308 or 270

[jay77]

I plan on getting a new rifle soon. im just not sure what caliber i should buy. I plan on hunting hog and deer with it, and having some fun at the range with it so i want it to be accurate. to atleast 400 yards. what do you recommend? 308 or 270. I have heard good things about both of these calibers. butI'm still not sure what to get. I already own a 243. If you can recommend a few rifles aswell around $800- 1000 that would be sweet[&:]

[starhunter21]

Tikka T3 lite, .270 w/ a conquest 3x9. The .270 is a bit flatter, but both will get the job done. .308 will give you a bit more bullet selection, but for hogs and deer you are more than covered.

[Badger Boy]

i personally love my .270win. Its accurate to about 600m with practice and supposedly out to about 800 with skill. The great thing about the .270 is that it has light recoil and a relatively trajectory. Both have the same content in grains with the .308 having more options in bullet weight and probably is going to be found cheaper.

any remington 700 would be a great choice, design is your preference and determine the cost. the cheapest is the 700 SPS which starts at like .450

good luck!

[Folically Challenged]

ORIGINAL: jay77

I plan on getting a new rifle soon. im just not sure what caliber i should buy. I plan on hunting hog and deer with it, and having some fun at the range with it so i want it to be accurate. to atleast 400 yards. what do you recommend? 308 or 270. I have heard good things about both of these calibers. butI'm still not sure what to get. I already own a 243. If you can recommend a few rifles aswell around $800- 1000 that would be sweet[&:]

Technically, your .243 would do the hogs, deer, & range fun, too. And with lots o' relatively inexpensive factory ammo choices, too!

.308 or .270 would also give you lots of inexpensive ammo choices, and a virtually endless combination of rifle platforms from which to choose. M-14's & AR's can be had in .308, just in case that tickles your fancy. Go to a place with tons of rifles, & shoulder all the ones that "speak" to you. The one that "feels" best to you is the one to get. Unless it's the dirt-cheapest model of any particular mfgr., they'll all do about as well as the others.

This could well turn into an 8 page sniping war between the cartridge partisans. Either cartridge will do what you're looking for, though, & you'd have an awfully hard time choosing any truly meaningful differences between the two.

Get a quarter, & flip it!

FC

[Pavomesa]

Both are great....no...more than great. Superb cartridges. Both will do what you're looking for. The 270 can be a little bit faster and flatter, especially at 300 yds and beyond. But the .308 can counter this by being somewhat more versatile with the fantastic range of bullets for 30 caliber. I've got a Winchester 270 that is super and a .308 in Ruger that has been a fine rifle. Both fit your priceline. But you can include CZ, Remington, Savage and I'm sure a few others. Every serious gun maker offers both calibers.

You won't go wrong.

[salukipv1]

never been a big fan of the .308, though plenty of guys love it, personally id rather have a .30-06 than a .308, if considering a .308 case....id be looking at the 7mm-08 or .243 win.

[TUK101]

I have both and its kind of like apples against oranges or Chevy vs. Ford. Both are great and it really depends on what brand of gun you feel most comforatable with. The 308 does have a larger bullet selection though and is easier a hair cheaper to handload due to about a 10gr. difference in powder capacity.

[Pavomesa]

ORIGINAL: salukipv1

never been a big fan of the .308, though plenty of guys love it, personally id rather have a .30-06 than a .308, if considering a .308 case....id be looking at the 7mm-08 or .243 win.

Salukipv - I used to feel exactly as you do about the .308 and basically looked at itas an /06 "imposter." 90% of my hunting life I've owned and used the /06 as pretty much my go-to gun and it's never let me down. And then a shoulder injury and resulting surgery left me a little recoil sensitive to what my /06 could dish out for about a year. During that time I got rid of my /06 and figured I could never shoot one comfortably again. (Happily I was wrong) Anyway, months after the /06 was gone I gat a heavy bbl Ruger 308 practically given to me in a trade by a guy who just had to have something else I owned. I had so little respect for the .308 that I took it to a smith and told him to chop off all but 19 inches of that big heavy barrel as I wasn't dragging that muzzle heavy thing around the rest of my life.

After that and in spite of my savagery, I discoveredthis .308 was still a tack driver and one of the most accurate rifles I ever owned. Furthermore, for the hunting I was doing and the bullets I was shooting, it really would equal an /06 on most things and do it with less powder and seemingly less recoil.

Ultimately I came to love and respect the thing and I think that is pretty much the story of the .308. It's a rifle that grows on a fellow and if you don't shoot critters that demand bullets heavier than 165 grains, the 308 is really all in the world a guy needs. It's not a spectacular cartridge but it is for sure avery good one. They will do a fine job on anything from elk or black bear on down to jackrabbits and for accuracy they will outshoot 95% of the guns out there. Super efficient cartridge.

[cjwink]

308...If your going with a bolt action you can get the benefit of a shorter rifle by going with the shorter cartridge...

[vaughnm]

If that were my choice, I'd go with the 308.