders such as R25, Retumbo, Big boy etc. Maybe not. Aussiegunwriter, what say you? What combo's have you used to get to the numbers you mentioned? What length barrel. I am NOT questioning or arguing, genuinely curious as another big fan of the 25ROY. I am hitting my numbers using R22.

Safariman,
The powder you know as H4831 is actually the Aussie powder AR 2213 and I have used it since it was inrtroduced so noticed burning characteristics change as Mulwex refined it and settled on a stable burning rate in relation to the Original Hogdon 4831 surplus which they modelled it on.

(I know the guy who supplied the original powder to Mulwex for the original experiments.)

The results I got were from 3 factory barrels back around the late 80's into the 90's whereby I got velocities up to 3720fps from 100 grain Nosler Solid bases which I preferred in those days for deer sized game.

The powder was changed again in the early/middle 90's to suit the Scottish version that Hogdon imported before changing vendors and going with the Aussie Mulwex range for most of the Hogdon line.

I think the current version is slightly slower again but it does not generate the speeds I got from a 26 inch barrel without warm loads, though climate has a lot to do with that argument.

You might say that just about every where in Australia is almost sea level as few people hunt at any real altitude compared to here in the US.

The other contributors to the threat are also correct when they quote the longer barrels for best velocity gains with current powders.

I have a mate back in Oz that uses the .257 Roy a lot and has taken it to Africa 3 times so far and has routinely dropped bullet weight every time he returned.

He now uses custom match grade barrels with the 90 grain X bullets at about 3750 fps and has taken many Africa game animals up to eland with it and a single shot apiece.

Connie Brooks at Barnes knows who I am talking about and keeps tabs on him because of what he achieves with X bullets, as he doesn't use much else any more.

Back to the orioginal thread:

The .257 Roy is better than ever stated in print, better than the .25/06, better than the 270 and a faster more emphatic killer on deer sized game than either, if you watch several hundred animals get taken over a period of time.

Aussie:

The ultra velocity rifles carry a penalty. Volume case to barrel ratio. They are barrel burners with a limited accuracy life. Anyone who shoots them should be prepared to expect a barrel replacement in a relatively short time. *( Depending on how many shots they take per annum ) i.e., 500 to 3,000 shot life ).

The ultra high velocity bullets travelling at ultra speeds have varying effects depending on where they strike the object. "Some" will indeed transmit a hydraulic wave to the function centers and immobilize the animal immediately. Others will not.

As a point of clarification bullets normally DO NOT posses any appreciable knock down powers at all. "Some" ultra velocity bullets, however, do have the capability of "shocking" the nervous and cardio-vascular system, and brain, to the point of immediate paralyzation. These are two separate, and distinct, concepts that should not be confussed.

Bill Tibbe

Replacement barrels are not all that expensive. Damn the efficiency....give me speed!!!! MUAHAHAHAHAHAH!!! You are right on the money Bill, as to how the shock effect happens. Those of us who shoot them simply know that it happens often with the superspeeders and we get to see and enjoy the effects <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

But you aren't going from a 25 to a 50 caliber, so he is not doubling the diameter, or quadrupling the area. It is only a 16% increase between the area of a 25 and a 27. There is a 23% increase between a 270 and a 30'06. So the 25 and 270 are much closer than the 270 and 30'06.

BUT...You can shoot heavier bullets in a 270, and if I owned a 270 I wouldn't shoot 130's, I would shoot 150's on bigger game. And that is something the 25 cannot do.

I have a buddy that had a .25 and had a streak of about 15 one shot kills on whitetails. He was not really satisfied with how quickly it put them down so he traded for a .270 and was much happier with it.

Now having said that I don't remember what bullets he was using in each rifle and I'm sure that plays a major part...

I for one see no advantage in the .25 since I have a .243 and .270. If I was buying a first rifle I would consider the .25

I wish they would have called it the .257 Remington though I can't hardly stomach anything with ought 6 in it<img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Mike

You can always call it a 25 Niedner. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Is that what it was as a wildcat??

I like it<img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

I saw a pretty spiffy BDL at a gunshow once for $325 and almost had to bring it home, but resisted the urge..

Mike

Is there any difference between the .270 and .06? <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Jayco

Aw heck, here we go again... <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

Yeah, that was before Remington got a hold of it.

In the deepest darkest loonie quadrants of my brain there is...at least that's what the voices keep telling me<img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Mike

A buddy of mine shoots a 25-06 with ballistic tips for deer.
When I asked him how it worked he just started laughing.
I think that means it works pretty well.

