270 v's 308

stav

Well-Known Member
hi, guys. right as i,ve said in other posts i,m just getting into deer stalking. only relay been shooting 17hmr and 22/250, and an odd go on a 308, the lad who i,m going with use's a 270 and that was the way i was going but afew have said i,d be better with a 308. if you could give me your views and pro's/cons on each rifle and your preffered one it would go along way to me making a choice.many thanks in advanced
 
personal choice. IMO
they both kill any kind of deer you will see here

similar choice of factory loads (you dont sound like you are loading your own), similar bore, ME, MV, trajectory in normal shooting ranges etc etc.

find one you like and stick with it.
 
Ok,

haven't got either, but shot both..actually, got premission for .308 so will add one very soon :D

I picked the .308 to complement my .243, so I had one at either end of the power spectrum. In addition, my choice was driven by access to good selection of 2nd hand rifles, spare parts/aftermarket, brass, bullets, reloading data, etc. etc.

Oh,,and there's just something manly about a .308;)
 
PKL.
I have both and use 130gr bullets for Sika, Reds and Roe out of the .270 however I found that Muntjac lifted their tails and scampered off to die in a thicket and give me hassle finding them.
For them I found 150gr round-nosed softpoints from the .308 nailed them where they stood.
Horses for courses I suppose !
If you are a re-loader the .308 would be a better option as there is a greater range of missiles, bullets, heads, projectiles or whatever you care to call them available.

HWH.
 
would be buying of the shelf ammo

That's what I 'said'....just wait and see,,with the pressure on you from the forum members, you will soon enough wake up one night thinking,,,hhmmm maybe I need to start re-loading...next day you will order your first Lee Classic Loader.. HA HA HA....trust me ;) I used to say I'd only ever shoot factory ammo too,,that changed very quickly..
 
Then one day you'll realise .308 stands for throw & wait really!:stir:.......... .270 130grain Nosler partition, all you need !.:cool:

Real men use .308 cause they are accurate, cheap to buy and feed and will deal with anything in the uk :norty: and Fin I will ring you when am back on the beach.
 
The 270 will do everything the 308 does - better - up to 150 grains bullet weight.

Over 150 grains bullet weight the 308 has no competition from the 270 as there are no factory 270 loads with bullets heavier than that. So you do have the 165 grain option available in 308.

If I were shooting long distance over 200 yards then I might consider the 270 superior. Under 200 yards there is very little difference whatsoever at all. I know no British animal that will be killed any more or less dead!

If you don't handload then I would ask what barrel length rifle are you looking at. Under 24" and the 270 is somewhat unpleasant to shoot. At 24" then it is no problem. In fact it is superb!

I handload so I'd take the 270 choice each and every time with a 24" barrel. If I did not handload or wanted a 22" barrel I'd have no hesitation in choosing the 308. A better choice - for the UK in factory loadings - than 30-06 IMHO!
 
I have owned and shot two .270 and one .308

My first ever rifle was a .270 over 20 years ago and obviously un-moderated. Kicked a bit but got used to it. 110grn bullets shot very poorly, 130's pretty accurate and 150's in my opinion were just simply unnecessary in this country for our deer species, although some may disagree. Granted, a particular rifle may shoot more accurately with 150's than 130's.

As has been mentioned previously there is very little difference in 'real world usability' between these calibres in normal stalking distances. What would make my mind up is what I think is the potential accuracy attainable from them and for that reason I would choose the .308. Look at any reloading manual and it will constantly refer to the inherent accuracy of the .308 case design. It is soft on barrels. I believe the .270 is not. The .308 excels in the target arena. The .270 does not. But, as I already said, in stalking applications that advantage is probably not generally going to be seen. It will no doubt show up on paper. More so if you do get into loading yourself. I struggled to better the accuracy with 150grn Federal's in my .308 with homeloads.

The bullet choice in .308 is far greater than the .270, even in factory ammunition.

I am not knocking the .270 as I know a lot on here use it. I shot a lot of deer with mine. I just preferred the .308.
 
Why just consider those two?

