.270Win vs .308Win

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IM_Lugger

New member
I'm a handgun guy...rather new to rifles…

Need some general comparison info on the two calibers. Can one do something the other won't? :confused: I understand .270 has higher energy and a little flatter trajectory. But .308 has larger diameter and heavier bullets. All things being equal which one is more accurate (esp at long distances)?

Which one has better penetration ability, grater travel distance? I'm guessing .270...

For a reloader which one is better?
 
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maddog44

New member
Both are excellent cartridges, but for power, the .270 is the more high energy round. Higher muzzle velocity and energy, due to larger case and more powder. Simple physics.
 
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Trapper L

New member
But on the other hand, the 308 has far more and better bullet selection available. The 308 for years was THE benchrest round of choice and still holds its own on the benchrest circuit. The 270 isn't noted as having benchrest accuracy and I have never heard of anybody using it for competition. But both are top notch cartridges and if I had to choose.....I'd choose both.
 
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Dave R

New member
The nice thing about being a reloader is that all cartridges become more equal. :D

From a reloading standpoint, there's a broader selection of .30 bullets than .270 bullets. And the .30 bullets will be cheaper, in some cases.

The .308 will let you use heavier bullets. Up to 200 grains. That only matters if you'll be going after bigger game.

At a given bullet weight, say, 150 grains, the .270 will have better sectional density, better ballistic coefficient, better velocity, and flatter trajectory.

The .270 will be a long action rifle, and the .308 will be a short action rifle.
 
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stillborn

New member
What if we were compareing the .270 Win with the .280 Rem? Which would be the better choice there? I read that there was a better bullet selection for the .280, being a 7mm and all... Not that it would affect me, I don't reload. Is the .280 really a better cartridge than the .270? Do they cost the same per box of rounds over the counter, or is the .270 a bit less expensive.

I would really like to get a long range round, and those are the ones I am looking at.

still



PS: sorry Dave, not trying to be a dick, I was just wondering about the .270 as well.
 
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taylorce1

New member
I like what I see with the .308 Win but I have no experience with the round other than shooting belt fed weapons in the Army. I've never found a need to own a .308 since I already own a .30-06 which is IMO a better cartridge, but only if you hand load. I just like the larger case capicity of the 06 which allows me to use a larger bullet range more effectively than the .308.

I love my .270 Win rifle and would never part with it. It works best with 130-150 grain of bullets but I can go from 90-180 grain bullets if I want to. I use 150 grain bullets for elk and 130 for anything smaller and the performance of the rifle has ben awesome to say the least. I've killed elk with one shot out to 250 yards and this last deer season bagged my buck at 560 yards with a single shot. The .270 hits hard and I've never recovered a bullet from any animal I've shot with this cartridge, and have had to track very few.

You probably won't go wrong with either rifle so you should buy both and form your own opinions. I'm a little biased towards the .270.

stillborn, to answer your questin the .280 will average $5-10 more per box than the .270 and isn't as common in small town stores. I've owned both and you will find little difference between the two as there is only .007 difference in bullet diameter and I chose the .270 as my keeper. If you don't want to start reloading then the 7mm Mag would be a better choice for ammo availibilty over the .280.
 
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Jimro

New member
Between the 270 and the 308 it depends on if you want a target rifle or a hunting rifle.

If you want a target/tactical rifle then 308 is the standard choice. Lots of match ammunition available, lots of match grade components for reloading.

If you want a hunting rifle that might occaisionally hunt elk then the 270 is a fine choice as I feel less recoil from a 270 than I do from a 308 or 30-06. Barnes X bullets and Winchester Failsafes are copper hollowpoints which stay together with the high velocity generated by the 270.

The 308 will also take elk, but there will be a little more arc at range.

Jimro
 
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44 AMP

Staff
.270 vs .308

Very little practical difference in the terminal effectiveness of the rounds. Both are long time proven performers in the game fields.