The difference between a 25-06 and a 270 becomes apparent when you load the 25-06 with bullets lighter than 100 grains. If you insist on shooting 120 grain bullets out of the 25-06 you are just duplicating the 270 performance.

From a performance standpoint on deer and antelope, not much. There isn't anything a .270 can do with a 130 grain bullet that the .25-06 can't do with a 120 grain bullet, and vice versa.

Beyond that, it depends what other uses one has in mind. The .25-06 is pretty much acknowledged to be the ultimate long range varminter with 87 to 100 grain bullets, but a .270 with 90 to 110 grain bullets isn't too shabby in the varminator department either. Both, however, are a little heavy in recoil and muzzle blast for sustained shooting.

For game larger than deer, up to elk and maybe even moose, the .270 is hands down the better choice. Some will argue otherwise, of course, and some people hunt elk with a .243, but a 150 grain controlled expansion .270 bullet is going to provide much better penetration than will any comparable .257 bullet.

One other consideration is that a .25-06 generally takes a 24-inch barrel to live up to it's performance expectations, while a .270 will do just fine in a 22-inch tube. Put the .270 in a 24-inch barrel, however, and the .25-06 is going to have to really huff and puff to keep up.

Depends on what you are shooting. The .25 is a better varminter and the .27 is better for elk and larger. On deer-sized game there is a lot of overlap.



Again, depends on what you are shooting. If I was going for elk I would take the .27 and a 150g bullet, for varminting the .25 and a 75g bullet.


No interest in any of the three as my .257 Roberts with +P loads and my 7mm Rem Mag have that ground pretty well covered. But if I was choosing a new rifle in the .25 and .27 callibers, and couldn�t choose another Roberts, I�d stick with the .25-06 and .270 Win. No WBY, WSM or WSSM�s for me, thank you.

YMMV.

In a nut shell. I would say; penetration is the main differance. The .270win 130gr at 3060fps will out penetrate a 25-06 115gr at 3060fps. Recoil?

What I have found is if you want to shot the 150's and 160's you are in the relm of the 7mm (.284). Not all .270's(.277) will stabilize the heavies. The round nose are almost a sure thing but that is not the .270's bag. The 130gr boattail is where it's at. Hit a whitetail with a 130gr boattail at 150yds and you'll be sold on it (I say to much wasted meat). If you want to go heavy the .280 or 7mm rem mag with the quicker twist (barrel rifling twist) is the way to go.

For me. I like the .257 120gr at around 2700-2800fps. It's flat enough for 300yds. If I can't get that close. Well I'll just sit back, watch and injoy the veiw. Not to mention a +300yd shot at something the size of a soccer ball while using a fence post as a rest is no where near a sure thing even with a sub MOA rifle.

I certainly would not agree.While the 130gr bullet is heavier,it is making a larger hole so penetration would be virtually the same.In any event it would be insignificant on a deer.

Ah, for cripe's sake, just for the sake of compromise, split her right up the middle and get a 264 Win mag.

It out varmints the 25-06 with 100 gr bullets to 3600 fps.
Kills little deer better than either the 270 or 25-06 with 120 gr bullets at 3300 fps.
Outshines the 270 by moving 130's at least 100 fps faster.
And kills elk with a 160 gr bullet with a SD of .328 moving at 2900 fps.

And it does all this with less than ten grains of additional powder.

Heck we don't need no stinkin 7 mags either. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

I will now remove my tongue from my cheek.

I think the choice of bullet would have more to do with hole size then the differance in cal.

I was using that; Mass in motion tends to stay in motion. Mass at rest tends to stay at rest, thinggy.

A 130gr blistic tip most likely wouldn't out penetrate a 115gr barns X-type bullet.

As you said; It doesn't matter on Deer. A 30-30 is way more then enough.

The Q was; Is there any real difference between the 25-06 and 270 win?

The only answer I have is, penetration. And I'm sticking to it. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Don't know, don't care, I use both, happily, for my deer huntin'. That said, I call the .270 "Old Death", maybe I just shoot it better?

I've shot a lot of deer and elk with my old 25-06 using 120g partitions at 2950fps. But a few years ago I bought a 270WSM and shoot 140g TSX at 3350fps.

My 25-06 has been used only as a varmit gun ever since. The 25 is more plesant to shot 40-50 rounds at Jack rabbits. Where as the 1 or 2 shots I take at big is no big deal out of the 270WSM.

