.270 vs .30-06

sako85

Well-Known Member
Choices and views for Fallow and Sika with Boar and possible trips to Africa etc ( if i win the lotto!).

Not to fussed about ammo costs.
 
if i was buying again and had the same choice then i would go for the 30 cal
as i do luv it
but either rifle you pick will be fine for the job you want it for ;)
as with any calibre you will find it is bullet placement and bullet choice that will do the job you require most effectively
good luck in which ever you choose and i suggest a mod aswell as they both can kick a little :lol:
 
Got my 6.5 already but fancy something else. The 270 does seem to be coming back in vogue again.
Also getting another 243 from EmMC for foxes and munties.
 
If you think the Boar might be on the continent then I would go for the .270 as the 30-06 is ex-mil so banned in some european countries.
 
I've got them both. I tend to pick up the .270 most of the time, but that is more a reflection of my love for that particular rifle. I use the .30-06 for boar, woodland reds and fallow, and consider it a fantastic calibre. I have used them both for Plains game. I've not yet loaded up any 220-grain rounds, but it's reassuring to know that option's there.

If I was choosing one, I would go for the versatility of the .30-06. But I do love the laser-flat trajectory on the .270.
 
Over the last while I have been attracted by the idea of flat shooting calibers and I had seriously considered the 270 myself. In light of this thread I took a look at the Federal ammo web site and compared their bog standard 270 load to their bog standard 30-06 load. With a 100 yard zero the 270 drops 3 inches at 200 yards and 11.2 inches at 300 yards. The 30-06 drops .6 of an inch more at 200 and 2.4 inches more at 300.

In many other, similar, discussions where one caliber is held to be flatter shooting than another I have seen a similar pattern in the sense that, to my eyes, the difference at hunting ranges is so little as to be not worth worrying about. Now, of course, if you are going to shoot at 1000 yards then these diferences become important but I would argue that most UK stalkers are shooting within 200 yards and in this case the difference between the old "rainbow" 30-06 and the "flat shooting" 270 is half an inch. Even if this half inch is important to you I would argue that it is just as easy to make 3.6 inches of allowance as it is to make 3 inches of allowance and so this comes back to a simple matter of knowing how your load shoots. Even at 300 yards the reticle on my scope covers more than the 2.4 inch difference between a flat shooting caliber and one considered by some to have a trajectory that is somehow less well suited to hunting.

It seems to me, and I'm certainly inexperienced and not very knowledgeable on these matters, that within reason the stalker should pick a calibre that he would like to own and should get to know its trajectory and then get out there and enjoy himself. Should he get fed up, or develop a desire for another calibre, then he should go out and buy it for himself without feeling the need to justify his actions in terms of half inch changes in POI. With that in mind I would encourage Sako85 to buy at least one of each and maybe a few other things that take his fancy as well. My money says that the difference for him will be so small as to be negligable and the difference for the dead deer on the other end will be pretty small as well.
 
As you already have the 6.5, I would go with the 30/06.

I have used a 270 exclusively for about 10 years (it is all I own) and I see it as an excellent general purpose round. However, it is little on the big side for smaller deer, and a little on the small side for boar, particularly driven.

I am waiting on a variation for a 260rem, once that is sorted, I will be swapping the 270 barrel for a 30/06.
 
I would have the 270 i have both and just can't take to the 30.06 maybe its just the rifle and me i have found i can take game out to 375yards and down they go i would put a mod on as well. i must say im concidering a 300w mag but need to look in to this i saw the results in africa ;) the 270 is min cal for boar over here.
amberdog
 
Well i decided on the .30-06 and have placed my order for a new R93 Grade 4 wood.
Local shop got some Winchester 150g Ballistic silvertips at £17 box so seems cheap enough.
 
caorach said:
Over the last while I have been attracted by the idea of flat shooting calibers and I had seriously considered the 270 myself. In light of this thread I took a look at the Federal ammo web site and compared their bog standard 270 load to their bog standard 30-06 load. With a 100 yard zero the 270 drops 3 inches at 200 yards and 11.2 inches at 300 yards. The 30-06 drops .6 of an inch more at 200 and 2.4 inches more at 300.

In many other, similar, discussions where one caliber is held to be flatter shooting than another I have seen a similar pattern in the sense that, to my eyes, the difference at hunting ranges is so little as to be not worth worrying about. Now, of course, if you are going to shoot at 1000 yards then these diferences become important but I would argue that most UK stalkers are shooting within 200 yards and in this case the difference between the old "rainbow" 30-06 and the "flat shooting" 270 is half an inch. Even if this half inch is important to you I would argue that it is just as easy to make 3.6 inches of allowance as it is to make 3 inches of allowance and so this comes back to a simple matter of knowing how your load shoots. Even at 300 yards the reticle on my scope covers more than the 2.4 inch difference between a flat shooting caliber and one considered by some to have a trajectory that is somehow less well suited to hunting.

It seems to me, and I'm certainly inexperienced and not very knowledgeable on these matters, that within reason the stalker should pick a calibre that he would like to own and should get to know its trajectory and then get out there and enjoy himself. Should he get fed up, or develop a desire for another calibre, then he should go out and buy it for himself without feeling the need to justify his actions in terms of half inch changes in POI. With that in mind I would encourage Sako85 to buy at least one of each and maybe a few other things that take his fancy as well. My money says that the difference for him will be so small as to be negligable and the difference for the dead deer on the other end will be pretty small as well.
Exactly my opinion on wanting another cal/rifle!!! Her at mission control doesn't argue either! :D
 
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