Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles More accurate 30-06, 280, 270, 308?

All three are very close in performance. Based upon your actual experience, rate these in order for accuracy and living up to published velocities.

30-06 (150-165 grain bullets only)
280 (140-150 grain bullets only)
270 (130-140-150 bullets (I love the 270 Win range of bullets)
308 (150-165 bullets only)

Never had a 280 but out of the other 3 a 30-06 would win in the accuracy department

Yep, they all can be accurate. Very much depends on the single example of the rile so chambered.

My experience lends me to feel this way, and yes, your experience may be the complete opposite because of your individual rifles....

1. 30-06 - I don't recall ever not getting good accuracy/velocity and with relative ease. Many bullets and powders and all of them just seem to work well.
2. 308 - By a small margin over the next two; like the 30-06, I have found the 308 eager to please and easy to load.
3. 270 - One of my favorite for hunting. I love the bullet range 130-140-150 you will easily find one to shoot well. The 270 Win is easy to get to published velocities!
4. 280 - Not a lot of experience (yet), but so far it seems a little more picky as compared to the others. Should be as good as 270 and the 30-06 ballistically at least.

I have owned several of all four.
I would rate
#1 270
#2 280
#3 308
#4 30-06

I don't shoot factory loads so this is based on handloads

The biggest variable will be the individual rifle. I have or have had excellent results from all those caliber and bullet combinations.

A 270 is a awesome round I use it for open country 100yd plus it gets the job done every time as far as up close hunting mountains and hollers I need them to drop right there or not far and a 30-06 or 308 gets it done

Depends on the rifle.

I've had 5 .30-06 and still have 3. Two had accuracy issues and went down the road. The three I kept shoot very well with 150-168g bullets. (Two purchased used, one new)

Two .308s, one an AR, both shoot very well with 150-168g bullets. (New bolt, built the AR.)

One .280 Rem, another shooter with a variety of 140g bullets. (New)

A .270 I bought for a daughter loves 150g AB @ 2912fps. (Used)

All were easy to find loads for.

Have owned/shot/killed with/loaded for multiples of all, and others, and still do, for more years than I care to recall.

Individual gun is always determining factor.

That said, 308 is easiest to get good load for of anything I ever shot.

Accuracy is much more dependent on the rifle, load and shooter than caliber

I’ve always preferred the 270. Bullets have alway been made for the 270’s velocity range. Even the WSM and wby don’t exceed by more the 350 fps.
A 30 caliber bullet can be loaded in a 300 savage to a 300 bee. Big difference in velocity range.
As for accuracy, all depends on barrel and stock plus gunsmith work. Hasbeen

same here, I agree 100% but I also find the 30-06 extremely easy to load for 👍......Hb

+1

1. 270
2. 30-06
3. 308

As Coyote Hunter and many more said...

It’s about the chamber the the rifle.... all those SAAMI specs are pretty old so they aren’t as tight as a Creedmoor might be, which means it’s how tight is that chamber, and rifle.

I hate to sound like the Stick but it's kind of a dumb question. Accuracy dependent on the rifle, Velocity dependent on the load and the barrel.
Blondes or redheads?

It’s not he caliber, or the gun..... its usually the nut behind the bolt that causes accuracy issues.

1: 270. Don’t know why, but I’ve had a dozen and they all shot great with easy load development. A Vanguard S2 shot itty bitty groups with Fusion factory ammo, so I never even bothered reloading for it. Gave it to my nephew.

2: 30-06. I’ve had a few 30-06s and most shot well with some load development.

3: 308. The only 308s I’ve owned were pencil barrel carbines and they shot well enough to hunt with, but nothing spectacular. All were inch and a half guns. I bet this was mostly due to the guns, not the cartridge.

4: 280. I’ve owned two, both Remington 700 stainless mountain rifles, and I only got the second one because Remington replaced the first one due to it not feeding and being “out of spec”. I really wanted to like it and even restocked it in a McMillan. It was an inch and a quarter/half rifle.

