30-06 vs. .270 win

Muzzle 100 yd 200 yd 300 yd
3060/2702 2851/2345 2651/2028 2460/1746


Muzzle 100 yd 200 yd 300 yd
2910/2820 2686/2403 2473/2037 2270/1716


The upper data is for a 270 Win Hornady 130 gr. Interbond.
The trajectory at 300 yards is – 6.3 inches if zeroed at 200

The lower data is for 30-06 150 gr. Hornady Interbond
The trajectory at 300 yards is -7.4 inches if zeroed at 200

I would say they are a wash. Either is a great round. If you hunt in the west, where the shots can be long, the 270 has a bit of an edge for deer and antelope. For elk, the 30-06 has a bit of an edge, as it can shoot heavier bullets that with higher sectional density and with more downrange energy. But just a bit. Many elk and moose have been taken with the 270. Flip a coin. (I prefer 270 :D)
 
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I go for 30/06 due to ability to load light and load real heavy (220gr), a .270 is a good deer caliber, but if you ever need to load heavy then you just can't do it.

I have owned several .270's and even gave one to my elderly mother as a x-mas gift last year, but my go to all around rifles are all 30/06. anywhere you go you will find 30/06 ammo (including a gas station in the middle of alaska when i had one of my bags with my ammo in it stolen and had to get ammo for my caribou hunt) Even in europe I was able to easily get 30/06 ammo. 308 would be the next caliber I would choose to do just about all, but .270 would only use on deer sized animals and smaller or maybe a 100yd shot on elk, but that would be it.

if i could buy just 3 center fire rifles they would be in 243win 30/06 and 375 H&H (must have for bear in the north). the .243 and 30/06 can easily be loaded to shoot anything on north or south america.
 
Someone took the great 30-06 case and made the 270 step child. 06 is more versatile and remains probably history's best round. 308 is close. 223 (5.56) is not!
I like 280 and 25-06, too. In fact, of all the 30-06 family the 270 is at the bottom of my (personal) list.
 
This is why there is a .280 Rem/7mm express !! But then,there is the 7-08,:-)!!!!

I suggest you choose something between a .243 and a .375 H+H and call it good.
 
I have had both for a long time and hunted in Colorado for 28 years and I would get the 30-06 if Elk is on the agenda only because you can shoot bullets heavier then the 150 grain. Don't get me wrong I and my sons have killed Elk with a 270 but none of us go that light anymore. I love the 270 for Deer and Antelope but when I hunt Elk it's a 30-06 or larger rifle.

:D
 
my .02

When it comes to a do all rifle, you can't beat the tried and true .30-06. A rifle chambered in .30-06 is the best hunting implement every taken afield.
When loaded with the heavier bullets, there is nothing that walks on the North American continent that can survive a well placed shot out to 400 yards with a rifle chambered in .30-06 loaded with a 210 grain well constucted hunting bullet.

load it with a much lighter 175 grain target bullet and you have weapon that can make first round hits from distances of 1200 yards. to put that into perspective 880 yards is half a mile.

load it with the still lighter 110 grain vmax bullet, and you have the most destructive varmint rifle ever seen.

For the hand loader there way more .30 caliber bullets to choose from than .27 caliber bullets. For those that don't hand load, there is a larger variety of .30-06 rounds than .270

if its a one gun party, you would be a fool to over look the tried and true .30-06
 
I have both and like them equally. It's funny, though, that when folk talk about the broader bullet selection for the 30-06, they kinda gloss over the fact that most 30-06 rifles won't shoot a 220gr spitzer worth a darn due to the common 1:10" rifling twist rate. ;)

My 270s do well in the 90gr-150gr range, and my 30-06s do well in the 125gr-180gr range. From a sectional density perspective, that's pretty much a wash.

I have 270s because they share light bullets with my 6.8SPC. I have 30-06s because they share light bullets with my 30-30 single-shots. Neither chambering has let me down in any way, and both can dispatch pretty much any game in the lower 48 when mated to bullets appropriate to the quarry.

