Personally I think the .30/06 is a better choice if hunting heavier game but not by a lot. If a person won't make the effort to be able to handle the recoil of a .30/06 with 150 grain bullets in a standard weight rifle(very mild, indeed) then I think needlepoint may be a more appropriate pastime than hunting.
30-06 vs 308?
- Thread starter KRJ
- Start date
Personally I think the .30/06 is a better choice if hunting heavier game but not by a lot. If a person won't make the effort to be able to handle the recoil of a .30/06 with 150 grain bullets in a standard weight rifle(very mild, indeed) then I think needlepoint may be a more appropriate pastime than hunting.
I would go with one of the two bigger hole makers, but of coarse there are some that will say a 223 is all you need, ya know shot placement 'en all! Lots seem to sing and dance to that song, ya just gotta do your part!
well, we all ain't a "HE-man" such as yourself! A lot of folks agree, myself included, that the 30-06 is at the high end of the max tolerable recoil level for most average shooters. I highly doubt that I'd like needlepoint (ouch, sounds like pain)! So, I'll stick to hunt'en with 30-06 and under, mostly under!
A famous gun writer once said, anything a 308 can do, a 30-06 can do better. I dont know where a 270 fits into that?...
Anyways those calibers are all doomed cause the 300 wsm will soon take over and make those old cartridges obsolete.
Anyways those calibers are all doomed cause the 300 wsm will soon take over and make those old cartridges obsolete.
- Location
- Prince Albert, Sk
Tell ya what , I'll go shoot my next three deer with each of the .270, .308 . and 30-06.
Then I will tell you which one tastes the best.Heck even moose would taste the same killed by each separate one!
My guess is that none of them will get away either.
Then I will tell you which one tastes the best.Heck even moose would taste the same killed by each separate one!
My guess is that none of them will get away either.
Maybe so, but another famous gun writer once said: "as a rule, gun for gun, the 308 will out shoot the 30-06. I'm stick'en to my 308 guns and going with that!
Barnes_270
Regular
- Location
- Langley, BC
I have both a 270 and 308 - the 270 in a M98 action / 24" barrel and a 308 in a BLR (20" barrel). I can't tell a difference between them for recoil. I use the BLR for brush hunting where the shorter action/gun length is an advantage. If I'm hunting cut blocks and expect shots at longer distances, the 270 gets the nod. I'm impressed with how efficient the 308 is - it burns a lot less powder for pretty similar performance.
I also reload and use the TTSX exclusively. Bullet weight just isn't as important with monometal bullets. It makes the differences between the 270/30-06/308 even less important at usual ranges (under 300 yrds).
I also reload and use the TTSX exclusively. Bullet weight just isn't as important with monometal bullets. It makes the differences between the 270/30-06/308 even less important at usual ranges (under 300 yrds).
I always tell friends who are new to firearms, it depends if your using the rifle for hunting only, or target shooting also. 30/06 is the better choice if your using the rifle for hunting only, because the selection of factory ammo is the better of the 2. However, if your planning on some target shooting, then 308 is better, because its more common with target shooters, because it is slightly more accurate when chambered in a premium target rifle. There is specific factory target 308 ammo available, which makes the rifle more accurate, when compared to regular hunting ammo. If your planning on reloading, then either cartridge will be pretty much as good as the other. You can reload 308 with heavy bullets, with similiar petformance compared to a 30/06, and you can reload 30/06 with accurate bullets that will make it as accurate as a 308, if fired from the same hunting rifle.
A 308 is more accurate of the two, but to see the difference, you would need to be using a precision target rifle, fired from a benchrest. 99% of people who shoot a 30/06 don't have the skill, experience, or need, to use a 308 for the slightly better accuracy......and 99% of hunters that deer or moose hunt with a 308 don't have the skill, experience, or need, to use a 30/06 for hunting with 220 gr bullets at 300 yards away. If anything, it is more a cost difference, because its cheaper to target shoot with 308, because you can buy bulk 308 ammo, and it uses less powder for reloaders, so a pound of powder loads more. 30/06 military surplus is rare, so it costs more to buy regular ammo, but 30/06 does have a slight advantage if its a jack of all trades hunting rifle, because of the greater variety of hunting ammunition....Yes 30/06 is the clear choice, if your hunting moose at 300+ yards over the 308, but if that is your primary reason buy a 30/06, then really a 7mm rem mag or 300 win mag is the caliber that best suits your needs.
