.270 and .30-06

[Deleted]

They're still the best and the most useful. Throw the .308 right there in the middle and you've got three cartridges that you can hunt any game animal in North America with and you can buy ammo anywhere it's sold. A lot of us are gun guys and we enjoy experimenting but the results with these three cartridges have long been in. They just kill stuff dead and they do it with reasonable recoil that the vast majority of hunters can handle with just a moderate amount of range time. Are there other rounds that work as good? Yes there are but they aren't any better. You can pay more for your ammo or your components but don't expect to get better performance in real world hunting situations. These three will bring home the bacon (or venison) out to 500 yards in experienced hands. They'll take that Grizzly or Brown bear too although magnumaniacs will never admit it. Here's three cheers to our three greatest cartridges!

[Dutch]

I agree Mike. Great cartridges.

My cousin and I, in high school study halls and at lunch debated the 270 vs 30-06, while I stil give the 06 the edge, , both are hard to beat...... but the '06 is better. LOL

[rober]

I love my Browning .270 X-Bolt. I had a 30.06 in a Winchester but thought it was to heavy at the time I had it. I remember reading a story about elk hunting from Col. Craig Boddington and he stated that in all the elk he has killed and the many calibers he has used, the only 2 elk that dropped on the spot after being hit were from his .270. that says alot to me for the .270. When I hunted out west my main rifle was a 300 win mag. but my back up was my .270

[Deleted]

I have never owned a .270. That may have to change. I am in the process of working up a load for my buddy's rifle and I like the way it shoots. Currently have two .30-06 rifles in the safe. Just how many deer rifles should be a maximum?

[Deleted]

I'll add one more thing. I do have some bigger shoulder thumpers. 7mm rem mag, 7mm weatherby mag, .300 WSM, .300 weatherby mag, and a .416 Rem Mag. The go to gun is usually the Remington mountain rifle in .30-06.

[Dutch]

I think that .416 would make a nice deer cartridge.

[Deleted]

My son in law likes the .45-70 for deer.

[dennyf]

One of my deceased amigos occasionally killed PA deer with some of the big boomers he had for hunting out of state. He owned two 300 Weatherbys, one 460 Weatherby, a 458 Winchester and a 375 H&H, the latter two both Parker Hales.

He also used them to kill caribou, moose and elk, but now and them took one or two along to Potter for deer seasons.

He also built long range bench rifles and that's what he often set up with in deer seasons.

But one doe season he called out a doe at about 150 yards for one of his buds, but the guy couldn't get an eye on it. By the time he did, the doe was running up a field at about 250 yards and he missed it. So "killer" hopped out of the lean to and thumped it at around 350 yards with the 460 - stem to stern.

We refered to that as his "gut shot", since the 460 had pretty much "dressed" it and killed it, all at the same time.



I have a few ought-sixes, but haven't killed anything with one in some time. Last time, was a doe with my uncle's 1903 US Rem, still w/original military sights. Took me some time, but finally pried that beauty away from my cousin, after his dad passed away.

Generally use a 25-06, or whatever antique relic is up on the rotation for doe? Never owned a 270. What are they good for?

[Deleted]

Killed more than half of my deer harvest with a .257 Roberts, very light weight but carries a wallop. Picked up a .270 when my son started & gave him the .257 Roberts.

As he grew he asked for the .270 and I went back to the .257. The .270 is a s.steel Ruger M77 w/synthetic stock and I find that when he's not using that gun I reach for it first...it is a stopper. It doesn't care about the weather.

[dougell]

If I were only allowed to have one rifle and never left Pa,it would be a .308.It does nothing special but it does everything I ask of it.If I had to have one rifle for hunting all over the US,it would be a 300 wsm.Even at that,killing a deer in Pa isn't brain surgery so I'd take any modern cartridge and not feel handi capped.

[dougell]

Just how many deer rifles should be a maximum?

George,that's a good question.I've owned dozens of rifles over the past 30 years.I like guns,I like to shoot and working up loads is fun.For years I looked for the perfect combination.Some years I'd go through one or two before the season even started because I got bored with them once I found a load that shot well.Several years ago,I settled on a couple different Kimber Montannas and haven't needed another rifle since.Over the past year,I've gotten rid of a few and started buying my son his own collection and I gave a couple to my nephew.To me,it's kinda sad looking into a gun safe and seeing guns that really don't get used much,if any.

[Deleted]

I don't really see the point in having a lot of rifles you can basically use them three weeks out tof the year to hunt. I don't have the money to target shoot all the time so I shoot them to site them in and hunt with it for two weeks and then put it away for the year.

