.270 vs 30-06... shoot flatter or hit harder?

[LostinTexas_45]

Which do you prefer? Cast your vote and comment below why you made your choice.

 

[IvW]

Although the 270 is a great caliber, it is limited in application. Speaking from a African point of view, the 30-06 is much more versatile and may be just about perfect as a light rifle for Africa.

Low in recoil, large weight range of bullets with the ability to fire heavy for caliber bullets.(220 gr vs 150 gr for the 270 Win)

Can take all the plains game in Africa without being marginal, which the .270 is when taking on large African plains game.

 

[cpr0312]

Depends on where you are and what your after. If I had a choice for only one of these for all my hunting it would be the 30-06

 

[johnnyblues]

Hugh 270 fan myself. Having taken quite a bit of game with it form antelope to moose. But don't disagree on the 30-06. Been around a long time with an excellent reputation. Better choice of bullet weight too for larger game. Now if Jack O'Connor was still around you might be in for an interesting conversation.

 

[Divernhunter]

If you use the line of thought that the 270 has less recoil and shoots flatter then get a 257W. It shoots flatter than the 270 and has less recoil. It also works well on African game as well as game in the USA. I took quite a number of PG with mine using 120gr A-Frames and none required a 2nd shot.

I will take a 30-06 any day over the 270. In fact I will not own a 270.

 

[bilmcc]

Hugh 270 fan myself. Having taken quite a bit of game with it form antelope to moose. But don't disagree on the 30-06. Been around a long time with an excellent reputation. Better choice of bullet weight too for larger game. Now if Jack O'Connor was still around you might be in for an interesting conversation.

Jack O'Connor liked the 30-06, too. (I did not know that until a couple years ago.)

 

[Red Leg]

This is not a competition. The .270 is my favorite deer cartridge hands down. The 30-06 is my favorite cartridge for nearly everything else. The .22 lr, 300 WM, and .375 pretty much police up everything else. But I use the .275/7x57 a lot when either of the first two would suffice.

 

[Ridgewalker]

I started with a 257 Roberts which sadly I had to sell to pay my tuition in college one semester. Then went to a 30-06. What versatility it has had for me! 110 grain FMJs loaded to less than 2,000 FPS took several turkeys, a bobcat, a couple of coyotes, cottontails, blue grouse to name a few. 165 gr Sierras took whitetails, mulies, elk, coyotes, jackrabbits, etc. 180 Nosler Partitions were great for elk! And the 100gr Speer Plinker loaded with Unique or 700x was an excellent practice/training load.

Still I think I would like a light weight 270 to carry up high for a mountain goat or a bighorn sheep just as Mr Jack O did.

 

[Art Lambart II]

I own both and like them both but if I could only have one it would be the 06. A 30-06 with a 180 grain bullet is one of the most effective bid game loads ever developed.

 

[BWH]

Both..... popped my cherry on “big game” with 270. It was great/Fine.... 110-150gr. From whitetail doe to elk. For Africa.... took 30.06. It’s a 270 but better for Africa ..... in a different way. Hard to explain.

 

[BigKnuckle]

Which do you prefer? Cast your vote and comment below why you made your choice.

Hit harder. I can adjust my shot. I can’t add power. I know, I know... shot placement is everything. But how often do you get the “perfect shot?” Rarely. So I’d just as soon have some extra power.

 

[Philip Glass]

Sorry neither for Africa. Go to .300 Win Mag or Rem Ultra Mag then there are no problems.

 

[PHOENIX PHIL]

Which do you prefer? Cast your vote and comment below why you made your choice.

LIT,

You're young and going through the same minutiae of details regarding calibers that we all did here at one point or another and to some extent still do. But I believe you're over thinking this.

Lighter / faster / flatter was a pretty decent argument at one time and I think still is if you're really trying to reach out there. But it has been greatly relegated to a moot point by the scopes available today with ballistic reticles and laser range finders. Any rifle can be setup to shoot with a dead on hold up to 300 yards so that you needn't really worry on those reasonable ranges.

Hitting harder has also been a reasonable argument and still is. The early 1900's was known as the golden age of hunting and rifles, at least in Africa. And is when many of the calibers still used today were developed, such as the .30-06. Then came along this guy named Roy and his Weatherby rifles. Nothing really in my mind to think of as some great invention. He more/less just took the shoulder of existing cartridges and made it more vertical and by doing so added volume to the cases and thus more powder room.

But he was just a bit ahead of his time. Those fast hard hitting cartridges he developed weren't matched by bullets designed to put up with close range shots and the high velocities. At least if the bullet wasn't that wonderful offering brought to us by John Nosler known as the Nosler Partition.

