This is because the smaller diameter .270 Winchester shoots lighter bullets than the .308 and the .30-06. This rifle accounted for several bulls and many cow elk; my longest shot was about 225 yards. A 270 in 130 gr suffers the same shortcoming. There has been many moose found that were shot and never recovered by the hunter because of lack of a blood trail, so use what will drop it in its tracks or at least leave a good blood trail. After a very controversial selection process, the Army eventually settled on the M-14 rifle and the new 7.62x51mm NATO cartridge. The .270 is a necked down 30-06. It is my deer load. Both are also great for similarly sized game like black bear, feral hogs, javelina, mule deer, and pronghorn as well as exotic game like axis, sika, and fallow deer. I started out hunting mule deer with a borrowed Winchester 30-30 and had very good luck with it. Note: there is quite a bit of overlap with the performance of various 150 grain loads for both the .270 Winchester and .308 Winchester. So I bought a Glenfield carbine in 30-30 and fitted it with a 2-7X scope. This carbine is my favorite for deer sized animals. Ballistic data for the original 7.62x51mm military cartridge was obtained from Inetres. By the same token, the .270 has taken untold numbers of moose, elk and plains game without any issues. The .270 Winchester has a significantly longer case length (2.54â³ vs 2.015â³) as well as overall length (3.34â³ vs 2.81â³). While the 6.5 Creedmoor is somewhat considered marginal for putting down elk, the PRC surpasses the Creedmoor but out-punches the .270 Win and delivers TERMINAL energy in the same league as the .30-06 and 7mm Rem. Helped along by Jack O’Connor and the famous articles he wrote for Outdoor Life about the .270 over the years, the cartridge gradually caught on with the hunting community. Since the .308 Winchester is essentially a scaled down .30-06, with the exception of recoil (which we’ll get to in a minute) the .270 Winchester has the same advantages over the .308 as it does over the .30-06. Interestingly enough, while the .270 Winchester eventually became a gigantic commercial success for the company, aside from the .270 Winchester Short Magnum (270 WSM), the .270 Weatherby Magnum, and the 6.8 Remington SPC, virtually no other mass produced cartridges use .277″ bullets. As we have discussed throughout this article, the choice really comes down to you and your purpose that you have in mind as you choose between these two different rounds. The .270 Win is a very efficient round for most hunting, but, if I’m going for moose I want nothing less than the .30-06. It’s unclear exactly why Winchester opted for .277″ instead of the much more popular .284″ bullets. Regardless of their reasons though, the design team at Winchester went with that bullet diameter and the rest is history. If you’d like to learn more about the accuracy of the .308 Winchester and how it compares to cartridge purpose built for long range competition shooting, read this article: 6.5 Creedmoor vs 308 Winchester Debate Settled. Still others consider the .270 worthless for elk hunting and recommend nothing less than a .300 Magnum as the absolute minimum elk cartridge. Get a nice hunting rifle chambered in the cartridge that you think fits your needs the best, learn to shoot it well, use quality bullets, and you’ll be well prepared for most common hunting situations. One, lung-shot by a client with a .270, reared as might a horse then fell backward, ⦠The .270 Winchester might be the better choice for you. For that reason, users of the .308 Winchester benefit from the extensive the research and development that has gone into refining .308″ bullets and rifles for long range shooting in the United States over the last century. The US Army began the search for a new rifle and cartridge after receiving a deadly demonstration of the capabilities of the revolutionary new Mauser rifle and 7mm Mauser cartridge in the hands of Spanish troops in Cuba during 1898. For those reasons, understanding their true strengths and weaknesses can be pretty confusing at times. What’s the Difference? Elk Cartridge Showdown: .308 Win vs. .300 Win. The .308 Win, on the other hand, with a 168-grain bullet has a speed out of the muzzle of around 2700 feet per second and comes down to around 1840 at 500 yards. The 270 vs 30-06 debate has gone on for about as long as the .270 Winchester and .30-06 Springfield have existed. The original .270 