I do shoot my .06 quite a bit. It loves 166 Hammer Hunters. mtmuleyRight on cue - I almost ended with that, but didn't want to steal your thunder
.270 Win vs 30-06 Sprinfield (Debate)
- Thread starter Losing_Sanity
- Start date
Walkathon
Well-known member
I shoot both and like both of them. I don't shoot very far (300 ish yards) so there isn't really any noticeable difference on the deer I've shot with both. Started off with the '06 but then bought a .270win. Just an excuse for me to buy another gun.
Buckyranger42
Active member
They are both better than the 6.5 Creedmoor.
quiet22
Member
I think it's time for a man bun discussion.
WHAT? mtmuley
VikingsGuy
Well-known member
I will update my list in light of your suggestion (let the drama begin):
1. 280 Rem (especially in AI flavor) - I love 7mm ballistics
2. 25-06 Rem - flat shooting pronghorn laser
3. .270 Win - a great flat shooting do-all western classic cartridge
4. 6.5manbun - a great low recoil cartridge with lots of good 6.5mm bullet options that will outperform many classic cartridges if folks actually looked at the ballistics and is a great hunting round for the recoil shy, smaller hunters, newer hunters, youth hunters, hunters wanting low recoiling ultralight rifles, etc etc, and before you mock it check out all the animals killed around the world by the 6.5 Swede and know that 6.5manbun is ballistically essentially the same thing
5. 35 Whelen - on my bucket list of new things to play with
6. 6mm-06 - don't need the extra powder to drive .243 bullets, the .243Win is plenty
7. 30-06 - a classic but meh
8. 338-06 - meh while not being a classic
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No reason to be a slave to the almighty ballistic coefficient. mtmuley
VikingsGuy
Well-known member
You like the thunder, I like the efficiency. And the animals in our respective freezers never knew the difference.
mevertsen
Well-known member
You forgot the 6.5-06!!!!
Its better than the 270 AND 30-06!!!
(I kid, I kid. But you really did forget the cartridge.)
I also think there is a 22 cal version as well as 8mm.
Gah, I guess I'll jump in. The .30-06 wins because it spawned the .270. It is more versatile due to greater variety of bullet weights and personally, I wouldn't shoot a big bear in Alaska or Canada with a .270, but would with a .30-06 if given the chance. Therefore, it's the better choice for North America. That said, I probably will never shoot a big bear in Alaska, so that argument kinda goes out the window. I do think that most shooters would do bet with a .270 due to slightly less recoil and slightly flatter trajectory. I don't think either is inherently more accurate than the other, but I haven't done enough testing to confirm that. The solution is to get a .30-06 and shoot 180 or 165 grain bullets for big critters, get a .270 with 130 grain bullets for deer and then add in another 06 child, the .25-06 with 100 grain bullets for speedgoats and you're good to go.
Losing_Sanity
Well-known member
I like your comment...
You could realistically do all three with the 165 grain in a 30-06 and be a one rifle shooter....
ImBillT
Well-known member
- Joined
- Oct 29, 2018
- Messages
- 3,921
Accuracy rarely has anything to do with case dimensions. Some SAMMI chamber specs are slightly superior.
When it comes to effectiveness on game, bigger bullets kill better with good hits, and high BC’s, flat trajectories, and reduced recoils can better hits and/or more good hits depending on how you want to look at it. BC and trajectory really don’t come into play meaningfully for “modern” bottlenecked cartridges till around 300yds or more, and even that is fairly slight till 400-500yds. From the .25-06 to the .338-06 all are quite capable on game to 300yds. For muledeer/elk/moose, I’d probably drop the 25-06 because I’d like 130-140gr bullets(although a little less will do, especially for mule deer) and for over 300yds I’d probably drop the .338-06 based on trajectory. Until recently .264” and .284” bullet selection was far superior to that of .277” bullet selection and frankly, high BC bullets in .308” are pretty heavy, so the 6.5-06 and .280Rem really stick out as EXCELLENT choices for deer/elk at all ranges and moose at reasonable range for the 6.5. The 30-06 and .338-06 would be even better provided you could handle recoil and and had a shot at a distance that trajectory was not an issue. Because .277” bullets are finally being supported again, I’d say that there is a good case for the .270Win and .280Rem as just about perfect all around rifle cartridges. They can both achieve a flat trajectory, with high BC bullets, at less recoil that the same BC(and worse trajectory) would occur with a 30-06, while offering slightly heavier bullets than the 6.5-06 and should be capable of taking anything in North America.
There’s nothing “wrong” with a 30-06, but the .270Win, .280Rem, and maaaaaybe 6.5-06 A-Square are probably a little better for most North American game.
When it comes to effectiveness on game, bigger bullets kill better with good hits, and high BC’s, flat trajectories, and reduced recoils can better hits and/or more good hits depending on how you want to look at it. BC and trajectory really don’t come into play meaningfully for “modern” bottlenecked cartridges till around 300yds or more, and even that is fairly slight till 400-500yds. From the .25-06 to the .338-06 all are quite capable on game to 300yds. For muledeer/elk/moose, I’d probably drop the 25-06 because I’d like 130-140gr bullets(although a little less will do, especially for mule deer) and for over 300yds I’d probably drop the .338-06 based on trajectory. Until recently .264” and .284” bullet selection was far superior to that of .277” bullet selection and frankly, high BC bullets in .308” are pretty heavy, so the 6.5-06 and .280Rem really stick out as EXCELLENT choices for deer/elk at all ranges and moose at reasonable range for the 6.5. The 30-06 and .338-06 would be even better provided you could handle recoil and and had a shot at a distance that trajectory was not an issue. Because .277” bullets are finally being supported again, I’d say that there is a good case for the .270Win and .280Rem as just about perfect all around rifle cartridges. They can both achieve a flat trajectory, with high BC bullets, at less recoil that the same BC(and worse trajectory) would occur with a 30-06, while offering slightly heavier bullets than the 6.5-06 and should be capable of taking anything in North America.
There’s nothing “wrong” with a 30-06, but the .270Win, .280Rem, and maaaaaybe 6.5-06 A-Square are probably a little better for most North American game.
Losing_Sanity
Well-known member
el unit
Well-known member
Love them both. Have had great results with both calibers for elk and deer with Cor Lokt bullets.
Losing_Sanity
Well-known member
Its common for people to use a 130 grain bullet in the .270 win and 150 grain bullet in the 30-06 on deer size animals. Anything less is usually considered for varmints. For sake of discussion, I know sectional density is important, but wouldn't the 30-06 with a 130 grain bullet work as well or even better than the .270 for deer size animals?
VikingsGuy
Well-known member
They will both perform just fine, but if we continue to split hairs, the sd and bc advantages of the .270 would give it a tiny edge in my view. Also, some times light for caliber (and thereby also short of caliber) do not shoot quite as well in a given rifle.
R
rwc101
Guest
The BC on the 30-06 will be worse and lower sectional density might result in less penetration under certain circumstances. Shooting a 130 gr bullet out of the 30-06 is not playing to the cartridge's strengths much like trying to shoot 160-165 gr out of a 270.
This discussion is ignoring the hard fact that my 270 WSM is far superior to both. At least that's what I have to tell myself when shelling out for expensive reloading brass.
VikingsGuy
Well-known member
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