I haven’t been without a 30-06 in over 50+ years. No reason not to have one.
NRA LIFE MEMBER GOD BLESS OUR TROOPS ESPECIALLY THE SNIPERS! "Suppose you were an idiot And suppose you were a member of Congress... But I repeat myself." -Mark Twain
.280 just to be different! Ammo availability comes and goes, gotta buy it when its available. In reality as a million articles and blogs have stated, they are so similar in performance there is little to choose from in that perspective.
With today’s bullets, (if one has a 270) the next non-magnum step upward that’s likely needed or noticeable, probably starts about .35-.366…..not below.
I cut my teeth on the 30-06. Took WT deer, black bear and antelope. Great all around pick. I had a 280 Remington which I really liked and it became a 280 AI. Never owned a 270 Win but I wouldn't hesitate to hunt it.
I'd do the 30-06 mainly because ammunition is everywhere brass is easy to come by. 280 is a great round but brass and ammunition are harder to come by. and I just flat don't really care for a 270
I used to be that way….grew up with ‘06s and 308s. I owned and hunted some 280s. I’ve owned some 270s, mostly by accident….gun trading days or I wanted the rifle and it just happened to be in 270. EVERYONE had 270s or ‘06s around my neck when I was growing up, and the loyalties were often fierce. When I actually started spending time shooting and hunting with the 270, I figured out that it stood on its own pretty darn well. The newest unexpected thing is how well it’s suppressing and performing in an 18” tube. I don’t think that one misses the 6” of barrel at all.
If I were to only have one rifle of the three I'd pick the rifle that fit me, felt the best and appealed to me the most. I'd happily take on any big game in north america including Grizzly with any of those cartridges with proper bullets.. Never seen any difference in killing ability among the three.
I built or modified the stocks on most of my rifles to fit me, and I like the looks of all of them, including those with plastic stocks that I custom painted.
My first centerfire rifle was a .30-06 and for 10 yrs I shot everything from prairie dogs to elk with it.
30 some years ago I won a .270 Win at a "Top Gun Shoot" at our range (a combination of Trap, Skeet, rifle, and pistol targets). I worked up a moa load for it, but it's spent it's whole life as a safe Queen.
IMO the .280 is too close to a .270 or .30-06 to see much of a difference. I've always thought 7mm/.284" bullets had the best ballistics of these 3 cartridges, but when I had my .30-06 and later re-chambered it to .30 Gibbs, I couldn't justify a 7 mm RM, but finally bought one after 35 years of hunting with my .30-06/.30 Gibbs. It's now probably my 2nd favorite rifle.
Of the three cartridges listed, I would probably pick the .30-06, but I could be happy with any of them.
And America hasn't completely gone the way of the Leftist, Marxist, Communist countries, so I CAN STILL HAVE THEM ALL!!
I like all the metaphors I read of the 30-06. "If you can't kill it with a 30-06 you should hide. "
And then Phil Shoemakers dumbass metaphor about the 30-06 and marksmanship.
220 grain bullets from the 30-06 aren't all that special. But Elmer Keith already told yall so.
When animals get really big, there are better choices, rather than reciting "mangina metaphors". 338-06, 35 whelen, 9.3x62 Mauser, these are the standard cartridges that don't need to hide behind metaphors.
Be reasonable here, metaphors and opinions have nothing to do with reality.
4 well aimed kill shots from a 30-06 using 220 grain woodlieghs, piss poor results. These are the kind of bulls that gore and trample the largest of brown bears to mince meat pancakes:
I like all the metaphors I read of the 30-06. "If you can't kill it with a 30-06 you should hide. "
And then Phil Shoemakers dumbass metaphor about the 30-06 and marksmanship.
220 grain bullets from the 30-06 aren't all that special. But Elmer Keith already told yall so.
When animals get really big, there are better choices, rather than reciting "mangina metaphors". 338-06, 35 whelen, 9.3x62 Mauser, these are the standard cartridges that don't need to hide behind metaphors.
Be reasonable here, metaphors and opinions have nothing to do with reality.
4 well aimed kill shots from a 30-06 using 220 grain woodlieghs, piss poor results. These are the kind of bulls that gore and trample the largest of brown bears to mince meat pancakes:
11:43 the shooting begins:
So a 30-06 with 220's can't kill a Moose. I better tell mine that they didn't have to die. Especially since I only used Core-Lokts. They should jump down off the wall and head back to the bog.