convince me one way or the other. will be hunting mostly white tail and axis.

personally i would choose the 270 because my dad shot a 270. flatter shooting.

but, it just comes down to personal preference. no other reason.

.270 - flatter shooting, possibly less meat damage due to lighter bullets, will take almost all game in the U.S. (and the world), can find ammo anywhere

.30-06 - will take almost all game in the U.S. (and the world), extreme variety in bullet styles and weights, nostalgia (basically the father of every single sporting round used in the U.S.), can find ammo anywhere

It's a toss up and comes down to your preference. I use a .270 mostly, but have a .30-06 as well.

[This message has been edited by Log (edited 10/11/2006 11:27a).]

I use a .270, but if I had to replace that rifle, I'd get a .270 WSM (short mag). Hard to improve on the old .270 or the 06, but the ballistics on the .270 WSM are impressive. Just don't get caught out in the field without a couple extra boxes of shells.

I have both as well; you can’t go wrong with either gun. As posted before the .270 is flatter shooting and has a smaller bullet but does enough damage to kill large animals. Once again preference.

The only thing I could think of that might come up is if you decide to go for larger game: Elk or Moose. I believe some states require .30 caliber minimum. Maybe someone else can confirm or refute this.

If I could only have 1 rifle (anf thank God that is not the case) it would be a .30-06 for all the reasons above. It was the first centerfire rifle I bought.

There have been many a moose and bears and plenty of elk to fall to the '06 in the hands of decent marksmen.

How many times has this specific question been asked?
Jeez! Aren't y'all tired of it yet?

" Big coons walk at night !"

.270 has less recoil, but I like my '06. When talking about "flatter shooting .270's", they only get about a 1/2" at 200 yards, and maybe 1" or so at 300 better than the '06, but that is with a 140 vs. a 165 grain bullet. Put a 165 in a .270, and the 30-06 will be flatter b/c you'll have to reduce your powder charge to keep the pressures safe.

They don't make 165's in .270 do they?

" Big coons walk at night !"

They don't make 165's in .270 do they?

" Big coons walk at night !"

I also have both and prefer the .270 due to the recoil facter. It also seems to be a smoother shooting rifle. Both have been my favorite over many years of white tail hunting.

I don't think so. It was a theoretical.

i have never found there to be any less recoil in a 270 over a 30-06. i think they are the same.

Oh yeah, .270 is less. Shoot them enough on the bench, and you will notice.

I'm going to guess that the standard .270 and .30-06 load both have about the same amount of powder in the casing. Recoil is a function of a.) the amount of powder, b.) the weight of the bullet, c.) the weight of the gun, and d.) the shape of the stock. If you are shooting twin Remington 700's (or Winny 70's, Ruger 77's, etc. for that matter) in .270 and .30-06, and use 150 grain ammo of the same brand in each, recoil is going to be almost exactly the same. I think some of y'all that are noticing a difference in recoil are shooting rifles that have different weights and stock designs, combined with different ammo loads.

6 to one, half dozen to the other.

There is a definite recoil difference but I don't find shooting a 30-06 that bad so I don't think that's a huge difference.

I really think this is a personal preference issue because very few of us will ever push our rifles to the edge of their performance envelopes where the differences would make a difference. Shooting a deer or elk out to 200 yards the performance will be almost identical as long as you are using good ammunition with a quality bullet and good ammunition is readily available in both calibers.

I would hope that a 30-06 would not cause anyone to have "recoil issues".
I mean come on guys, you're splitting hairs! For what he wants to use the rifle for it doesn't make a hill of beans which calber he chooses.

" Big coons walk at night !"

agree with Log.

My Dad has 270 and I bought a 30-06, mainly due to the flexibility.

Recoil - 270 is marginally less mainly due to bullet weight. They use the same case, the 270 is just necked down to that diameter. FYI - be very careful sighting in both at the same time on the same bench. A 30-06 will chamber and fire a .270 ... not that I ever did that. Less recoil on 270 due to less resistance from lighter bullet. But not enough to matter.

So you can't go wrong with either. But then again, why settle for one? Whoever said one gun was enough was somebody's wife. No offense to the shooting women out there. ; )

If you hunt elk in New Mexico, by law you need at least a .30 caliber, so the .270 would be out.

The 30-06 will be more flexible if you move beyond Whitetail and Axis deer.

Just do yourself a favor and go with a 7mm mag. Hunt any species around.

To parrot ARFCOM:

GET BOTH!!!!

You can't go wrong with either one.

Are you going to be shooting in brush/forest country or flat open plains? The .270s flatter trajectory benefits will be negated in brush/forest at closer ranges.

.270 WSM. You get the benefit of a 270 with another 200 fps in speed. It is plenty of gun for any kind of deer you want to kill in North America.

The WSM's: answers in search of a question. Not to say that they aren't excellent rounds, but a beginner should start with one of the classics and go from there.

[This message has been edited by Log (edited 10/11/2006 7:16p).]

270 weatherby every day.

Just to clarify - because I don't personally know - you can't use a 7mm mag in New Mexico?

And just to stay on topic and not be accused of hijacking - I would say the 270 for the flatter trajectory between the two. Quite frankly - you'll never probably notice any difference in a hunting situation.

[This message has been edited by terlingua (edited 10/11/2006 9:08p).]

I second the 7 mag. In North America, if it takes a stride, it wil die period.

From the New Mexico Hunting Rules and Regulations

Deer
Legal Sporting Arm Types
Any Legal Sporting Arm
Centerfire rifle or handgun; shotgun no smaller than 28 gauge, firing a single slug; any bow and arrows; any muzzleloader rifle.

Elk
Any Legal Sporting Arm
Centerfire rifle or handgun, .24 caliber or larger; shotgun no smaller than 28 gauge, firing a single slug; bow and arrows; any
muzzleloader rifle no smaller than .45 caliber.

Never devalue stock design when it comes to recoil. I have a Winchester Model 70 Classic with a 26" barrel and a Sako Finnbear Deluxe with a 24" barrel. Both are chambered in .264 WM. I shoot 120 grain ballistic tips in the M70 and 140 grain core-lokt in the Sako. The Sako kicks like a .22 and the M70 kicks like what you would expect from a .264 WM. My great-uncle and I had a conversation about this anomaly and he said that he has never fired a Sako that kicked very hard. Including some rifles they had re-barreled into Weatherby calibers (.300 WBY and 7mm WBY) . He said it was because of the way the stock was designed on the older rifles and that when they build guns using blank stocks they have the blanks turned to the Sako Finnbear dimensions.

.270

"Some may boast of prowess bold
Of the schools they think so great
But there's a spirit can ne'er be told
It's the Spirit of Ninety-Eight!!"

Agdog02, my 7 mag is a sako hunter, it has a significant lighter recoil compared to the Rem model 700 7 mag. I guess you get what you pay for.

Threads like this make me TIRED!!!!!!!

" Big coons walk at night !"