[bigredneck]

I started out with a 1899 303 savage 1958, on my 16th birthday my Dad and I split the cost on a 760 '06 (1962) still have both rifles, in 1989 I won a Browning A bolt in 270. It is my go to rifle. I hand load 130 gr Ballistic tips, If I do my part she will "make meat" every time.

My Granddaughter double lunged a buck this year with her new 7MM-08, it is an impressive little rifle.

[Deleted]

I might also qualify my original post by adding that I've killed multiple animals with the .270, .308, and .30-06. Some of what fueled this thread was I was on another site and the subject of Paul Mathews book Fifty years with the .45-70 where he apparently states that he came to the realization that the .45-70 is really no more effective than a .30-06. I came to that realization on my own as well. I went through a .45-70 and .450 Marlin "period" of my life and that was right on the heels of my .30-30 "period". All that lasted about ten years for me and I realized that the .30-06 I used as a young man was at least as good (if not better) than the cartridges I had replaced it with. I dumped my .30-30's, my .32 Spl, my .35 Remingtons, and of course the two big bores and went back to my .30-06 and threw a .270 and a .308 into the cabinet for good measure. In retrospect I tried the lever guns and killed a good amount of game with them but since I got away from them I've confirmed my own suspicions,that the .30-06 (and others like it) work just as good at woods ranges and give the option to reach out when needed which is something the lever guns lack.

[davetm]

Well, I will agree that the 45-70 with the right bullet is a great deer gun. But you guys are missing the boat on the best overall cartridge for all other game on the North American continent with the exception of the BIG bears and maybe moose. That would be the 6.5 Swede, or it's ballistic equivalent being the 260 Rem. Why? Because the 6.5mm bullet has the best BC of any of the bullets out there and when you get a 6.5mm MV to 2700fps, the down range energy is just tough to beat, with the corresponding recoil of a puddy cat!!!

Dave

[Dutch]

My 260 is nice, but if I wanted a total all round cartridge, the 30-06 would get the nod.

But, I do like the reduced recoil of the 260 on my ailing shoulder.

[Deleted]

Feb 5, 2013 11:55:25 GMT -5 davetm said:

Well, I will agree that the 45-70 with the right bullet is a great deer gun. But you guys are missing the boat on the best overall cartridge for all other game on the North American continent with the exception of the BIG bears and maybe moose. That would be the 6.5 Swede, or it's ballistic equivalent being the 260 Rem. Why? Because the 6.5mm bullet has the best BC of any of the bullets out there and when you get a 6.5mm MV to 2700fps, the down range energy is just tough to beat, with the corresponding recoil of a puddy cat!!!

Dave

By the time you reach the range where the ballistic coefficient starts to matter you need more cartridge than the 6.5X55 anyway. Now maybe if you had said .264 Win. mag...............

[Deleted]

Feb 5, 2013 14:20:51 GMT -5 Dutch said:

My 260 is nice, but if I wanted a total all round cartridge, the 30-06 would get the nod.

But, I do like the reduced recoil of the 260 on my ailing shoulder.

Remington makes Reduced Recoil loads for the .30-06. They eliminate the need to downsize.

[Dutch]

To late, the '06 was sold to a kid some years back. 260is all I got, except that Black Rifle.

[Deleted]

Feb 6, 2013 13:23:28 GMT -5 Dutch said:

To late, the '06 was sold to a kid some years back. 260is all I got, except that Black Rifle.

Nothing wrong with a .260. You can hunt everything in PA except elk with one.

[Dutch]

Not sure I'd wanna use it for bears. If the right shot presented itself, yes.

[Bill]

.350 Remington Magnum is all you need.

[Deleted]

Feb 5, 2013 11:55:25 GMT -5 davetm said:

Well, I will agree that the 45-70 with the right bullet is a great deer gun. But you guys are missing the boat on the best overall cartridge for all other game on the North American continent with the exception of the BIG bears and maybe moose. That would be the 6.5 Swede, or it's ballistic equivalent being the 260 Rem. Why? Because the 6.5mm bullet has the best BC of any of the bullets out there and when you get a 6.5mm MV to 2700fps, the down range energy is just tough to beat, with the corresponding recoil of a puddy cat!!!

Dave

Spot on Dave!!


My Rem 700 30-06 effectively has retired since the 6.5 Swede arrived!! ;D

[dougell]

With the right bullet,I would hesitate to use a .260 for bear.

[Deleted]

what about a 25 06 for bear?