I own two .270's and love it dearly. I don't own a 30-06 but IMO it is a better all around cartridge.
The 300WSM and the 270WSM are a useless, unneeded, overrated result of a marketeers wet dream. They serve no purpose except to seperate ignorant fools from their money.
Please send all replies to Gatehouse, this thread was his idea.
Posts: 6277 | Location: Not Likely, but close. | Registered: 12 August 2002
The only reason I can see for anything in 270 is to screw up ammo makers and to make them change the size of all the 7mm cases that they already had so some idiot wouldn't put a 7mm cartridge in a 270 chamber. It made the manufacturers change the 280 and 7WSM cases when they could have just said no to the 270.
Posts: 3942 | Location: Kansas USA | Registered: 04 February 2002
no contest, the 300 wsm, just like the 30-06 over the 270, I should add only when you are using heavy slugs. heavy for the 270 is 150gr. that is light in 30 cal. I know about sectional densities, but I am starting to think that doesn't matter in north america, especially when you shoot barnes x bullets exclusively. hell, I would rather take a 130grain XLC in 30 cal over the 130 grain 270 x. just my .02 what do I know anyway.
Gentlemen I bet we can get a few pages easily. Jack O'Connor were right after all. WSM?, I have never heard of it
3006 has never been my favorite. I don't like it at all..
I had two 270 winchesters and they been my favorite rifles, the first were a ZG 47. I like this cartridge very much. I have used it on roe deer, fallow deer, red stag and in U.S.A
The only cartridge that really can compete with the 270 win is 280 rem, which also is another great round. the 270 win is a great round and you don't really benefit that much by choosing a 270 WSM. If you want more zip, which is really not needed, get a 270 wby.
quote:Originally posted by larrys: It made the manufacturers change the 280 and 7WSM cases when they could have just said no to the 270.
The '06 has been around since, well, '06, and the .270 since 1925. Aren't the .280 and 7WSM more modern cartridges? And if so, why not say no to the newbies instead?
Posts: 36231 | Location: Laughing so hard I can barely type. | Registered: 21 April 2001
This is like chosing between a blonde and a shapley brunette. I don't really have any use for either of the WSM's...since it's hard to improve on perfection and the 270 and /06 are dang near there.
Posts: 19677 | Location: New Mexico | Registered: 23 May 2002
Ive been finding that invariably "THE BEST" gun to have at any given momemt when the hunting gets real interesting and starts coming down to the wire, is usually the one that got left back at camp. Its all that Murphys fault for making them damn laws of his and saying something to the effect of not being able to eat the cake you have or however it goes...
Posts: 10191 | Location: Tooele, Ut | Registered: 27 September 2001
In my opinion, anyone who selects one over the other is just showing his own ignorance! Both have a place and both work well. To select one over the other without specifying what and where we are hunting seems stupid to me!
As for the WSM talk, why start using reason now. Reality is they both are as good as as their long action predecessors and both as bad as any other. No, we don't need them! But, then again, who said any of this was based on NEED?
I'm going to own a WSM very soon. Will it make me hunt better? NO, will it make me shoot better? Probably not. Will it make me happy? YOU BET!
The .270 was made for smaller thin skinned animals, such as deer, antelope. Many have taken elk with the caliber also, but that doesn't mean it was intended to do so.
The 30-06 was made for anything that walks in North America including the big bears, which many have been taken over the years. The allotment of bullets available for the 30-06 just makes it a one gun can do it all in North America.
I venture to say that with a 220 grain solid it would indeed be able to take many game species in Africa including dangerous game as well. Now you boys with your 375's can chew on that a while.
I don't feel the need to make one rifle cover all of the bases for me.
For deer and pronghorn hunting, I prefer the .270 over the .30-06, mostly because the .270's a sentimental favorite cartridge of mine and I think it's close to ideal for that sort of hunting.
