.270 or .308

I've only been hunting for 9 years, even though I'm 46. (youngsters, enjoy it if you got to start early). When I was looking for a rifle I was looking a a very limited number of cartridges...7mm mag, .270, .308, .30-06. I ended up with the .308. I've taken 4 elk, 4 mule deer and bear; I've since added a 7mm mag my son uses...it's a lefty - as is he. Frankly, any of the above calibers would have done the trick. You'll have plenty of ammo options. I took the .308 since I saw no real advantage to the long actions over the short.

Buy a cheap rifle - get a good scope, and consider loading your own.

i'd pick the 270, but it's six and one half dozen.

Years ago I had a Savage in 270. It was a good rifle. Now I have a Savage in 308 and I much prefer it. Short action, very easy recoil, and a plesure to shoot, Hell, it makes me look good.

Either One

Either one is excellant for normal ranges( distance) ammo for the 308 can be found cheap if you want to shoot alot. I tend for heavier bullets so 308. You then can shoot 90 gr up to about 200gr from $8 for 20 to $80/20.

Then to give you one more thing semi vs bolt. Sorry had to put that in. Good luck

I'm scared of bear, I wouldnt get near them with anything under 458 socom and a 454 casull on my hip.
but .308 will do everything you ask, not sure about bear. maybe step up to 300wsm or 300 wm?

Either will serve your purpose well.. if it comes down to just hunting and the occasional day at the range, I would say .270...

For something to frequently shoot at the range, for long range target shooting, and hunting, i would recommend the .308...

If you reload or plan to.. either is fair game and neither, IMO, has much of an advantage over the other, but then the .280 comes into the argument.

I was in the same dillemma as you. I went with the .308 because of ammo availability and i like the short action more than the long.

hen to give you one more thing semi vs bolt. Sorry had to put that in. Good luck.

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I have a .308 in bolt, lever, and pump. No semi, yet. My buddy swears by his .270. To each his own, it's only a white tail.

If it has to fall down without any thought or question I alway reach for my .270. Mine has taken whitetail, mule deer, caribou, black bear, elk, and hogs. Each and every time the .270 preformed like a true champ. I like my .308's don't get me wrong but the .270 was my first centerfire and will always be in my safe if its not in the field.

All the way up to .45-70, hitting a critter that's on the other side of any brush is absolute luck. Any and all bullets can be deflected by brush and limbs. This has been tested many times. Success happens when the limb (of whatever small size) is close to the animal. Farther back? Uh-oh.

encore .308 24" barrel, killed several deer...

sureshot said:

my problem with the .270 is that it is such a fast round and i have hear of the bullets being thwarted by small alders where i have shot a .30-06 in dense brush and made my shot.
my grand father took 4 shots on a bull moose and missed every time with his 7mm rem mag. and blamed his scope but we took it to the range and both of us were dead centre at 100+ yards.

Has any one had this problem with a .270?
this would be the desciding factor as to weather or not i buy a .308, .30-06, or a .270.

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I have heard the same thing. Don't believe any of it. We ran test by shooting thru brush with every caliber that we could get our hands on, 22lr up to 45-70 to 12ga slugs. You cannot depend on any of them to make it to the target consistently. The only thing that we found that would usually put one or two holes in the target was buckshot and in some states it isn't legal. The best thing to do is shoot thru the holes in the brush. If I don't have a clear shot, I don't take it.

If I had the chance to do it all over again I would have bought myself a .270 over my 7mm Mag years ago. The .270 is a great hunting cartridge and ammo is available everywhere. One of the great attributes of the .270 is that it shoots very flat while offering excellent accuracy and minimal recoil. The only cartridge that I would pick over the .270 is the .280 Rem due to bullet selection. However it is not as common place as the .270, so the .270 my vote anymore.

308. Besides, if the SHTF, at least you will have, as Charlie noted, a NATO standard ammo...

my problem with the .270 is that it is such a fast round and i have hear of the bullets being thwarted by small alders where i have shot a .30-06 in dense brush and made my shot.

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Why are you shooting through dense brush..? Nearly any bullet will miss its target when shot through brush and twigs. I'm with Captcurt on this one... if I have to shoot through anything to hit my target, it better be a hole. If it's brush, branches, etc. I'm not shooting.

i own several 270's and own several 308's and I would say that both are proven chamberings, but each has its own downsides.

the 270 is very fast and sometimes that is a bad thing. some bullets fail to open properly at the higher velocities (especially on a short shot). to remedy this experiment with bullets to see what works best at all the distances you plan on shooting. I have found the Barnes TTSX to be very potent in a .270 at all ranges. Also, recoil is a bit more than a 308 (I would even say that it is more than a 30/06 that is loaded to similiar specs)

the 308 is a handy and fast little chambering that again is proven, but anything past about 168gr and you tend to have issues with factory barrels unless you have a custom rifled barrel. Most 308's have twist rates suitable for 150-165gr bullets. With moose and other large animals like bear you want to shoot a 180 or 200gr bullet out of a .30 cal gun

when it all comes down to it , just get a 30/06 and you can load up very fast rounds to get to the .270's speed and you can load up identical loadings that you would get in a 308, but you have the option to go with much heavier bullets due to the "normal" twist rates that barrel makers use for many of the 30/06 barrels.

Most 308s now come with a 1:10 twist that is suitable for just about any 180gr spritzer boat tail or 220 gr round nose flat base. That said the 30-06 is still a better choice with the heavier bullet weights due to the 24% extra case volume. The way I see it if you need 130-150gr bullets the 308 wins because it does just as well with less recoil and blast. 165gr bullets is a draw, and the 06 is the hands down champ with big 180-220 gr bullets 150 fps faster by my reloading manual.

sureshot wrote:

i dont really need another .30 i have a .303 and am going to buy and modify an sks soon.

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You DO not have a .30

Both the 303 Brit and the 7.62x39 use .311 diameter bullets.

So YOU NO NOT have a .30

That just means that YOU NEED to buy a .30

and like i said before just get a 30/06 you can load it light or you can load it heavy beyond the 180gr mark (something you can not really do well in a .270 or a 308). For moose I like a 180gr or 200gr Nosler Partition or a Barnes TTSX or TSX