quote:

Originally posted by bbell:
I purchased a 2506 in 1971 and used it almost exclusively on whitetail mule deer and one antelope for 6 years. At that time I could shoot three whitetail and two mule deer each year. While it gave dramatic kills I decided that I could not get reliable penetration . I started with 100s but switched to various 120s and until I used the nosler partition 115 gr. then I had something. I expect bullets have improved significantly today. I switched to the 270 and used cup and core 130s. Although only 10 grains heavier construction must have been set soley for the 270 and I had excellent consistency and penetration with the old winchester silvertip and powerpoint bullets. Better than the 2506 and as good as the 115 nosler.

Nosler Partitions have taken the mystery out of a whole bunch of rifles.. Especially at my house.

Don

I think you need to take BC into consideration as well. The 100 gr 25 cal Ballistic tip has a measley .393 BC as opposed to the 130 gr 270 with a BC of .433 and the 150gr's BC of around .5

If you are going to be shooting deer at longer ranges, you'll be better off with the 270 especially if there's wind.

FWIW: I plugged your numbers into my Oehler Ballistic software program. Sighted in at 2.5" high the 100gr 25/06 has 1" less drop than the 130gr 270, and it has 1.4" more wind drift at 400yds (10mph wind). The 150gr 270 drops 5" more than the 100gr/25/06 and its wind drift is about 1/4" less.

Truly with our choices of premium bullets the difference in these two '06 siblings is tiny with respect to deer.

The ability to go up to 180gr. makes the .270 slightly more versatile. That being said , I have killed an Elk with a .257AI and a 120gr Norma that was a high shoulder shot ,it exited, Elk fell, end of story.

Spend your extra money on a bigger step up in caliber .308 to .375 etc, or buy that Sako just cause you like it.

... or 257?
Keep the 358, use 200gr barnes, and it will shoot flat enough!

i load my 257 with 100gr nosler Partians, and it flat out slays them... I hunted 257 or 358 for about a decade.

quote:

... I hunted 257 or 358 for about a decade.

That's an interesting 'variety'. How did you find the performance and shootability of each in the field? (That is kinda relevent to the original topic).

I own both.

Why not just split the difference and get yourself a 6.5-06

Which I also own. They will all three kill a deer very dead.

Barstooler

quote:

Looking at a Sako 270 .... I guess I am trying to rationalize buying the 270 vs putting the money towards other toys.

The 6.5-06 isn't on offer.
Wouldn't the 6.5-06 make an excellent all round caliber? I wouldn't mind hearing about it's performance, Barstooler.

What really interests me in the .270 Sako is the fit of the rifle, and the possibility of a consisantly accurate rifle for my maximum yardage of about 300 yards, as well as moderate recoil at the bench. The 25-06 I have shows great promise with 117 gr Sierra's but not so much with 115 Noslers. Both rifles weigh about the same so no big differences there. I have other tools in the shed for shooting at these ranges (.308, .280, 7remmag) but for one reason or another (fit, consistant first shot accuracy, etc.) I am thinking of trading one or more for the Sako.

Confidence is "huge". A 270 will kill any whitetail or muley alive out to 300 yards. So will a 243 with nosler PT's.
Take your time, place a good shot and squeeze!
Tha largest whitetial (body size) I ever shot was in Kansas that dressed out about 230 lbs. I took him with a high lung shot with a 243 / 95 gr nosler PT's. Never took a step. A 25-06 and 270 are even better.
Fit and confidence; You are on the right track!

EZ

I own the WBY 257 and the 270 Win. I would use the 270 on deer,bears,and elk. My 257 I would use on deer or mountain sheep.

quote:

Originally posted by Westernmassman:
What really interests me in the .270 Sako is the fit of the rifle, and the possibility of a consisantly accurate rifle for my maximum yardage of about 300 yards, as well as moderate recoil at the bench. The 25-06 I have shows great promise with 117 gr Sierra's but not so much with 115 Noslers. Both rifles weigh about the same so no big differences there. I have other tools in the shed for shooting at these ranges (.308, .280, 7remmag) but for one reason or another (fit, consistant first shot accuracy, etc.) I am thinking of trading one or more for the Sako.

Well then quit beating around the bush and buy it!

Damn straight! I agree with Dave! Stop beating around the damn bush and BUY IT!! Notice we did NOT say trade your other good stuff. Use cash money, money is replaceable.

25-06 vs 270 on Deer?

With the right bullet and shot placement, a deer would never know the difference. Both are excellent deer cartridges.

I "kind of" have both. 30 some years ago I bought a .25-06 and before I ever shot it, I had it re-chambered to .257 AI -- almost balistically identical, but I liked the shape of the Ackley. I have used this .257 AI very successfully on dozens of mule and whitetail deer, pronghorn antelope, 4 bighorn sheep, a Dall sheep, mountain caribou, and one of my biggest bull elk. Most were one shot kills, with little or no tracking.

I have a .270 that I won many years ago at a shoot at our gun club. It shoots sub-MOA groups, but I have never hunted with it.

I have one friend that hunts deer, elk, and antelope every year with his .25-06. I have two other friends that hunt deer, elk, and antelope every year with their .270's. One took his .270 to Namibia and Mozambique on two hunts taking a score of plains game including kudu and wildebeest.

