Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters 270 vs 30-06 as an elk rifle??

Hi All,I know that this subject has been run into the ground many times but...I'm planning on buying one of the new Winchester Stainless model 70's as soon as they become available.My friends go elk hunting every year but I can't get off work to go but within a couple of years I should be able to go with them yearly and this is the rifle I plan on taking and plan on topping it with a Trijicon 3X9.Anyway, I already own a 270 Featherweight which I really like and thought I'd go with an 06 for something just slightly different. I started looking over my loading manuals and was surprised to see that the 270 carries a higher sectional density at a higher velocity with less drop than the 30-06.I realize there isn't much differance between the two but if I'm buying a new rifle I might as well go with the slightly better round.Should I just get another 270, which I also like, or does the additional.031" somehow make the 30-06 a better elk round? Lastly, I'd have to say the 300WSM also interests me but I don't know anyone around here that owns one and was wondering how well they'd feed and also heard rumors of chamber problems in the old model 70's. Thanks for any advice!!

Re: sectional density, the 150-gr. .277 bullet's is .279 and the 180-gr/ bullet rates .271, so it's a wash. The .270 will throw that about 100 fps higher than the '06, which is no big deal. The terminal energy of the '06 bullet will be higher, though.

All of that is ballistic gack. Either gun will take elk cleanly. You might go with the '06 so that you have one of each. Also, there's a lot to be said about having one load for each gun. You could stick with 130-gr. bullets in the .270 for medium game and 180-gr. bullets in the '06 for the bigger stuff and call it good.

Holy crapola, didn't we give the last fella who asked this question an atomic campfire wedgy from hell...

The 270 will do you great, what it'll do the 06 will do and anyone with any IQ will agree with me on that one...grin

If and I say if you had to get another rig, I'd keep the 270 and then by the 300 shorty.

Dober

Though I am a big fan of the .30-06 (and have killed a number of elk with it, including my biggest bull) I tend to agree with Mark. The .270 is a fine general elk round. In fact the best quote I have ever read on the subject was not from Jack O'Connor, but my old friend Layne Simpson: "If you can shoot, the .270 is a fine elk cartridge. If you can't, it isn't."

The only conditions where I might choose the .30-06 over the .270 would be timber hunting, where a heavier bullet will penetrate deeper. But then I am thinking something like a 200-grain premium. But if you want the same advantage for general hunting then a .300 magnum (anything from the .300 WSM up) shoots flatter--if you can shoot it. It's surprising how "non-flat" any cartridge shoots when you jerk the trigger.

BMT

The feeding and chambering problems for the 300WSM is old old news. The 270Win. you have, can be better complimented with a 300WSM rather than a 30-06. Good luck.

+1. I have one of the new South Carolina Model 70's in .300 WSM and it feeds quite reliably.

The 270 and 300WSM combo works for me!

I've killed exactly ONE elk with a rifle... And it was a 260.

Now all the rest of the Elk I've killed were with a 60 Lb recurve launching 580 grain arrows at a blistering 175 FPS. Don't believe the crap you read in the comic books, Elk don't have steel I beam for ribs. Nor do they have Kevlar fur

However, I do have to say, use a Partition. Park that in the vitals, and its really that easy.

This is my new favorite JB quote

I've had six WSM's, including five 300 WSM's and yes, have even taken a couple of elk with the 300 WSM.

IMO/E, I think either the 30-06 or 300 WSM would be a fine compliment to the 270.

If you load 130's exclusively in the 270 and 180's in the 30-06, both will work well (and be a bit different from each other) with H4350. One powder on the shelf is a nice touch of simplicity.

Of course, the same could be said of the 300 WSM as well.

I'm just an 06 fan and prefer it to the 300 WSM... it holds more down, feeds more slickly and recoils less... if elk die any differently, I haven't seen it.

Dober,
"Atomic campfire wedgy from hell"??

Hilarious!!! 'Course, he didn't think so at the time....grin

Brad,
Couldn't agree more! Well said. But, I vote for the 200gr partition out of the 30-06!

I haven't killed any with anything but do know that a 300WSM works on antelope....(grin)

The very first animal I ever killed with a .300 WSM was a pronghorn--and it worked!

The longest kill I've ever made with any rifle was with a 300 WSM on an antelope. One shot, one dead antelope, 547 lasered yards. It works!

.270 or 30-06??

Which ever one you shoot better.

.270 or 30-06 or 300wsm..

Which ever one you shoot better..

Totally dig my 300wsm!

I shot a few gophers before we moved up to pronghorn. Maybe a deer this fall with it, or who knows, maybe an elk.


That was a sweet pic of the goat/Montana Brad.

Goodluck with the new rifle Wiktor!

I have not killed any elk with either the .270, 30.06 or the 300WSM, but in a way I have because I've killed some good bulls with the .280AI and a 30-338. I like the smaller 280AI(a glorified .270) because I can't see any difference in killing power between it and the larger 30-338. Shoot them where they live with a good bullet and down they go. Twenty-thirty grains of bullet weight one way or the other or 200fps of muzzle velocity makes no difference. Shoot them in the right place and down they go, it's just that simple.

Here`s an interesting video on this very subject.

"rifleshootermag.com"
videos section
Click on "Ammo Rifles"
Watch the 50 second video.."30-06 or 270--Which is best?"
With Scott Rupp.

The only problem I have ever had with my M77 Mk2 300 WSM, as far as feeding was concerned, was doing my first batch of reloads with once fired factory ammo brass with this cartridge two years ago. I never previously owned a 300 WSM or reloaded for one.

My shellholder was barely touching the die`s bottom. Another 1/4 turn of the die clockwise solved that problem. Apparently, I wasn`t sizing down the case shoulder quite good enough in order for the case to feed properly or smoothly into the chamber. Haven`t had a feeding problem since. Nice `n smooth.

Good luck in deciding between the 270, 30-06 or even the 300 WSM. For elk, I`d feel comfortable with either one. The best success you have with either, will depend on your bullet.

I`m open to try bullets that I haven`t tried before. So on my next elk hunt, I`ll be using perhaps what some consider to be a more un-conventional and unpopular bullet. A 190 gr Berger VLD (hunting) bullet at about 2800-2850 fps or so.