Hey guys. I have a ? to ask y'all. For an all around rifle do I want a 270 or a 30 caliber rifle. Both have bullet from various weights, builds and uses, so which is a better all around gun. Uses will be paper hunting,to ground hogs, to maybe a elk hunt in the future.

Give me all your pros and cons or just say which you have, like and why. Thanks for the help.. Santa needs to know hehehehe!!

[ 10-28-2003, 03:02: Message edited by: bigchast1 ]

Big, if you are not a handloader, then a .308 or .30-06 makes alot of sense. A bit big for groundhogs, but a good deer/elk round. I am NOT a .270 guy, so if you handload, concider a .280rem. Good match, varmint & big game bullets available. Like the .270, a great deer round & to me a bit better for elk as you can shoot a bit bigger bullets. Just my nickles worth.

My moment of truth was today I was at the gun store looking at the Rem Model 700 Sendero's they didnt have any in for 300RUM so... had to get a 30 cal snagged a 300 WM instead waiting 3 weeks for the UM wasnt in my interest. I went with the Winchester no need to be disappointed it will do whatever the 300 RUM will and sometimes less, other than that hand loads with make it just as good but do I want to sacrific my barrel life for high velocity rounds is another question? Where 95% of North american hunters shoot their game under 200 yards.

But a Leupold tactical 3-9x40mm mil dot hopefully it will hold up in the mild recoil as for problems I dont expect much good gun for the money in my opinion. 270 win is cutting yourself short of the other big game encounters you might want to experiance yet it is also your standard long range accurate medium bore cartridge with the 130gr's it will push you limit of maximum point blank range. Its got what you need if all you intend on doing is hunting deer and maybe some elk not sure if you can make that mark though close enough.

Its really up to you.

-Mash

[ 10-28-2003, 03:48: Message edited by: Mashminster ]

Talking about cutting yourself short on other big game, consider this. I took my .270 to the Yukon last fall. I knew if I were to shoot a grizzly, he would have to be asking for it. We stalked a great bear to 227 yards. He was not in a great spot and it was getting late. It was too far. No shot. I got an excellent sheep and CRUSHED an awesome moose with that same rifle later in the hunt. I'm taking a .300 next time for a little bit of extra umph next time.

Big - Considering the hunting you plan to do with it, I wouldn't hesitate to get a 270. This old cartridge has been doing superlative service at your kind of shooting for ages.

308's a great cartridge, but the 270 has a considerable range and trajectory advantage. There is really nothing in the 30 cal inventory that CAN beat the 270 in these categories. And I love the 30 caliber!

My thought is make it easy on yourself. Go with the 270.

Steve O - It sounds like you were a wise and responsible hunter to pass on that bear regardless of which gun you were packing.

I'm a sucker for the 30 cal. I've got a 300 Savage, 308 and 300 Winnie, also a 270 but I don't get it out much anymore.

I like the 30's for the wide choice of bullets and my personal feeling that the slightly larger bulet and heavier loads I can shoot in the 30's are worth the minor increase in recoil. Anything a 27 can do a 30 can do better albeit with a small increase in recoil.

Browning - I love the .30s too, my friend, but I think it's stretching things a bit to say the 300 Savage or .308 will keep up with a 270. I've spent the last few years shooting my 308 against my 270 and there's really no comparison for velocity and trajectory.

The ONLY edge these smaller 30's have on a 270 IMHO is with slightly heavier bullets. And if a person's hunting situation does not demand the extra bullet weight, then even this advantage falls away.

But for most shooters and situations we are basically splitting hairs. They are all fine cartridges.

I am a absolute 270 fanatic. My first centerfire rifle was a 280, though later I aquired a very sweet custom 270 and that became the start of it. Too me, it is an absolute joke when a person suggests a 270 has less versatility than the 30s because the 30s have a wider weight range or a wider selection of bullets. Infact I do no believe the latter is true at all, the 270 has all bullet manufactures attention. As for a wider weight range... who cares? why would you concern yourself with more then 2 weights?
I still hunt with a 300, but my chioce between grabbing my 270 or my 300 is not a serious one. If I feel I need an edge I dont grab a 300 over a 270, I grab a 375. I HAVE NEVER seen a difference in killing power between the 270 and the 300s, what I do see is that the 300s can sometimes penetrate farther after hitting bone at extended ranges. This is somewhat meaningless to me as I have taken 2 moose and several elk with a 270 and have had excilent penetration.
In short... the 270 for me... represents the smallest cartridge that can "do" many things a host of other larger/simular cartridges can do 280/7mag/300s etc. If I wanted *more* I wouldnt ever think of grabbing a 300 or 7 mag, id just grab a 338 or 375.

