ORIGINAL: johnny_b_goode
Hey y'all. I'm trying to decide on which caliber to choose for my rifle. The rifle I want is the Remington 700 CDL.
But I'm having trouble deiciding on caliber. I've pretty much narrowed it down to two choices: the .270 and the 30-06. The only hunting I'd be using it for would be deer hunting, with distances no longer than 150-175yds. I know that the 30-06 drops significantly more than the .270 at distances approaching 200yds, but I'd rarely be shooting that far. I'm leaning towards the 30-06 because it has much more energy at the 100-150yd range than the .270. I like the idea of having plenty of stopping power, because if my shot is a little off, the deer won't go far at all. I don't so much mind the recoil factor, but I know target shooting would be a literal pain.
Any thoughts?
Yes. This debate over which of these two is better has been going on since 1926, when Winchester started chgambering the old Model 54 for it! It will never be resolved!! The truth is, "there's not a dime's worth of difference between them"
!The .30/'06's trajectory is NOT significantly steeper than the .270's if you use the same weight bullet in each. Regardless of WHICH bullet weight you use in either the '06 or the .270, there's no more than 100-200 FPS difference in MV between any of them!
The .30/'06 would provide a slight advantage over the .270 IF you were to hunt elk, moose, or brown/grizzly bear. No advantage at all if all you ever shoot is deer! For shooting deer, the BEST cartridge is the one chambered in the rifle you happen to be carrying at the time you get a shot (except for perhaps the .22 rimfire!)
However, when loaded with good bullets, like the Nosler partition, the .270 will kill ANYNorth American game animal, and most African species as well. And usually with one shot! The .270 has less recoil than the '06, and is very accurate. It is NOT foot-pounds of energy that kills game, it is bullet placement!
For your purposes, the .270 is very adequate. I used a .270 carbine with 20" barrel and a .375 H&H Magnum both for three years while living in Alaska. For some reason, it seemed like every time I got a shot at big game, I was carrying that little carbine loaded with 150-grain Nosler Partition bullets at 2800 FPS MV. That .270 killed everything I shot it at, generallywith one shot.
I did have to shoot a bear with it twice one time, but that was because my first shot was too far back!