M03 Extreme. .270 or .308 as a second barrel?

Hi all,

I am lucky enough to have a Mauser M03 (which is a great rifle). I am going to get a second barrel for some upcoming Fallow outings and was wondering if anyone would recommend either the .270 or .308? It seems sensible as I would like something with a bit more punch and I may take it to Scotland next year and I know from experience they prefer something a bit bigger than my .243 'up there'.

Anyone have any experience or recommendations?

Thanks in advance.

Chris.
 
I'd recomend a 30-06 to complement your 243. Especially if you are not going to shoot loads of ammo at the range. It'll do a bit more than a 308 - especially with heavier bullets.

Ian
 
the .243 will do better on scottish reds if you shoot it with complete confidence and no flinch. a 30-06 will (IMHO) be a better 2nd choice than the .270 as you can move far higher up the bullet weight range. However, what's actually quite interesting is seeing groups with various calibres, I wouldn't be surprised if you found in 'stalking conditions' you would be grouping sub inch with the .243, but closer to 2" MOA with the 30-06. I say this based on people I've seen and met and stalked with shoot some pretty bad groups with their big guns, and when they've tried my wee .222 or .243, they've thought it was a laser and been amazed at how 'accurate' it was..that said, it wasn't the gun that was accurate, it was the mild recoil that made them shoot better.

Therefore, I'd rather put a perfect shot into a big hill red with a .243 than a less than perfect shot with a 30 calibre.

Should you have the skill and confidence to shoot a 30Cal with the same relaxed posture as your .243, then yes, by all means take that to the reds and sika.
 
I use an M03 also :)

if you go 308 u can use the same bolt head and magazine

if you go 30-06 or 270 u can use the same bolt head but you will need a new magazine c type I think so an extra £100 ish


id go for a .308 as a cheaper option or 30-06 if your not fussed about cost


i use 6.5 on everything
 
i had the same issue with my m03 [witch i love] in the end i setteld for 223 rem barrel, shooting 55grain vmax a 7+64 barrel, shooting 160 grain game king, and a 93+62 barrel shooting 250 grain accubonds & 286 grain partitions, in my opinion for what its worth covers just about anything

steve
 
20/20 You just had me going there! Off I went looking for Nosler Partition 186 grain 9.3mm bullets. Couldn't find them so came back & you had edited your post! LOL
The lightest 9.3 bullets I found recently are Seller & Belliot 193 grain SP. Shoot very well in a 9.3x62 Mauser.

p.s. Sorry for minor thread hijack.

Pietas - I agree that some folks can't shoot heavy calibres well - That is their fault for not learning how to cope with their rifles recoil - It's not the calibre that is wrong! It goes without saying that anyone aiming to shoot live quary needs to be competent with their chosen equipment.

Ian
 
Thanks all for your thoughts and advice. Will probably go with the 30-06 as just need to change the magazine and can take both and keep my options open. By the sounds of things I need to go and get some rounds down the range for some practice with my new kit when it turns up.

Thanks again.

Chris.
 
There is no difference between the 270 and 308 out to 400 yards if you handload and use sensible barrel lengths for their respective cartridges.
 
There is no difference between the 270 and 308 out to 400 yards if you handload and use sensible barrel lengths for their respective cartridges.

This----^

Just make sure to use bullets of similar SD and BC when making the comparison.

OTOH a .30-06 loaded with 200 grain Nosler Accubonds at 2650fps or a 22 grain nosler partition aT 2550FPS is a step up from either of them on really big game IMO (150 kgs+ clean weight).
 
hi ian slight slip of the finger there between 1 & 2 he he i tried the 193 grain bullets in mine & had case head separation probs lapua brass new out of box gave up with them in the end.

steve
 
hi ian slight slip of the finger there between 1 & 2 he he i tried the 193 grain bullets in mine & had case head separation probs lapua brass new out of box gave up with them in the end.

steve

We used the RWS Cineshot once fired cases so far & not had a problem - shooting the S&B out of my mate's new Sako Grizzly got nice sub inch groups at 2800ft/sec. Will keep an eye open for head separation - We checked head space length & started off with a snug length on resizing the cases after annealing.

