.270 or .308?

[HikerHunterChad]

I'm looking at getting a bolt action rifle that I would like to be versatile and accurate. I would like to be able to shoot ground hogs at 300 - 400 yds as well as white tail deer and possibly black bear (those shots are usually within a couple hundred yards). I don't mind a large caliber that will destroy the groundhog since I won't be eating it, just reducing an over-population problem on some Pennsylvania farms.

I have looked at .308 - which seems like a very versatile round, but folks tell me that .270 is a lot more flat shooting. I know that either round is quite suitable for just about any big game in the lower 48, but would the .308 have the accuracy for nailing groundhogs at range?

Cost and availability of ammo is another issue since I would like to spend some time at the range practicing.

 

[interlock]

either will be good. as would 7mm08. 260 rem. and a host of others. If you reload then the owrld is your oyster. The 308 win is a round i often recomend to novices.

please keep us posted

 

[Driftertank]

.308 can be as accurate as you want. It's THE preferred cartridge for mid-range rifle competition, and snipers in just about every military in the western world. There is more data available for accurizing .308 than just about any other round available. It's my personal choice in my primary rifle.
That said, i've never heard any complaints about the .270 either. It won't be quite as widely available or as cheap as .308 though.

 

[Fremmer]

There's no practical difference for hunting purposes. Pick either.

 

[Geno]

First, welcome to THR.

Really, 6 one way, half-a-dozen the other. The major difference is in the wide availability of .308 projectiles, from full metal jackets, to soft points to hollow point match grade. Too, you can purchase military surplus ammo in .308/7.62 that is less expensive than factory ammo. The .270, when loaded with 90 grain Speer Hot Core HPs, or 100 grain Speer Hot Core SP projectiles can rival a .22-250 Rem. These loads are blistering fast, and devastating on varmint. Were the decision mine, I would opt for the .308 for all-round application.

JMHO,

Geno

 

[mnhntr]

.308 has my vote between the two.
1) 308 has more choices in factory ammo.
2) if the SHTF the military ammo works in it.
3) more choices in the actual model of rifle in .308

 

[mes227]

I'd go for the .270 because the .308 is just a bit too much round for ground hogs. Smallest generally available loads are 150 gr bullets or larger, whereas with the .270 you can get 130 gr and smaller, much more appropriate for the target.

Shooting both at 400 yards, the .308 loaded with 150 gr and the .270 with 130 gr, and zeroed at 100 yards, the drops will be 30.1" for the .308 and 24.6" for the .270. That's a big difference when your target is only 12" tall.

The .270 will also have less felt recoil and thus more pleasant to shoot (and it'll get more range time.)

Though, the gun I actually chose is the 25-06. Shooting 90 gr bullets it's a perfect match for varmints. At 400 yrds the drop is 22.9" and the recoil even less. Though at 90 gr wind drift starts to be a concern. You can bump up the weight to 120 gr (factor; even higher for reloads) and that makes wind drift about the same as for the .270 but now the drop is 28".

 

[xfyrfiter]

I sold my 270 to purchase you guessed it a 308. Better ammo availability and much much more reload data.

 

[helotaxi]

.308 can be as accurate as you want. It's THE preferred cartridge for mid-range rifle competition, and snipers in just about every military in the western world. There is more data available for accurizing .308 than just about any other round available. It's my personal choice in my primary rifle.
That said, i've never heard any complaints about the .270 either. It won't be quite as widely available or as cheap as .308 though.

The proliferation of the .308 or more correctly the 7.62x51 in military circles has nothing to do with is being superior in any area other than availability. The US Army Ordnance department had a thing for .30cal bullets and chose that caliber for their new round based on nostalgia and the huge number of .30cal bullets out there thanks to the round it was replacing (.30-06) in military service. It's adoption by the US Army and subsequently by NATO (for political reasons, not utility) made it ubiquitous in all military applications where that class of cartridge was called for.

In competition circles, the .308 has almost gone the way of the dodo except in classes where it is required. In classes where other cartridge are allowed, other cartridges are used. The .308 has nothing to offer over smaller calibers and actually gives up a lot in the way of ballistics to most of them in a similar case size. It offers those inferior ballistics at the price on increased recoil as well. Most shooters in the middle distances have gone to a 6 or 6.5mm cartridge for improved ballistics with reduced recoil over the .308.

I've seen a wider variety of .270 hunting ammo available regularly than .308. It's been around a few decades longer and had a strong following before the .308 was ever conceived. Once you're talking about hunting ammo, the price between the two is the same.

If I were me, and I was looking for a rifle for the purpose stated and I didn't have a rifle of either caliber already, and I was planning to reload, I would get a .270. You get the same weight bullet with a higher BC and higher velocity for a flatter trajectory.

 

[HikerHunterChad]

So far, it sounds like the .308 is best for versatility and availability. How feasible is it to get .308 loads that are light enough to shoot varmints? My concern is accuracy and not maintaining any meat since I won't be eating them.

 

[HikerHunterChad]

Thanks for that info Helotaxi. I suspected that, while a good round, the .308 is not necessarily the miracle round some claim it is. As far as military applications are concerned there is a real virtue in allies using the same ammo. I do not actually reload yet but hope to in the next year or two so cost and availability of ammo is a factor at this point.

 

[Fremmer]

Chad, when i skimmed the word hogs in your first post, i assumed you meant bigger feral hogs,not little ground hogs. If you're going to be using the rifle for a lot of ground hogs, you should really consider a smaller caliber than either the 270 or 308.

And you'll need a rifling on a 270 that'll properly stabalize a very light bullet for small varmints, which may not work well with the heavier bullets for deer hunting.

 

[Picher]

I have a .270 Win and think it's the better choice out of the two, but you should know that neither the .270 or .308 factory cartridges are widely available with varmint bullets, so handloading is necessary if ricochets are a concern where you hunt varmints.