Winchester load shot a 130 grain bullet at a velocity of 3,140 feet per second (2,846 ft-lbs of energy). Shot placement is the important thing. The Lyman 50th Edition (197-198, p241-245), and Hornady 10th Edition (p251-355, p474-488) reloading manuals were also used as references for the history of the cartridges and provided data to compare their size and recoil. If you’d like to learn more about how the .308 Winchester compares to the .30-06 Springfield, read the article below: 308 vs 30-06 vs 300 Win Mag: Which One Should You Be Hunting With? Some recommended products may use affiliate links. While 2900 fps sounds cool and all, a high impact velocity means the bullet will almost certainly fragment on impact when using lower-end bullets. If you’d like to learn more about the evolution of intermediate cartridges, read the article below. 150 grain, 165 grain, 168 grain, and 180 grain bullets are most popular for that cartridge. The 12 Best Cartridges for Elk Hunting. Something important to know when comparing the .270 vs .308 is that the .308 has seen a lot of military service, while the .270 is primarily a hunting round. It saw use in the military from the early 1950’s (mostly in the 7.62x51mm variation, which has small differences from the .308 Winchester) until the United States started the move over to the 5.56×45 NATO cartridge when they moved from the M14 to the M16 around the Vietnam era. Do you primarily hunt deer sized game (including black bear) at ranges less than 200 yards? But if I were to go out west and shoot long range it would be a toss up between the 308 and the 300 win mag. In this hunter’s opinion, 175 gr 280 Rem and 180 gr 308W hit a sweet spot in bullet performance. 130s have certainly proven their lethality over time, but I’m primarily a meat hunter, and I’ve been less than pleased with what 150 gr 308 does to meat. While the .270 had a very high muzzle velocity compared to other popular cartridges of the day, it was not an instant commercial success. The .270 also has a bit less recoil. Simple fact is with a premium bullet both the 270 and 7mm-08 are perfectly adequate given good shot placement. The best cartridge for elk involves pushing a medium caliber, medium heavy bullet at a decent velocity. Book an outstanding Africa hunting safari here. .270, .308, 7MM-08 are all good low recoil rounds for elk. Joined Jan ⦠Even so, the .270 Winchester has significantly more case capacity due to the much longer case used by the cartridge.Finally, the .270 Winchester has a slightly higher maximum average pressure authorized by SAAMI cartridges (65,000psi vs 62,000psi for the .308 Win). I think this is where we begin to make our biggest distinctions between the rounds. While recoil is more or less comparable between the two cartridges, typical .308 Winchester loads do not have as flat of a trajectory as typical .270 loads. ]. Aside from the Browning BAR, the .270 Winchester is almost non-existent in semi-automatic rifles. As we’ll discuss in a minute, this is partly due to the widespread use of the .308 Winchester (and other .30 caliber cartridges like the .30-06, .300 Win Mag, .300 Ultra Mag, and 300 PRC) in long distance shooting competitions. Find a tough cartridge for one of the most prized and toughest hooved big game animals around. Barrel life on a 308 is about 10,000 rounds while 6.5cm is about 3,000. Each of these platforms allow the .308 to be used in a variety of different ways and for different purposes. Recovery of the animal is a must. Do you want to hunt larger game animals like kudu, eland, red stag, elk, or moose? The .280 used to be called the 7mm express but was slow to be excepted, but the ballistics are far better from the .280 vs the .308, and as far as an Elk gun the .280 is by far the better choice. Mag. Some will argue that the 308 is better because heavier bullets are available. Even though there are 40+ years between development of the two cartridges, they share a lot in common when used for hunting in modern times. This can cause excess barrel wear and damage. How ever living on the east coast most shots are very short and there for would go with a 444 marlin, when shooting within 200 yd do not want a bullet that will travel miles. 