Ian
 
i dident get to the bottom of what was going on but the same brass out the same box is fine with 250 grain bullets
 
I've just dropped a 308 from my ticket (which replaced a 243) with a view to getting a 270...but having read the comments above, I am now wondering if it was worth the effort. For your situation I am not sure what you gain by having a 243 and a 308, - you are just going slower and heavier in the same family of cartridges, so would say you would want a 270 to increase the variety in you arsenal.

With that said, I do miss my old 308 and it was a cracking rifle with Sako 123 grain ammo... it just wasn't getting the work once I got a 6.5x55 which is just inherently more accurate.
 
I've just dropped a 308 from my ticket (which replaced a 243) with a view to getting a 270...but having read the comments above, I am now wondering if it was worth the effort. For your situation I am not sure what you gain by having a 243 and a 308, - you are just going slower and heavier in the same family of cartridges, so would say you would want a 270 to increase the variety in you arsenal.

With that said, I do miss my old 308 and it was a cracking rifle with Sako 123 grain ammo... it just wasn't getting the work once I got a 6.5x55 which is just inherently more accurate.


Interesting observation. At what ranges was it inherently more accurate? Presumably this was in relation to range work and not stalking as there is no real advantage surely in a stalking situation? I've shot plenty of .308s which return MOA out to 600 yds. Once beyond several hundred yds I find it is more the shooter than the kit that matters and also getting the right shooting solution, as bullet drop alone doesn't determine accuracy which is more the total shooting system (including correct determination of firing solution) including the shooter, rifle, ammunition, environmental conditions etc etc. Any reasonable 308 should be capable of good accuracy to over 600 yds, especially with some of the higher BC bullets available. Granted that the 6.5 has greater BCs generally and good sectional density, but the 308 has one of the widest loading choices of any calibre. For the OP's purposes of Fallow stalking, either would be equally good. Either would probably be preferable to the .270 just from a softer recoil POV!
 
IMO it is foolish to deliberately choose two cartridges based on the same parent case, especially when planning to use them in a switch barrel rifle. (.243 you have, .308 you mention)
Whilst we are all very careful the chance of picking up the wrong ammo could be a pain in the preverbial at best and a scary experience or wounded target at worst

.243 and .270 is a tried and tested short action, long action combination for anyone's cabinet

55gr to 150gr span between the two (180gr if you want to mess around with Woodleighs!)
covers everything from fox to red stags and boar
 
Interesting observation. At what ranges was it inherently more accurate? Presumably this was in relation to range work and not stalking as there is no real advantage surely in a stalking situation? I've shot plenty of .308s which return MOA out to 600 yds. Once beyond several hundred yds I find it is more the shooter than the kit that matters and also getting the right shooting solution, as bullet drop alone doesn't determine accuracy which is more the total shooting system (including correct determination of firing solution) including the shooter, rifle, ammunition, environmental conditions etc etc. Any reasonable 308 should be capable of good accuracy to over 600 yds, especially with some of the higher BC bullets available. Granted that the 6.5 has greater BCs generally and good sectional density, but the 308 has one of the widest loading choices of any calibre. For the OP's purposes of Fallow stalking, either would be equally good. Either would probably be preferable to the .270 just from a softer recoil POV!


Hi - this was a direct comparison between my Remington varmint barrelled 308 and my shorter barrelled Sako in 6.5x55. When I shoot the Remington at I get 1.5 inch groups and with I shoot the Sako I get 1 inch groups... It's probably the rifles as much as the calibre...anyway the 308 wasn't getting much action...and...okay I admit it...I fancied a change...
 
Hi - this was a direct comparison between my Remington varmint barrelled 308 and my shorter barrelled Sako in 6.5x55. When I shoot the Remington at I get 1.5 inch groups and with I shoot the Sako I get 1 inch groups... It's probably the rifles as much as the calibre...anyway the 308 wasn't getting much action...and...okay I admit it...I fancied a change...

That's a good as any reason with the prime need being the same ;)

I'd take a Sako over a Remington every day of the week too FWIW.
 
I'd go for a 30-06 barrel great for Fallow and big Reds. Also a great rifle / calibrate combo if you ever get the opportunity for wild boar in Europe or plains game in Africa.
 
I'd go for a 30-06 barrel great for Fallow and big Reds. Also a great rifle / calibre combo if you ever get the opportunity for wild boar in Europe or plains game in Africa.
 
Back
Top