Which would you prefer? .270 VS .308

[BuckHunter31]

Curious as to which would be a better all around setup for deer/hog mainly.

.270 winchester with a 18'' barrel

or

.308 win with a 22'' barrel?????

Which would have superior ballistics? Pros/cons.

What it boils down to is I own the .270 and have a trade offer involving the .308

Rifles involved are
1) Ruger Ultralight .270
2) Ruger M77 MKII .308

 

[Abel]

That's easy: 30-o6!

(But, if pressed to choose between a 270 Win and a 308 Win, I'd go with the 30-o6 Springfield, and twice on Sunday)

 

[BuckHunter31]

Duh!!! Wish I had the offer. I LOVE a good ole '06

 

[ross the deer slayer]

I like the 30-06 and would stick with the 30 caliber, lots of verstility, subsonics, availability all that good stuff. I would like a 270 though, but I have no knowledge of its ballistics or ruger rifles...I know i'm weird like that

 

[JWarren]

I think you should have both calibers...I do and I like them equally well. I have them in short barrels and I have never been able to discern the difference in my hunting that ranges from point blank out to about 200yds.This is just my experience and might not be the case for anyone else.

 

[Living Proof]

Because of the 18" barrel, I would get the m77 .308. Any other time I would get the .270 every time. I think out to 300 yds they are about the same but after that the .270 has an advantage.

 

[BuckHunter31]

I love my ultralight .270 but just wanted to try something different. My other calibers I own are 7mm mag and 30-30 as far as deer calibers are concerned. So both the 270 and 308 would fill the gap nicely.

 

[buddy48]

Love my Ruger M77 Mark II .270.

If you want an easy way to compare ballistics, go to Winchesters Ballistic Calculator. It's pretty handy.

 

[GunnSmokeer]

308

I'd go with the .308 for a hog rifle with a short barrel.

The .270 Win needs a long barrel to burn up all the gunpowder (in that narrow bore) and from an 18" barrel I think you'll get a lot of noise, big flash, and a big drop in velocity compared to a 22" barrel.

EDITED: Oh, having the .308 in a short barrel isn't an option.
It's the .308 in a long barrel or the one you already own, the .270, in the short barrel.

I say go with the .308 and the longer barrel, unless you LOVE the rifle you currently own. The ballistic differences are not enough to make you give up a gun you love for something unknown.

 

[woods&water]

Look at ammo choices - 308 wins hands down, military and every manufacturer including reloaded has lots of loads available including match grade.

270 is long action 308 is short action - advantage 308

bullet choice advantage 30 caliber

As far as ballistic performance - how many people in long range shooting use 270 and how many use 308? Let the pros answer that question - 308 hands down, gotta be a reason they choose it

 

[lonewolf247]

Curious as to which would be a better all around setup for deer/hog mainly.

.270 winchester with a 18'' barrel

or

.308 win with a 22'' barrel?????

Which would have superior ballistics? Pros/cons.

What it boils down to is I own the .270 and have a trade offer involving the .308

Rifles involved are
1) Ruger Ultralight .270
2) Ruger M77 MKII .308

Seems like the .270 would loose some performance with an 18" barrel, and also have a lot of muzzle blast. The .308 would have been a better set-up with the short barrel, being a short action caliber. What ballistic advantage the .270 might have had, if they were in equal rifle configurations, is probably lost in this short barrel. Out of those two listed I'd go with the .308.

 

[rosewood]

Seems like the .270 would loose some performance with an 18" barrel, and also have a lot of muzzle blast. The .308 would have been a better set-up with the short barrel, being a short action caliber. What ballistic advantage the .270 might have had, if they were in equal rifle configurations, is probably lost in this short barrel. Out of those two listed I'd go with the .308.

x2

Both will kill a hog equally as well, I just shot a 225+ lb boar the other day with a 150gr 30/30 and it went clear through both shoulders. I believe anything in the .270 or .308 will be as effective.

 

[dawg2]

Look at ammo choices - 308 wins hands down, military and every manufacturer including reloaded has lots of loads available including match grade.

270 is long action 308 is short action - advantage 308

bullet choice advantage 30 caliber

As far as ballistic performance - how many people in long range shooting use 270 and how many use 308? Let the pros answer that question - 308 hands down, gotta be a reason they choose it

^^^This

 

[Doc_Holliday23]

I own two .270's (both Rugers) and zero .308's.

Not that .308 is not great, but I prefer .270 in that gap.

Its a deer/hog gun, right? Then you don't really need the versatility of all of the bullet weights of the .308. 130-150 gr pill out of a .270 will demolish hogs.

Are you shooting out past 400 yards often? Then again, you have no need for what little edge the .308 has at long-range.

And you have been killing deer with an 18" .270 for awhile now... It ain't gonna stop killing deer. You're still most likely getting 2700 fps out of an 18" barrel... That's plenty of velocity for killing deer and hogs in a handy rifle.

 

[chuckdog]

Never really understood long action calibers being marketed with short barrels?

A .270 with less than 22"s of tube isn't something that would interest me.

 

[miles58]

For me, the 308 at 22 inches will give me 3050 FPS with a Barnes 130 and that is a fine load for Bambi. A 270 at 18 inches won't get it done. Id take the 270 though were barrel lengths equal.

Barrel length s a non issue in terms of handling. I hunt grouse with a 28 inch barreled gun and in really thick stuff. If 28 doesn't handicap me there, 24 sure as bleep won't bother me on deer where I have a lot more time than I do with grouse/woodcock.

 

[Doc_Holliday23]

Miles, curious what your expected velocity for a 130 gr .270 out of 18" barrel would be...

 

[deerdander]

I have both .270 and .308 and I may lean toward the shorter .308 over the .270 but not by much. That said, my bow it what I toted most of this season.

 

[BoneHunter77]

Ruger M77 Mark II is a very good gun. I have it in .280 caliber. It's my favorite rifle.

 

[miles58]

Miles, curious what your expected velocity for a 130 gr .270 out of 18" barrel would be...

Depending on the rifle, the loads I use, Varget and Barnes TSX130s or TTSX 110s, I would expect a low of somewhere of 2600-2650 and a high of 2800-2850.

For a lot of people, and for close work that might be on the minimal side of OK. If you went to factory ammo I would not be surprised to see a range from 2500-2800, not even a little bit.

The 270 I use with 110 TTSXs produces 3170 out of 55.5 grains of H4350. That's giving away a fair amount on the top end of what H4350 is capable of producing safely. That load gives me caliber wide by 1/2 inch high groups. So, I accept that. The other .270 gives me just over about 3050 with 130 grain TSXs and nearly equal accuracy. Both are 700 ADLs, and that's what I expect out of 270s. Both are good for 400 with those bullets and that accuracy.

Starting at 2800 or less with those bullets I wouldn't go beyond 250, and it would be even less if all I got was <2600. I get 1/2 inch groups out of my 30-30 with Barnes 150s at 2400 using 25.5 grains of LeverEvoluton powder. If I bump that to book max at 28.5 I think I'd be pretty close on 2700. So, that's my rationale for rejecting a short barrel 270. I could well get better performance out of a 30-30, there's no sense to me in turning a 270 into a dog of that order.

Dave