.270 or .308

The .308 can be usually had in a medium length action.

The .270 would only be available in a standard long action.

A typical .270 load is a 130 grain bullet at 3,060 FPS.
It drops 15.5" at 400 yards with a 200 yard zero.
It has 1,438 fp/lb energy at 400 yards.
Bullet weights are commonly available ranging from 100 to 150 grain.


A typical .308 load might be a 165 grain bullet at 2,700 FPS.
It drops 21" at 400 yards with a 200 yard zero.
It has 1,460 ft/lb energy at 400 yards.
Bullet weights are commonly available ranging from 150 to 180 grains.

SO, drop is slightly more, but bullets are heavier and may give better penetration and performance on big game.

In equal weight rifles, the .308 will kick slightly more then a .270, but probably not enough to notice.

The other thing is, .308 ammo is widely available everywhere, sometimes at very attractive prices.
.270 Win? Not so much as there really isn't any cheap .270 practice ammo.

rc

308s and 270 win are both about the same in terms of recoil, 270 shoots a little flatter, neither has an edge in killing power because while the higher speed seems to give the 270 a slight edge on deer, the larger heavier .30 cal is better suited to larger anamals. Flip a coin I liked them both, not as much as I have grown to like the 6.5mms though.

The 270 will shoot flatter at mid ranges, 308 has better bullet selection, I have owned and fired both, and I would be hard pressed to choose. That being said, all in all the 308 has a much better selection of ammo, and is cheaper to shoot if you don't reload.

Probably .308 as the ammo is more available at lower prices, I would think, all other things being about equal, I would say!

As similar as they are, the best choice would be .308 simply because the price of the cartridges.

As a handloader the 308 does carry a little extra apeal to me. Very similar terminal performance and burns about 10gr less powder in the process. When I want a super flat shooting rifle for wide open country I reach for a magnum anyway.

I have owned both. If your shots are going to be less than 200 yards I would choose the 308 with a 150 grain bullet. If your shots are going to be out to 300 yards a 270 Winchester with a 130 grain bullet could make the shot a little easier because of the speed of the bullet and less bullet drop. If your shooting moving or running game the 270 would give you a slight edge. Although I really like a 270 Winchester I would probably choose the 308. One final point, in some light rifles a 308 can be a real jumper. BW

BP hunter, one point I failed to make. If you're a little recoil shy and you reload you can cut the powder charge back on a 270 Winchester and still get deer hunting killing power. For example, with a hunting load of 56 grains of IMR 4831 and a 130 grain bullet the velocity will be about 3,000 fps. Drop the charge to 53 grains with a velocity of over 2,800 it will lower muzzle blast and recoil but will still have power to hunt. On the other hand, if you try the same thing with a 150 grain bullet in a 308 the bullet will have a fast falling trajectory live a 30-30. BW

You are gonna get similar performance out of both. My choice is 270 based entirely on personally preference and the old beat up 700 in the cabinet that has smoked down too many animals to count. Loaded up with 110gr vmax its a burner of a varmint round. Availability of hunting ammo should never be an issue with 130 and 150gr core-lokts available at every wal-mart.

I really don't think you can go wrong with either choice. They are both proven game getters. Personally, I would pick the .270, but that probably has more to do with the writings of Jack O'Connor than any real, quantifiable superiority over the .308.

Both good choices, I'd be hard pressed to choose. I will say that I never liked the .308 until I got one about 6 years ago. Never owned a .270 but do have a .25-06 which is close to a .270. I'd never give the .25 up, it's been my favorite.

If I came across a .270 for sale, I'd grab it.

If you want big game killing power and you want to skip out on recoil I recomend checking out the 6.5s first. 260rem/6.5 Creedmore if you buy factory fodder and the 6.5x55 if you plan to handload. My 270 and 308 did not kill any faster and my 6.5x55 has such light recoil I can watch my bullet hit through the scope even with max loads in my featherweight rifle. The noise is alot less too, it is the only big game rifle I have ever used that does not ring my ears without earplugs. Give one a try and you will be hooked for life, especaly if you have delt with the recoil/muzzle blast of other calibers before. All modern action 6.5mms have a well earned reputation for top shelf external ballistics/accuracy and superb penatration thanks to their long heavy (javlin like) projectiels.

I had this same question 2 years ago and ended up with a .270. So far it has dropped 4 deer dead in their tracks. As far as ammo goes, Remington Core-loks are the same price for either and i have not been in a store selling ammo where they didn't have some brand of .270. My decision was based on the better ballistics at a longer distance. Good luck.

Both will kill a deer or a bear. Both are very accurate. The .308 has more recoil, but personally I don't find it unmanageable. That part is up to you. Don't get too caught up in the minutia. Hunting is fun and people have been killing deer and bear with .243 up to .500 Magnum. Find a rifle you like and fire both rounds to see how you like the recoil. If you are recoil sensitive, .270 is just fine for anything in North America, except maybe the big brownies.

Personally, myself, and I?

I'd buy a 30-06 and Fuggedaboutit!

It will do anything that needs doing in the USA.

rc

IMHO, what's more important is the rifle and the scope.

Concur with bushmaster1313. Six of one, half-dozen of the other, as far as the cartridges' performance is concerned.

For all practical purposes the accuracy is the same. Should you reach the point where you can have one ragged hole at 200 yards from 10 shots then we can debate the subtale differences.

For hunting I have a 30-06 and I've shot many a friend's 308. The one thing I don't like (but not enought to want to change) about the 30-06 is the longer throw of the bolt (what your 270 would be) relative to the 308. Mentally, I keep expecting to poke myself in the eye but I know its physically impossible.

Either will be fine though.

Sheepdog1968 said:

The one thing I don't like (but not enought to want to change) about the 30-06 is the longer throw of the bolt (what your 270 would be) relative to the 308. Mentally, I keep expecting to poke myself in the eye but I know its physically impossible.

Click to expand...

What does everyone find so objectionable about a long action? I own both long and short and can not tell the difference in use. To be honest I prefer the long action myself, but that's what I started shooting.

I agree about ammo, I haven't seen .308 any cheaper then .270 and just about any store that sells ammo carries .270.

There is 308 ammo available for less then 270 ammo (about $10 a box), but it is crap for the most part. I tried them before, and I even had a 308 that shot one brand of el-chepo ammo well, but I would never use it for hunting or personal defence so what is the point? I beleive in practicing with what you hunt with.

My first centerfire rifle at the age of 14 was a .270 winchester. I have owned 10 diffrent rifles chambered in .308 winchester. I still own 2 of them. However without question in my mind if I want a rifle right now for any reason I reach for my .270.

I have never once tracked anything hit with a .270 the furthest anything went was falling to the left or right but pretty much straight down. The .308win I have blood trailed 5 animals never further than around 50-60 yards but The animal was able to make it away from the point of impact. I have never owned a 30/06 never felt the need to.

I'd go 308, but that's just me. I like the shorter action. But the deciding factor would be fit and finish. I don't mean fit-up of the parts, but how it fit me coming to shoulder, etc. If I found a 270 that fit like a glove, it would follow me home in a heart beat

Most of it has been said. The .270 is an overbored cartridge. The 308 barrels will have a longer barrel life without getting shot out and losing any of its inherent accuracy. I have never owned or shot a .270, however.

http://bulletin.accurateshooter.com/2011/04/overbore-cartridges-a-working-definition/