6.5 Creedmoor. vs. 338. The .270 with a 150-grain bullet has a speed of around 3000 feet per second when leaving the muzzle. I also think the heaviest bullet for the .308 should be no more than 165 grains. We shot and compared three popular options to help you decide on the best elk cartridge for your style of hunting Similar to the abundant ammunition choices available in .308 Winchester and .270 Winchester, there are also plenty of quality rifles manufactured in the two cartridges. This means I will earn a small commission (at no extra cost to you) if you make a purchase. Thanks Brian. I have two loads I use in the 270 Win. I think this is where we begin to make our biggest distinctions between the rounds. Though some were reluctant to adopt the cartridge, many American hunters eventually came to appreciate the flat shooting characteristics of the round as well as the fact that it was so effective on thin skinned game. In summary, I had very good luck with my .308 downing elk and a couple bears but it’s too powerful for common deer at typical distances hunting the forests and foothills. Both cartridges are also well suited for handloaders and reloading components for both cartridges are widely available. However, since most modern .30-06 factory loads have a small edge in velocity (usually around 100-200fps) over .308 factory loads shooting the same weight bullet, the advantage in velocity of the .270 Winchester is even more pronounced when compared to the .308. It is a well known cartridge, capable of travelling long distances with lots of energy to knock down your intended target. The best success you have with either, will depend on your bullet. So on my next elk hunt, I`ll be using perhaps what some consider to be a more un-conventional and unpopular bullet. Remember that generally the .308 is going to hit a bit harder because of the size of the bullet. Both the .270 and .308 will work extremely well under those conditions and there is very little difference between them at short range. For target shooting, knock yourself out and take both to the range and have a ball. On the other hand, even though the 180gr .308 bullet weighs more and has a slightly higher BC than the 130gr .270 bullet, the .270 has an additional 490fps of muzzle velocity that translates into a significantly flatter trajectory and less wind drift. Not surprisingly, the .30-06 Springfield was an almost instant success in the civilian market. Like many other cartridges developed in the United States, the story of the .270 and .308 Winchester begins with the .30-06 Springfield. 3. trajectory I use the Federal premium cartridges with the Sierra 150gr gameking bullets and have never lost an animal. The .308 Winchester has the edge with these particular 150 grain loads, but there are also instances where certain 150 grain .270 Winchester loads have the edge in terms of trajectory, retained energy, and wind drift. There are places where .22 centerfires are legal for elk. Let’s get down to it; the .308 vs .270. This is only a preference, not a requirement for me. Once again, you hit the nail on the head. The end of this Season 270 vs 308. My shots rarely exceeded 125 yards or so in the foothill country that I hunted in central Wyoming. Both cartridges will work, but the .308 Winchester is probably the better choice in this case since it uses larger diameter and heavier bullets that are well suited for very large or tough animals. While each cartridge offers certain benefits to hunters, there is also a pretty big overlap in their capabilities. Eventually, I wanted to go after elk but wanted to remain with a lever action so in 1972 I bought a Savage 99 in .308 shooting 180 grain core-lokt ammo. I’m more than happy to shoot inexpensive bullets like Speer Grand Slam (180 gr and 175 grain, respectively) out of a 308 or 280 Rem. 270 Winchester. It has around 1450 at 500 yards. By Joseph von Benedikt. Within a few decades, the .270 Winchester was firmly entrenched as one of the most popular hunting cartridges used in the United States. 270 isn't really a good option for long range target shooting. Also considered rebarreling one of my 270's to a 270x300 Win Mag. The .270 Winchester has a significantly longer case length (2.54″ vs 2.015″) as well as overall length (3.34″ vs 2.81″). 223/5.56 vs 7.62×39: Everything You Need To Know. The 7.62x51mm NATO had virtually the same ballistics as the original .30-06 Springfield load (150 grain bullet at 2,700 feet per second) and also fired a .308″ bullet. Both are very common in bolt-action rifles. After the Great War, cupro-nickel, of 60 percent copper and 40 percent nickel, became the jacket of choice.
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