I've owned them all... hand's down, no contest, the 308 (in factory rifles) will shoot circles around the others.

308
280
270
30-06

270
308
30-06
280

If we are talking ease of finding the best shooting load.

Ive owned them all...without any hesitation the .308 is by far the most accurate. Its also very easy to get good velocity. Its likely the easiest cartridge out there to handload for. It also has a bench rest pedigree though so it should be no surprise.

Finn Aagard had it right about the 308 imho

So, OP, as you can see, every cartridge has taken its turn at any given spot, 1-4. Just choose what you want the most!

Likely the 4 best hunting cartridges ever created...id add the 7x57 to complete the worlds top 5 for everything up to cape buffalo and elephant and truth be told id bet the 06 and 308 kill a bunch every year

I have owned all 4, and right now I own three 270s, three 308s and three 30-06s.
My 280 was a good shooter but not as good as many other rifles I have owned and do own now. I sold it about 20 year ago.
Of the 9 rifles in the 3 calibers the one I own now that is the most accurate is a 270, but I don't shoot factory loads at all. I reload all my own ammo.

2 of my 30-06s are iron sighted rifles and so is one 270, so I can't say how accurate they are but I can say they are more accurate than I am because as I have aged, I find I can't shoot them as well as I once did.
My 2 auto loading 308s are a Ruger SR762 which I can keep into about 1.3 MOA and an AR10ish rifle I made myself that shoots to about 1 MOA. My Mossberg bolt action MVP out shoots both of them and keeps most of it's round into about .8 MOA.
My one scoped 30-06 only shoots about 1.5MOA.
My two scoped 270s shoot very well. One, the older of the 2, shoots 130 grain bullets under MOA, averaging about .8 to about .75" The newer one shoots 150 grain bullets so well I don't tell folks for fear they would not believe it, but to say it shoots sub MOA is a gross understatement.
I have owed a 308 in the past that was as accurate as my newer 270 and I also had a good 30-06 once that shot into about .6 MOA many times.
So the caliber is not as important as the individual barrel and ammo of any rifle. I do not believe any of those calibers is "more accurate" then the rest.

It depends on the individual rifle and the ammo.

308

Never owned a 280, prefer the 06 of the others

I say it depends on the individual rifle. I've been shocked by some cartridges labelled not overly accurate, and also by some said to be inherently accurate.

It always surprises me how much faith people put in an engineering constant. I look to better rifle construction and take what they say on the BC. All of the subject calibers can preform well with a good barrel. Take your pick. You can’t go wrong.

Call your favourite benchrest gunsmith and ask him to build you a 308 that will shoot quarter minute. They will say no problem. Ask him to build any of the others that will shoot under a half minute, he won’t do it. Accuracy wise, there’s no comparison, 308 is far more accurate.

Just because your rifle may not be capable of shooting to the 308s potential, doesn’t mean the 308 is no more accurate.

I don’t own a 308, haven’t for several years, but facts is facts.

RickF has your answer. The question wasn't about what barrel, what your rifles can do, or if you can go wrong. The question was which is most accurate when built to a standard. .308W wins.

.270 and .280 are unheard of for competition. .The 30-06 had its day, however the .308W outshines them all when it comes to accuracy trophies on the shelf. The others don't even come close.

I only have 270 and 06 out of those choices.
My tc venture 270 out shoots the 06 tikka

And that relates to the original question in what way?

No comparison? B.S.

Granted, the .308 has some desirable design characteristics, including a relatively short case. But cartridge design is only one part of rifle accuracy. To suggest a well built.rifle chambered for a 30-06 case length cartridge can't be quarter MOA is just nuts.

Find one and get back to us. What we think we know and feelings don’t matter, facts do.

And let’s not forget that when talking about the accuracy of a rifle, it is what it can be expected to do any time you sit down with it in decent conditions. Not that one group that we saved from two years ago.

One might build some heavy lab rifles and do a bunch of testing to determine which generates the most consistent pressures, velocity, yada yada yada......

or just pick one and go hunting.

