Sell 270, Buy .30-06 Opinions

Status
Not open for further replies.
T

TenDriver

Member
Joined
Jun 29, 2009
Messages
1,223
Location
Huntsville, AL
I currently have a nice shooting, pre-Remington buyout Marlin XL-7. Since buying a Garand and reloading for it, I'm seriously considering selling it and buying some sort of .06 to keep things in the ammo cabinet simple.

Some of the options I've been exploring: Old Remington 742. I don't know much about them, but my grandfather has one in .243 that had some issues. An earlier Savage 110 with a wood stock. Again, not to much up on older Savages. Another possibility, a sporterized (what I believe anyway) 1903.

Money dictates keeping the 270 and buying another rifle is not an option. I'm not real attached to keeping the 270, but it has been a great rifle. Another option of course could be buying a Ruger American, or some other new rifle, but that will end up putting another composite stock in the cabinet. I'd rather have wood.

This rifle will strictly be for deer, maybe hogs, but not a target rifle beyond sighting it in.

Thanks for the opinions.
 
Another option of course could be buying a Ruger American, or some other new rifle, but that will end up putting another composite stock in the cabinet. I'd rather have wood.
Click to expand...
You can still buy new wood stock rifles, of course. The currently available Savage 114 American Classic is wood stocked and available in .30-06 caliber. Likewise Remington and Winchester both still offer models with natural wood stocks.
 
True, but those will likely be out of my price range, which will be around $400. It will need to be close to a one for one swap, but included in that swap will be 120 rds of .270 ammo.
 
One of my deer rifles is a Remington 700 ADL with a Bushnell Banner scope, which I bought used for $350. It is the synthetic stock (which I like, since I don't have to worry about it). I have one M1 and one on the way, and I like caliber simplicity as well :)
 
Get a boyds stock for the xl7. If it shoots good keep it. You will regret selling it if you don't. If you have to change over to 06 try an er shaw barrel for the x7. Then, you get a great shooting rifle and can keep your 270 barrel if you ever want to change back to it. BTW I am fond of caliber redundancy as well. I have 2 30-30's and 2 308's and 2 223's. However, the 270 is flatter shooting than the 06 and hits just as hard.
 
My wife gave me a 742 in 30-06 years ago. It is a great rifle. A lot of folks call them the jam-o-matic. But mine has only hiccuped one time in all those years. That was a day that it poured the rain, I mean water was running out of the rifle everywhere, it stopped raining and the temp dropped what felt like 40 degrees, then the deer came out of the woodwork. One shot then wouldn't cycle. I don't blame the gun, just the weather.
So if you want to hunt in the rain, get a bolt action, but you can find the 742's reasonable still because most a afraid they will jam. Now the 742 in shorter calibers have caused some problems, I've seen them in 243, 270 and 308 all jam like crazy. But the 30-06's work just fine. I've got a BLR that I hunt with in the rain now, but the 742 goes with me the rest of the time.
 
True, but those will likely be out of my price range, which will be around $400.
Click to expand...
True, I think the Savage is the least expensive and it has a street price of around $675. You did refer to swapping out the plastic stock for a wood one, though, which I would think would end up just as expensive, wouldn't it?
 
A well cared for 742 can be a great buy. But work the action and shoot it before you buy. If the action rail inside the receiver is bad it is junk. These rifles are 30 + years old. You might want to look at the newer 7400. They have a different bolt system.they are less likely to have problems.
 
I would think keeping the 270 would be the smart thing because chances are, you'll need to segregate your '06 ammo anyway, if you bought another '06. Garands usually need a narrow band of loads for proper function, and it's rare that two rifles would shoot the same ammo accurately in both rifles.

It comes down to not needing any rationale for getting another rifle, and if you want it, then do it.


NCsmitty
 
Normally I'd say there isn't enough diffeence between the 2 to justify having both a 30-06 and a 270. I can see the reasoning behind only owning one chambering or the other to keep things simple. I own several 30-06 rifles for that very reason.

But if you handload you will find many loads that will work just fine in a bolt rifle that simply won't function in a semi, so you'll have to separate brass and keep the loads separate anyway. It would actually be easier to do this with a 270 and 30-06 than with 2 different 30-06's that would not function with the same ammo.
 
Well for your intended uses I'd stick with the .270. It certainly shoots flatter further than a 30 06.

My son picked up a 1999 Remington BDL with a wood stock last weekend at the gunshow in Utah for $350. He was checking out the chambers and most of the examples at the show were visibly worn. But this one was crisp and since the blue and wood had no marks we figure he scored a former safe queen.

I understand the itch though! Sometimes an old friend rifle just loses its appeal. An older Remington might be something to cruise the pawn shops for. All the best deals are found with cash in hand and time to shop. The 700 action is tried and true and should hold its worth a bit better than a Savage.
 
