308 Winchester or 270?

Dogleg said:
Being a lonely bunch keeps the 270s in production. The Win is dug in for keeps and been a staple since about 1927. The Weatherby has kept chugging away in its specialty bouteque market. The 270 WSM hit a triple Whammy by being faster, mainstream and a short action. The 6.8mm? Don't know, don't care.

The 7mms are great, but that pie has been sliced so many ways that nothing but the Rem Mag has a prayer. They come and go faster than Joe Average learns of their existence. Enthusiasts don't keep a cartridge viable by themselves. The only faster way to get a cartridge to fail than make another 7mm is to stamp Remington on it.
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Bought a mini 14 in 6.8 spc.....yes thats 6.8 rem spc. Half a 270, 200 yd deer caliber. Slightly ahead of 7.62x39, so maybe a more apt comparison to 308. Pushes say 2500 with a 110gr .277.

Always wanted a mini, just not a 223. Had to be more practical and useable. Having scored a good supply of cases my two issues are finding light projectile, and Bill Rugers voluntary mag limits.

Might not be a problem as i have 5 ruger brand oem 5rd mags, and have been getting into cast. The 130gr mold would probably at the edge of gas check cast useability.
 
The .270’s whole reason it is effective is it doesn’t use the heavy for caliber, stiffly constructed bullets we’re moving towards for their generally higher BCs and an undue concern with weight retention. .270 embodies the philosophy speed and rapid expansion kills, and sacrifices bullet weight to realize that. In that vein it’s remarkably effective at realizing quick kills, seen too much evidence to deny it. And I used to hate the .270 ten years ago when everything I shot except .375 was a wildcat or niche with a fast twist rate and sleek bullets. .308 embodies the utter middle ground of ballistics, and provides mid spectrum performance admirably. Usually that’s plenty.
 
Tough choice. Can’t go wrong with either one. I own a 270 WSM. It kicks like a mule, it’s heavy, ammo is expensive and has a really long barrel. But I love shooting it. It’s taken a few deer and it’s deadly accurate. I bought an Xbolt in 308 win this year and look forward to deer hunting with it this fall. It also shoots great. I also have a few other guns in different calibers that I enjoy hunting with. I guess I like to have options depending on what I’m doing and where I’m doing it. If I had to choose 1(and I’m glad I don’t) it would probably be the 308.
 
It might make a difference if you are hunting sheep or mule deer in open country and you are suddenly faced with a shot at 400 yards. Thats where a 270 shines. With 110 grain ttsx bullets at 3400 - 3500 fps its probably one of the flattest shooting cartridges "for the amount of recoil" you can get.
 
for a non reloader the 308 has a slight edge. a little cheaper ammo. the 270 is a little flatter shooting if it matters. this side of 250 yards i don't think you would know the difference. becomes more person preference i have multiples of both and tend to grab the 308 more often.
 
todbartell said:
I've tested lots of factory ammo, not too often does it match or exceed claims on the box. My 20" 6.5 Creed is pushing factory 140gr Hornady BTHP ammo at 2512 fps, rated at 2690 from 24". Temps around +5c probably don't help anything
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You lost 178 fps by having 4” less barrel. I don’t see a big problem with the advertised velocity
 
Ardent said:
Not accurate in any of the claims there. .270 handily outperforms 7mm-08, and .308 actually outperforms 7mm-08 at all hunting ranges, albeit marginally, at matched bullet weights. The incremental BC advantage of the 7mm isn’t enough to overcome the .30’s greater expansion ratio / efficiency.

Glad to OP is discussing sensible and easy to feed options. If it was me, if I saw myself principally shooting targets I’d get the .308, principally hunting, the .270. Both are the same price to feed, similar recoil, the .270 is a bit easier to work with in the field and slightly more effective if you hunt out west.
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Not a bad way to choose... East of Manitoba go with the .308, West of Manitoba go with the .270, in Manitoba, flip a coin...
 
Makes no difference out to 400 yds energy and drop basically identical. A nice compact 308 short action tough to beat as s big game rifle . No need to split hairs on ballistic jargon 308 165 and 270 150 will cleanly kill any game animal out to 400 yds
 
I’ve never shot a .308. Sure like my .270 win, though. No need to bother with a 308 if you have a .270. No need to bother with a .270 if you have a .308.
 
pete dobinson said:
It might make a difference if you are hunting sheep or mule deer in open country and you are suddenly faced with a shot at 400 yards. Thats where a 270 shines. With 110 grain ttsx bullets at 3400 - 3500 fps its probably one of the flattest shooting cartridges "for the amount of recoil" you can get.
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I swapped from 160 accubonds at 2950 to 120 ttsx at 3380 in my 280ai for sheep this year. 400 yard MPBR is pretty cool. I have other rifles with big scopes and sleek bullets that you can dial with but for hunting I like quick and simple.
 
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The game won’t know or care about which one you choose.

Keith followers vs O’Conner followers, that’s all you’ve got here, there’s a reason both cartridges are chambered in damn near every factory rifle offered, and that’s because they just plain work!

Let’s debate something else like 7x57 vs .275 Rigby............
 
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