I was highland stalking with my 6.5 x 55 and found with 120 gr Barnes homeloads that the rifle was not really up to it on the hill with hyped up stags in the rut. The Forestry who I was shooting with use 270's with 130 grain projectiles(they prefer 140 gr but have to standarize) and I applied for a 270 but have since talked to some of my friends who said that a 30-06 using 140 grain Barnes would be almost as flat and could also be loaded with 220 gr bullets for my annual Croatian wild boar shoots. The 270 would not be as flexible. I still wish to retain the 6.5 x 55 for Roe and Fallow and as my wife's rifle. Any thoughts please before the firearms officer arrives for his chat ?
270 or 30 06
- Thread starter rodkayak
- Start date
30.06 has a much wider bullet choice from 110 grains to 220. Both will do what you want, the main advantage the 30.06 has over the 270 is the ability to shoot the heavier bullets. The heaviest 270 being around the 160 Mark. I use a 30.06 for all Deer and driven Boar with excellent results.
Trajectory wise, I personally don't think there's enough in it with mid range bullet weights.
Trajectory wise, I personally don't think there's enough in it with mid range bullet weights.
Rodkayak,
Have used a 30-06 for plains game and most of the deer on this fair island. Versility is your friend with the calibre - fast 130gr ttsx for the hill, slow 180gr rn for the wood and 165s for everything in between. I have used to 220grs but it is quite a niche load.
Mike
Have used a 30-06 for plains game and most of the deer on this fair island. Versility is your friend with the calibre - fast 130gr ttsx for the hill, slow 180gr rn for the wood and 165s for everything in between. I have used to 220grs but it is quite a niche load.
Mike
If you go to Croatia annually then tell that to FEO. that’s a good reason to have another caliber. I have a 30-06 and have taken it to Croatia and South Africa but I also have a 243 and a 270.
I stalk with the forestry commission and did an experiment on hinds. Shot 2 with my 6.5x55 and the following day shot 2 with my .270. A .270 is head and shoulders better for it.
As to 30-06 or .270, dont think it matters as the ammo for both is readily available. I shoot a 130grn round which is highly effective. You wont go wrong with either, I just like .270.
Also, Ive shot boar with a 150grn .270 round. Pole-axes them..though bigger is better.
Would it be Alaister you were with...
As to 30-06 or .270, dont think it matters as the ammo for both is readily available. I shoot a 130grn round which is highly effective. You wont go wrong with either, I just like .270.
Also, Ive shot boar with a 150grn .270 round. Pole-axes them..though bigger is better.
Would it be Alaister you were with...
Last edited:
Firstly ignore anyone who says "buy this one as its flatter shooting" or compares cartridges by how "flat" they are
None of them are flatter than others and more importantly that should not be a consideration
Inside 300yds the difference between deer legal calibres is irrelevant unless you can print 1" groups at 300yds
Otherwise it is not the cartridges fault you missed the 4" gong at 300!
Norma Soft Point 130 gr - Norma
Norma Kalahari 150 gr - Norma
There is only one reason to shoot a 30-06 over a 270
If you want to shoot much much heavier bullets or have a minimum calibre restriction
the -06 is not an efficient cartridge in any form but has a wider range of 150+gr bullets available in .30-06 compared with the .270
That said woodleigh do a 180gr .277 bullet!
However no UK game is going to know the difference when hit at sensible ranges
Bet your local RFD has more choice of .270 that .30-06 though
Edinburgh Rifles nailed it: 1" in difference ( maybe ) at 300 yards between .270 with 130-gr and .308 with 150-gr bullets.
If you are going to shoot foxes and roe deer, the 90 and 100 gr bullets with less-than-max loads make the .270 Win into a dandy .243.
If you are going to shoot big red deer or boar, a 150-gr .270 Win will flop them like a wet dishrag with conventional bullets like Hornady, Sierra, Remington, Federal ( Speer ).
But if your quarry starts with regular deer of 140-lbs and goes up to red stags, large boar, moose, bear, large African antelope, then the .30-06 will do them all, from mild 125-gr Sierra loads ( like a .300 Savage ) to 180 and 200-gr bullets just on the heels of a .300 H&H.