I've been known to pick the odd nit, but am leaving this one be as the bones are already well-chewed.

Never had a factory 270 that wouldn't shoot under 1" @ 100 with factory ammo.

My 280AI is sub .5 MOA, but being a custom, not a fair comparison.

I have 2 out 4 calibers mentioned, and for me, the 270 is more accurate than the 06

I've owned all four. Every 270 I've owned has been accurate but I cant say the same about the 308's I've had.

1 270
2 30-06
3 280
4 308

Pretty tough to prove a negative, which is what you are asking me to do. My 6.5-06AI shoots clovers so I know long-action cartridges based on the .30-06 length are doable.

These people seem to agree:

https://www.sniperforums.com/forum/rifles/23119-1-4-moa-30-06-sticks.html

As you say, facts is facts and feelings and wishes don't matter. You must be feeling butthurt.

I can only conclude that Mule Deer is correct, in that most either don't read the original post or don't care if their response is relevant to it.

Unfortunately that relates little to the original question in that you left out 2 of the options. I have or have had them all-well one was a .280AI-,in addition to a .22-250 that is extremely accurate. However, mentioning it would have no bearing on the OP's question. Along with throwing in my .280AI which is steller accurate. The .22-250 nor the .280AI don't count when answering the OP's question.

Nor does "for me" count for anything in relation to the original question. The original was asking for an absolute, and the winners circle says .308W until one of the other three takes its place.

Addition: Guess what, I'm off base. Hmmm, the original question was "your actual experience". Which has nothing to do with competition. My error.

I didn’t ask you to prove a negative, maybe English isn’t your first language.

A guy asked, of these four cartridges, which is the most accurate. One is proven to be more accurate, period. If one cartridge will shoot in the twos, and another will shoot in the threes or fours, the one that shoots in the twos is more accurate.

Then a bunch of guys stand up and say my rifle shoots “this good”, and it’s good enough. Which has nothing to do with the original question.

And then the twisting of words and “butthurt” comments comes out. Ahhhh.... the good old campfire.

If you want an accurate rifle buy a Creedmoor .....

Unless you're straight....

If I am not mistaken, the OP asked about personal or actual experience.
SO, for ME as in my personal experience the 270 shoots more accurately than the 06.

I was also implying that a cheap old $299 tc venture out shoots a $600 tikka... and now that has nothing to do with the original question. Unless the 270 is just more accurate than the 06. Hmmm

You are not mistaken. See my addition correction, where I beat you to acknowledging your above comment.

I shoot off sandbags and don't use any muzzle brake - ever . I find my lightweight 30/06 recoils enough to affect bench work, the .270 is the cutoff for tolerable recoil, hence I shoot it much better
I bet the .280 would be equally as good... and don't care for the NATO round- the .308.

XXXX Right !

That was funny !!

On top OF, the crapmoor is NOT among the choices! DUH !


Jerry

Holy fu ck, the op asked what our own personal experiences have been. Your post went way out if context. CH was right because that has been his own personal experience. Along with many of us here that actually listed what has been the most accurate in our experience. I dont like the 270 w much, but from what ive seen with many hunting rifles chambered for this cartridge is they have been damn accurate. Thats why i listed it in the number 1 spot. The least accurate (in my experience) has been the 308. Theres no right or wrong in a question like this. Unless, of course, the op is taking a poll and lists which one prevails. And if that is the case, you may want to prepare yourself because it looks like the 270 might be in the lead.

You wrote with respect to finding a quarter MAO .30-06/280/270. Your obvious implication, given your previous statements, is that they don't exist and smiths won't build them. No one can prove they don't exist or that smiths won't build them. .So, yes, you asked for a negative proof.

Instead I provided an example of people claiming to have such rifles, including my custom 6.5-06AI, a .30-06-based cartridge that wasn't on the list. (Krieger built, 1-8 twist, match grade fluted heavy barrel on trued Interarms Mark X action, minimum chamber, Timney trigger, bedded in Boyd laminate stock. Krieger did all the smith work,) Not "good enough", quarter MOA.