Pecos 45-I felt I did the right thing passing. The guide wanted me to use his .300 WBY, but it was still not "right". I love my .270, but I think when you are after larger animals you have to be extra sure and precise with what you are doing.

I like the 30/06 I had a .270 for a while shot 400-500 rounds through it but I like the 30/06 more.

I like a little more frontal area and I reckon that the bullet selection for the 30/06 is pretty good. I never handloaded for the .270 so I have never bothered to look into bullets for that calibre I am sure there plenty for that as well.

I have no use for the 270 because the 7mmrem mag is just slightly larger ,carries more energy and has a flatter trajectory.

Without having more information, it would be hard for me to recommend a caliber to you. If this is your first "big" centerfire, I would stay with the 270. Milder recoil, cheap ammunition, etc. I have a 270, but it hasn't seen any action in years, but it was a great first gun. A 270 would allow you to do more practice and become a better shooter. After you get the basics down, then you can move up to a magnum cartridge, like 7 mag, STW, 300 win, etc. My 2 cents

I read "an all around rifle" to mean the only centerfire rifle for now.

I would go with the 270 Win. It's entirely satisfactory for all game in the 49 states and the ammo is at Walmart.

You don't want a magnum for hunting. Learn to hunt and aim well instead. Get the M-70 Classic Featherweight. You will carry that rifle and use it for a lifetime.

I haven't seen anyone here recommend a BAD rifle cartridge. They are all good. As for what's better than a 270, well, it's like buying a car or anything else. You can have MORE but you gotta pay for it. To get more than a 270 can deliver you will pay for it in more recoil, more muzzle blast, more expensive brass, higher reloading cost and likely shortened barrel life in some cases.

But what gun for anyone to get? I've really become sort of a "mystic" about this. I believe a guy should have a rifle he likes, a rifle that feels good to him and functions well with him. But above all I think a shooter need to BELIEVE in whatever he's shooting.

The bottom line of hunting, my friends, is this: "It's NOT what you hit them with...but WHERE you hit them."

Too many shooters chase this endless rainbow of more power, more velocity, bigger bullets will make me a better hunter? Hogwash. You hit them in the right place with adequate power and they are going to die. Quickly. There's no magic to it and the animals never know or appreciate the fact the bullet that killed them was .004 THOUSANDS of an inch more or less diameter.

Proving the 270 or any of these medium bores mentioned are excellent cartridges should be about as difficult as proving gravity. Rifles like the 270 or /06 PROVED they were superbly capable cartridges 50 years or more before most of today's "dandies" were even dreamed up.

Anyone trying to pick a rifle should evaluate themselves and their needs and preferences and pick accordingly. No magic bullets.

Bigchast1, How about the 7mm-08, you can load up 100-120grainers for varmints, and 160 Partitions for elk, 139-150s for deer, an ideal all around cartridge if you ask me, Jay

If no elk are in the picturew the 270 will do fine. I like bigger than 270 for elk.

not to pick on stubblejumper, but the arguments such as "I have no use for the 270 because the 7mmrem mag is just slightly larger ,carries more energy and has a flatter trajectory. "

by this logic, you should have no use for the 7mmrem mag because the 300 winmag is just slightly larger, carries more energy and has a flatter trajectory.

and you should have no use for the 300 win mag because the 338winmag is just slightly larger, carries more energy, and ... it never ends.

The 270 is a fantastic cartrige. it has killed two dozen deer, four bull elk, two black bears, and a few odds and ends for me. never a lost animal. If you need a tweak more range, go Ackely improved with it!!!

Now the 280 or 7X64: There is a GREAT cartrige.
slightly larger, carries more energy, and...never mind.

If I were to consider:
The 270 Winchester is good for anthing from groundhog through elk. I would NOT go into grisley country with on though.
The 30-06 is a good all-round gun. It will do everything the 270 will, with a wider veriouty of bullet weights.
I now have a 30-06 that shoots 1/2 inch groups at 100 yards. My first bolt action was a 270 that shot the same group. The 270 is my all round preference.

Get the 270... it's lighter recoiling than the 30-06 and more appropriate to the needs you've described. A good 150 grainer (partition, North Fork, X, etc.) will penetrate enough from any angle you'd shoot an elk from and will lay low the largest 6pt...

BA

As I've admitted before, although I've been around dedicated 270 shooters all my life, I had never PERSONALLY owned one until a few years ago when I got a stainless Winchester Model 70.

Since then I have come to use the 130 gr bullet almost exclusively...for varmit and game. Lighter bullets are naturally faster, etc. but they just don't have that long range "authority" of the 130 gr. On the other hand, the 150 gr slows down a little and trajectory sags just a wee bit for really long range shooting, i.e. 400 yds to 1,000. (Note: I don't HUNT at these ranges...I shoot rocks...literally.)