Plenty of good ammo for each of them, some very inexpensive, some loaded mildly ( Prvi and S&B ), and some to full potential.
Also, with normal loads and situations, both the .270 and .30-06 work well in a light weight stalking rifle with a 22-inch barrel, like a Tikka T3, Model 70 Featherweight, Remington BDL, Begara, Sako 85, etc.
If you are going to shoot foxes and roe deer, the 90 and 100 gr bullets with less-than-max loads make the .270 Win into a dandy .243.
If you are going to shoot big red deer or boar, a 150-gr .270 Win will flop them like a wet dishrag with conventional bullets like Hornady, Sierra, Remington, Federal ( Speer ).
But if your quarry starts with regular deer of 140-lbs and goes up to red stags, large boar, moose, bear, large African antelope, then the .30-06 will do them all, from mild 125-gr Sierra loads ( like a .300 Savage ) to 180 and 200-gr bullets just on the heels of a .300 H&H.
Plenty of good ammo for each of them, some very inexpensive, some loaded mildly ( Prvi and S&B ), and some to full potential.
Also, with normal loads and situations, both the .270 and .30-06 work well in a light weight stalking rifle with a 22-inch barrel, like a Tikka T3, Model 70 Featherweight, Remington BDL, Begara, Sako 85, etc.
tbh the differences in calibre's aren't that great given what you are wanting them to do, they're both excellent in their own right. Having said that, to me the 30-06 probably wins out though in terms of wider range of bullet weights to be using, I think its a great cartridge, stood the test of time with very good reason.
worth mentioning the Croatian Boar to the FEO, but get it down for deer primarily and AOLQ or you may have him asking for proof of your trip (booking receipts etc) before he can sign off good reason.
worth mentioning the Croatian Boar to the FEO, but get it down for deer primarily and AOLQ or you may have him asking for proof of your trip (booking receipts etc) before he can sign off good reason.
enfieldspares
Well-Known Member
I shot my first deer in 1989 with a .270 WCF. Didn't really like the calibre then. I've owned four, five, .270 WCF rifles since. Twice two of them at the same time. Still didn't really like the calibre then either.
I did own a .280 Remington and that IMHO was far and away better then the .270 WCF. Only .007" difference in bullet diameter but you've 145 grain, 160 grain and 175 grain bullets. A world of difference!
I now have a .270 WCF and still really don't like the calibre. I've now also a .30-06 and in truth I wish that I'd started with that from the off twenty-eight years ago...or that the .280 Remington more available.
My advice? Get the .30-06 it has a wider bullet weight range, the old time Belgian and French "military cailbre" laws are now irrelevant to it and, from a future point of view, the .30-06 is a better "non lead" option than is .270 WCF.
I did own a .280 Remington and that IMHO was far and away better then the .270 WCF. Only .007" difference in bullet diameter but you've 145 grain, 160 grain and 175 grain bullets. A world of difference!
I now have a .270 WCF and still really don't like the calibre. I've now also a .30-06 and in truth I wish that I'd started with that from the off twenty-eight years ago...or that the .280 Remington more available.
My advice? Get the .30-06 it has a wider bullet weight range, the old time Belgian and French "military cailbre" laws are now irrelevant to it and, from a future point of view, the .30-06 is a better "non lead" option than is .270 WCF.
enfieldspares
Well-Known Member
That's quite true in fact. 8x57 Mauser is more efficient. Indeed the Germans with their better powders were getting 2,950 fps, near enough, with a 154 grain bullet from the standard 29" barrel Mauser 98 that the Kaiser's men took to war in 1914. The Americans were struggling along behind with a 150 grain bullet at just over 2,700 fps.
Claret_Dabbler
Well-Known Member
"The 30/06 is an inefficient cartridge...."
F#%k me, I've heard it all now, and for the second time this week..
Based on a sample of one Sika that I shot this afternoon at around 170 yards with a 30/06, I'd say it got the job done quite efficiently and effectively.