For the bigger stuff, I prefer the .300 Winchester, .338 Winchester, and .375 H&H over the .30-06. All of them (and other similar cartridges) are even more versatile than the .30-06 is, and recoil is still mild enough no to be an issue.
So as much as I like the .30-06 (I started hunting with it 30 years ago), it doesn't really fit into my program very well these days.
Anyhow, if you want one excellent, versatile, easy-to-shoot cartridge that combines mild recoil with great accuracy; wide cartridge availability; excellent feeding characteristics; full performance from a 22" plus a five-shot magazine capacity, as well as resonable operating pressures, then the .30-06 has an edge over the .270. It'll do all that the .270 will do and then some.
quote:Originally posted by Chigger: The 30-06 was made for anything that walks in North America including the big bears, which many have been taken over the years.
Not really. The 30/06 was made by the U.S. government as its service cartridge. The people who made it looked at the 7X57, and made theirs a bit longer with a larger diameter, .30 caliber bullet. So the 30/06 was actually made, originally, to kill 2-footed critters, not bears or elk or moose. After WWI and the success of the 30/06 in that war, it began being adopted by American and other hunters, who found that it worked quite well for that aplication too.
Posts: 5883 | Location: People's Republic of Maryland | Registered: 11 March 2001
Gatehouse: Personally, I love the .270 Win. I grew up on Jack O'Conner & wouldn't think of owning an '06. Mind you, I have nothing against it or the guys that use them. I just don't want one & it works for me here in Ak. for what I use it for (sheep, caribou). If an '06 works for you then by all means use it. As for the WSM's & that ilk, I agree with what was posted above. I think the people that came up with those ideas studied all night for blood tests when (and if) they were in college. Just my opinions. Bear in Fairbanks
Posts: 1544 | Location: Fairbanks, Ak., USA | Registered: 16 March 2002
I owned a .270 Win for about 15 minutes once. I won it in drawing, and a great guy I knew who didn't win but really wanted that rifle bought it off me on the spot. I do hunt in the Western US with a 6.5-'06, a "skinny" .270 if you wish.
My first big game rifle at age 12 was a .30-'06, and I have owned one ever since. The .30s are better killers of game than the smaller calibers.
People have argued that with its selection of bullets the .30-'06 is one rifle that could be used everywhere. Nobody argues that for the .270. Therefore, the .30'-06 is better.
jim dodd
Posts: 4166 | Location: San Diego, CA USA | Registered: 14 November 2001
I think you need to reread your history just a wee bit. The 30-06 was used in World War 1, but it's success didn't happen until it was used in the M1-GARAND sir! Hence those folks who made production rifles for the 30-06 caliber.
I hunted with several people way back when who used that their model 70's to hunt ALL North American species of animals. By the way I am not knocking the .270 caliber or those who use it, but it will never be the equal in my mind to the Old Soldier------The 30-06!
quote:Originally posted by Chigger: I think you need to reread your history just a wee bit. The 30-06 was used in World War 1, but it's success didn't happen until it was used in the M1-GARAND sir! Hence those folks who made production rifles for the 30-06 caliber.
I'm puzzled about what you might mean by these remarks.
The M-1 Garand was not developed until long after WWI was over, in the years between WWI and WWII.
The 30/06 was first developed in 1903, and known as the 30/03. Then it was changed slightly in 1906, and became what we now know as the 30/06. WWI was fought, on the American side, mostly with Enfield and Springfield bolt action rifles in 30/06 caliber. After the war, some of those Enfields and Springfields were used for sporting (hunting) purposes, either as military issued or "sporterized."
Thus, your comment that the 30/06 wasn't successful until it was used in the M-1 seems to me to be untrue. Don't you consider the American armed forces, using their bolt action 30/06s, to have been successful in WWI?
[ 12-15-2002, 02:58: Message edited by: LE270 ]
Posts: 5883 | Location: People's Republic of Maryland | Registered: 11 March 2001
I don't have much use for either. I much prefer my 6.5 Gibbs for deer and mountain game, and my 300 Win Mag for elk or moose.
