.270 Win vs 30-06 Sprinfield (Debate)

[Losing_Sanity]

I thought it might be nice to have a good debate of the old rivalry .270 vs 30-06. Interesting enough, good discussions have been made on both sides sitting around the water cooler as it were. It might be fun to explore the pro's and con's once again just for fun. Although it is not land access or conservation, it is something that is dear to some shooter and fun to compare.

Years ago, I had a nice debate with someone who was pro 30-06 and I had a .270. At the time, I could not have care less about the differences, but he was strongly against the .270. I stirred the pot telling him that the .270 was a more accurate gun than the 30-06 was. That set the wheels in motion.

So, lets go, debate your case for either cartridge, good or bad. If you like, start with was I correct in the above statement?

P.S. I'm looking forward to some good concrete information from the Hunt Talk experts.

 

[Dougfirtree]

Ha ha. I'm a .30-06 fan myself. IMO, there is nothing a .270 will do that some other cartridge won't do better. But, the .30-06 can at least hold the title for most versatile round for the average shooter. I think that's pretty unquestionable. Both fine rounds though. The cartridge in my avatar photo is a .270 from the one year I hunted with one.

 

[Losing_Sanity]

Ha ha. I'm a .30-06 fan myself. IMO, there is nothing a .270 will do that some other cartridge won't do better. But, the .30-06 can at least hold the title for most versatile round for the average shooter. I think that's pretty unquestionable. Both fine rounds though. The cartridge in my avatar photo is a .270 from the one year I hunted with one.

Good point.

You could say the same for a multitude of cartridges, but some people are die hard fans of one or the other. I personally own both and like them both. I don't know why, but I tend to lean more to using my 30-06 when i hunt animals like elk and black bear.

 

[mtmuley]

Bullet selection is about the only difference. A lot more selection for the .30 cal. My family uses both. Only recently has the .270 been able to use heavy for caliber bullets. And then only in properly twisted rifles. Flip a coin. mtmuley

 

[Losing_Sanity]

Bullet selection is about the only difference. A lot more selection for the .30 cal. My family uses both. Only recently has the .270 been able to use heavy for caliber bullets. And then only in properly twisted rifles. Flip a coin. mtmuley

Interesting enough, it does seem most people settle on 3 basic bullets when discussing the .270 win. The 130, 140, 1nd 150 grain. I think there used to be some 190's years ago, but I'm not sure if you can get them now. Probably would need a different rifle twist for them to fly right in the .270 win.

 

[rwc101]

If there's an animal you can kill with one but not the other the issue is almost certainly the operator.

 

[johnrr65]

Bullet selection is about the only difference. A lot more selection for the .30 cal. My family uses both. Only recently has the .270 been able to use heavy for caliber bullets. And then only in properly twisted rifles. Flip a coin. mtmuley

+1

 

[Losing_Sanity]

If there's an animal you can kill with one but not the other the issue is almost certainly the operator.

You are probably correct, but there has to be some distinct differences for most rifle manufacturers to continue to offer both in a standard rifle.

 

[rwc101]

You are probably correct, but there has to be some distinct differences for most rifle manufacturers to continue to offer both in a standard rifle.

There would be 6-8 cartridges in existence if we eliminated ones with redundant qualities. Gun and cartridge selection is highly emotional. Any manufacturer that discontinued one or the other would alienate a bunch of customers.

 

[6mm Remington]

Since that debate has been hashed out you should have gone 30-06 vs 280 Remington. Some fresh blood in the ring!! Pretty much the same answers as given above though.

How about this debate out of these cartridges based on the 30-06 to include the 30-06 which one is the best in the pack? Without an altered case such as the 280AI as an example.
I know, that probably stirred the pot.

6mm-06
25-06
270
280
30-06
338-06
35 Whelan

 

[quiet22]

We can test which is better.....but I can't ask you to stand still for both.....just too much to ask. Honestly....they both would kill any animal you shot in the same spot at the same distance. That's about the whole answer. The 270 is nice for easier MPBR for simple hunting techniques. The 30-06 can tolerate a very heavy bullet if you need to hunt or protect with such (most of us don't). I just bought a Vanguard S2 stainless 270....so, I must assume that it must be the best (tehehehe).