A 308 is more accurate of the two, but to see the difference, you would need to be using a precision target rifle, fired from a benchrest. 99% of people who shoot a 30/06 don't have the skill, experience, or need, to use a 308 for the slightly better accuracy......and 99% of hunters that deer or moose hunt with a 308 don't have the skill, experience, or need, to use a 30/06 for hunting with 220 gr bullets at 300 yards away. If anything, it is more a cost difference, because its cheaper to target shoot with 308, because you can buy bulk 308 ammo, and it uses less powder for reloaders, so a pound of powder loads more. 30/06 military surplus is rare, so it costs more to buy regular ammo, but 30/06 does have a slight advantage if its a jack of all trades hunting rifle, because of the greater variety of hunting ammunition....Yes 30/06 is the clear choice, if your hunting moose at 300+ yards over the 308, but if that is your primary reason buy a 30/06, then really a 7mm rem mag or 300 win mag is the caliber that best suits your needs.
I have tried shooting the 7mag, but I just can't take the recoil, I don't like it at all, it's not even fun shooting anymore! The 30-06 is max for me! I seem to fall for a 308 as a fav cal. I'm old and a little shakey and I use a shooting stick for steady. I would not attempt a shot over the 200 or so yrd mark, so I should be ok with my choice in 308, what ya think? I had been going with 180's and have dropped to 165's. Someone suggested that even 150's would be a good move for me and the whitetail hunt, what say you? I've heard that they may waste some meat, I wouldn't wanna see that!
burnt_servo
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- right in the middle of b.c.
here is another line of reasoning ........
what rifle do you want to purchase ?
if you where after a 5pound mountain rifle on a short action , you may only be able to get it chambered in a round that is about 2.8 inches ( ie 308 length ) .
what if you came across a 2nd hand rifle that fit you absolutely perfectly , in your budget , and was nice looking to boot , but was only chambered in 30-06 .... would you turn it down ?
a person could buy for a cartridge , but end up absolutely hating the rifle it comes in .......
the difference between a 270 , 30-06 and 308 at any distance most people can reliably kill an animal amounts to less than a few inches at best .
for power , loaded to the same pressure levels the 30-06 wins .
as for the 270 ..... i had one , it disapeared under the dust it collected ...... i turned it into a ###y 9.3x62
the only reason i would consider a 308 is because of all the cheap "surplus " coming in , but i'm pretty sure most of it is steel cased and fmj , so pretty much useless for hunting .... and if a guy wanted a bolt rifle to use cheap surplus ammo , why not convert a bubba'd 303 to 7.62x39 .
what rifle do you want to purchase ?
if you where after a 5pound mountain rifle on a short action , you may only be able to get it chambered in a round that is about 2.8 inches ( ie 308 length ) .
what if you came across a 2nd hand rifle that fit you absolutely perfectly , in your budget , and was nice looking to boot , but was only chambered in 30-06 .... would you turn it down ?
a person could buy for a cartridge , but end up absolutely hating the rifle it comes in .......
the difference between a 270 , 30-06 and 308 at any distance most people can reliably kill an animal amounts to less than a few inches at best .
for power , loaded to the same pressure levels the 30-06 wins .
as for the 270 ..... i had one , it disapeared under the dust it collected ...... i turned it into a ###y 9.3x62
the only reason i would consider a 308 is because of all the cheap "surplus " coming in , but i'm pretty sure most of it is steel cased and fmj , so pretty much useless for hunting .... and if a guy wanted a bolt rifle to use cheap surplus ammo , why not convert a bubba'd 303 to 7.62x39 .
I use 87 gr hpbt for white tail or mulely in general. This is out of a 243. Used to buy 100 gr ammo at the co-op but once I started reloading I found the lighter bullet worked better.
I do not like belted rounds and will never buy one. Not really sure what I think of the rebated rims. so for this time most mag cartridges are out.
The ammo is a little easier to find but you knew what I meant no need to be snide.
- Location
- Somewhere on the Hudson Bay Coast
While the .300 magnum is a kicker, I frankly can't tell the difference between a 7 mag and a .30/06 when loaded with 175s and 180s respectively and fired in similar rifles. That doesn't matter though, what does matter is that you understand your tolerance level and work within it without being beguiled by the fancy numbers on a ballistics table. I think if you chose a 150 gr TSX/TTSX which is dimensionally similar to a 180 gr lead core bullet, and load it to 2700 fps, you would have dealt effectively with the recoil issue, without compromising either trajectory or terminal performance, regardless of which .30 caliber cartridge you prefer. In a short light rifle, a .30/06 is obnoxious in both blast and recoil, where similar performance can be realized with the same bullet in a .308 without all the drama. I like the .30/06, but use it in a full sized rifle, and when more is appropriate, I need bigger not faster.
