.270 or .308

[TwoEyedJack]

My personal preference is for the .270. I have a couple of them, a Ruger 77 stainless laminated and an old Remington Sportsman 78. Both are extremely accurate. The Remington will do 3/8" groups with Ballistic Tips or Core Lockts. If you are going to do much shooting, you will have to reload either, and as others have pointed out, the cheap .308 is often not a very good deal. I prefer the long action. Both of my rifles have long throats and long magazines, so I can seat the bullets out much further than factory loads, which gives better accuracy and more velocity at less pressure. Most .308s don't give you that option.

That said, if I came across a screaming deal on a nice .308 rifle, I would be highly tempted. I shoot .308 equivalent .30-06 rounds out of a Garand and they don't seem to kick any harder than a .270.

 

[303tom]

That is a hard one, my brother & I both have a Rem. 770 mine is .308 & his is a .270 & the .270 seems to get there a little quicker & hit a little harder...........

 

[wyohome]

788s were never made in that caliber. (270)
They were a short action rifle.

 

[Clark]

I have 13 308s and only 3 270s.

I would not take a 308 deer hunting if I could take a 270.

I killed 4 mule deer in 2008 with a 270.
I killed 5 mule deer in 2009 with a 270.

Most all of those were between 400 and 500 yards.

I am trying to increase my range to 600 yards.

I killed 2 deer in 2010 with a 7mmRM
I killed 1 deer and 1 antelope in 2011 with a 7mmRM.

I can only kill 2 animals a year now, because my son, with his big appetite, moved out.

 

[Picher]

As much as I like the .270 Win, the .308 Win would better meet your needs.

 

[susquehannaslim]

I shoot them both,My preference 308 Winny .

 

[Slamfire]

Currently I am working my way through the accuracy issues of my 270 Win FN deluxe, but I know it is not the cartridges fault.

Back in the 80's a gunwriter had a bench rest rifle built in 270 Win and he got sub half MOA groups with factory ammunition. Nosler ballistic tips were outstanding in his handloads. It was something unexpected: you just would not have thought a 270 was capable of such good groups.

I have more 308's than 270's, both are really outstanding cartridges, I am getting about the same, if not more velocity with my 150's in the 308 than the 270. My 150's are clocking 2700 fps and I am not near a max load in the 308 but I am at published max loads with the 150's and are just at 2700 fps.

I am disappointed in the velocities I am getting out of this barrel with 130's. Only Federal 130's broke 3000 fps.

Still, six of one, half dozen of another.

 

[mdauben]

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 tend to agree. They feel a bit different but I honestly don't consider a shorter action a significant selling point or a long action any sort of real drawback.

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

IMO, I think the fact that "cheap" surplus ammo is available in .308 is pretty unimportant for the states uses of the OP. I mean, most people just don't put enough rounds through a bolt action hunting rifle in a year for a difference of a dollar or so a round to be a deal breaker.

 

[D*N*R*]

Real world you go into a wal mart (whatever) to buy a box of rounds - same price - same bullet selection - come on get over it. 308 is will do just fine but 270 shoots flatter hits harder even kicks a little less. @200yrds. 270 130gr.(what you would shoot)2.8 drop--1976 ft lbs , 308 150gr. 3.6 in drop--1919ft lbs of whap (ballistic tip good hunting bullet)
both are fine one is just a little bit better.

 

[d2wing]

.308, better ammo supply, including match grade ammo and bullets, plenty of very accurate rifles built specifically in the .308.

 

[Kachok]

I never once noticed any difference in the recoil of my 130gr 270 and my 150gr 308 bullets. Both were 6.5lbs rifles with decent factory recoil pads. I shot them back to back many a time. Neither was harsh for an expernced shooter, but neither was plesent either after several boxes shot downrange. I do think the 270 was a few Db louder though. Trajectory is better on the 270 no doubt, but anyone who hunts in the woods would never notice the difference. I tend to think that the 270 hit a tad harder, but mabey that was just because I used ballistic tips in it. I do perfer 24" barrels in a 270 where as the 308 is perfect with a 22". A 130gr 270 is aprox 60-80 fps faster with a 24" tube.

 

[quartermaster]

RC hit the nail on the head with enough info to make your decision. The only thing that I would add is that there is a lot more of a bullet selection for the .308 which would make it much more versatile.

 

[Doc.Holliday]

Personally I would pick the 308 for all the right reasons.