If someone asks me what I recommend for their first big game rifle I always answer the same way, though..."Get a 270, 280 or 30/06 and you won't be disappointed."
Canuck
Posts: 7123 | Location: The Rock (southern V.I.) | Registered: 27 February 2001
For what it's worth, I remember Jack O'Connor writing that he had killed five grizzlies. Two were with the .270 and those were one-shot kills. Three with the 30-06 and those required multiple shots.
I'm going on memory here -- I know that it was at least two with the .270 and all the ones taken with the .270 were one-shot kills. I don't remember any information about distance or bullets used.
I also remember he wrote that he had broken both shoulders on a grizzly with a single 130 grain bullet from a .270 -- I think it was a Remington bronze point -- and, he wrote, "you don't need more penetration than that."
[ 12-18-2002, 07:28: Message edited by: LE270 ]
Posts: 5883 | Location: People's Republic of Maryland | Registered: 11 March 2001
Le270 the "real success" of the 30-06 came during and after World WAR 2.......Now that is when manufactures started a production line of guns chambered in the 30-06. The 1911 45acp was used before and during the trench fighting of World War 1, but it's real success came years down the road. Gen. George Patton said "They got it right" meaning a combination of the 30-06 and the M1-Grand military rifle. It was after World War 2 that the popularity spread like wild fire.
Both the 270 and the 30-06 have unquestionably proven their value and worth all over the world. To say one is better than the other is an arguement that will never be won...by either side. Both have their place. One is just as good as the other...provided neither are expected to do something that they shouldn't have tried in the first place. Both are magnificent cartridges, and I cannot say bad about either, and I refuse to detract from either. But, I will reiterate...Both have their place.
I love 270 cases they make great '06 rounds!!! Seriously though both are excellant rounds -but I'm partial to the '06 -and there is no need for a super duper Mag. Not much the old '06 can't put down in NA. WSM-We Suck more Money!
Dispite my initial smart ass reply, both are excellent calibers and for the vast majority of us interchangable. What I mean it that the performance difference between the two is so small that most of us could not exploit it.
I've have used them both a good bit and would answer like this. "There are places I would use a 30/06 but would not want to try them with a 270. However, there are no places I would use a 270 but feel uncomfortable with an /06 instead.
Posts: 19677 | Location: New Mexico | Registered: 23 May 2002
quote:Originally posted by Chigger: Le270 the "real success" of the 30-06 came during and after World WAR 2.......Now that is when manufactures started a production line of guns chambered in the 30-06.
Not really. The Winchester Model 54 came out in about 1925 and was available in 30-06, the new .270 Winchester, and some other calibers. It continued in production to about 1937, when it was replaced by the Model 70. There was a pre-WWII Model 70 era from 1937 to 1941, and the most common chambering for the Model 70 in those pre-war years was 30-06.
I do not have the sales figures for the Model 54 or the pre-WWII Model 70 in 30-06, so I can't say how many went into use. But it was not a negligible number.
Posts: 5883 | Location: People's Republic of Maryland | Registered: 11 March 2001
I should also add that the Model 95 Winchester lever action, designed by John Browning and first brought out by Winchester in 1895, was made available in 30-06 shortly after the 30-06 cartridge was developed. Again, I do not know the sales figures for the Model 95 in 30-06, but it too was not a negligible number.
[ 12-19-2002, 09:00: Message edited by: LE270 ]
Posts: 5883 | Location: People's Republic of Maryland | Registered: 11 March 2001
I recently parted with my money for a 270 WSM. I've owned four standard 270's and still have an old JC Higgins with a custom stock and FN action. It chambers as smooth as silk and is a pleasure off the bench. The new Winchester is a laminated classic. It is a box stock one inch shooter. I have only owned one stock rifle as accurate. An MR-7 Marlin 270 that I traded in on my 300 H&H Supergrade. Notice that I have not yet mentioned 30-06? I don't have a Ford or a Chevy either. The '06 is a real war horse but if I can get better ballistics, equal performance on game using the new bullets, with less recoil I'm happy.
