270 vs 30-06 vs 308

[Triggermortis]

Consider the boom factor, I have places to shoot where I just could not use my 270, a 308 or 30-06 because of the noise but can just about get away with a 243, it’s not a factor at every location but if I only had the 270 I would on occasion have to turn down shooting on some places

 

[enfieldspares]

My ideal cartridge that I had a rifle chambered in for a good few years was .280 Remington. But again, FWIW, other than the supposed bragging rights of it being "something different" (and that it is what the .270 Winchester ought to have been a true .284" without that daft .277" bullet size) it didn't really actually offer anything that the .30-06 doesn't do.

 

[JMikeyH]

Leaning toward .308 as I don't reload. Thanks for all the replies

 

[bullet chucker]

I added an 06 to my cabinet recently, after much deliberation on 308 and all the different bullets ect, being a lefty the 06 came available New, so I grabbed it. Been a chore up until now to find what it likes = 150gn Sako Super Hammerhead. £34.25 per box.
They gave me a 1/2" group @ 100y when I did my bit? So more than pleased with it. If an 06 comes your way and it feels right I would not right it off, as they are so similar in a lot of ways , Good hunting!

BC.

 

[The Singing Stalker]

Well from what I can see the things to consider are,
price of ammo where you buy it.
then what rifle is going to come up at the right price That fits you.

done.
oh and plus 1 to keep the 243as a dedicated foxing rig if you have the space.

 

[paulbshooting]

Another +1 for the 308. I use it for foxes, roe, muntys and fallow. Developed a load with Barnes TTSX 130 grains and its incredibly accurate and great kills / blood trials etc

 

[kenbro]

Or, if you’re happy with your .243 just get it rebarreled with a faster twist. (Shoot light bullets and longer mono bullets if needed)
Having said that, price of having a new barrel fitted seems (To me anyway) to have rocketed over the last several years and it’s sometimes cheaper to just go buy another rifle.
Ken.

 

[Acm]

Already commented on this singing the .30-06 praises as I have one and love it but I can’t help but feel like you might really enjoy a 6.5 x 55

 

[25 Sharps]

.270. All day long. Yes, I shoot one. And no, there's nothing wrong with the other calibres, but I have no experience of them. The beauty of the .270 to me, lies in its potential to be tailored to your exact requirements, especially if you handload. You have limited choice of bullets, which to my mind is a huge advantage as you're far less likely to the yourself up in knots. I use the 130 grain softpoint for all my shooting, with a relatively gentle load of 54 grains of h4831, and it's good enough to cleanly kill roe out to 300 yards. I don't shoot reds at great ranges, but it will still drop them on the spot at 200-plus.

It's an absolute beauty of a calibre, that's stood the test of time across the globe. I've not yet experimented with copper, but suspect 110 grain will be the way to go when I finally get around to it

Do you shoot many foxes?

 

[25 Sharps]

Class and history. The rifle that fought at Meuse-Argonne, at Bastogne, Iwo JIma and on Pork Chop Hill.

But in practical terms I respond that the advantages depend on the rifle it's being used in. So if you've a long action such as a rifle based on a Mauser 98 then .30-06 makes sense. If you've a shorter action built for those .308 Winchester based cartridges such as .243, 7mm-08, 338 Federal and 358 Winchester then they, and .308 Winchester make sense.

The other supposed advantage is the longer neck of the .30-06. I am slighly "anal" about preferring a bullet that is "all in the neck" and not half of it sticking out below where the neck joins the shoulder into the powder space of the cartridge. I think also that more usable powder capacity is a benefit with bulky stick powders like Hodgdon 4831.

That long neck must be why all the F class boys shoot 06 over .308 I guess

 

[Woodsmoke]

Do you shoot many foxes?

No. I don't shoot foxes at all as they're not a problem for me in my area

 

[25 Sharps]

Leaning toward .308 as I don't reload. Thanks for all the replies

If you are foxing and don’t reload then .308 makes total sense as you can run 110 gr v-max (light, fast and frangible is best for night work).

6.5 creedmoor May be an even better choice unless you’re planning trips abroad.

This would give you factory choices of 95 v-max (Faster and flatter than the 110/30) for fox to 143 gr eld-x for deer and plenty of lead free options to future proof for anything in the U.K.

 

[25 Sharps]

No. I don't shoot foxes at all as they're not a problem for me in my area

So having not shot the others and not shot many foxes you think .270 is best, based on your experience?

At least you qualified your answer I guess but the OP was a ‘one gun for everything’ question

 

[Deutsch - Drahthaar]

I have owned all 3 and think out of all of the them the 270 is best. I had them all in Blaser R8 so had an even comparison - 3006 in 23" barrel, this really did knock the reds over but I found it damaged the roe a bit too much, I used 150 grain Sako and RWS ammo all soft nose, really did kill things stone dead though. Recoil wise I found it OK and was more of a hard push than a hard kick.

270 in 23" This was less recoil IMO than the 3006 and 308 with 130 grain factory federals soft nose and kills everything I hit but not quite the same knock down power of 3006.

