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?

Pighunter56

Well, both calibers have more then enough energy to take a deer at twice that range, neither is dropping hardly at all, at 100-200 yards. Another thing for consideration, energy doesn't make up for a bad, or less perfect shot, whatever rifle you get, make sure you are good enough with it, to deliver a humane and lethal kill, to whatever you are hunting. A 30-06 in the butt, is as deadly as .270 in the leg. In all honesty, both cartridges will get the job done, for sure, it just depends on how much recoil you want to deal with, which, even then, is a tiny difference between these two cartridges. But, the choice is up to you, if you want to shoot heavier bullets, get the 30-06, if you want to hunt game with lighter bullets, get the .270

Dixie Rebel

Take a very close look at the drop charts. You'll see the 30-06 is a lot flatter shooting than you give it credit for! It is almost indistinquishable from the 270 Win, and frommy experience a better all-around hunting cartridge. In fact, the 30-06 really holds its own even against the magnums.

I'd buy the 30-06 Spfd. The"Grand ole Cartridge".

Pighunter56

Don't push it, you could make him develope an anti-magnum approach to rifle shooting. Every magnum I've seen, outperforms the 30-06, except for the .22 Mag, and centerfire pistol cartridge magnums.

Rebel Hog

You will have more availability on the .30-06 ammo, but I still prefer the .270 w/130grs for Deer.

James B

270 all the way. Perfect for deer.

Jeff Ovington

Go with the one in the middle.....The .280

cherokee_outfitters

150gr bullets in both yeah maybe close to the same. But I totally disagree if you drop a 130 in a 270 then a 150 in a 30-06 then you have a whole different class of tragectory. One is built for speed the other built for variety. It all depends on what kind of shooter you are and what kind of shots you will take. Long range I'd opt for the 270win, wanting to shoot a variety of bullets and maybe load heavy bullets I'd opt for the 30-06.

demoIL

30.06, very versitle cartridge and ammo is abundant pretty well everywhere..
I have the same gun your talking about, CDL in 30.06.. Not that yours will do the same but I got
lucky and mine was shooting 1/2 in groups with just about any ammo.

Good Luck

eldeguello

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!