.270 or .25-06?

[tearin' lips]

Looking at putting a Ruger Hawkeye on layaway. I think I am going to go with the .270 because of the higher energy at 300 yards, which is realistically the farthest I would be shooting.

They are basically the same gun ballistics-wise. I was just curious as to what everyone's opinion on these two calibers is.

[mudslinger]

I am a .270win guy. Tearin' lips, your reasoning is the reason I like it too. I've killed antelope at 450yds dead with it. If you are looking for a "drop em dead in their tracks" gun for deer you may want to look at the 7mm Rem Mag. I have shot many deer with the .270win but most run a short bit before they realize they should die. I have not gotten too crazy with fancy bullets though. I've been shooting 140gr. sierra boat tails. They say the .270wsm is what dreams are made of. What would the advantage of the 25-06 be??? Two thumbs up for the Hawkeye too!

[jlm]

Both are great rounds and will do the job. Both are also very accurate. In my opinion, the .270 wins because of what you stated earlier and because there are a ton of ammo choices. The .270 is the greatest round ever created in my opinion. Good luck!

[Red Cabin]

I would go with the .270 There is usually much more ammo available.

[dan z]

If you are going to be reloading your own bullets the 25-06 is a great load/bullet. the ballistic's are solid. If you are going to buy ammo the 270 has more shelf loads

[paul pachowicz]

debating the merits could go on forever. I prefer the .270 over the 25-.06. Reason being is the heavier bullet weights availibility in the .270. Where with the .270 a guy can achieve 2900FPS+ with the 130 grain bullet compared to the 120 grain in the 06 and a slightly lower BC. You can jump up to a 150 grain with the .270 and approach 2900FPS with a BC of .456 Both are necked down 30-.06 brass. I'd have to say the .270. The best caliber in the world is the one a guy chooses.

[Dan12]

Screw it and just get a 30-06 so you can kill anything in North America. You can go from 90 grain varmint round up to 220 grain or so.

[paul pachowicz]

Dan, valid point. Shot .243, 270 and the venerable 06. Sometime it's a flip of a coin for which I'm gonna carry on any given huntin outing. What happens sometime is people get caught up with the hype of gun editors writing glowing reports on specific calibers and high priced weaponry touting "the bigger the better, the faster then better, etc. Granted, there are oodles of great calibers out there and would never berate ones's choice of caliber or name brand. I think we give a guy some prety good opinions when when we discuss guns. Lotta times guys makes a pick and later regrets it and opt for something else. It's a tough choice to make. I agree, an 06 is an excellant choice for the 1st time buyer.

[Gordie]

the 270-30-06 debate has been around since they came out. my dad used to shoot an 06 and that was that and uncle Jake said the 270 is the greatest round ever made and thats what you need. I myself went with the 06 not because dad had one but be cause of all the choice in bullet weights. I have done some reading on both guns and the 06 stands out because of its abiltity to be the most versitile gun out there. It is a great first gun to own then build from there if you want.

Not to be left out either you still have the .308 that is a awsome but underated round as well.

[lawdog]

Since the choice is between the 25-06 and the .270 I'll leave my beloved 30-06 out of the answer and say that the other posters have adequately adressed the issues and the bullet availability is the biggest one I think. I've wanted a 25-06 for a long time, but for a second gun. If all I had was one and there was a chance of taking it somewhere and maybe forgetting my ammo, I know I could find 30-06 or .270 stuff but 25-06; pretty hit or miss I'm afraid.

Either of these guns is more than adequate for any whitetail deer walking around and none of them will care whether they die due to 120 or 130 grain bullets and you won't taste a difference either!

[Heartman]

25-06 can be a pretty hot load for your average whitetail deer. Not that a 270 won't tear one apart, but the higher velocity is not all that important, and the 130, 140, or 150g 270 loads available give you a bit for flexibility.

I shoot a 270 Marlin XL7, and use the .270 Remington Managed-Recoil 115g shells since I'm a bit recoil-sensitive. Hardly kicks at all, and I can always bump up to the 140g if needed - out to 150yds, they shoot to the same point of impact. The 9 point I shot this fall was DRT at 30yds with this stuff - neck shot - boom - dead.

[NIBOWMAN]

You can't go wrong with a good 25-06. If what you choose to hunt is anywhere between a gopher and a mule deer you can't get a better round than a 25-06. If you plan on hunting out west the 25-06 is very popular and you should be able to find it on the gas station shelf next the 270. I reload 85gr balistic tips for prairie dogs, it just makes them explode. 100gr balistic tips for antelope, drops them in their tracks with little damaged meat. 120gr partitions for mule deer, shoots as flat and hits as hard as the 270 with 130gr. If you want to hunt anything bigger get a bigger gun. And very little recoil compaired to the 270.

[fishuhalik]

I love my 25-06. Like stated earlier, it hunts everything from prairie dogs to mulies with ease, some hunt elk with them but I don't think I would. I have a Rem. 700 w/ a Leupold 4-12x, consistenly groups moa at 200 yds+ w/ a 120 gr, I think they're noslers? I'm not sure, my uncle handloads 'em for me.

I will agree that they can be a hard load to find if you're buying off the shelf. I didn't have any of my uncle's handloads this year so I had to buy a couple of boxes. A month before opener I started looking. I had to check 4 big stores (cabelas, 2 ganders, finally found 'em at Joes) and they were $45 a box.

[Heartman]

The 25-06 recoil is substantially less than the 270 in regular factory loads, I agree with all y'all.

[DoubleLunger]

.270--BEST ROUND OUT THERE! NUFF SAID

[ottersled54]

I must say I prefer the 270 since I shoot varmits with the 90 grain and then move up to the 165 grain that I use for deer hunting. With the 165gr I have no problem with knockdown on deer with normal shoulder shots. A friend of mine has a 25-06 and the main reason I don't like it is the hotness of the loads. Several times he has hit a deer in the shoulder bone area causing the bullet to basicall richochet off the bone and go along the ribs only to blow out the hind leg thus wrecking alot of good meat. I will say the 25-06 is a sweet flat shooting weapon, but I will stay with my 270 Ruger.

[walleye365]

25-06 iv used it for over 10years and woulnt use anything else. 117gr seirra gamking

[tearin' lips]

Thanks for all the input guys. It's interesting to see whats out there. I already have a .308, .243, .30-06, and can shoot my uncles .270 wsm whenever I want. I still have a few month before I will pick it up. If I have anymore questions I will ask.

Thanks again for all your input!

[Rost]

If you are a deer hunter that may end up hunting elk with this gun some day, then choose the .270. If you are a deer hunter that might want to shoot coyotes or p dogs with this gun some day, then the 25-06 is the gun for you.

Honestly, a deer will drop in it's tracks with either caliber.

I shoot 100 grain bullets at deer with my 25-06 and if I hit the shoulder, they drop like a ton of bricks.

[sparetime]

7mm-08

Short action gun vs. long action in either the 25-06 or 270 (same case as 30-06). Which means you can neck down 30-06 cases to either 25-06 or .270.

Otherwise, i'd go with the .270. Fun to shoot,

[Comit 2]

As a role of thumb 1000 foot lb of energy is all you need to take down a deer. A .270 and a 25-06 each have well over that at 300yds.

I used to shoot a .270 win and shot 130gr boat tails thought it. It would put a cavity in the deer the size of a softball and it made a mess of the far side of the deer. I now shoot a .25wssm with 120gr bullets with a lot less recoil and a lot less mess.

[Ely Lake Expert]

.270--BEST ROUND OUT THERE! NUFF SAID

You've clearly never shot a .280