I have been looking at those two cartridges trying to decide which would suit me better. It seems to me that everything the 25-06 can, the 270 can do just a bit better. I am therefore leaning towards the 270 but am not willing to discard the 25-06 idea right away.
Reindeer and perhaps long-range goosehunting is the task.

This comparison must have been argued dozens of times but it would be great if owners would help me see the light

Regards

I'm a 25/06 fan but caribou are larger than deer so I'd lean towards the 270. Some people on this forum say they shoot elk with their 25/06 but IMO it's not up to the task when bullet hits bone.

Goose with long range rifle. That sound cool. I couldnt emagine going varmint hunting for my X-Mas goose.

Sound a touch dangerous if your shooting towards water. Single projectiles are a no no here for water foul.

Boilerrom, longrange Goosehunting is cool indeed. The waterfactor is off course something that must be taken into consideration and bulletchoice as well.
A friend litterally "vapourized" a Greylag goose with a softpoint bullet from his .223 once so it is a bit tricky if you intend to eat the bird .

GBF,

I don't think you could go wrong with either one if reindeer is the only large game you will be hunting. They are the smallest of the caribou, barely weighing more than a big mule deer. All Caribou are relatively easy to kill. A .25-06 with 120 grain Nosler Partitions should be plenty of medicine for any reindeer that ever walked.
Rich Elliott

I've shot elk with my 25-06. I've never lost an animal. But I've recently bought a 270 WSM so I could feel more comfortable shooting at them. You can add 30grains more lead at about the same fps as the 120g in a 25-06.

The 25-06 is like a lightning bolt on Mule deer.

Which ever you choose. Choose the right bullet and careful shotplacement. I'm a big believer in Nosler Partitions or Barns X bullets in the 25 caliber.

Just as a note.
Just so there is no dowt about the size of animal.

A big bull reindeer while be 80-100 kg in slaughter weight. No head and skinned.A female will be a bit smaller.

Are you going to hunt on iceland, sweden or norway?

Johan

Johan, I am going hunting in Iceland. The average bull is about 100 kg skinned, gutted and headless , the biggest I have seen was about 130 kg skinned, gutted and headless.

Regards

GBF,

What's that make the live weight? Around 400 LBS?

Rich Elliott

I'll hazard a guess that Reindeer are about the size of caribou, and most caribou bulls will go 300-400 pounds. There are some big ones out there (like 400 pound whitetails), but they aren't that common. - Dan

wow! goose hunting with a rifle. your country has got it right on that one. i have been known to snipe a few birds with a centerfire. beats the hell outta' throwin' bb's at them from 40 yards away!!!
if you are buying new then i guess it doesn't matter as long as it is offered in each caliber. if it comes to a particular gun then go with the caliber offered. might i suggest a ruger ss #1 in 25-06. what a great bird gun!!!
woofer

I have a real tendency to lean toward the 270 Win. But then I'm a huge fan of the 270. I have shot several fall turkeys with a 270 but if you want to eat them shot placement is very critical.

Handloader, Sir which bullets do you use for the 270 ?

Under ideal conditions and at good shooting angles either will do fine.

If I forsaw the possibility of difficult, awkward-angle shots, I'd much prefer the .270 with Nosler 150 gr. bullets (or an equivalent other premium bullet) at about 2,900 fps.

Used to (in the early 1960s) 130 gr. bullets were available for the .25-06 from Hi-Precision, and they were VG killers, but I don't know of any of them around these days.

And lastly, I'd personally prefer a .280 Remington/7x64mm Brenneke cartridge to either.

AC

Well said A. Canuck, my choice as well. 140gr bullets @ 3000fps for deer/antelope & 160gr @ 2850fps for elk (I use 160gr for everything).

After 11 one shot kills with a .25-06 using 115 Nosler Partitions I've never seen any reason to use anything larger. Works just fine on Tule Elk too. About the same size as a caribou only tougher I believe. Actually I believe the .25-06 is a better all around cartridge than the .270. A lot better for varmints. Lawdog

will either of these let you keep your eye on the target after trigger pull?

I do like the sight of strike or miss throughthe scope, which is not possible for a 270, at least for the light sporter rifles I shoot.

not critical for big game, but it would factor in for vermonts.