New Rifle

[Fordracer2082]

I am looking to buy a new rifle within 6 days or so .I am looking at one in ether 270 Win or 308 Win. I am having problems deciding which so I am looking for any pros one has over the other to help me decide .I rifle will be many for deer and maybe Black Bear here in Maryland .I have little experience with rifles all I have shot are 22 and 30-30.

 

[kstone803]

.270 Its all i hunt deer with and I love it. I had a similar situation when purchasing my last rifle but it was between the .270 and .30-06. I love the .270. Shoots great and doesn't kick too hard

 

[fivepointstar]

If you decide on a .270 Win let me know, I'm selling my Winchester M70 in that caliber. I wanted to go hunting this season and give it a try but I changed my mind and decided to buy my meat at the market. Its used in good cond. Sorry I can't help you more, this is my first hunting rifle.

 

[mikec]

The .270 is based on the .30-06 round and is built on what is called a long action. The .308, which is a shorter round, is built on the short action.

You would have to compare the bullet weights and ballistics of each round for the game you intend to hunt.

You might want to venture to a shop and see how each feels to you.

 

[Russ D]

I prefer the .308 over the .270 unless you plan on hunting large opne areas where shoots over 300 yrds. are common. For anythign under that I prefer the .30 cal bullet because of the versatility of the many different factory loaded ammunition. It's also gonna be a short action more compact rifle that's easier to carry quicker to cycle. My go to hunting gun is a Ruger Compact in .308. It's short, light, and still shoots respectable groups with Hornady accubonds. Honestly though both will do the job very well.

 

[E.Shell]

With proper hunting bullets, either one is perfect for MD's big game. Find one that you like, as Russ did, and you're GTG.

 

[alucard0822]

The .270 is based on the .30-06 round and is built on what is called a long action. The .308, which is a shorter round, is built on the short action.

You would have to compare the bullet weights and ballistics of each round for the game you intend to hunt.

You might want to venture to a shop and see how each feels to you.

270s parent case is the 30-03, the slightly longer precursor to the 30-06. All else being equal the 270 shoots flatter and bucks the wind better at longer ranges, but the 308 is no slouch, has a shorter action and has a larger selection of bullets and loads, basically where the 270 stops right about a 150gr at 2850FPS, the 308 starts all the way to 180gr, basically the old lighter/faster vs heavier and slower. I like them both, either will serve you well.

 

[Todd v.]

Or there's always the .270 WSM.. A .270 on a short action, for some reason the round never really took off, but I bought mine probably 6 years ago or so and it's my goto for hunting. It's a pretty good round for any of the larger game in this region. 3,000+ Ft/lbs and around 3000-3200 FPS depending on bullet weight, it's a flat shooter.

 

[Redneck]

I compare ballistics all day long, thanks to the app on my iphone, and its .270 for me all the way. For hunting, I don't think you can find a better, more versitile, round out there. JMO

 

[Mossyoak]

I have both but prefer the .270 for deer hunting. Both will take down a deer, it's your choice. My brother-inlaw hunts with me and has the .270 WSM but he has a hard time finding good ammo for it, not stocked most places.

 

[Fordracer2082]

Thanks everyone I think I'm going with the 270 win

 

[Russ D]

Thanks everyone I think I'm going with the 270 win

Picking the right rifle is more important than deciding between those two calibers. Are you going to be shooting large open areas or in thick woodlands? Blind/stand hunting or stalking?

 

[E.Shell]

I compare ballistics all day long, thanks to the app on my iphone, and its .270 for me all the way. For hunting, I don't think you can find a better, more versitile, round out there. JMO

No argument, it is a very effective cartridge, and I too am very much interested in ballistics, BUT, if we consider that:

1)....deer are quite easy to kill and that black bear are not considered to be all that tough either, any cartridge legal for big game works fine with a well placed bullet, and

2)....ranges are typically short, most often inside 100 yards, making choices based on drop differences measured in inches and fractions of inches becomes much more a mind game than useful data, and

3)....deer shot broadside are only 8-12" thick though the vital areas, and even a .223 (with a decent bullet) will go through every time, all we need is something slightly heavier for the occasional less-than-perfect aspect angle and penetration is sufficient with anything that makes minimum legal power, and

4)....thousands of deer are killed every year with nothing but a sharp stick (archery),

we see that it is ALL about projectile placement and shooter proficiency (the ability to make the shot and the good judgment to select their shots).

The stories we hear about deer absorbing huge amounts of energy ("I shot him three times with my .300 Winchester!!!") are *always* cases in which the deer was shot poorly, missed completely or the hunter did not know how to track a fatally hit deer, while the hunter will admit to neither and tends to blame equipment.

The stories we hear about the very distant shots are very often, not always but very often, a bit of a stretch (of the truth). Honestly, most folks simply cannot estimate range accurately beyond 200 yards, which is well within the "point blank" range of the properly sighted-in .308, .270 and three dozen other perfectly suitable calibers.

In 40 years of killing deer from one end of this state to the other, in VA, WV and PA, I have had to *try* to get shots beyond 300 yards (and most have been between 25 and 75 yards), and after many evenings around the proverbial campfire, I've pretty much come to the conclusion that the more experience a hunter has, the less he cares about what caliber he shoots. Even my .22-250 has accounted for a large number of deer shot under crop damage permits and when someone begins to over-analyze the relative effectiveness of the myriad of perfectly good calibers, I just have to chuckle, and reach for my varmint rifle.

JMHO, but I am much more concerned with making the right choice of optics, choosing a well-fitting rifle I can shoot well and using a decent hunting bullet than I am about a couple hundred feet per second, a few inches more or less drop or a few grains of bullet weight one way or the other. I've narrowed my MD big game rifles down to two: a light handy carbine with aperture sights or very low-powered scope for very thick cover, and a light handy rifle with a 3.5-10x scope for everything else. While I have "played" with many rifles while killing deer, I can't think of even one that couldn't have been taken with one or the other of these rigs.

In the case of the OP here, I believe that we complicate things unnecessarily if we worry too much about the cartridge, and we're splitting hairs. We get to a point that we cannot see the forest for the trees, and the same effort invested in learning to shoot well and about half of that on wood lore will yield far more deer than getting bogged down in the minutia of ballistic analysis. Finding a well fitting rifle that is easy to shoot accurately is really about all that is needed to decide between two such similar calibers.

 

[Llyrin]

If you haven't decided on the model, might I suggest the Marlin XL-7 (long action .270) or the XS-7 (short action .308). They're lightweight and comfortable, with a nice recoil pad and a smooth bolt. I have the .270. It looks a lot like the Savage model 10. The synth stock is a bargain price - wood a bit more. When I was still looking for one locally, Dan at Gun Connection said he was considering stocking them for deer season.

 

[Fordracer2082]

I got a mossberg 100 atr in 270 win with a center point 4-16x40mm scope

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[05dodgedaytona]

Nice rifle.

 

[fivepointstar]

Congratulations!! It looks great

 

[Inigoes]

Nice rifle, Congrats

 

[Fordracer2082]

thank you. now i can't wait to try it out . it ran me under $400 for everything at walmart

 

[Russ D]

Now buy a few different types and weights of good copper (not moly) bullets and see which she likes the best. Be sure to vary the weights as she will most likely prefer either lighter or heavier bullets.