As far as accuracy goes, one round being "more inherently accurate" than another is something only benchrest shooters can tell, or take advantage of. It is the individual rifles for each one that determines the practical accuracy.

Flat shooting? Both do pretty well, the .270 being slightly better, but the difference is not enough to cause a miss with the .308 where you would get a hit with the .270. Either one will perform better than most shooters can take advantage of.

Bullet selection is where the .308 has an edge. Even sticking to factory loads there are more choices of bullet weight available in .308.

Rifles; this is where the real differences show. The .308Win is available in every type of action, in a wide variety of features. The .270 is more limited. While the .270 has been put in everything at one time or another, the variety of rifle models is no where near as great. And being a short action round, the exact same rifle in .308 will be slightly (1/2in approx) shorter than a .270 with the same barrel length. If you are into short barrel rifles, the .308 does not lose as much of it's velocity as the .270 does when you shorten the bbl.(generally).

As a hunting round, there are significant differences on paper, but not nearly so much practical difference in the field. I handload, and own other .30 cal rifles, so I would go with the .308 (I have bolt, lever, and semiauto .308s), but there is no reason to choose one over the other except for personal preference for one rifle (not cartridge) over another.
 
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SavageSniper

New member
The .270 is also my weapon of choice. Jack O'Conner got me hooked on it as a kid. I have never figured out why the .270 never shows up at matchs. I suppose that it is reloading and popularity do to the .308 being a military round. Sure Ain't a performance issue.
 
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biglabsrule

New member
sounds to me like you want a .30-06...
same large diameter as the .308 with the same large case and powder as a .270 basicaly... best of both, and if you're new it's highly versatile. Ammo can be had cheaply with surplus, and commercial comes in varmit rounds to huge rounds for bears...
 
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robc

New member
30-06

nuf said.

Original post mentioned handloading. If that's the case, I'd imagine you can make any of them as accurate as you want, given enough time and effort. I think the 06 provides more opportunity for variety. I think you can even go up to 220 grain bullets now. Someone else can correct me on that. Besides, in a pinch there will ALWAYS be 30-06 ammo at the corner store in whatever little town you find yourself in on a hunting trip. Every big game hunter should have a 30-06. It's just the coolest. :cool:
 
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Ruger4570

New member
Someone given 4 guns, 2 being 308 and 2 being 30-06, chances are one 06 will be every bit as accurate as one of the 308's. Rifle accuracy is more in the barrel rather than the cartridge. For most purposes, either the 270 or the 308 will work fine. The problem gets to be with those that will claim that 50 fps in bullet travel is important and just sorta muddy up the water. I understand we all have our favorite guns and calibers from 243's and up and hate to see someone bashing them. Personally, if I KNOW I am going to have a long shot, I use my 7MM Rem Mag. Close up shots, my 45-70 with some hot loads. Anything in between I use a 35-284 with 225 gr or 250 gr bullets.
.
 
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joshua

New member
The 270 Win wins the power and trajectory department. The 308 is a better choice for bigger game such as elk and moose as long as range is not extreme. We can argue penetration all day long, but as long as you are comparing similar sectional density it is moot. The 308 is a lot more easier on barrels than the 270, but the 270 is not overly overbore. josh
 
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Servo77

New member
It's not that the .308 is more accurate, its that you find it much more often chambered in guns designed for extreme accuracy and will find more factory ammo geared for match accuracy. The .270 is a hunting rifle. It earned its reputation in the hunting fields. Most hunters aren't going for extremely tight groups, so most of the .270 (as well as non-match .308's) loads are made with terminal performance in mind....not insane accuracy.

I think one reason that the .308 has been taken too in "match" shooting is that it will fit a shorter action. IT seems a lot of benchresters prefer short cartridges...maybe it's because a short action is stiffer or something that helps make the gun more stable. I dunno.


Unless you are shooting a match grade rifle, I forsee no difference in accuracy in with similar quality of ammo.
 