Are factory .308's more accurate than factory .30-06, .280 Rem or .270 Rem? Depends on the specific rifle. Are custom .308's all quarter MOA rifles? No. Are they all more accurate them custom rifles using a .30-06-based cartridge? No. Are they all more accurate than all factory rifles built for .30-06-based cartridges? No again.

Is it easier to build quarter-MOA rifles in .308 Win than with .30-06-based cartridges? Possibly, but that is a far cry from saying rifles based on the .30-06 cartridge can't be quarter-MOA or proving that building such rifles is significantly more difficult.

I saw a lot of opinion in your post but it was short on facts.

Bought a 6.5 Gaymore a couple weekends ago. Savage 12FV (synthetic, 26" heavy barrel, black). Waiting for the coincidence of warm weather and a weekend at home to shoot it. Will try factory ammo first. If it is nearly as accurate as my custom 6.5-06AI I'll be one very happy camper.

Ruger and Winchester both tracked accuracy between the 30-06 and 308 over something like 10,000 rifles each. In both instances the 308 Win was the clear accuracy winner. For anyone that has spent much time with a variety of these cartridges, I’m surprised this is even a discussion.

Dixie Rebel;
Good evening to you sir, I hope that the end of the second weekend of December finds you well.

While I am going to assume you meant to write "all four are very close in performance", in my case I'm restricted to answering about 3 of them given your criteria of actual experience.

In the .30-06's that I've played with - I can think of 4 off the top of my head, but there might be another one - anyway while I did shoot 165's in a couple of them in the one I shot the most I went to 180gr because they shot a wee bit better and were just a tad slower than 165's. Depending upon barrel length with the powders I used they were reasonably close to published velocities. If it matters, one of the '06's was a drop block single shot and the remainder bolt guns.

Have yet to own or hand load for a .280, though a buddy has one and is happy with all aspects of it.

For .270's there were 4 that I fooled with and loaded for that I recall. Since 2 of my shooting/gunsmith work mentors were bonafide disciples of Mr. O'Connor - one actually gave me a .270 barrel, insisting I unscrew that "useless '06 pipe" - I was pretty indoctrinated in all things .270. Overall I'd say that the velocities were easier to hit with 24" barrels. The .270's were all bolt guns too by the way.

Lastly with .308's there's got to be more than the 5 which spring immediately to my somewhat age thickened memory tonight. Again as with the .270, I'd say that the velocities were easier to hit with at least a 22" barrel. I'll note I played with a couple of the 788 carbines which have something like 18" barrels. The .308's were bolt actions, except for a Savage 99 that I just recalled.

As far as ease of accuracy was concerned, other than the Savage 99, the .308's were the easiest to get to shoot small groups. The short barreled 788's made groups small enough that most folks thought they'd been rebarreled. They were epoxy bedded, but then most of the bolt actions I've mentioned also were.

Despite a lifetime of fooling with various .308" diameter cartridges - hence the BC30cal handle - eventually I rebarreled the .270 to a 6.5x55 because I felt it kicked less than and gave equal or greater tissue damage than the various .270 bullets I'd used on local mulie and whitetail bucks. I'm cognizant you didn't ask about that last part either sir, but felt that in somewhat of a 'Fire tradition I'd have to veer off through the ditch a wee bit, no?

All the best to you and Merry Christmas.

Dwayne

Yes, I threw in the 4th (308) as an after thought. Great post, thanks for sharing your input.

Thanks for sharing this information.

I agree 100% Brad

All are very capable calibers. All depends on the quality of componets used, gunsmith, custom loaded ammo for said particular rifle, and rifle driver.

The 308 is the only one that I would call inherently accurate. All the others are capable of one hole groups if shot out of an unlimited rail gun with it difficult to pick a winner among all the 06 based cartridges. None of this will matter or even show up in most hunting rifles.

Here's the order:

.308
.270.
.280
30.06

.308 has the shorter fatter case.
The rest are in order most to least case diameter to bullet diameter.