Here are comparison results between a .270 Win (130 to 150gr bullets) and .30-06 (150 to 165gr bullets) from the Federal Premium website. I choose the Sierra GameKing and Barnes TSX bullets for the comparison. Inside of 200 yards, the .30-06 has the advantage. Outside of 200 yards, the better ballistic coefficients of the .270 bullets allow them to carry their velocity better and have more energy, even with the lighter weight 130gr bullets. Trajectory drop is less and, for the same weight bullet, sectional density is greater for better penetration.

A lot of people question that when I say that the .270 has better down range performance then the 30-06. I honestly didn't believe until I checked into it and found it was true. I feel it is a great round. I am partial to the 28 caliber rounds (such as 7mm) and felt this would be a good round for my wife to carry. She has fallin in love with that 7mm mag Weatherby though. A women after my own heart lol.

Try it with 180s. There's no logical reason to use light bullets in a .30-06.

Swampman wrote:

Try it with 180s. There's no logical reason to use light bullets in a .30-06.

unless you dont like recoil in which case 125-130s are a good option if thats the rifle you have. or you shoot small game like wallabies or goats why punish your shoulder when the lighter load will do a better job.
or 200grn for deer in the bush . and anyway when has logic had anything to do with it. if things were logical it would be men that rode sidesaddle.

Swampman wrote:

Try it with 180s. There's no logical reason to use light bullets in a .30-06.

As you suggested, I pulled up some comparisons with .30-06 180gr bullets. The 180gr bullets carry more energy out to 500 yards than the .270 bullets in the prior post. However, Federal doesn't load a Sierra Game King in 180gr nor do they load any of the same brand premium bullets for the .270 that they do in .30-06 180gr. So I went over to Winchester and compared XP3 which is the 150gr .270 Win bullet I use to for hunting. In this like-bullet comparison, the .30-06 180gr carries around 80 lb-ft of energy more than .270 150gr. which carries slightly more energy than the Federal Premium 180gr loads. I was impressed with how the .270 150gr XP3 hung in with the .30-06 180gr bullets. The 180gr XP3 stayed slightly ahead of the 150gr XP3 because it has a BC of 0.523 compared to 0.503, respectively. Goes to show the importance of the bullet you choose for long range hunting.

Most of my buddies with .30-06s use 150 - 165gr bullets when they hunt. I just read an article in one of my shooting magazines that claimed there is no longer a need to use 180gr bullets in the .30-06 because today's bullets are so much better now that 150s do the job. Based on this comparison data, the point you make about using 180gr bullets in .30-06 seems valid. The only logic I can see for using lighter bullets in a .30-06 is lighter recoil.

I don't use premium bullets. I've never seen the need. I prefer the 180s over all the others in fact they seem to recoil less.

I love my 270 Winchester. I have a 7mm Rem mag, but I rarely use it anymore. The 270 takes down what ever I want it to and I now hunt in very open, flat country. I use 130 grain Nolser partitions driven by 58 grains of IMR4831 and it gets the job done. Can't go wrong with a 270 or a 30/06 in my opinion, they are simply deadly out to 400 yards. I truly don't see the need for these hot new Mag rounds considering that most of the shots I've taken over the years, including with my 7mm, have been within 100 yards. If you have to shoot your game at 600+ yards, you should learn how to stalk better.

One has to use the heavier bullets in the 7mm also to improve upon the .270 Win. I also found this when considering the short magnums. You are using more powder to get the same velocities with the light-for-caliber bullets.

I hunt with a 7mm rem mag and love it and I have nothing against the 06 or a .270 I just wanted to gather info from everyone one the .270. I find that the job can be done with pretty much any gun if you know it well enough. I have hunted with the Big 7 for nearly 15 years and find that not matter what I shoot I always come back to that. Thats just preference really. To each his own I say. Thanks for all the info.

tlo7mm wrote:

I find that the job can be done with pretty much any gun if you know it well enough. I have hunted with the Big 7 for nearly 15 years and find that not matter what I shoot I always come back to that. Thats just preference really. To each his own I say.

Well said tlo !!!


I've heard guys argue this caliber over that caliber for too many years.
I have seen many of deer dropped with 222 Remingtons all the way up to 338 WM's..........yup, they all kill !!!
It's a simple matter of what you feel more comfortable with and have confidence in.

beware the man who owns but 1 gun
he probably knows how to use it!!!

Spent this afternoon shooting 90 & 100 gr loads through the .270 with some good & some not so good results.
Starting & Max loads both shot well but anything in between opened 5 shot groups out to 1.5-2 MOA.
I reckon a better shooter than I could keep the 100gr bullets consistently to 0.5 MOA at 3,400fps MV.
Maybe not now but I'm going to get hold of some 170gr bullets & see what they can do too - this is proving to be one seriously impressive rifle straight out the box.

Mike I have used 110grn hornady hps before they were devistating on small stuff like wallabies or goats but I wouldnt use them on any thing bigger. they made a 1litre bottle sized wound channel so knocked the stuffing out of wallabies very messy. I didnt play around with load much and wasnt pushing them too fast around 3100fps. accuracy was 2"ish which was fine for what I was doing.

My first Buck was killed with a Savage .222 Rem (this gun belonged to a friend of mine, I later purchased it from him) and my first deer was killed with a Remington 30-06 (belonged to my brother). I have killed most of the deer I have shot with my Big 7 though. I am looking at getting my daughter a .243 for hunting this next year and my wife has fallin in love with a Big 7 so I imagine thats what I will be getting her.

Elvis wrote:

Mike I have used 110grn hornady hps before they were devistating on small stuff like wallabies or goats but I wouldnt use them on any thing bigger. they made a 1litre bottle sized wound channel so knocked the stuffing out of wallabies very messy. I didnt play around with load much and wasnt pushing them too fast around 3100fps. accuracy was 2"ish which was fine for what I was doing.

Aye - the 90's & 100's are intended for 'yotes, whilst I have the 130's & 150's lined up for bigger quarry.
Damn' weather looks to be breaking & I was hoping for one last range trip in the morning.