 

[Carl 9.3x62]

Chocolate vs vanilla

 

[VikingsGuy]

Since that debate has been hashed out you should have gone 30-06 vs 280 Remington. Some fresh blood in the ring!! Pretty much the same answers as given above though.

How about this debate out of these cartridges based on the 30-06 to include the 30-06 which one is the best in the pack? Without an altered case such as the 280AI as an example.
I know, that probably stirred the pot.

6mm-06
25-06
270
280
30-06
338-06
35 Whelan

Just for fun, my order of personal preference/enthusiasm:

1. 280 Rem (especially in AI flavor) - I love 7mm ballistics
2. 25-06 Rem - flat shooting pronghorn laser
3. .270 Win - a great flat shooting do-all western classic cartridge
4. 35 Whelen - on my bucket list of new things to play with
5. 6mm-06 - don't need the extra powder to drive .243 bullets, the .243Win is plenty
6. 30-06 - a classic
7. 338-06 - meh

 

[Schaaf]

 

[Losing_Sanity]

Just for fun, my order of personal preference/enthusiasm:

1. 280 Rem (especially in AI flavor) - I love 7mm ballistics
2. 25-06 Rem - flat shooting pronghorn laser
3. .270 Win - a great flat shooting do-all western classic cartridge
4. 35 Whelen - on my bucket list of new things to play with
5. 6mm-06 - don't need the extra powder to drive .243 bullets, the .243Win is plenty
6. 30-06 - a classic
7. 338-06 - meh

Being an in between caliber, between .277 and .308, what makes the .284 ballistics better than the debated cartridges? Depending on bullet selection, aren't all three pretty close?

 

[VikingsGuy]

Being an in between caliber, between .277 and .308, what makes the .284 ballistics better than the debated cartridges? Depending on bullet selection, aren't all three pretty close?

Higher weight/longer bullets vs caliber generally have better BCs. But as weight goes up so does recoil and velocity goes down and there is a balance to be found. Many view 6.5mm and 7mm bullets as having the best balance of these considerations - and there are a number of cartridges designed around this assumption so there are more BC-focused bullets available in these calibers. In the end they all kill - but 6mmRemmington asked us to spit hairs, so split I did.

 

[mtmuley]

I don't split hairs. I shoot a RUM. mtmuley

 

[VikingsGuy]

I don't split hairs. I shoot a RUM. mtmuley

Right on cue - I almost ended with that, but didn't want to steal your thunder

 

[EastTNHunter]

30-06 has a little more thump with heavier bullets if needed, and has more flexibility for reloading. The 270 has better BC with the 130-140gr bullets with lower recoil for deer sized game. I own both, but own more 30-06s. I’ll probably buy another 270 in the future.

Do remember that the 30-06 is the patriarch, though

 

[elkduds]

Started w aught six of Dad's. Then a 7 rem mag came into the local pawn shop. Had to have it because "magnum," 06 became back-up. Years later the 06 went back to Dad, then nephew. The big 7 got heavier as I got older. I had learned to read ballistics data, which shows 270win is both equal to 7RM velocity/trajectory with bullets 20 grains lighter, and shoots the same weight bullets 100 fps slower, meaning 100 yds shorter maximum range. So I bought a very light 270win.

Turns out they each would have performed the same in every hunting shot I ever took w any of them, elk and deer inside 300 yds. All my pet loads were developed before monometal was a thing, using bonded or partition loads. The 7 RM started w 175 gr cup/cores, later 160 gr accubonds. 06 preferred 190 gr bonded. 270 shoots 140 and 160 gr partitions similarly out to 300. As alike as peas in a pod, however I had great hunts, much shooting and a learned a lot along the circular path back to where I started, and really never left. My conclusions: How heavy a bullet, and how far off. If you want to include varmints and pronghorn-sized game, 270 is perhaps a better choice. Just mostly elk, big bears, moose, 06. All of the above, 7RM.

I yield the remainder of my time to the gentleman from Shootzlightzout.