Since I tend to hunt stuff that weighs less than half a ton (and, in the case of these itty bitty Texas deer, are actually quite light and relatively easy to drop), the lighter bullets in the 270 are appealing to me. If I lived in places where elk hunting was the predominant use, then perhaps the 180gr 30-06 offerings would sway me t'other way.
 
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My brother and I had this argument for years. Although I will never addmit it to him in the 18 years we carried on the debate I honestly from the standpoint of hunting deer could not see any difference. We shot about 80 deer each in that time in several different counties and they were all dead all within 0 to 75 yards. In that time neither of us lost a hit deer. We now both use M 77 Hawkeyes in .300 RCM I think this is the ultimate woods rifle.
 
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I have one .30-06 hunting rifle that was my go to rifle for about 20 years.
Then I bought my first .270 Win. I now have two. My .30-06 hasn't been on the hill in over 10 years.

Pick the rifle that fits you best and go huntin'.
 
so as a hunting round, which of these two is all around the best
Click to expand...

From my understanding (I own multiple examples of each caliber) the .30-06 is more potent under 200-250 yards, but the .270 carries more energy past that range.

I like them both, but personally, my .270's get shot more. I have seen what both cartridges do to game, and there really isn't a <usable> difference between them, even though some are going to argue one is decidedly better than the other.
 
And so the debate goes on. The best cartridge for deer, the .270 or the 30/06. I've been hearing this for many years. I own both and don't find much difference in either's deer killing ability. There's always a bit of difference in guns, the trigger pull, the way it points, the sights, and so on. Some just feel better than others. Any caliber from .243 to 30/06 will kill anything North America has to offer, and then some.

Those of us who are long in the tooth usually have several calibers and usually have a favorite. In most instances it isn't because of caliber, it's for one of the reasons above. I am a trigger freak. I want a crisp, clean breaking, wide trigger. My Model 70 has that. It just so happens that it is 30'06. Not that I don't hunt with my others, (17HMR thru 45/70 Government) but the Model 70 is my favorite.

Bullet weight, brand of powder, brand of bullets and a ton of other factors will never be resolved to everyone's satisfaction. Recoil, muzzle flash, soft point, hollow point, ballistic tip and on and on, the debate will continue forever.

Next time this debate gets going strong, just think about ice cream, vanilla, chocolate, strawberry, etc. That's why they're made, so you can have your individual choice.
 
Well there is no bad choice with either so that's a good thing to keep in mind. I'd let the type of land I was on and what I hunted be my guide. If you hunt deer sized animals in really wide open country then the flatter trajectory of a 270 and a 130gr bullet might be best. Closer ranges I'd take the 30-06 for more thump. If you plan to step up to elk or moose sized animals one day then I'd definately take the 30-06 due to it's ability to use 180 grain bullets for those bigger boys.
 
With a 200-yard zero, the .270 will be about five inches low at 300 versus the '06 being six inches low. To me, that's a trivial amount of difference. At 400, the '06 is then two feet low, approximately; at 500, about four feet low. The .270 doesn't do appreciably better. (Using 30- and 150-grain loads.)

"Not enough flatter to matter."
 
This is sort of what PO Ackley said, " the average shooter couldn't hit a flock of circus tents at the distance the difference in trajectory would become a factor"
 
I love this talk. Old and beat to death, but I always like the discussion. Since I started reading this thread, I've retrieved my 3006 from the safe to handle it some. I have a 1967 BAR in 3006, it's been shot maybe 80 times TOTAL. It's pretty money. HOWEVER, my Remington 700 CDL in .270 is the one I would prefer to shoot, almost without variation. You just get whatever one you want, doesn't matter. Then, as time goes on, pick up the other...even if it's 5 years before you have the scratch for it.

As for the comment about lethality on anything roaming North America...that should be amended to exclude Ndamukong Suh...
 
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