There is some ****e talked here at times.
F#%k me, I've heard it all now, and for the second time this week..
Based on a sample of one Sika that I shot this afternoon at around 170 yards with a 30/06, I'd say it got the job done quite efficiently and effectively.
There is some ****e talked here at times.
enfieldspares
Well-Known Member
It's all relative CD.
Historically it is 6mm longer than the 8mm Mauser as, at the time of its design American propellant powders were inferior to German double based propellant powders. So by that benchmark it is/was inefficient compared to the 8mm in that the Germans did in a 57mm length cartridge what the could only achieve in a 63mm length cartridge. However be that as it may the .30-06, efficient or inefficient as it may not or may be, is now the reference by which most other cartridges used today are measured.
Some say that the .300 H & H is little more effective, in real world performance, than the .30-06. It's all relative.
Last edited:
Claret_Dabbler
Well-Known Member
OK, so what about my hand loads with 50 something grains of a double based powder and 165 grain Sierra Gameking?
Or are we shooting WW1 surplus ammo?
enfieldspares
Well-Known Member
That's absolutely correct. And why I have, myself, a .30-06 and not a .308 Winchester. I think that the .30-06 is a more flexible and so a "better" cartridge.
Availability of double base powders and fast single base powders has changed the game. And you can't kill deader than dead. But historically the OP's statement that the .30-06 is an inefficient cartridge (design) is correct.
Same as a big American ""lazy" V8 is inefficient compared to a European straight six or flat six engine. It'll send the car along the road just as fast. But it's not honestly the best designed mousetrap in the shop.
Probably the best design and most efficient medium bore standard action length cartridge I've ever shot was the 8x60S. Yet it wasn't born out of any drive for efficiency but simply to circumvent the Versailles Treaty ban on the 8x57.
Last edited:
Inefficient doesn't mean ineffective. Some cartridges are just a better design and you get more bang for buck.
I am a fan of teh 270 but its not efficient either!
For the significant increase in powder charge the 30-06 does not give a comparable increase in velocity over the .308
Only when you get to much heavier bullets in the 200+ gr range does it start to make any sense over the 308
You just need to look at the factory ammo data or the powder manufacturers data to compare that, its not a personal thing
.308 Winchester - Rifle reloading - Reloading Data - Vihtavuori
.30-06 Springfield - Rifle reloading - Reloading Data - Vihtavuori
308 - 150gr N133 -44.1gr 2831
308 -150gr N135 - 45.7gr 2857
308 - 150gr N140 -47.1gr 2815
30-06 -150gr N140 53.2gr 2861
30-06 - 150gr N150 55.2gr 2877
30-06 -150gr N540 54.6gr 2894
20-25% more powder to get the same MV with 150gr bullets
308 - 190gr N140 -42.9gr 2508
308 - 190gr N150 -43.6gr 2516
308 - 190gr N540 - 43.7gr2579
30-06 190gr N150 - 49.4 2516
30-06 190gr N550 53.9 2664
30-06 190gr N160 58.8 2608
30-06 190gr N560 62.3 2707
15 to 40+% more powder to gain 10-120fps with 190gr bullets
So all those folk that have 30.06 should change them because they are inefficient and are wasting 20% more powder than they should be.
Better still just sell 3 calibers to all UK shooters. 22lr 223 and 243.
That's it then job sorted.
Anyone else having problems deciding on what caliber to choose just get one of those 3. Topic closed.. just get what someone else tells you to get what they have.
Anybody want to buy a 30.06 ? Apparently mines no good. And I'm wasting powder. Lol
Better still just sell 3 calibers to all UK shooters. 22lr 223 and 243.
That's it then job sorted.
Anyone else having problems deciding on what caliber to choose just get one of those 3. Topic closed.. just get what someone else tells you to get what they have.
Anybody want to buy a 30.06 ? Apparently mines no good. And I'm wasting powder. Lol
Malxwal
Well-Known Member
I guess there's a reason the US military dumped the 30-06 and went (effectively) 308.
Similar threads
