25-06 or .270 or somewhere in the range

A

ArkansasHunter

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I am looking for another whitetail rifle. i currently have a marlin 336 30-30, 300 win mag, and my wife has a .243(i would get a 243 if she didn't already have one).

***I DO NOT RELOAD***

30-30's are too short range and 300 win mag is just a beast that i dont need to carry around all deer season. I would like a rifle that has little recoil but has a bit more punch than a .243 and I can expect 300 yd shots or less most of the time, however it would be good for the rifles capability to be much farther than that. Im willing to spend about 1500$ scope and all. maybe a rem 700, browning x bolt,

i would use this gun on whitetail 90% of the time maybe on hogs or coyotes (dont mind overkill for either hogs or coyotes)

so far im leaning towards a 25-06

I DO NOT RELOAD and price of ammo and ability to find is considered, otherwise id be asking about a 6.5 CM, .240 or .257 weatherby mag or a .260

Please comment on what you think good or bad will be helpful, feel free to suggest ammo and or grain selection. Also what brand and model to go with
 
7mm08 is what i went to, a 700 left hand sps with a 2.5x8 leupold its a very light rifle with light recoil and with 120gr nosler BT bullets with 44grs varget at about 2900-3000 fps is very flat out to 300 yards and farther. i have killed a boat load of deer with it. factory loads come in 120gr and 140gr bullets. eastbank.
 
That's easy if you don't reload the .270 Win is what you need. You'll always find more ammunition selections for .270 than .25-06 so you'll be able to find what shoots best in .270 much easier. However for deer I'd look at Federal Power-Shok aka blue box ammunition in as a good place to start in either cartridge whatever you choose.
 
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With good handloads 243 will beat 25-06. Even with factory loads there isn't enough advantage in 25-06 to justify the difference. Why not just get another 243? It'd be one less type of ammo to keep up with and it'll do what you want to do. If you NEED more punch you do have a 300 WM.

If buying factory ammo 270, 30-06, 243 or 308 are probably the top choices. There are many other options that would be every bit as good such as 260, 6.5 Creedmoor, 6.5X55, 7-08, etc, but ammo is less common and usually more expensive.

Of the 3 I listed I like 308 best, it has a tiny bit less recoil than 270, but any of them will get the job done with modest recoil.

With a $1500 budget I'd buy a Winchester 70 FWT if you want walnut/blue and put a 3-9X40 VX-2 on it. You'll have about $300 left over. In Stainless/synthetic it'd be the Winchester EW, same scope. You'd be cutting your budget close though

Street prices around $800.

http://www.winchesterguns.com/produ...urrent-production/model-70-featherweight.html

Street price around $1100.

http://www.winchesterguns.com/produ...t-production/model-70-extreme-weather-ss.html
 
and what 243 reloads are you going to use beat a 25-06 with? pray tell. useing the hornady reloading manual vol 1 and vol 2 fifth edition does not support your claim. eastbank.
 
^+1^
I played with the calculator at gundata.org for quite a while using realistic, obtainable BC numbers from hunting bullets one could find on a shelf in comparing the 243 and 25-06. The 243 will not beat the 25-06 inside of 500 yards. If a major manufacturer actually made some match-grade .257 bullets we could actually compare apples to apples.

As far as to answer the OP I would go to your preferred vendor of ammunition and see what's available in your price range. You will most likely find 30-06 and 308 to be the most readily available and usually a number of options. 270 is likely going to be represented fairly well, perhaps not as many options though. 25-06 I've found to be rather hit or miss in my neck of the woods and when you find it it might be one choice which is $10-$15 more than a box of 308/30-06 or 270.

I own a 25-06 (or two) and if I didn't reload I wouldn't own them.
 
25-06 looks just right to me. Plenty of them around here, and never hear any complaints.
Don't know what rifle I'd end up with, but the Weatherby Vanguard was the first one that came to mind.
 
Either caliber will work. Still, from decades of hunting and shooting deer I've come to the well earned conclusion that a 100 gr bullet at 3000 fps will do a fine job on deer. But a 120 gr bullet at 3000 fps will do it better. And a 130 gr bullet at 3000 fps will do it that much better. So I think the 270 is the better of the two, though not by much.

For the last 4 or 5 years I've used a 260. 120 gr bullet at 2850 fps. Works just fine.

Buy what you want, and you'll do just fine.
 
25/06 offers the range and energy to kill deer at any ethical range w/o the recoil of the 270. AFAIC The 25/06 is far and away the best choice for game under 300#.
 