I had a 1992 model Browning A-Bolt composit in 270 and one of the finest rifles i have ever owned or shot..
 
The pawn shops are loaded with good used bolt action hunting rifles. Generally, they have a good bit less than half the asking price actually invested. You can bargain hard and likely get a very good deal.

I'd do some looking around locally and in nearby towns.
 
I wouldn't sell a low end 270 and replace it with a low end '06. Save your money until you have enough to upgrade to something like a Winchester or a Browning or maybe even a Cooper.
 
I have a Garand in .30-06 and my deer rifle is an old Remington Sportsman 78 wearing a walnut stock off an ADL, in .270 Win.

Your M1 was designed to launch a 150 gr. bullet at around 2800 fps using a powder like IMR4895. Your average bolt action can safely launch the same bullet at velocities up to 3100 fps according to my Hornady manual using slower powders. Those kinds of loads in a Garand can quickly bend your operating rod, not good.

Most of the rounds you shoot from your Garand will be FMJ. Nobody hunts with FMJ, and with the price of bullets, you probably don't want to waste good hunting bullets punching paper with a Garand.

In other words, you are not going to find much commonality between your Garand and deer rifle except for brass and reloading dies.
 
Last edited:
I will have to agree with TwoEyedJack. There would be very little commonality between a Garand safe load and a full on 30-06 hunting load. The Marlin is a very good gun for hunting. It is already sighted in, you already have the ammo, and the 270 will kill as well as the 06.

On a side note, where can you hog hunt around Huntsville? I live in Guntersville, and there aren't even any hogs to try to hunt.
 
juk said:
I will have to agree with TwoEyedJack. There would be very little commonality between a Garand safe load and a full on 30-06 hunting load. The Marlin is a very good gun for hunting. It is already sighted in, you already have the ammo, and the 270 will kill as well as the 06.

On a side note, where can you hog hunt around Huntsville? I live in Guntersville, and there aren't even any hogs to try to hunt.
Click to expand...

Family land down in south Alabama. I've heard there were a few hogs in Skyline, but I can't prove that. Just hearsay.

In agreement with the difference in Garand loads as opposed to what I would hunt with. My main issue was simplifying things on the press. I have .06 dies, but not 270. On the same token I don't need to reload for the 270. I'm stocked up with 120 rounds, and I only hunt with this thing. In a good / lucky hunting year I might fire four rounds. Gives me 30 years of ammo at what I have now. Can't see buying the equipment to load something I really don't need since factory ammo works just fine for my purposes.

Y'all have pretty much talked me into keeping the 270 unless my work buddy wants to buy it which is doubtful. Best to save the money and buy a non-sporterized 1903 down the road.
 
I'm late to the party, as usual, but agree with the consensus.

At the very least, you can hang onto your .270 until you stumble over an excellent deal on the '06 of your dreams. No need to be in a hurry.
 
Heck no, your Garand and your bolt gun are going to end up liking different ammo anyway, so what is the point in making them the same caliber? I actually avoid having two of the same caliber for that reason. Owned three 7mm Rem Mags, they never could agree on a load, so I sold two of them and never regretted it.
 
I've got to agree with the recent consensus here. sounds like you have 2 great guns, in two calibers already. That's a win in my book
 
juk said:
I will have to agree with TwoEyedJack. There would be very little commonality between a Garand safe load and a full on 30-06 hunting load. The Marlin is a very good gun for hunting. It is already sighted in, you already have the ammo, and the 270 will kill as well as the 06.

On a side note, where can you hog hunt around Huntsville? I live in Guntersville, and there aren't even any hogs to try to hunt.
Click to expand...
I'm talking about brass and dies and press setup also...please don't think I'm advocating using the same loads or bullets or cartridges in the 700 and the M1...
 
I have a bolt action 270 and a Garand. I am happy with both and have no need to sell the 270. In my mind they serve slightly different purposes. A two die set is about like buying a box of premium ammo. Also, you need to full length size the Garand ammo - and not the bolt action.

I also have the ported gas plug so I can shoot standard loads through my Garand.

I suppose if I had the Garand first, I would have probably gotten a bolt action in 30-06 rather than 270. Such is life.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

M
  • Locked
30-06 or 270
2
Replies
35
Views
1K
jimbeam
J
ExAgoradzo
  • Locked
270 & 30-06 (Not Trolling!)
Replies
11
Views
1K
Kachok
K
S
  • Locked
Any Place that sells Savage Long Actions (.270 Win)
Replies
3
Views
466
skinewmexico
S
C
  • Locked
New Action in Previously bedded stock?
Replies
1
Views
248
rcmodel
R
E
  • Locked
.270 or .270 WSM?
Replies
10
Views
765
Art Eatman
A
Back
Top