Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles 25-06 better than 270 win how?

Yup!

Hard to beat a 270....

This is true. We shot piles of woodchucks with 270's,10X scopes, and 110 Sierra's loaded to 3300+.

I could see the 25-06 as being a good tweener as a walking varmint/predator/deer rifle out where I live. However, I have to have a sub-6mm to legally hunt predators during big game seasons, so I prefer a larger caliber to compliment my 22-250.

I have both and like both. If I could only have one, it would be the 25-06, mostly cause I like the one rifle chambered in it better then the other. Still, it does shoot marginally flatter and recoil marginally less.

I have used both. In my experience there isn't much difference on deer sized game. However, when you move up into moose, elk, or caribou the 25/06 is marginal and the 270 a clear winner.

I've always wanted to get a 25-06 to try out just never got around to it. Too satisfied by the 270's I've owned I guess.

I am really fond on the 25-06. It's flat shooting and hard hitting ability with 75/85 grain bullets on coyotes really puts them down. The 257 Roberts is a real pleasure to shoot too.

Not real sure what you are hunting and if you already have a 270 or not. You said around 200 yards was max?

Jeff -

I have a long time friend, hunter/handloader, and he has a 25-06. I have told him...

"there is a 25-06 IN every 270 W." grin


Jerry

Have both and like the 25-06 better, tad less recoil.....

This is almost exactly how I see it. I have a 25-06 that between myself and 2 boys, put dozens of deer and antelope in the freezer. My father guided elk hunters that used 270's in the 1940's and said they did nothing but wound elk. He had no use for a 270 and I followed suit, that was until I got a pre-64 model 70 in 270 myself.

After using the 270 with 130 BT bullets on numerous deer and antelope, I have since bought another pre-64 model 70 in a featherweight and it has become my favorite deer rifle. The 25-06 hasn't left the safe in years...

I'm a 25-06 fan and just never warmed up to the 270. That means nothing to anyone except me.

I just like to do different than others and seemed like everyone had either a 270 or 30-06 when I was growing up. So I became a fan of the 25-06 and the 7mm Rem Mag. Nothing wrong with any of them honestly, just a matter of personal preference.

Sounds like you should've picked up a 35 Whelen!

This.

I've killed 20 something caribou out to over 500 yards with the 25 and 120 gr dynamite round! But the 130 in 27 will do the same. Of course I've only killed one black bear, a sheep, and a moose with the 270 and 150, all inside 70 yards , so what do I know? . It's a .30-06 now by necessity rather than other.

I have / have had both.

At present shooting a 270 Win a lot and can't fault it. Also shooting lots of 250-3000AI.

I always felt the 270 had a distinct edge.

If I was starting over now (and I may yet) I'd go for either a 6.5-06 or a 6.5 Creedmoor with the twist and throat / mag length set up to make the most out of the best bullets.

"Better" is a relative term and depends on a lot. I don't think either is "better" than the other in general but maybe one is better than the other for specific purposes. Will they both kill deer and other critters? Of course. Will 99% of the time it not matter to the animal which one you are shooting? No. If I only had one rifle chambered for either I would not give it up to buy the other. I prefer heavier bullets if I'm shooting elk or even big deer at longer range so if I could have only one and used it for that purpose I would lean towards the .270. but I would still hunt elk in a second with my 25-06 if I needed. Many many moose are killed with the 25-06 in Canada and Alaska every year.

I have both, I prefer my 25-06 but not because of the caliber, but because of the rifle it is chambered in. I honestly rarely use either because I have so many other calibers that I prefer and like my .280 better than either, but would still happily hunt with any of them.

If you already have one, be happy with it and kill everything with it, if you are looking for an excuse to buy another rifle or two, then get to it and buy both. If I had no rifles at all (God forbid) and was looking at buying a rifle for mostly big game and had to choose one of those, I would pick the .270 just because I live out west and like the option of heavier bullets for bigger stuff a ways out there.

I still say pick whatever one floats your boat though, the difference is not huge.

I have both and am really surprised that the smaller diameter bullet doesn't fly noticeabley faster.
In the 270 I mostly use 130gr and in the 25-06 mostly 117, about 9% lighter and smaller diameter which should mean more FPS but this isn't true?

The 130gr flying at 3150 is hard to beat by any standards, and now some are pushing them to over 3200. Not sure of their group size.

Also another advantage is the 150gr, if a person wants to step up to moose size game. But on the other end of the spectrum for predator hunting you can get great results with light bullets in the 25-06.

I prefer the 25-06 but I had it built with coyotes in mind as a primary target.

For several years after it was built, I'd guess that I used it for 15-20 coyotes for every deer It took. Over the last couple of years I have backed way off the coyote calling, and the only game taken with my 25-06 this year was a couple of does.

I always have and likely always will prefer rifles that are chambered for dual purpose cartridges. And for me the primary purpose is the lighter end of the spectrum.

Throw velocity and bullet weight numbers around til Illinois balances a budget and either cartridge will still do about anything a rifleman wants to do.

Well I really appreciate all Your considered responses, and your resisting the temptation to bash a caliber for it's imagined characteristics (...not a single homo-phobe joke in the lot, I'm impressed!).

I like the 270 I have because of the gun it's on (Rem 721), and haven't bothered with the 25-06 because of the gun it's on (Marlin XL7). I hadn't appreciated how much unconscious difference that makes. Thanks for pointing out that!

Living in the northeast I've really become a short action fan. I love the 284win and have gathered up five different rifles in that caliber. I think I'll stick with the 270 with a full spectrum of bullets, and 35 Whelen, and call my long action collection complete!

...unless I find a BLR in 30-06.

Happy New Year to All!

When comparing bullets & velocities of different calibers, using similar length/bearing surface bullets makes for a more meaningful comparison. The 117 in the 25-06 is on the upper end, while the 130 in the 270 is middle of the road. The difference being that the 117 in the 25-06 is longer and more bearing surface most likely, and thus more friction. I think the 100gr bullets in the 25-06 is a better comparison to 130's in the 270.