270 or 308? Prefered choice

WAYNE

Well-Known Member
Good evening,

Looking to exchange with my old parker and hale 270 to a new tika 270 or 308 but trying to decide which calibre.

What's everyone view on the 2 calibres and which would you choose and why?

Hopefully get some good points to make the decision easier :)

Have a good night
 
I've got loads of different calibers and just bought a .308. Astounding the choice of bullets compared to pretty much anything else.
 
You may well be a tad optimistic to think you will get 'good points' making your decision easier! I would do what you want or feel is right.

atb
 
They are both good. If you're used to .270 mate I wouldn't change. 270 is a cracking round.
In my opinion, .308 won't do you any better in this instance.

If you want to go 30 cal, go 30-06.

But that's just my opinion, and let's face it they're like sphincters!
 
I never get tired of watching that young lady slip her trousers on, thanks BK, Oh yeah stick with the 270 wayne ...:D
 
Wayne,
Try to shoot them both in different rifles and see what you think, this may make the choice easier for you. As has already been said they are both very good. They are also both usually well stocked in gunshops Personally I like the 308 its a very versatile caliber.... but thats my opinion.
 
They are both good. If you're used to .270 mate I wouldn't change. 270 is a cracking round.
In my opinion, .308 won't do you any better in this instance.

If you want to go 30 cal, go 30-06.

But that's just my opinion, and let's face it they're like sphincters!

Fully agree. I bought truckloads of shootingmagzines in the last 20 years, read piles of books, watched and informed me in any way. Conclusion : Put a 130/180 grain quality bullet in the vitals of a UK deer and you have a dead deer. A catridge like 270/7x64/30-06 make it a bit easier ( slightly flatter shooting) , but for the rest ..............
On real heavy game I would prefer a 180 grain bullet at 30-06 / 300 win mag speed to have more power. By heavy I mean 200-400 kg class. In the UK my choice would be 270 in Scotland , 30-06 on Thetford reds.
 
Good evening,

Looking to exchange with my old parker and hale 270 to a new tika 270 or 308 but trying to decide which calibre.

What's everyone view on the 2 calibres and which would you choose and why?

Hopefully get some good points to make the decision easier :)

Have a good night


Rather than look at the ballistic differences (which are minimal, from a practical stalking point of view) consider the fact that .270 is harder to get hold of, more expensive and not as common in the rest of the world, which could be an issue if you ever want to hunt abroad. .308W is one of the most commonly used rounds and there is a very wide choice of amo out there. So I suggest you make the decision based on practicality and not on ballistic performance.
 
hi, I use both .270 and 308 cant fault them, but in france .270w ammunition is easy to find but .308 is not as it has only recently been accepted as a hunting calibre,
 
Rather than look at the ballistic differences (which are minimal, from a practical stalking point of view) consider the fact that .270 is harder to get hold of, more expensive and not as common in the rest of the world, which could be an issue if you ever want to hunt abroad. .308W is one of the most commonly used rounds and there is a very wide choice of amo out there. So I suggest you make the decision based on practicality and not on ballistic performance.

An excellent point. Although 30-06 is just as easy to get hold of everywhere and has all the benefits and a couple of advantages.
That been said, if you do intend on going abroad, 270 is not the correct choice IF your ammunition gets lost. Which does happen on occasion. 308, although capable on larger foreign game, is not as effective as 30-06.
If the UK is the only place you intend on hunting, 270 and 308 are both great choices.
If you are already confident in the 270's ability, I see no reason to go up a caliber.
 
Hi, when I went to get my 1st deer rifle I tried 243,270,308,and a 30-06, I chose the .270, reason being that it just felt right, nothing wrong at all with the others it was just a feeling that I was happier with the .270. If you are happy with the calibre I personally see no point in changing it, but maybe a change is as good as a rest, good luck with your choice, my .270 is also a P/Hale.


Scoby 270
 
You'll be firstly quite amazed at how sloppy your 270 Parker Hale chambers were cut in contrast to those on a 270 Tikka and that alone, if you handload, may convince you that the days of cases with "beer guts" on them is gone.