If you really want a .270, buy it, but it won't kill a deer any deader than your .25-06.

quote:

Originally posted by 303Guy:

quote:

Looking at a Sako 270 .... I guess I am trying to rationalize buying the 270 vs putting the money towards other toys.

The 6.5-06 isn't on offer.
Wouldn't the 6.5-06 make an excellent all round caliber? I wouldn't mind hearing about it's performance, Barstooler.

303Guy,

I picked up a used 256 Newton when I was young (1966), because the owner did not reload and could no longer buy ammo for it. If I remember correctly, I traded a 303 Enfield for it plus $50.

As a handloader I made my brass from 30-06 and shot that Newton for a number of years and took 4 or 5 deer with it. When I joined the military I often could not take my rifles with me and usually left them with my parents. When I retired and got back into shooting I enjoyed the Newton again, but decided to retire it because I wanted to help preserve its value as a collector item.

I had a 1903A4 Springfield that someone had semi sporterized and decided to revive my "Newton" but as a 6.5-06 to avoid the case forming hassel and with modern powders I could get better performance out of the 6.5-06...which is why Charles had shortened the 30-06 when he created the 256 Newton -- to optimize it for the powders then available.

So I sold the original 1903A4 WW II sniper scope still on the Springfield and used it to pay for most of the new Shielen 26 in premium barrel. I then bought some original 1903 bottom metal and removed the "stamped" crap that was on the 1903A4 and had the action, barrel, and new bottom metal polished and blued. I installed a Timney trigger and a new Leuplod VII 3X9 scope. I had to mount the scope using high bases to clear the original 1903A4 bolt. I then sent off to Great American Gunstocks and bought a fancy English Walnut stock semi-inletted and fitted and finished the stock.

The end result is a nice weapon that shoots well and I am still able to enjoy a 6.5 caliber. As to "performance" it is comparable to the 6.5-284 and 6.5 Rem Magnum. It likes 120, 129, and 140 grain bullets. It gets about 100fps velocity increase over the 256 Newton with similar pressures. Also...don't believe the crap you read in reloading manuals about the 6.5-06 just being a new version of the 256 Newton. It is not shortened like the Newton, which was also a pain in the ass to neck down and ream and fire form. Remember, in those days there was no commercial 25-06 and you had the option with the Newton of trimming (even more) a 270 Win, or trimming and reaming a 30-06 to make 256 Newton brass. I also experienced a 15% reject rate in making cases from 30-06 because the shoulder would crumple..and you had to ream the necks because going from 30 caliber to 264 caliber would not routinely chamber in my Newton. Making 6.5-06 brass is easy by comparison. I just run 25-06 brass through my sizing die and it is done.

Do I need a 6.5-06? Hell no. I have a 25-06 Ruger 77 Mk II, and I have a 1949 manufactored Win Model 70 in 270 Win in mint condition. I like the 25-06 for antelope and I like either the 6.5-06 or the 270 for mule deer. For elk I use my 30-06 or my 338-06 or my 35 Whelen. As you can surmise, I like the 06 case in all its variations.

Barstooler

I shoot a .257 Wby extensively and consider it one of the best Deer rifles out there. I consider the .270 Winny hard to beat and the .270 WSM unbeatable for Deer of any size. Good shooting.

Thanks for that Barstooler.

In my experience they are both deadly on deer size game.

Both of them are almost as good on Mule Deer as a .257 Roberts !

quote:

Originally posted by 303Guy:

quote:

... I hunted 257 or 358 for about a decade.

That's an interesting 'variety'. How did you find the performance and shootability of each in the field? (That is kinda relevent to the original topic).

the 257 is light recoiling, and wickedly accurate .. easy to shoot, and just kills em.. 100gr at 2900, or 115 at 2800 .. i shot it this morning, and it was way sub moa. still, with nosler parts.

I've hunted with guys wiht the 25-06 and 270, and there's ZERO difference in the field between them.. though the 257 doesn't tear up the meat as much

the 358, 225gr gamekings at 2500 more or less, kills pigs and deer with ease out to 200 yards.. i don't shoot game further than that. anything it hits, if a decent shot, gets taken back and skint!

all of them work, and bullet placement, and confidence you can hit, are paramount

Living in Mo., I have no idea how many deer I've shot. In my vast experience, I'd say on deer sized game it doesn't make a bit of difference what you shoot them with if they are anywhere close to broadside. I've killed big bruisers with the .220 Swift clear up to winter does with the .416 Rigby just for fun. I have probably seen more killed with the often mocked .243 than anything, and it flattens whitetails, mulies whatever. They are just not very tough to kill. My nephew shot his meat doe with a 17HMR last year, you just have to pick your shots. Trophy hunting- you have to shoot something that will drop one with a rear heart shot- or don't shoot! They are two very different things- you can't pass up a questionable shot on a 200 in. buck because you're using a .22 cal, so caliber choice is different for meat hunting and trophy hunting.

quote:

bullet placement, and confidence you can hit, are paramount

Thanks jeffeosso. You are right! And two things give that confidence - the rifle's accuracy and the shooter's accuracy with that rifle. (And knowing the limits of both).