Having played a bit with different calibres over the years I have come to the conclusion - and before evryone starts it's just my opinion based on my limited experience - that the ideal velocity to get acceptable trajectory and an acceptable level of carcass damage is somewhere between 2900 and 3000 fps. The ideal bullet weight is about 120 grain. Go any faster and any heavier at that speed and the additional energy you gain just comes out the other side. Ideally you want a high BC bullet as trajectory is easy to predict but wind deflection is much more difficult. The 6.5's are particularly good. Unless you are shooting Boar in this country you need no more power.

I have ended up with a 6.5 Lapua running 2960 fps with a 120 grain bullet with .458 BC. It puts down everything from Muntjac to Reds with great efficiency, little recoil and is cheap to reload. With only 39 grains of powder I also use it without a mod without my ears bleeding! It's much more balanced to carry as a result. I have had .308, .270, 25.06, 6mm06AI and 7mm Rem Mag. This is the best all rounder. If you wanted to go off the shelf a 6.5*55 will be pretty close, loosing only about 150 fps. You are also likely to be more accurate as the recoil is much more civilazed than either a .308 or .270.

There is such a thing as too much gun. Just my opinion.
 
Why just consider those two?

Having played a bit with different calibres over the years I have come to the conclusion - and before evryone starts it's just my opinion based on my limited experience - that the ideal velocity to get acceptable trajectory and an acceptable level of carcass damage is somewhere between 2900 and 3000 fps. The ideal bullet weight is about 120 grain. Go any faster and any heavier at that speed and the additional energy you gain just comes out the other side. Ideally you want a high BC bullet as trajectory is easy to predict but wind deflection is much more difficult. The 6.5's are particularly good. Unless you are shooting Boar in this country you need no more power.

I have ended up with a 6.5 Lapua running 2960 fps with a 120 grain bullet with .458 BC. It puts down everything from Muntjac to Reds with great efficiency, little recoil and is cheap to reload. With only 39 grains of powder I also use it without a mod without my ears bleeding! It's much more balanced to carry as a result. I have had .308, .270, 25.06, 6mm06AI and 7mm Rem Mag. This is the best all rounder. If you wanted to go off the shelf a 6.5*55 will be pretty close, loosing only about 150 fps. You are also likely to be more accurate as the recoil is much more civilazed than either a .308 or .270.

There is such a thing as too much gun. Just my opinion.


I generally agree with your post but note that your ideal bullet weight seems rather dictated by a particularly preference for bore size, the 6.5, rather than the other way around.:D

I do take issue with your contention that there is such a thing as too much gun; there may be too much recoil for a particular shooter but if a given person can shoot a larger calibre without flinching there is not reason he should go to a smaller one because of recoil.

Regards,

A
 
Well I happen to like and have both and in my BSA Majestic Featherweight in 270 Win happens to like the Federal Fusion 150 grain ammunition and on the one Roe Buck we tried it on it was very effective. The .308 Win has always used handloads.

One feature that the .270 Win is known for is putting different weight bullets into the same group and they have the advantage in England at least it seems of being plentiful and cheaper being a bit unfashionable with lost of shooters.

May I suggest you try the rifles you fancy and see which one fits you the best, feels better and more comfortable and worry about the calibre/chambering then. You will not be wrong with either.












However if I had to chose for myself then I would probaly go for the .270, my first ever rifle was a .270 BSA CF Stutzen which I still have. That's for game and stalking if it was for target shooting then the .308 wins hands down just due to the range of target and FMJ bullets offered in .30 cal.
 
If your just looking at the choice between .270 & .308 then I would go .270 every time, their both big calibres for the smaller deer but perfect for sika and reds! if your a novice stalker then you would probably find the .270 is the flatter shooting round!

000bullet000
 
would be buying of the shelf ammo

Below is the target supplied with my .270 Carl Gustaf model 2000 when I bought it.
Five shots with the Norma factory cartridge Ref. No :- 16903, softpoint bullet 9.7 gramms weight. [approx.150 grains.]
I bought this rifle new in 1993 when the law in Eire raised the calibre ceiling to .270 from .22 cfs.
With my 130 and 140 grain re-loads similar groups are obtained.
I am a 9&1/2 stone weakling and find the .270 , .308 , .30-06 , 7mm Rem.Mag. etc no problems.
HWH.

REDSINSNOW014.jpg
 
speed never won this race just ask the tortoise . ask any pro stalkers most will have or do own a 308 love mine
 
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