CalHunter

Actually the OP was just trying to get ammo (pun intended) to settle his argument with his buddy as to "the best caliber for all-around hunting big game in the U.S." The OP owns a 270 and his buddy owns a 30-06. The OP is apparently moving out west which led to the arguments and his actual questions below.

His actual questions were:
I don't think this is a budget issue for the OP and is really just him wanting to settle an argument about a philosophical question of only 1 rifle in one of the 2 mentioned calibers. I happen to agree with pretty much everything posted above (aside from the snarkiness) about calibers. Each has its' merits.

For the OP, I know you kept it simple when you said "all-around hunting big game in the U.S." If you stayed in the lower 48 states, you could get by with a 270. For deer, black bear and anything smaller, I use a 270 and it works excellently.

If you're adding elk, I would tend to favor the 30-06, given your 2 caliber selections. My personal preference for elk is 338WM. Now if you're going to add Alaska with brown bear, grizzles and moose in the game picture, I would definitely use a 30-06 over a 270 if I was limited to just those 2 choices. My preference for Alaska, however, would still be my 338WM.

Aside from his 280 idea (those 280 guys), I think Salukipv1 pretty much nailed it--Keep your 270 and get something bigger in 30-375 caliber for the stuff bigger than deer.

jboy

I hunted with a guy that all he would hunt with was a 270 .I seen him kill blacktail to elk with it .I always hunted with my 30 06 and have done the same thing .For deer he would use the 130 gr.,and for elk he used the 150 gr.I in my 30 06 I just used the 150 gr.People told me the 150s were no good for elk .I took many in CO with them .A lot has to do with what you are comfortable with.The other one we hunted with only used a 7 mm mag.they all worked for us.

hunters_life

Flags and Nomercy448, in a way you are both right. Flags is by saying dead is dead. Overkill is pretty much impossible. Nomercy448 is correct in saying there are many more efficient cartridges out there that have plenty of terminal performance for whitetail. Now, where the sticky comes into play is if one reloads or not. And not only because of performance pluses that come from reloading but also being able to match up a good performing bullet to a case that the factory loads just don't put out there or they do so at an expensive cost. For whitetail, neither the .270 nor the .30-06 are needed at ranges that most hunters should not be going past. Neither is my .300wm but that doesn't make it wrong to use it.
As to the OP's question, it is a question that has been bantered around deer camps for many many years. And it will probably continue to be a heated topic among hunters for years to come. If one is limited to factory rounds then for the continental US big game species I would have to give the nod to the .30-06. While the .270 can and has dropped many elk and moose, I tend to lean toward the heavier bullet selections that the .30-06 has available in both factory selections as well as reloading.

REM_7600

.30-06 due to bullet selection even in factory loads today.

After 400 yards, look at what happens to a .270 with 150gr, the same thing happens with the '06 in 180gr. They fall like a mutha! 95% of people shouldn't be judging range at that distance, including myself. Call me a hypocrite for having taken 2 animals over 500 GPS'd KNOWN yardage with a .338 Win Mag Ballistic tip. I digress...

The .270 130gr will beat the '06 150gr at 500 yards in most factory rounds. The '06 will send out a 220gr slugger while you can't even come close to that weight in .270.

The choice is yours my friend! both the .270 and '06 will reliably take animals cleanly, even up to Moose. If you like your .270, keep it and buy a larger caliber if something bigger than elk (perhaps even moose) are on your agenda. .338 Win Mag is a very efficient cartridge but past 400 still starts to drop like a rock!

REM7600 in you guessed it '06 - (my favorite deer caliber is 7mm-08 in 120gr)

PS: my "Thors hammer" .338WM BAR has alsota ken many whitetails and mulie with 200gr BT's but it is overkill. I don't own one but I'm a believer in the .308 as a deer thumper too.

Ridge Runner

Beyond 500 yards BC outruns velocity every time......its not the cartridge its the bullet, a high BC bullet drifts and drops 30% less than a normal hunting bullet.
RR

wild bill g

Sorry but for an all round North American cartridge the 06 beats the 270. Due to the fact that there are way more bullet weights to chose from in 308 diameter. Now if we are going for flat shooting then the 270 would be the choice. As has been stated your 270 will do you just fine out west up to moose.
No mercy I am glad you were not with me when I shot my prong Horn with a 7mm Rem Mag. That said the meat loss was less than 8oz. Shot placement and bullet design have more to do with meat loss then power of gun. The perfect deer rifle arguement should be saved for another thread

Nomercy448

In absolutely no way did I criticize either cartridge for meat loss.

And you’re not alone in having harvested pronghorn with a 7RM. But there’s no denying, they sure don’t take that much cartridge to kill. I’ve taken them just as cleanly and just as far with a 7-08 and a 6.5x55 - with less powder and less recoil.

buffybr

The .270 vs .30-06 debate has been going on in hunting camps and hunters circles since Winchester introduced their .270 cartridge back in 1925. I doubt that it will be ended here. I also doubt that any animal properly hit with a bullet from either cartridge would know the difference.


My first centerfire rifle was a .30-06 that I successfully used on many deer and elk hunts. I now also have a 270 Win. I have friends that have killed dozens of elk with their .270s. One of them had his American buffalo hunt filmed for the TV show "Hunting the High Country" and he made a one shot DRT kill on a large, old bull with his .270 Win.


With the proper bullet and bullet placement, either cartridge can be successfully used for just about any North American game animals.

Father Forkhorn

30-06 gives more options in factory ammo. I'm not an experienced handloader, but probably a bit more options in that category, too, for the '06 (hand loaders correct me on this if ned be).

REM_7600

Forkhorn, I agree within a normal man's hunting ranges (400-500 yds), after that the bullets of the smaller calibers take over in wind drift and trajectory although I argue minimally on trajectory. See my latest post under "Guns", feel free to share your opinion.

REM7600

PS: And handloading isn't the end all - be all, it's just something I've chosen to give me the versatility. If SuperPerformance from Hornady shoots well, use it! If the Barnes Vortex delivers the penetration and accuracy you're looking for, use it...