My question to the 270 crowd - Is the 130 gr bullet THE multi-purpose bullet of the 270? I wouldn't pick this bullet for big mule deer or elk, but it seems like almost everything else on the 270s diet is almost perfect for the 130 gr. One of my 270 shooting pals even uses the 130 on mule deer with total success.

For your uses, I would highly recommend the .270 Win. It will recoil a bit less and handles varmit weight bullets better than the .30-06. As far as the potential elk hunt, Jack O'Connor, arguably the biggest proponent of both the .270 AND the .30-06 said he could never tell the difference in killing power on large game between the two.

-Lou

If your're only going to have one gun, go with the venerable 30-06. It can be used for about any game in North America and ammunition is varied and readily available. There's a reason why so many people own 30-06s

bigchast1, as stated above there are no wrong choices, so you are luky. The .30-06 is the standard by which most big game calibres have been judged for over 75 years. Choose this one and there will never be a regret on your part. In fact, the '06 is the parent case on which most of the others calibres mentioned are based. Factory, or handloaded, the '06 is hard to beat -you can't go wrong.

I have three rifles in the .277 caliber, two regular 270 Win's and a 270WSM.
The newest kid on the block the WSM, It is just plain awsome to send like weight bullets down range 200+fps faster than a regular 270 and every bit as accurately. So heck do one better, get 270WSM, shoot the lighter 90's and 110's for fun and 130's for Deer then get serious with 140 and 150 grain bullets!

All great answers, and yes it will be a big paper hunter maybe an egg shoot now and then, and when deer season comes around that too. Could even go for a black bear in Eastern NC, but I have a 22-250 as my first centerfire and I do hand load to the extreme of a factory Rem 700 that holds a 5/8" 5 shot group at 300 yds concistant, and even on Sunday.

I love the .270 Winchester, and I've hunted with it extensively for over twenty-five years.

The best bullet weight for the .270 WCF is 130grs. (@3100 fps.), and of these, I prefer the Nosler Partition. From mule deer to moose, this bullet will get the job done for you.......

AD

And if you seriously want to hunt groundhogs with your big game rifle you can't beat a 270. It has all the range and wind bucking ability you can use. I used a 270 exclusively for groundhogs for years and never felt like any of my hunting partners "varmint guns" gave them the slightest advantage.

I have used the .270 on elk and I have observed its use on elk, it works fine most of the time and always worked for me, but observation of some shallow good hits has lead me to a .338, 375 H&H and even a 416 Rem for elk..these big guns leave a good and short blood trail...Today I hunt mostly in thick timber for elk and I can take shots that I could not with a .270...ON open sage hunts the .270 with a 150 or 160 Nosler is just fine but keep angle shots short of straight away...

270 WSM steps it up a bit. Load a 140 TSX and you have a very capable ELK gun. I know many do not liket he short mag, too bad for them they should try one. It fills in a nice gap in rifles and with the bullet weight selection you have a nice varminter up to a large game.

The short mags work very nicley.

Steve, I'm a bit puzzled by the 270 WSM... the load data I've looked at doesn't give me the impression it's much more than a garden variety 270. What velocities are you getting with various bullet weights?

Thanks,

BA

Ive not heard much about the 270wsm as towards good things Ive heard them about the 300wsm and its excellent accuracy long range capabilities.
Ill probably snag one in the future as for now the 300 win mag suits me just fine cant make anything deader then dead.

-Mash

A barnes TSX at 3350 is not to bad I do think you that is garden varity 270 velocity. This is my only short mag as far as 270's go it is the number one seller now in short mags with the 300 a close second. I opted for the 270 as I own a 300 RUM as the rum somps the 300 wsm in to the ground but that is apples to bananas.

There is a fair amount of data out there. The use of a barnes bullet in a 140 grn at 3300+ is a very nice combo

Steve, those are good speeds! What powder are you using? What charges? The reason I originally asked is because most of the "book" load data I've seen only gives the 270 WSM about 50 to 100 fps more than the "regular" 270. My 22" bbl'd 270 would run 130's at 3,150+ and 140's at 3,050 with RL22. My friend's tube runs faster. His 23" bbl'd 270 runs the 130 TSX at 3,200. He killed a spike elk with it this week at a lasered 488 yards with one shot. It took one step and fell over.

BA

I have a new 270 WSM in stainless Model 70 and FACTORY 150 gr PSPs clock 3150 fps. Same can be handloaded with R25. R19 launches Nosler 130 partitions at 3300 fps.

However, I then got a 300 WSM in a Savage Hunter and found that it will accurately shoot 220 gr RNs 2740 fps, so the 270 WSM is now for sale...just don't need both guns and appreciate the 300s ability with heavy bullets. The 270 WSM has 28 rounds through it if you want it for a good price.