Posts: 14 | Location: Eastern WA | Registered: 01 January 2003
I suppose in a lot of senses I am alot like Allen on this one. I find the 270 more useful than a 30-06.I like the noexistant recoil and expediant kills I have had with it. The 270 is a very serious sleeper of a cartridge (as is the 280).If I want a kick around cartridge like a 30-06 then I pick up a 375, otherwise I will commonly go to a 300 mag. Speaking of which the only field difference I can tell from a 270 and a 300 mag is that at longer ranges a 300 can penetrate better after hitting bone (am I missing something?). This garbage that people speak of... "the 30-06 is flexable because it can shoot bullets from 55 gr to 220 grains" is pure folly. What world do these people live in? A effcacious cartridge is one that can handle a wide variety of circumstances with one weight of projectile. It is a handicap of impending circumstances to have the wrong bullet at the wrong time. I believe many of these people never get out to actualy hunt much, or shoot much for that matter, and spend most of their time theorizing about BS that amounts to nothing.
Posts: 2045 | Location: West most midwestern town. | Registered: 13 June 2001
Just to say my in put. I would pick the good old 270 win. over over the 3006 because its more versatile and accuracy I have own three of them in the last 20 yars. And one 3006.. I have taken 16 animals with the 270 win. between : bear ,deer ,elk ,and ram. so i would have to say the 270 winchester.
Bob
Posts: 41 | Location: Idaho USA | Registered: 01 January 2003
I've killed maybe 150 deer with both calibers combined and rate the 06 superior to that end. 30 cal bullets tend to knock deer down better than other calibers I have used. Some deer suck up a 270 like it was a miss and although mortally wounded, show a remarkable ability to cover ground with cleverness.
I've killed a lot of deer with an 06 and never hit one that didn't act hit, usually by slapping the ground for keeps.
270 is a fine round but the 06 works better on deer.
WSM is something I read about but have never seen or used.
Posts: 3167 | Location: out behind the barn | Registered: 22 May 2002
Wow I started this thread a couple of weeks ago because it seemed that every second thread had guys swearing at each other. It was really just a joke, and here we have a bunch of guys giving honest opinions, disagreeing with one another, but not swearing at each other. Will miracles never cease?
I guess I should answer my own question...I've never really liked the 3006 because it was a bit too "ordinary." Not that it won't do everythign it's supposed to, because it will, just my personal bias.
The only 3006 I own is a M1 Garand. It's fun to shoot, but it doesn't go hunting!
I always reccomend the 3006 to beginners who say they want to hunt deer, bears, and moose. I tell them to get a 180gr load that works well and don't look back.
Posts: 3082 | Location: Pemberton BC Canada | Registered: 08 March 2001
quote:Originally posted by JOHAN: The only cartridge that really can compete with the 270 win is 280 rem
Both being half-bred copies of venerable preceding German cartridges, of course : the superb 6,8 mm Chinese Mauser and the 7x64 respectively. Which is why hardly anyone in central Europe uses either the .270 or the .284. The .30-06, however, seems to have gained a lead ahead of the 7 x 64 nowadays.
Carcano
Posts: 2452 | Location: Old Europe | Registered: 23 June 2001
smallfry, not sure what a "effcacious" is. I daresay we don't have none in West Virginia. For myself, I tend to pick a rifle for a "niche" in my hunting needs, develope a load using a single weight of metal and use that for anything I encounter while hunting with it. Thus, if I were going elk hunting, I would take a 300wm with 200-220gr bullets. If mulies and antelope were also on the slate, I would kill them a bit more than needed 'cause they would be shot with the same ammo I would use on the elk.
Posts: 2037 | Location: frametown west virginia usa | Registered: 14 October 2001