If ricochets are not an issue, the 130 grain .270 round is fantastically flat-shooting and good practice for hunting larger game.

A special trait of the .270 Win is that it tends to shoot various bullet weights to very close to the same POI at 100 yards.

 

[helotaxi]

Hornady makes 110 VMax bullets for both .277 and .308. The .270 sends that weight bullet downrange a good bit faster and because it is a boat-tail and has a higher sectional density, it will carry that velocity further and be less affected by wind. Unfortunately, right now that bullet is not available as loaded ammo. The .308 version is available in their TAP line at the low, low price of $32 per 20 (ouch!). You can load 50 for about $45 for (including the price of new brass) and 100 for about $30 if you have brass. That goes for either cartridge.

For medium to long range hunting, the .270 is the better choice and there are no shortage of high quality rifles available in that cartridge. For bolt action rifles, the most common cartridges out there as far as rifles chambered are the .30-06 and .270 in long action and the .243 and .308 in short action.

 

[helotaxi]

And you'll need a rifling on a 270 that'll properly stabalize a very light bullet for small varmints, which may not work well with the heavier bullets for deer hunting.

Worry about the heavier bullets. The lighter bullets will be just fine if the heavier bullets are. 1:10 is standard for the .270.

 

[Geno]

Here are some of my favorite .308 projectiles, and a few that I want to try for varmint:

http://www.midwayusa.com/product/33...in-jacketed-hollow-point-boat-tail-box-of-100

http://www.midwayusa.com/product/14...308-diameter-168-grain-hollow-point-boat-tail

http://www.midwayusa.com/product/14...308-diameter-135-grain-hollow-point-boat-tail

http://www.midwayusa.com/product/74...iber-308-diameter-125-grain-spitzer-box-of-50

http://www.midwayusa.com/product/21...-308-diameter-125-grain-jacketed-hollow-point

http://www.midwayusa.com/product/33...ber-308-diameter-125-grain-spitzer-box-of-100

** Looks so fun! http://www.midwayusa.com/product/60...r-308-diameter-110-grain-flat-base-box-of-100

http://www.midwayusa.com/product/28...iameter-110-grain-spire-soft-point-box-of-100

Geno

 

[SeriousGunBlog]

I'd go with the .308 based on the amount of data available to give you good ideas as to what to shoot. I love shooting it because you can reach out and touch and have sufficient power to bag it.

 

[Fremmer]

So will he be able to shoot those light rounds in an extended dog shoot without having a welt on his shoulder at the end of the day?

 

[VancMike]

When I read the original post, I thought, "Neither......get a .243 Win." Great deer rifle and will kill any black bear from the Mississippi east.

Best of all, it's flatter shooting than either the .270 or the .308. Available in the same shorter actions as the .308. If you don't hand load, .243 ammo is readily available and often on sale.

And....you can load bullets from 58 gr. on up. I used a Browning low wall to shoot prairie dogs regularly @ 300+ yds. Some of my favorites were Horandy's 58 gr., Speer TNT, and Midway generic bullets. The ballistic coefficients on some of Sierra's bullets are truly outstanding, and their 55 & 70 gr. Blitzking are terrific varmint bullets.

And Nosler's 100 gr. partition has accounted for 2 antelope, a deer, and several coyotes from the same rifle.

 

[TwoEyedJack]

I sold my 270 to purchase you guessed it a 308. Better ammo availability and much much more reload data.

Uh, I don't think so. Can't think of a single place that sells .308 that won't have .270. As for load data, what are you talking about? My reloading manuals show as many different powders for .270 as for .308. In my .270, I load 90 or 110 gr. for rockchucks, 130 gr. for deer and antelope, and 150 gr. partitions for elk or bear. What else could you possibly want?

 

[mes227]

Uh, I don't think so. Can't think of a single place that sells .308 that won't have .270. As for load data, what are you talking about? My reloading manuals show as many different powders for .270 as for .308. In my .270, I load 90 or 110 gr. for rockchucks, 130 gr. for deer and antelope, and 150 gr. partitions for elk or bear. What else could you possibly want?

+1. The .270 is the single most common caliber. Ammo is abundantly available at good prices, and there at least as many rifle options. My fav: Win Model 70, modern or pre 64

 

[Slamfire]

This is a variant of the 30-06 versus 270 sort of question. With modern powders the 308 pushes bullets at 1950's 30-06 velocities. Of course the 30-06 has gotten faster.

I have seen some excellent groups fired with 125 grain varmit bullets in the 308. Currently I have been load testing a 270 with 130 grain bullets, I am at max according to the manuals, but only a few loads that crest 3000 fps. Most of them are 2850 to 2950 fps. I know I can push a 130 in a 30-06 faster, don't see why a 308 can't be close.

With 150's, I easily push 150's to the same velocity as my 270 loads in my 308 bolt rifles.

Both cartridges are really outstanding. I think you should just go to the store, cheek rifles in both calibers, and pick the one that feels best.

 

[Brian Williams]

Welcome Chad, tis a busy place.
I will still go with my 7mm-08 but if I bought today it would be a 308.

 

[kaferhaus]

As another poster already said. Get a .243. There's nothing better than having the right tool for the job and for anything from varmints to deer the .243 is as good as it gets. Much lighter recoil than either the 308 or 270 is a bonus.

Federal makes both a 55 and 70gr load that is superb on varmints, extremely flat shooting and both have been accurate in every .243 I've ever owned. I reload everything I own, but I have one .243 that shoots the 55gr Federal loads better than anything I've been able to load for it and that's saying something.

I've taken deer at 300yds with that same rifle shooting 100gr Nosler Partitions.

 

[HKGuns]

My wallet spoke with the .308.