Just get a Winchester model 70 Classic Sporter or Featherweight in 270 Winchester and be done with wondering about it so you can go hunting. The ammo availability of 270 Winchester is amoung the best and at the best prices. 25-06 ammo will cost half-again more and will be relatively limited in choices. Though reloading can be a great equalizer, what we are talking about is going into any odd place and hoping to find the ammo you like, or any at all in your caliber of choice. With comparable. BC bullets, the 270 will have a trajectory nearly identical to your 300 Winchester Magnum. Just go with the 270 Winchester. I favor Leupold scopes, particularly a 3-9x40.
 
I live Co and you can always find 270 ammo and some of our farm supply store care 270 ammo also.

Since you already buy factory ammo and if stores carry 25-06 ammo and you want one then buy it.
 
I love my .270. Like you I also have a .300 win mag and a .243, my dad and my father in law both have .30-30s.... The .270 is my favorite all around rifle. easy to shoot, moderate recoil, a light and handy rifle unlike the .300. The nice thing is that it is a perfect compromise, splitting the difference between the power level of the .243 (and .30-30) and the .300 win mag. I know you don't reload but if you ever do you will appreciate how the .243, .270, and .300 win mag are all about the same case to bore ratio and as such in most cases if a given powder works well in one it will work well in all of them. The .243, .270, and .300 win mag all exhibit very similar trajectories making it a non issue to change rifles for different applications. if you already have the .243 the .25-06 is kind of pointless compared to the .270. To be honest I never understood the point of the .25-06. but I suppose that's just because I've started out with a .243 and a .270 and the difference between those two is one I've never felt a need to split
 
Medium & thin skinned game. Knowing you don't hand-load. 270 meets all your commented criteria and then some. 25-06 is a dandy cartridge but it doesn't quite measure up to a 270s capability. I think you would be pleased with my rifle of choice to carrying afield. Remington's Mountain CDL model. Light in weight. Excellent shooters. Handy clip fed. Oh BTW I own two of them. Two identical Mtn rifles. Both scoped alike with Vari-X 3 Leupold's. One's is a 270 the other is a 25-06. I bought both at a time when Remington listed Matte Blue carbon steel and walnut stock versions. How I tell them apart.> By the stained color of their stocks of coarse. ;)
 
I agree with ShurShot and Roadkill. I've had a .243 for more than 40 years, a .270 for nearly as long and a .300 Win Mag for many years. I've hunted elk a few times with my .300 and every time the outfitter and guides said they preferred hunters carrying a .270. If I could have only one rifle for game in the lower 48, it would be the .270 I already own: a Remington 700 BDL LH with a Brown Precision synthetic stock, glass bedded, and a Leupold Vari-X III 2.5x8 scope. I got my best mule deer at more than 400 yards with the .270. A .25-06 is fine, but I prefer a .270 for all game larger than a pronghorn. My opinion, of course!
 
the 243 does fine at some long range matches, but it is not your grandads 243. it has a barrel with a fast twist 1-7,1-8 with a 105-107gr match bullets. i happen to like the .260 and 7mm08, but i reload and there are loads of parent .308 cases to make them with. with both in short light weight rifle that will preform very well to 300 yrds and beyond, with each carrying around 1000fpe at 500yrds with certain hunting bullets.eastbank.
 
It's because most hunters don't handle the recoil of magnum rifles nearly as well as they think they do. Recoil makes all but the most disciplined shooters flinch at some point. Most people that own a 300 Magnum have yet to master it. You may be an exception, but most aren't.
 
It's because most hunters don't handle the recoil of magnum rifles nearly as well as they think they do. Recoil makes all but the most disciplined shooters flinch at some point. Most people that own a 300 Magnum have yet to master it. You may be an exception, but most aren't.
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I don't consider myself a master of any of the weapons I have. : ) I shoot both the 270 and 300wm--they are both pretty big boomers but as long as I take that first shot well I don't see all that much difference between them--until the range starts getting really long and that's when the 300 pulls away from the 270. I suppose the argument could be made that the 300 might tempt people into thinking they are better at longer range shots than they really are, that's probably true in my case, and maybe might take bad long range shots. I sometimes have days where I have a harder time handling the recoil of a 5.56 AR than a 300 wm. : )
 
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I think both are good choices, I would let the particular rifle make my decision for me. Ruger used to put a slightly heavier and 2" longer barrel (24") on their 25-06 than their 270. Remington. 24" used to be the standard length for the 25 while a lot of 270's had 22". My Win XTR M70 270 is 24" though.
 
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