Tikka t3 lite, 270 or 30-06 recoil

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mitchell koster

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Ok well this is gonna sound stupid but i'm gonna ask it because this doesn't sound right to me: A friend told me today to buy a tikka t3 lite in 30-06 instead of a 270win because it has a heavier bullet and therefor has less recoil???? now this really doesn't make sense but i figure i'd ask because i'm keen to find out.

Cheers fellas/ ladies :)

MK
 
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The 270 Winchester is available with factory loads up to 150 grains and handloads up to 160 and sometimes 180 grains.
The 30-06 can handle bullets up to 220 grains.
So the 30-06 will handle heavier bullets.
However that is NOT necessarily an advantage. If you are going to be hunting elk in super heavy cover, or moose and big bears, I'd recommend the 30-06.
If however you are going to hunt everything from elk in normal cover, down to deer and even coyotes, I would say the 270 will probably be a better choice.

A 458 is more powerful then a 22 long rifle. But you can't say the 458 is "better"
It depends on the mission of the rifle. Just like you can't say a Kenworth is "better" then a Toyota.

It depends on what you want to do.
 
The .270 Win has less recoil than the .30-06 if bullets are equal or slightly LIGHTER, not heavier. The cases have nearly the same case capacity, so the heavier bullet (with standard powder charges), the greater the recoil.

The .30-06 is more flexible for various game, especially larger game than deer and black bear, but the .270 Win has a bit better trajectory, especially with 130 grain bullets. I've used both and prefer the .270 because I shoot deer any distance out to 400 yards and like to use light 90 grain Sierra HP handloads for target shooting, running deer matches, etc.

The .270 is a fantastic deer killer and with Hornady 130 grain solid (gilding metal) GMX bullets, is better than ever! The attached picture shows a comparison between new and bullet recovered from my deer this year. It was a 50 yard (left-handed shot from a tree stand to the back of a 130 lb. buck running dead away. Due to the slight downward angle, the bullet remained in the deer's neck and would have been the fatal shot, had I not fired another one at the heart/lung area that killed it instantly.

Recovered metal weight was 127.2 grains, 98% of original (not including the plastic tip). Best part is that the meat is 100% lead-free! The meat-cutter said the bullet "hammered" the deer!
 

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Your buddy has it backwards. Heavier bullet = more recoil, assuming equal bullet kinetic energy.

Rifle momentum is always equal to the bullet momentum, just in the opposite direction, however, recoil kinetic energy divides up according to the ratio of the bullet weight to the rifle weight.
Example: If the rifle weighs 100 X as much as the bullet it fires, the rifle's kinetic energy will be 1/100 of the bullet's kinetic energy after firing.

This, of course, is an oversimplification and ignores the contribution to recoil provided by the propellent gasses. Even blanks kick a little bit.

If you are recoil sensitive, (or you are one of those people who admits to being recoil sensitive), steer clear of any super lightweight rifle. Compare the recoil of a .357 magnum pistol to the recoil of a rifle chambered for the same round and you'll see what I mean.
 
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Quick and dirty recoil comparison: Add the powder weight to the bullet weight and multiply by the muzzle velocity. For equal weight rifles, the ratio gives the comparative recoil.

For the .270 and the '06, odds are that both powder charges are around 52 grains or thereabouts. Common loadings are 130-grain for the .270 and 150-grain in the '06. MV for the .270 is around 3,000; for the '06, 2,900.

The math is left as an exercise for the student. :)
 
If you go the Tikka (nice rifle :D ) put a Limbsaver on it!!!!! :)

I did, and now it is a "push" not a snap back when fired....
The Tikka T3 is a light rifle, great for carrying but it will not absorb the re-coil..

As for the debate I think the .30-06 with heavier bullets will have MORE re-coil as per the mathematicians :eek:


Lateck,
 
If you go the Tikka (nice rifle ) put a Limbsaver on it!!!!!
Click to expand...

This is exactly what I was to suggest, the factory pad is too hard and doesn't really help much with recoil. There are a few fitted aftermarket pads that will work wonders.
 
cheers for the replies guys :) nah i'll be deffenitly getting the 270, i aint worried bout the recoil at all, just my firends theory was sounding awfully odd :D cheers, you can delete the thread mods :)

MK
 
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