.270 vs 30-06 vs 300 win mag

[mattri]

Tried a search.

Looking to build a rifle for long range target shooting/hunting. Everything is a compromise but this is what we're going for:

Sub moa accuracy out to 800-1k yards.

Lethality on med size game out to 500 yards.

.270 Win- Flat shooting, acceptable lethality, mediocre bullet selection, some 150's in the high.5 bc's, great velocity.

.30-06- Timeless performance and accuracy potential. Great bullet selection. Can shootthe heavier bullets with the higher bc's but lacks the velocity of the .270.

.300 Win Mag. Good velocity, same great bullet selction as the .30-06, awesome lethality, astronomical powder charges.

Not against going with the .300, seems like the .30-06 is in a simmilar ring, if so than why not the .270?

[lostart]

My personal favorite of the three is the .270. Why? performance on game and some personal preference. I see the poor selection of bullets, but for a hunting rig it is great. The other two are timeless cartridges as well...I dont feel as if you could go wrong with any of them.

[bootsmcguire]

I like the 30-06. Great bullet selection. Enough power to kill a majority of North American game. A timeless classic. I built one a few months ago on a Stevens action, put on a 22" Savage Magnum Contour barrel, NSS recoil lug, and NSS 3 screw trigger. Kept it simple. The Mag contour barrel helps a lot with added weight to help with recoil but its not so heavy that you don't mind to carry it. Sub-MOA off the bench too.

[mattri]

Thanks for the replies. Have been leaning toward the .270-.30-06 just don't know if the .300 win is bringing enough to the table to make it worth its extra cost/charge.

[slaroy]

I have a .270 and am currently in the process of building a .300 win mag. Why? well, i started with a .270 which is great for hunting whitetail etc., but i feel like the wider selection of bullets especially 200+ gr bullets with high BC and a fairly decent velocity to go with them will help me to get out past 500yds when at the range. But then again, I will probably still be carrying my .270 when hunting.

Aw heck. Why dont you just split the difference?

[bigedp51]

The .270 Win is very flat shooting rifle and I had one for years, BUT if you load the 30-06 to the same chamber pressure as the .270 you will also have a very flat shooting rifle. The chamber pressure for the 30-06 has been kept low because of all the older 30-06 still being used for safety reasons. In a modern bolt action there is no reason the chamber pressure for the 30-06 can't equal the .270 Win.

The bigger the bullet diameter the easier it is to push down the barrel, and you would be surprised at what a 30-06 can do.

25-06 Remington - 63,000 PSI
6.5-06 A-Square - 65,000 PSI
270 Winchester - 65,000 PSI
280 Remington - 60,000 PSI
30-06 Springfield - 60,000 PSI
338-06 A-Square - 65,000 PSI

Since the cases for all the above is of the same construction, I see no reason in a modern bolt action rifle that all the above cartridges could not be loaded to 65K PSI.

[MAGNUS]

Have you looked at the .284 winchester (7mm) and the 7mm SAUM.....

7mm's out do the 30 cals for long range and they are far better round choices for performance.

[dcloco]

300 Win Mag with 180 gr Nosler or 208 gr AMax is exactly the medicine you are looking for.

I own the other two you mentioned plus the 7 Rem Mag as well. The 270 is a factory Remington with a sporter barrel that shoots sub moa, but loses a bit of oomph quick after the 550/600 yard mark.

30/06 is a 2nd year production model 721 Remington. To say this is an superb specimen is an understatement. VERY nice rifle. Because it is a late 1940's rifle, it has a fast twist, so it's preference is 174/176/178/180 gr bullets. Would not hesitate on a deer at 800 yards.

The 7mm Rem Mag is a Savage that I built with a barrel bought from another user on this site. Yep, I would definitely feel confident shooting (and hitting) a deer at a grand with a 162 AMax.

The 300 win mag is a factory BTCS Savage. Single shot blue receiver with a blackened stainless barrel. Wears a 16x40 Leupold with turrets that is about near a marriage made in heaven as it can be. Ever want to show off shooting...this is a go to rifle. 180 Nosler or 208 gr Amax when going past the 900 yard mark.

[King Ghidora]

I looked at a 7mm, a .243, a 270 and a .30-06 when I was looking for a rifle like you describe. I ended up getting the .30-06 in a Savage 110. It's a nice rifle that carries a big punch at long distances. Heavier bullets retain their energy farther down range even if they don't retain the speed. I have no problem with a little hold over if the bullet puts a big hit on the target when it gets there.


Since the cases for all the above is of the same construction, I see no reason in a modern bolt action rifle that all the above cartridges could not be loaded to 65K PSI.

Just what would you consider a modern rifle that would sustain that kind of pressure bigedp51? My 110 is from the early 90's. It probably isn't as accurate as newer models but it does pretty good. It will do clover leafs at 100 yards. I have a 12 in .223 that is much more accurate. It will do clover leafs at 300 yards and I really haven't worked out the best loads for it yet.

[KTV]

Tried a search.

Looking to build a rifle for long range target shooting/hunting. Everything is a compromise but this is what we're going for:

Sub moa accuracy out to 800-1k yards.

Lethality on med size game out to 500 yards.

.270 Win- Flat shooting, acceptable lethality, mediocre bullet selection, some 150's in the high.5 bc's, great velocity.

.30-06- Timeless performance and accuracy potential. Great bullet selection. Can shootthe heavier bullets with the higher bc's but lacks the velocity of the .270.

.300 Win Mag. Good velocity, same great bullet selction as the .30-06, awesome lethality, astronomical powder charges.