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FirstFreedom

Moderator
I'm a big fan of the .270 win. It has BC/SD (and therefore penetrative power and energy retention) in bullet offerings that are light enough to have an excellent (straight) trajectory (130-150 grainers). It is equally as accurate in equal platforms (apples to apples). Plus it has a large powder capacity giving it that extra oomph. But .308 is great too - you summed up pretty well the differences already - it's more or less 6 of one, half dozen of the other, however.
 
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Picher

New member
The .270 Win has great trajectory and using 130 grain Nosler Ballistic Tip bullets or similar, can be sighted in to be within 3" of point of aim out to 300+ yards. That's huge when it comes to deer and antelope hunting in open spaces.

I own a .270 Win because I like to shoot a lot and primarily hunt deer. The 90 grain mild loads using 4895 are lots of fun. IMHO, it seems to kill a bit quicker than the .30-06 or .308 on similar shot placements, at least with my 3,260 fps handloads.

The lighter bullets, starting with the superbly accurate 90 Grain Sierra HP, to the 115 grain bullets made by several companies make great heavy varmint hunting rounds. I use the 90 grain HPs for informal target shooting like turkey and running deer shoots. My rifle will group them at 1/4". Still, the optimal bullet in the .270 Win is the 130 grain. It will kill critters up to Mule Deer very well out 300 yards and whitetail deer beyond 400 in the hands of a competent long-distance shooter.

The .308 Win is a very accurate cartridge, but using hunting loads and sporter rifles, not necessarily more accurate than the .270 Win. It's best uses for hunting is as a short to medium range cartridge used in semi-autos, pumps, and short-action bolt guns. It was developed for use in the M-14, I believe. The 150-165 grain bullets shine in this cartridge. For target use, it's got the edge over the .270 or .280 when using lighter loads due to the smaller case capacity and better powder burning with reduced loads.

The .280 Rem is a fine cartridge that is a somewhat better than the .270 with 150-180 grain bullets. It doesn't seem to do as well as the .270 Win with bullets lighter than 120 grains. If you intend to handload, it's a great round that will do (or outdo) anything the other two can offer when it comes to bigger whitetail deer and most other North American animals.

Picher
 
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Jseime

New member
In my opinion the .270 is the best roud available for deer hunting. They tell me that the .280 is suerior as a round but at 300 yards the deer wont know the difference between a .277" bullet and a .284" bullet. Since I already have a .270 there is no need for me to go get a .280 because they are really really close.

If I were you looking to a long range hunting rifle my choices in order would go something like this:

.270 Win.
.260 Rem.
.280 Rem.
.25-06 Rem.
7mm Rem. Mag

If you are looking for a pure target rifle go with the .308 it has proven itself but i think there are better choices available for hunting.
 
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muddhogg

New member
I'm new to the .270 scene and have never owned a .308 but have shot them before. When I was in the market for a hunting rifle I though for a while that I was going to get a .308 and be like snipers, swat, marines, etc... but all I ever heard from most avid hunters was how great the .270 was. So I bought one and love it. After looking at the ballistics I am impressed, this is a great round.

On a funnier side note, since my bro in law and father in law both use and swear by there .308's they challenged me to a shoot off. We all put in our $1 bill and had a best 2 out of 3 from 100 yards. I WON! And I expect them both to go buy .270's now! I had the pot of $3 that day, so lunch was on me! :D

We shot at some one inch steel that day as well to see what kind of penetration both offered. I was shooting 130's in the 270, and they were shooting 150's and 160 somethings in the the .308. The penetration was the same to the naked eye, but "seemed" a little deeper with the 270 when measured with the thumb.

Either one is good, I just like ribbing these guys that I do more with less. Kind of like the 6 point deer I killed last week with the 270, after I shot him in the toe nail :D It even skinned and processed him!:eek: (I really did kill one last week! First kill with the 270, 1 shot)
 
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