It may be the oldest argument in the hunting world. The subject of countless campfire discussions. The old .270 vs .30-06 argument. Folks have been arguing this since 1925, which reminds me. This cartridge is 100 years old.
The basic truth is that I have autopsied lots of whitetail deer. They can't tell the difference.
There are small differences in the performance of each cartridge, but both are absolutely up to the task. If you deliver a well-constructed bullet into the vitals of any medium game, the fun is over and the work begins.
So, Happy Birthday to the .270 Winchester. It's been 100 years and still going strong. It's one of the greatest cartridges ever developed. Is it any better than its parent .30-06? The deer, or for that matter the elk, certainly can't tell the difference.
6 comments:
I don't have personal experience with .270.
Having said that, I generally prefer heavier cartridges over light fast ones. As I've heard it said of .45 ACP: you don't lose mass at distance.
I feel that 30-06 is more common, has more uses, and is cheaper so use it if you can over a niche cartridge.
Jonathan
I also have never used the .270 caliber for hunting. But it is not just a niche cartridge. Many of my hunting buddies used it. I have mostly used a 12 gauge shotgun with slugs for hunting, sometimes backed with 00 buckshot. It has never failed either.
I have also killed a deer with my dad's 30/40 Krag rifle, which was also up to the task. The last time I carried a rifle, it was borrowed from my daughter. It was a Remington, in .243 caliber. I didn't shoot a deer with it, but in practicing before the season I found it to be a mild mannered round with plenty of power to kill cleanly.
As is typical my last whitetail buck that I harvested was with a shotgun and on shot with a 1 oz. sabot slug. From about 60 yards it didn't drop any, and the deer dropped in it's tracks like you see on those hunting shows on TV.
I split the difference with my last bolt rifle and got a .280. It’s also a great cartridge. If you look up SAAMI pressure specs you will see the.270 is loaded hotter than either of the other two, and a bit of research shows the.280 came on the market at a lower pressure because it was first available in semi automatics. All 3 rounds use the same basic case. A few years later I had the rifle rechambered to .280 Ackley. Now it is nearly a.300 magnum in 7mm. All the gun I could ever need.
Completely off topic: Louisiana Hamas terrorist buster for October 7 involvement.
https://www.newsmax.com/newsfront/hamas-october-7-2023-israel/2025/10/17/id/1230817/
One of my sons used a Remington .280 to kill his very first deer. He was with his stepdad in KY, and he was only 9 years old.
I had uncles who would argue over the merits of their favorite rounds. I listened to decades of .280 Rem v .30-06.
They both agreed that .270 Win was anathema.
So, of course I gravitated to it!
It doesn't hurt that Wal Mart often has it in stock long after other rounds disappear during panics.
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