308 in 20" and find I preferer the shorter barrel apposed to a 23", I found this more punchy than the 3006 and 270 and is more of a kick than a push you get from the 3006. Kills deer no problem and I use 150 grain soft nose. Accuracy wise the 308 has the edge over the other two just, but slightly takes more concentration to get consistent tight groups as I find it more jumpy on a bench. I found the 308 liked heaver bullets but accuracy was poor with lightweight rounds. - 270 is for me easier shooting and pretty much 3/4" to 1" groups really without trying every time, I took this to Africa and was plenty big enough out to 300m on blue and black wildebeest. If I had to choose one of them to grab for a stalk on larger deer it would be the 270. If I was doing tight woodland stalking or doing driven boar it would be 308. I don't have the 3006 anymore but would have one again if I did a large amount of big reds/Sika especially for longer shots.

Just my own honest opinion but expect someone will say I have it all wrong.

PS: My favourite all time calibre is 243 closely followed by 7mm08. 243 for me is the perfect roe calibre and I just love it but it can do some meat damage, I shoot more deer with the 243 than any other calibre but I understand its limitations for bigger deer.

 

[enfieldspares]

That long neck must be why all the F class boys shoot 06 over .308 I guess

No. It is because 30-06 length actions are not optimum for bench rest shooting. It's a game won by stiff short actions. But in proportion to its calibre the 6mm BR has a neck considerably longer than the .308 Winchester.

6mm BR neck in BOTH Remington and Norma "versions" is 8.17mm. The case neck on the .308 WCF is 7.7mm but divide that length by the diameter of the bullet fired and the 6mm BR neck is 1.3x the bullet diameter and .308 WCF is 1.0x the bullet diameter. The .30-06 neck is 10.0mm so also 1.3x bullet diameter. The 6mm PPC also had a long for calibre neck.

If neck length of the .308 WCF proportion was optimal why wasn't that proportion chosen when these 6mm benchrest cartridges were designed? And why was the longer necked .222 Remington dominant over the shorter case necked .223 Remington in benchrest shooting in the 1960s when both were virtually equal overall case length but the .222 had the longer neck to the 223 shorter neck. The longer case neck makes for a the better mousetrap.

The reason 30-06 isn't used for benchrest shooting in preference to the .308 WCF isn't to do with neck length of the case but with overall length of the main body of the case. So your argument vis a vis neck length benefit is flawed.

 

[alberta boy]

I could use any of the three for hunting our game , actually , I have . Each has it's own virtues , but for all extents and purposes , they will all do pretty much the same thing . I have all three , I use them for different circumstances , but that's down to the rifles they're chambered in , not any difference in the cartridges performance on game . My 308 is an older Browning BLR , short , light and handy , perfect for timber cruising . My two main 06's are 22 inch barreled bolt guns , great general purpose rifles , but a little long in the thick stuff . Both will drop Moose , Elk , Deer and Bear neatly ( they have ) so there isn't much difference between them , other than how they carry in different terrain . In short , pick one you like , and more importantly , one that fits you .

AB

 

[25 Sharps]

No. It is because 30-06 length actions are not optimum for bench rest shooting. It's a game won by stiff short actions. But in proportion to its calibre the 6mm BR has a neck considerably longer than the .308 Winchester.

6mm BR neck in BOTH Remington and Norma "versions" is 8.17mm. The case neck on the .308 WCF is 7.7mm but divide that length by the diameter of the bullet fired and the 6mm BR neck is 1.3x the bullet diameter and .308 WCF is 1.0x the bullet diameter. The .30-06 neck is 10.0mm so also 1.3x bullet diameter. The 6mm PPC also had a long for calibre neck.

If neck length of the .308 WCF proportion was optimal why wasn't that proportion chosen when these 6mm benchrest cartridges were designed? And why was the longer necked .222 Remington dominant over the shorter case necked .223 Remington in benchrest shooting in the 1960s when both were virtually equal overall case length but the .222 had the longer neck to the 223 shorter neck. The longer case neck makes for a the better mousetrap.

The reason 30-06 isn't used for benchrest shooting in preference to the .308 WCF isn't to do with neck length of the case but with overall length of the main body of the case. So your argument vis a vis neck length benefit is flawed.

Who mentioned bench rest?

My point is you are getting a little too hung up on neck length, particularly for a field rifle.

 

[Woodsmoke]

So having not shot the others and not shot many foxes you think .270 is best, based on your experience?

At least you qualified your answer I guess but the OP was a ‘one gun for everything’ question

Yeah, you're right. I was forgetting that the .270 round just bounces off foxes

 

[25 Sharps]

Yeah, you're right. I was forgetting that the .270 round just bounces off foxes

It wasn’t the foxes I was thinking of it bouncing off, .270 bullets are deer bullets, so designed to hold together and no matter what the back stop is have an irrefutable higher risk of the retained bullet weight bouncing off of what ever is behind the fox than a thin jacketed frangible bullet at high speed designed to break up in the animal.

99% of fox shooters use frangible bullets and part of that is the added layer of safety (belt and braces to a good backstop) when lobbing bullets around in the dark at night. These bullets are not generally available in factory .270 ammo (or 30-06)

So yes I am right, your lack of experience in this particular field is showing through.

 

[enfieldspares]

My point is you are getting a little too hung up on neck length, particularly for a field rifle.

I'd partly accept that. yes. We all have our fads, foibles and fetishes. Another one of mine is disliking unnecessary "belts" on cartridges. But certainly both an unneccessary belt and a very very short neck hasn't stopped some US law enforcement agencies adopting the .300 Winchester Magnum as a marksman's weapon. Thanks for reading and replying to my comment in the spirit that it was intended.