Not against going with the .300, seems like the .30-06 is in a simmilar ring, if so than why not the .270?


My $.02:

.270Win is a great cartridge for hunting, but bullet selection for LR target just
isn't there, or likely to be.

300WinMag can be tough to shoot accurately. Lots of recoil and report makes
average shooters susceptible to various fliches. Working the fall deer rifle sight-in
sessions, many times I have seen shooters literally close their eyes before breaking
the shot while shooting the big magnum cartridges. It can happen to anyone.
Anticipating recoil like that makes for poor accuracy.

If you roll your own, I would suggest you consider -

first: .280 Remington - great hunting and target 7mm bullet selection, brass is
readily available and in a pinch can be formed from other calibers, lots of load
information around. Most of the LR shooters at my club have gone to some
variation of 7mm because of the bullet selection. And with the right bullet can
handle any game on the continent, with the possible exception of big bears.
Typically less recoil than 30-06. Certainly less than 300WinMag.

Second: 6.5mm-06 - again great bullet selection, brass readily available and can
be easily formed from other calibers, lots of load information around. Lots of LR
shooters have gone to some variation 6.5mm. With the right load can easily
handle deer size game, but a little light for bigger (elk and moose). Usually a little
softer shooting than .280 Rem.

FWIW.

[thirty06]

Stick with the 30-06.
Can't ever go wrong with a thirty06.

[bigedp51]

I looked at a 7mm, a .243, a 270 and a .30-06 when I was looking for a rifle like you describe. I ended up getting the .30-06 in a Savage 110. It's a nice rifle that carries a big punch at long distances. Heavier bullets retain their energy farther down range even if they don't retain the speed. I have no problem with a little hold over if the bullet puts a big hit on the target when it gets there.


Since the cases for all the above is of the same construction, I see no reason in a modern bolt action rifle that all the above cartridges could not be loaded to 65K PSI.

Just what would you consider a modern rifle that would sustain that kind of pressure bigedp51? My 110 is from the early 90's. It probably isn't as accurate as newer models but it does pretty good. It will do clover leafs at 100 yards. I have a 12 in .223 that is much more accurate. It will do clover leafs at 300 yards and I really haven't worked out the best loads for it yet.


Jack O'Conner was the father of the .270 Winchester, which was a 30-06 necked down to .270 and the chamber pressure increased approximately 2,000 CUP. Jack O'Conner also was missing part of a finger from a converted low number 03 Springfield that came unglued.

If you read enough reloading manuals you will find out the 30-06 was down loaded or the pressures kept lowered because of the early 30-06 rifles still being used today. A modern 30-06 can be safely loaded to the same pressures as the .270 Winchester without any problems.

If you take a .270 with a 22 inch barrel and shoot against a 30-06 with a 24 inch barrel the race begins, if you then up the chamber pressure the 24 inch 30-06 starts kicking the .270s back side hands down.

The .270 Winchester was called the best non-belted magnum rifle in the world, BUT with reloads well within safe pressure range the 30-06 will beat the .270 all day long. Remember with the longer 24 inch or longer barrel the slower burning powders will come into play and the "06" will shine.

[mattri]

Great replies thanks.

Had a chance to shoot a .300 win and my .270 at 1k today. I really like my .270 but the .300 really blew me away.

Both rifles are hunting weight sporters, mine a 22" the .300 a 24" barrel.

At 1k yards I watched a guy group about 6" 3 times in a row. Then I shot it and didn't do as well but pretty close. The .270 was really reaching, best I could do was about 16". We were shooting at a steel plate so groups are appr.

I'll look at the 7mms but I was really impressed with the .300 today.

[dcloco]

Everybody forgets that when using heavy bullets, you also use slower powder. H4831 for the 180's and Retumbo or H1000 for the 208's tones the recoil down. More of a push than a snap.

The 270 running 150's at a shade under 3000 fps has more recoil than the 300 WM with 208's. The 300 WM is 2.5 lbs heavier though.

The 30/06 was a BEAR in the recoil department when it was still wearing the original 721 stock. Look at a picture of the factory 721 wood stock..angle of the stock really pounded on the shoulder no matter what I shot through it. So, an factory synthetic Remington stock with the R3 recoil pad has been a piece of magic on this rifle.

[Cycler]

I'm also in the "none of the above" camp. Look long and hard at either a 6.5 or 7 mm round. The .284 Win or .280 Rem are ballistically 7 mm-06 variations and have better velocity, lower recoil and a great selection of very accurate high-BC bullets available. The 6.5-284 is a in the same league. Any of these will be more than adequate for any medium size game at any range you can ethically shoot.

If you really want a magnum, look at the 7mm WSM. More velocity than the above rounds but the same selection of high BC bullets

The 300 magnum is a shoulder pounder and, as you mentioned, eats powder like potato chips.

[King Ghidora]

I've heard it said that the .270 will kick just as hard as a .30-06 with equivalent loads but they lack the ability to go to a heavier bullet if the situation calls for it. Yes they are rated at a higher pressure but like others have said it is possible to load a .30-06 to the same levels.

Personally I like being able to do target shooting and practice with lighter loads but still have the ability to load a 220 gr. bullet for heavy use if need be. Those heavier bullets are less subject to wind at long distances. I know my .223 will shoot wide as it gets when the wind is blowing. There's a lot of difference in a 55 gr. bullet and a 165 gr. bullet (which seems to be most accurate in my 110). I know a .270 can shoot much heavier bullets but the principle is the same. A lighter bullet can be blown off course much easier.

[mattri]

Per requests thread has been moved to "Help Me Decide" page.