LouisianaHunter

I have been raised on .30 caliber guns from my father and grandfather. I own a 30-30 and a .308. I was looking to buy a 30-06 as my next gun, however, with the introduction of the WSM' s my thoughts have changed. I am also open to the 270 and 7mm.

My hunting situation has always been in woods with probably 90%+ of my kills being under 125 yds. I plan to buy a Browning A-Bolt but I am unsure of the caliber. With the conditions stated should I stick with the standard 270 / 30-06 or opt for the wsm in 270 or 7mm?

dodger02

I don' t really see the need for a magnum, conventional or WSM, if your kills are under 200yds. Magnum ammo costs more, and I don' t see a benefit in using a magnum round to kill a 200# animal 100yds away. It' s unnecessary.

However, that' s just me.

I bought an A-bolt in .270 a while back. Love it.

If it' s purely a deer gun, lot' s of people will recommend the .280, as well as the 7mm-08.

Diversify your portfolio, yet don' t let people talk you into a .300WinMag or something grotesque like a .338 or .375H&H. There are some weirdos on here.

skeeter 7MM

For deer only and your range I really don' t see the need to add an 06' , as the 308 win will more than handle these duties with a 30 cal bullet offering. If ammo selection/availablity/price is a concern I would look at a 270 win or 7mm rem mag. Both will work fine, the 7 rem mag will allow to tackle bigger game easily if a consideration. If the ammo is no concern either of the wsm would be ok, I' d probably opt for 7 WSM just to give you greater flexibilty for the future.

LouisianaHunter

The .308 does a fine job, it is a Browning BLR lever action that I bought 12 years ago to use while running dogs. The club I am in now is still hunt only and I was wanting to get a bolt action as we do have two pipe lines that offer longer shots but I stay in the woods mostly. Everything would be fine if I had bought the A-Bolt Classic hunter in 30-06 two years ago but now that I have the money Browning only offers the classic hunter in the wsm calibers. I can get it in the regular hunter but I like the satin stock of the classic. So if I go with the reg. hunter I will get the 30-06 but if I get the Classic then I have to opt for a wsm caliber.

I was just trying to get opinions on the wsm' s, if people thought they would catch on like the 270 and 30-06.

bigcountry

You sound like a man that wants a new toy. Since you have other toys already. I see nothing wrong with that. Go ahead and treat yourself to a WSM. They are great rounds that I have had a hard time getting to shoot bad. Other people will say no need or whatever. But this is america. We are all about getting stuff for fun and just because we can. A gun is a gun

MOTurkeyTamer

I have a Browning A-Bolt Stainless in .270 Win. and have taken deer from 15 yds. out to 300 yds. with it and don' t feel the need for a WSM. Unless like bigcountry said, you are just looking for the latest new toy then go for it. But the .270 Win. has and will continue to take many deer all over the country each and every year with it' s great ability to take deer at close range and long range.

Raymond270

I had a 270 win for years in a Browning A-bolt stalker and do a lot of hunting in open land. I gave it to my nephew and bought a new 270WSM in the Browning Stalker. The 270WSM I think has outsold the other WSMs. If you factory ammo you will have more choices with the 270win or 30.06 but both 270s will kisk less than 30.06 and I really like my new 270WSM.

Quilly

lousiana hunter...


i own (1) 308win and (2) 30-06sprg' s and other guns.

but if you are hunting and shots are under 125yds. the 30-06sprg would be a better choice if you where gonna hunt bigger animals where you can utilize the 180gr. and 220gr. past 200yds. also if you look at ballistics the 2308win is only 100 F.P.S slower than the 30-06sprg.

what about the 280rem? 139gr. 160gr. bullets factory. i owned one and if i could do it over i would of got the medallion i have in 280rem instead of the 30-06sprg.

plus there is no need for a magnum if you are not shooting out past 250yds. i witnessed a deer shot at 25yds with a 7mm magnum and the bullet went in and came out without almost no expansion on the bullet. the deer ran more than 100yds. before it dropped.
also what about the 257roberts or 25-06rem

akbound

I tend to agree most with Bigcountry and Quilly on this one. It kind of sounds like you are shopping for a new toy! And there is not a thing in the world wrong with that. If you already have a .30-30 and a .308 and 90% of your shots are on deer, under 200 yards, I' m not sure that you would gain much utility from any of the short magnums, the .270 Win., or the .30-06. They are all very good cartridges and certainly would accomplish what you need of them. And they all have some advantages over the .308 Winchester....in certain applications. But for what you stated your purpose was.....I' m not sure they would do anything for you that the .308 Winchester won' t do!

Depending on what your other uses might be...why not consider a caliber " different" enough to gain some utility? Like one of the quarter bores? Heavy enough to take deer....flat shooting enough for deer to at least 300 yards (depending which one you' d choose)....and light enough for serious consideration for " varminting" . And of course the .260 Remington is similar, (as are other less popular 6.5mm' s).

Or if you think " heavier" game might be in your future....you might could make a case for a true " medium bore" . True, you don' t need that power for what you described....but you don' t need anything other than the .308 Winchester either, for what you described.

But after all, if you just really want a .270, .30-06, or one of the short magnums.....that is a good enough reason by itself. If that' s the case pick the one that appeals to you most.....and have fun!

Good luck with your decision!

LouisianaHunter

The only animals that I will be shooting are whitetails and wild hogs. The reason I have lever action guns now is because I have always hunted with dogs. I now still hunt from stands and felt a good bolt action would be nice to have. I had set my sights about two years ago on the Browning Classic hunter in 30-06 but now they only produce it in the wsm calibers. This is the only reason that I am even considering the 270wsm. I may just jump to the Browning Hunter and get the 06 and be done with it. Not much difference in the guns except for the stocks. I prefer the satin stock to the high gloss. My BLR has the high gloss, looks good when new but put some years in brier thickets on it and she don' t shine so well.

I know the .270 with 130 grain or 30-06 with 150 grain will do a fine job on either animal I get a shot at.