So my advise would be if you do reload is that as you'll probably have all the reloading gear just re-set your dies for the new Tikka and carry on happy and content.

As regards bullet weight the new RWS Evolution 270 Winchester with a 156 grain bullet is the Sako 156 grain Hammerhead "reborn" so that will do nicely for heavier beast and in my opinion makes the 270 Winchester begin to challenge the 308 Winchester but still not approach the versatility of the 30-06 or 280 Remington or the 7x64.

As for price I see no meaningful difference like for like within the same maker's catalogue on price. And I would dispute that 270 is not as common in the rest of the world. But I'd welcome anyhow advice on which countries it isn't common in.
 
One of the most accurate rifles I ever owned was a 270.
That said, I have never owned an inaccurate 308 and I've owned many of them -and still do. It is a good and efficient cartridge with a lot of variety in bullet style and weight. Military surplus brass is available here in the US and can be worked into fine sporting brass which is an attraction for me feeding so many rifles of that chambering. I'm not sure how that works in the UK. After much deliberation I'm giving my girlfriend (to keep!) my very accurate Winchester Model 70 in 308. She shot it, shoots it well, and likes it very much... and with the right load it will drop anything she shoots at in Montana.~Muir
 
You will love either one. The T3 Lite in .270 or .308 is a great shooting rifle. I have a .30-06 ( selling to a friend for his elk rifle, and replacing it with a 7mm-08 T3.)

The .270 is more versatile with 100-gr bullets and light loads for varmints. The .308 is more versatile with 180-gr RN bullets at closer range on big game. They are the same with 150-gr bullets inside 200 yards. If you are hunting where shots are out to 300 yards or so, just loading the one weight in the .270 and getting used to makes life simple.

Disclaimer: I have three .270s and at least a dozen .308s.
 
Disclaimer: I have......... at least a dozen .308s.

Gad! You're worse than me! I thought seven (now six) was bad.
You will love that 7-08. I have spent almost every night this past week at the range shooting off hand with my 7-08 T3 Lite. Just 10 or 15 rounds a night, standing, at 100M. I am really becoming attuned to this rifle. My last 10 shot group was covered by the palm of my hand. I'm shooting 120 grain Sierra Game Pro's over Varget at 2900 fps: Fast and accurate (!!) and mild on the shoulder. I just reformed 50 once fired military 308 cases into 7-08. It's a process (I ream the necks .002") but the cases only come out .005" under trim length, or 2.020" after the rework. Makes very durable brass. I'm happy that you are getting one and await your comments on it.~Muir

PS: The local Scheel's store still has a blued one for $549 NIB.
 
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I am thinking of going with the blue T3 Lite in 7mm-08, and putting a Burris FFII E1 2-7x35mm scope on it to keep it light. I like the look, and I have other rifles in Mannox (Steyr) or Teflon finish ( SHR970) for bad weather.

I will probably just focus on 140-gr Hornady or Sierra to start, but will try all my factory ammo and loads for my M-70 Compact and BLR to see if it likes one I already have. With this longer barrel on the T3, I want to see how it shoots the 154-gr SST.

If I were buying a .270 T3, I would go right to the 140-gr SST for long range on deer, Remington 150-gr ammo for big game inside 200 yards.

Some Sierra 120 loads for my son when he was starting deer hunting:
23.0 gr of RL-7 gives it 2,400 fps fun, fun, fun
36.5 gr to 39-gr of H-4896 give 2,600 to 2,700 fps
]39.0 gr of RL-15 gives 2,650 fps


Try the Nosler 120-gr BT with the same load of Varget - tougher bullet that the Sierra, but still opens up at long range.

45.5 grains of Varget Fed 210 m and a 120 grain ballistic tip, 2,925 fps

49.5 grains of H 414 or W-760, CCI BR2 Primer and a 120 gr ballistic tip, 2,950 fps.
Great load for cold weather, not for summer.
 
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