Doc

 

[joed]

I thought about this a little more today while at work. The best answer is probably what Clark gave. If I had 2 identical rifles, one chambered in .270 and another in .308, my first choice for deer hunting would be the .270. The .308 is a nice cartridge, I own one and think it's great. But for a hunting cartridge I prefer the .270 any day.

 

[BP Hunter]

I am slowly leading to the .270. I have harvested 2 animals with it and this cartridge as a place in my heart. But...a local gun store is selling their one and only Ruger gunsight, which comes only in .308. The Ruger is very difficult to cone by nowadays and I have always loved it's feel, quality and its short overall length. Decisions, decisions...

But thanks for all of your responses. I know you guys would tell me to buy both. But I only need one for my purpose.

 

[Texaszach]

I believe the gunsight rifle has a shorter barrel.. Which should get dusted by a standard sporter in .270.

And I'll also say that a long action hasnt slowed me down yet

 

[Mike1234567]

I'm just curious: Wouldn't a better comparison be between .270 Win vs. .30-06 Sprg or .243 Win vs. .308 Win?

 

[Kachok]

I'm just curious: Wouldn't a better comparison be between .270 Win vs. .30-06 Sprg or .243 Win vs. .308 Win?

I don't think so, 308 is in a whole different class of killing power then the .243, the 308 and 270 are natural rivals, they are very close in terms of killing power and they both are in the same "just below 06" recoil range

 

[SN13]

As the owner of a superbly accurate Savage .270 111FCNS (Accustock/Accutrigger), I will say that the .270 is Scary accurate using Hornady SST130gr factory loads.

I would not hesitate to take a bet that i could hit a clay pigeon at 400 yards on my first shot.

The .308 only edges it out with heavier 175s+ shooting out to 1000. Inside 600, i'll take the .270.

 

[Countryguy1982]

I have killed probably 20 deer with 270 . ( 150 grain nosler partitions) seriously 9 out of 10 of them fell in their tracks. ( all double shoulder shots) when available . ( at least 1 shoulder clipped when not available) EVERY one got pass through. I had 2 or 3 run maybe 30 yrds max. Could this be coincidence ? sure...... i guess its possible. I have killed probably 10 to 15 with my remington model 7 308. Shooting nosler partitions, ballistic tips ( both in 150 grain and ) 165 hornady sst's . i can only recall 2 falling in their tracks dead. everything else i can remember .... ran a little ways. BUT i never had an issue with blood trails. Could this of been a coincidence? i am sure it could of been. could of been me just trying to make excuses for the 270 over the 308 and trying to nit pick the 308. Fact of the matter is though..... DEAD IS DEAD. any way you look at it,. There is 1 level of dead. AND THATS DEAD LOL. i never lost a deer with the 308 . I did lose a hog with a 308 , but he was running and it was a shot i shouldn't of took. ( liver shot) 3 inches behind the shoulder on a hog and you are in liver , not lungs like a deer ( most of the time anyway) . and a hogs guts tends to plug holes like a cork. unlike a deer. on bear........ I shot 1 bear with a 270 and 1 bear with a 308. Both quartering to me, both in the neck where it attatches to the front shoulder. both fell right there.270 ammo seems to be a few dollars higher a box depending on what you want. both 270 and 308 ammo are in just about every store and in no short supply . Its hard to go wrong with either caliber. Both will make great hunting calibers

 

[beatledog7]

If we could understand animal conversations, we'd never hear two deer or two bears having this discussion. They'd simply agree that both are bad news.

 

[wyohome]

[could of been me just trying to make excuses for the 270 over the 308 and trying to nit pick /QUOTE]
I will go with that.

 

[D*N*R*]

Modern bullet construction made my favorite round overkill 270win. do i have a ledgit argument over a 25 06 guy no way. 500 yrds in mich. neverish -200 maybe-( 25 06 @ 500yrds over 1000 ft lbs) so why give up acc. for a overkill round? to compensate for a slight off hit everyone could have made better with a smoother-flatter shot.((you can lead a 30 06 guy to twist rate class but you cant get them to understand the concept)) i dont mean allyaall**

 

[jpwilly]

I'm thinking 308-06!

Yeah, I know not the first to suggest it...but you have to consider the aught six instead.

 

[Kachok]

Split the difference and get a 280 Rem It does everything the 270 does and can throw longer higher BC/SD bullets when needed. 120 and 140gr shoot really flat, the 150-160 are great for really big game and the 175-180s will punch through an elephants skull.