Although I agree with some of what you said about the 257 Roy, I question some of the stuff about doubling the diameter of a circle and also your comparison utilizing custom 27 1/2" bbls. Bbl. comparisons should generally be between two weapons with the same lengths, otherwise they are of little use. Basically, you gain about 150 fps over the 25-06 which is already a pretty hot cartridge. This makes the 257 Wea. the ne plus ultra of medium game high velocity and allows it to tread into the arena of bigger game where the 25-06 has no place.

The 22-250 has, as its parent cartridge, the 250-3000 Savage, as its name implies, NOT the 30-06 or its predecessor, the 30-03.

Lets look at little logic to this?

What does the original question mean? If we are comparing two cartridges we are usually suggesting one of 2 options, that being:
1. Is one cartridge generally more effective that the other for a particular purpose? or
2. Can I do one particular thing with one that I cannot do with the other?

Now for some insight:

The .25/06 has less recoil and blast than the .270.
The .25/06 has advantage when shooting lighter game/varmints/deer because of "shootability" and trajectory.
The .25/06 with appropriate bullets has taken too many elk/caribou sized animals to be called inadequate.
The .25/06 handloaded with a premium bullet has more than enough penetration for elk sized game if you place the shot as you should, and the ""shootability" factor can be an aid to that taking place.

Now for the .270:

The .270 has more recoil and blast than the .25/06.
The .270 is usually made into lighter more portable rifles than the .25/06.
The .270 has a heavier weight range of bullets than the .25/06
The .270 does not have the "shootability" the .25/06 does for lighter game or precise shot placement.
The .270 has a larger caliber and increased bullet weight range to "assist" an imperfect shot placement.

What does all this mean?

If you load like bullets in each, say TSX's in both cartridges, 115 grain in the .25/06 and 130 grain in the .270 and place the shots identically in 2 like sized and like positioned animals, you will find both cartridges have enough penetration.
You will also find any real difference will be based on the individual degree of alertness between the animals so lets assume several dozen are taken with each cartridge, now what will the difference be?

The real answer is "whatever the rifleman thinks will happen, will happen" If you think you will fail with one and succeed with the other, you will be correct.

My experience with the 2 cartridges is that there is no animal that can be taken with one that cannot be taken with the other, up to a point, and that is more determined by the range (distance) the animals are taken, as that can influence the impact energy in which the bullet strikes.

I personaly think that speed of penetration has more influence in killing efficiency than caliber, again, up to a point.

Those of you who have used the .257 Weatherby extensively will know that it definitely kills deer sized game more effectively than the .270. I have a friend that has taken eland with the .257 Weatherby and after several safaris, takes no other rifle to Africa these days loaded with 90 grain X bullets at 3700 fps.

Confidence in the rifle based on first hand experience will demonstrate any cartridges attibutes.

For myself. I like the .25/06 as it gives opportunity to have a .30/06 in the rack as well and if we play this game to its logical conclusion, there is no contest between the .270 and the .30/06 for the larger end of the game range.

The .270 is only the better choice if you stay away from the .25's and .30's and go heavier to the .338's or lower to the .24's or .224's on the light end.

Son in the end, your gun rack will tell you if there is a difference between the .25/06 and the .270.

Rifle loonie logic... gotta love it. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

I had a 25-06, very accurate. the caartridge is a barrel burner though. I burned out my barrel in like 500 rounds of not so hot stuff. Good for light skinned, smaller big game. I re chanbered it in 6.5x55 and am glad I did. 6.5x55 is great for just about anything in my book. It is primarily my deer and antelope round but I would be willing to bet that the cartridge has taken more moose that just about any one. The cartridtge was developed in Sweden and thay have a lot of moose there. I just sold all of my 25-06 reloading stuff and will never go back. Now the .270 is just about as perfect of a cartridge that a guy could ask for. If I ever went back to a .257 cartridge, I would do 257 Roberts, it is a 7x57 necked down. You can get all but about the last 100fps that you can with a 25-06 and shoot your barrel forever.

My favorite cartridges:.223,6.5x55,270,7x57,30-06.

Never had a 25-06, but would probably just go with 110's in my 270.

Boy, talk about a thread resurrection! This baby is over ten years old.

It's the Big Squeeze of threads.

To me it is still, after all these years, a silly moot question.

A thread to learn from with both Billy Tibbe and Safaricon spouting their "wisdom"

Well if you like the .270 better than the 25-06
you should love the 35 Whelen even more.
whelennut

I wonder what T W would have come up with in a...

270 Whelen? Maybe similar to 270 wby?


Jerry

Aside from any "which is best?" argument. The 25 kills beyond it paper definitions.