That however has changed. We are now in what I consider the golden age of bullets and powders. Nothing even comes close to matching the performance of todays superior bullet and powder technology. Those calibers being developed some 100 years ago were being so in response to the limitations they had with bullets and powder. Now we have powders that are quite resistant to temperature change. I've proven it to myself living in Phoenix and shooting in 100 degree plus temps. Both with powders such as IMR4350 which is not temp resistant and with Hodgdon powders that are.

But for the really important part, the bullet. The bullet does all the heavy lifting once it has left the barrel of your rifle and is on it's way to hopefully hitting the vitals of your quarry. How pretty your rifle may be, whether be in a classic caliber such as the .275 Rigby or a more newcomer .300 Winchester Short Magnum does not matter. That bullet will now do all the work and needs to be up to the task. Bullets like the Swift A-Frame, Barnes TSX/TTSX, Peregrines, North Fork Bonded Cores.....well the performance of those bullets cannot even be approached by the bullets of yesteryear, with the one exception in my mind being the aforementioned Nosler Partition.

What does all of this mean? In my opinion it means the harder hitters hit that much harder. It also means the less hard hitters now hit as hard as their larger cousins previously did. I still love my .300WM and I also have a .300H&H that I have yet to hunt with. I will continue to hunt with them. But in a pinch or as the case may dictate and has, I'd gladly shoot most PG animals with my wife's .30-06 or my sons .308W and/or 7x57. They're all loaded with my favorite North Fork bullets and they've all done their job quite nicely. Yet my big .30's can still push a 200gr bullet better than all of those others listed. And more while not always better, sometimes is.

So what should you do? Pick one and stop sweating it. If you have been shooting for quite awhile now and are accustomed to recoil, go for the .300WM. If not, go for the .30-06, the .270 or any of these other lighter recoiling rifles mentioned. But make your decision soon and go shoot and get as good at hitting that target where you need to as you can be. Because in the end bullet placement is far more important than any other factor. When you get that part figured out, then choose one of the better bullets available today and go hunt with confidence.

If you're already proficient with a rifle but you really just have to go spend some money. Get into loading your own bullets so you have a better selection available to you. It takes a bit of an investment up front, but less than a decent rifle. And you'll learn more about ballistics, your rifle than you can otherwise.

 

[wesheltonj]

I will go with flat every time, nothing beats flat. And I have scopes where you can twist for both Elevation and Windage.

I have access to both of those calibers.. The 06 sits in my closet never shot, and 270 is my fathers and I have shot shot several times, while not my favorite, but my father uses it every season.

 

[IvW]

Sorry neither for Africa. Go to .300 Win Mag or Rem Ultra Mag then there are no problems.

Only if you can handle the extra recoil, for shots out to 300 meters you certainly don't need them.

Many clients would be better off with a 30-06 they can shoot well. If you can shoot a 300 WM with the same confidence it would be better with heavy bullets. With your experience I am sure you can handle the magnums, many however cannot.

As for the Rem Ultra Mag, too much velocity and recoil and not needed in 99% of hunting in Africa. If you cannot shoot it well, going to be lots of tracking, wounded animals and probably a few lost.

As for the original question, 30-06 all the way.

 

[Philip Glass]

Only if you can handle the extra recoil, for shots out to 300 meters you certainly don't need them.

Many clients would be better off with a 30-06 they can shoot well. If you can shoot a 300 WM with the same confidence it would be better with heavy bullets. With your experience I am sure you can handle the magnums, many however cannot.

As for the Rem Ultra Mag, too much velocity and recoil and not needed in 99% of hunting in Africa. If you cannot shoot it well, going to be lots of tracking, wounded animals and probably a few lost.

As for the original question, 30-06 all the way.

Very true about what the hunter can handle. Just when the hunting gets tough like it always does for me for some reason those 300 yard shots at African game the deer calibers just are marginally effective.

 

[7x57Joe]

As Col. Townsend Whelen said: " The .30'06 is never a mistake." but, he also said: " The .280 may be just a little bit better hunting cartridge." I would apply that to the great 7x64 which, to me, has more charm.

 

[sambarhunter]

A writers take on it all in the SS mag (Aussie)

 

[CAustin]

The 30-06 will hunt well in the states and in Africa. But Pick the one you want and practice until you are very comfortable with the rifle. Shot placements will matter and you need to hit the spot you intend to hit on any animal. Wish you well on your decision.

 

[LostinTexas_45]

The 30-06 will hunt well in the states and in Africa. But Pick the one you want and practice until you are very comfortable with the rifle. Shot placements will matter and you need to hit the spot you intend to hit on any animal. Wish you well on your decision.

Thanks for the advice. However, for the record I already shoot and love my .308win and my 300 win mag. My goal for these topics are more of a caliber think-tank. I like to take two calibers that have overlapping abilities/uses, and see which of the two y'all prefer. Sure I could just google it and look up articles from countless blogs and magazines, but I feel that it is more interesting to hear the responses from hunters such as you guys.