I would vote for the .308. Cheaper bullets and plenty of plinking ammo.

Tom

Another vote for the 7mm-08.

firstshot
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Make your first shot count!

.270 or .270 WSM!

id go with the 270 or a 30 06

I own a 7mm 08 and a 270 wsm. I love both guns and have killed 2 deer already this year with the 270. However, I would recomend the 7mm-08 as a first rifle.

IMHO it is superior to the 270 for the situation you describe for the followingreasons:

1)lighter
2)the average shooter will be more accurate with the decreased recoil

The 270 does not kill deer any deader than the 7 while the 7 has the above advantages.
Quality ammo should not be too hard to find.All of the mom and pop shops I have visited carry it.

The disadvantage to the 7 is all the yahoo's that will tell you that you need to get a real gun like a 30-06 because how can you possibly dispatch bambi with a 140 grains of certian death from a pea shooter like a 7-08.

All of that being written, you will kill plenty of deer with a 243, 270, 30-06, 308 or whatever you choose. The differences in ballistics between these calibers don't have any practical application for the average hunter. If you have friends with different calibers try theirs and decide which caliber makes you happy.



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You may call that a disadvantage but personally I enjoy seeing those yahoos shut their mouths after the animal hits the ground.

We also have both the .270 and 7-08 in our home. We got the 7-08 for my wife last year and she shot 3 deer with it. all dropped in their tracks at about 100 yrds. She is staying home this year, pregnant, but her gun is heading to the woods with me. I am a believer in the 7-08.

Are the following true - or pretty close to true? I'm not arguing any advantages or disadvantages, but am just curious as to whether my understanding is accurate (note when I say "virtually the same" I don't mean "exactly", but pretty darn close, no functional difference):

30-06 and .308: Same (.308 inch) bullet, virtually same amount power behind the bullet. Difference is that the .308 uses a "short" action casing - virtually the same capacity as the 30-06, but shorter and "fatter".

7mm and .270 - virtually the same diameter bullet. I think the .270 is .277 inch and 7 mm calulates into .276 inch (but I've seen it written that it's a .284 inch, and I don't understand how 7mm could give .284). Either way, virtually the same - they both round to .28 to the thousanths of an inch!

The .270 Winchester is a 30-06 casing necked down to the smaller .270 bullet - therefore, generally uses a lighter bullet with the same powder - it goes faster and flatter.

The 7mm-08 is "based" on the .308 case. Is this the same principle as the 30-06: .270 relationship? - an actual .308 size case necked down to a 7mm bullet? To me this would give the 7mm-08 very similar performance to the .270 Winchester - but I don't think that is true. The 7mm-08 doesn't seem to compete in terms of speed or trajectory with the .270, leading me to think it's a different casing than the .308 with less capacity??

Maybe the .308 casing is lower capacity than the 30-06 casing; therefore the 7-08 is a little less powerful than the .270?

Just musing and wasting time!

The 7mm bores do indeed use .284" bullets.Rounding to the thousandth, the 270win uses a .277" bullet and the 7mm-08 uses a .284" bullet for a difference of .007".

another vote for the 7mm-08. My local wal-mart carries ammo forit as well. It's becoming more popular around here. Light recoil, hard hitting short action cartridge. IMO, its one of the best for whitetail deer. It's certainly no "pea-shooter".

i picked up a savage 110 package with a cheap scope, and sling, in the 7mm-08. right out of the box i was damn near dead on with 1" at 100 yards. the whole thing cost me about $360. My 30.06 now only see's action in inclimate weather (syn stock).

Nothing wrong with a 270 however, but you may as well get a 30.06 instead. Little bit betterselection ofammo and you can always hunt bigger game. just my $.02