On a side note, if I were to belive in magic, and I do not, I will say from my 25 yrs of killing with the 257 Roy it is as close to magic as I've seen. Somehow it kills critters deader and faster all in spectacular fashion. One of which was a massive,alfalfa fed cow elk shot at about 220 hit through the lungs that just melted. Via speer 100 gr. Hot cor.

Years ago I went elk hunting just outside of Steamboat Springs Colorado.
We were able to buy our way onto some private land to hunt elk. The rancher was 5th generation.
He used a Ruger 77 in 25-06. I was suprised by
that and his response was that "If you hit em right it doesn't matter what you hit em with.
IF you hit em wrong it doesn't matter what you hit em with either."

Yup - they both have their purpose, and they have pretty significant overlap.

In any case they are both essentially dead calibers with their 10" twists. Eventually other calibers ( 6mm, 6.5) with their tighter twists and more aero bullets are going to surpass these old standbys in the market place. The marginal stabilization that the 10" twist provides was necessary when bullet construction wasn't as sophisticated as today.

The 6.5'06 and similar 6.5-.270 ( aka 6.5 Brenneke ) comes to mind for comparison. Numerous SA 6.5s out there also competing for attention. This path was paved by the 6.5x55 Swede

The interesting thing is that neither the .257 or .277 caliber has a successful chambering based upon the .308 case.

Cats yes, the older .257 Roberts, but no .25-08 or a 6.8x51 - Yet

What about the Souper? You can get commercial dies for it readily...

David_Walter: If you are (or were, 11 years ago?) contemplating buying/Hunting with one or the other of these calibers - I recommend you buy one of each!
I own a pair of Rifles in caliber 25/06 Remington and several Rifles in caliber 270 Winchester and I have owned a "back up" Rifle in 270 Winchester Short Magnum - although I have not as yet Hunted with this 270 WSM.
With today's choices in bullets and powders BOTH of the calibers you are inquiring about are superb choices for medium game.
Yeah, buy one (at least!) of each.
Sorry it took me 11 years to answer your inquiry.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

Indeed. The idiot who resurrected this idiotic thread is inviting a virtual horse-whipping, in my estimation.

The only difference I ever noticed was I never owned a 25-06

The Swede is not at its best in a S A. It really needs a std. or 06 lenght.


What's to be gained by a 25-08 or 27-08?


Jerry

edit: spell check

Dennis Neil and I were at Sportsman's Whorehouse here in Anchorage shortly after it opened. A counter kid was extolling the virtues of the 6.8SPC. Dennis told him he was right and they were going to start loading the 6.8-06 and it was going to be very popular!

Counter Wizard believed him, too.

I've only hunted with one guy in my life that has shot a 25-06. He wounded more deer with it than most people ever kill. He wounded just as many after he got a 30-06. So I found out it wasn't the calibers fault.

I have never seen a 140, 150 or 160 grain bullet in 25 caliber.

That said I think the 25-06 will fulfill the mission for what most of us will ever need done

In the case of the .25-08 it fits right in the middle between a .250-3000, or the AI version, and the .257 Roberts.

A wide niche to Fill

My eldest son's birthday is 25 August, so I'm entitled to my loonyism in this case.

As for the 6.8x51 - lots of bullets are designed for .270 Win, and the new 6.8 SPC,
so Why Not ? wasn't the .270 Redding an improved cat on this caliber & a .308 case ?


The 6.5x55 SE frustrates me because of it's slightly larger case diameter ( .480 ") otherwise it could be rechambered to 6.5x270 Brenneke.
It's usually chambered in a long action anyways, so ...

No the 270 Redding was on the 22 hornet case IIRC.sorry I just checked and I was thanking of the 270 Ren.

Pretty funny. I bumped one of the oldest threads I could find and 11 years later, still no "answer".

Always good stuff.

Yes the difference is .020" in bullet diameter
and the .270 bullets can weigh more. I have a box of 125 gr Barnes originals which is the heaviest I have found for the 25-06.
You can easily find 160 gr .270 bullets.
whelennut

There is so much overlap it is ridiculous.
Just imagine a small sporting goods store trying to have an inventory of rifle and handgun ammunition. How much money would you have tied up.
And then people want obsolete ammo for Granpas gun too.

This pretty much sums it up for me. I have several quarterbore rifles and they get used often. I have a .270 that was given to me and it rarely comes out of the safe. It is a decent beater,(Rem 700) but it will probably be donated to some young person who needs help.

Did a quick count on one of Safaricon's (I like that!) posts and I am amazed there are enough "I"s left on the internet to continue communicating!