Rifle dilemma .270 vs 25-06 vs 6.5x55 swed

I bet all 3 are beautiful. . . but if you don't reload and don't need the slight performance tweaks of the 25-06 or 6.5, I'd suggest the .270.

You can buy good to outstanding ammo anywhere, and it'll kill any deer walking.

My choice would be the SAKO with the Swarovski scope.

The .270, with proper bullet selection is adequate for any big game in North America.

If you'll reload, the swede, if not, then the .270 1st 25 2nd.

Grandpa had great taste, can't go wrong with any of them. Having had a Swede, that would be my choice. Seemingly low recoil, but plenty of power to get the job done, along with great accuracy.

Welcome to the site!

That's a hard choice. Despite my romance with the other two calibers, I would likely pick the .270.

You can't go wrong.

270 is the practical choice
6.5x55 is the neat choice
25-06 is basically the perfect deer cartridge

Another vote for the 270 Winchester. Loaded ammunition, no problem. Reloading components, no problem. Performance excellent.

The 25/06 would be fine for deer and it has my preferred scope; the Leupold Mark 4. I've had a Swarovski scope and it was fine but the Mark 4, in my opinion, is just as good in a somewhat smaller package (of course models will vary).

I have no experience with the 6.5x55.

Given those three options, the 270 would be my choice. The performance of all three cartridges will be satisfactory on a deer, so for me it comes down to the combination of Sako/Swarovski and the ability to walk into any store and find a decent selection of ammo.

That man appreciated some nice optics and some fine European rifles. I like the Swede but I generally favor .30-06 type cartridges.

.270 then .25-06.

I'm a big .25 cal. fan Fast-moving and accurate. I have .25-06, .257 Roberts AI and an XP-100 in .250 Savage. All have accounted for lots of deer.
I am not a fan of the .270 due to the shortage of decent bullets in the past. Even though there are better bullet choices now, I still prefer the .25s. (Never had a Swede so I can't comment on it.)

Also, all are excellent quality rifles ... buy them all! I doubt you will be sorry later.

edwardware said:

I bet all 3 are beautiful. . . but if you don't reload and don't need the slight performance tweaks of the 25-06 or 6.5, I'd suggest the .270.

You can buy good to outstanding ammo anywhere, and it'll kill any deer walking.

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You can also hit standing deer or, with practice, running deer as well ...

Get the .270 best caliber and best scope.

You're not going to see any practical difference on Indiana deer from any of those 3 calibers. Get the one that speaks to you the most and enjoy it!

All 3 are fine, classic rifles with outstanding optics and I'm betting all 3 were well cared for. Any of the above will do the job nicely. The .270 is more of a nuts and bolts caliber...you can readily buy quality ammo anywhere. The other 2 are for the conniseur, and will require some taste on your part to find the right fodder. Start with Nosler and Norma brand. I would simply handle all 3, and see which one speaks to you. For the purposes of deer hunting at reasonable ranges, there is no significant difference in the 3.

If you can afford 2, the .270 and the 6.5x55 have the superior glass (at least the most expensive) and would be the easiest to re-sell at a future date if you decided you don't need both and need to finance something else.

Not a 25-06 fan. Prefer Sako to Styer. That means the Sako in 270 would be my pick. But all are nice rifles. Without actually looking at them it is harder to say. If one just jumps out at you as the preferred rifle choose that rifle regardless of the cartridge. Any of the cartridges are more than adequate for deer hunting. The 25-06 doesn't shoot bullets heavy enough to be a comfortable choice for bigger game. The 270 and 6.5X55 do, but if you're not going to hunt moose, bear, or elk the cartridge doesn't matter.

.270 gets the nod here, if it's to be a pick one only. .270 will take more kinds/types/sizes of game thant the other two. Factory ammo available in more choices in more places, too.
My 2¢

270

VoodooMountain said:

You can't go wrong.

270 is the practical choice
6.5x55 is the neat choice
25-06 is basically the perfect deer cartridge

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Sure you can!

True, if you were entering a raffle, any of the above should work very well for you...

BUT, you're not buying "never been fired" rifles. How old are they, and which one of the three did grandpa use the most, and why?
How old are the scopes?
Did grandpa wear out the barrel on one, and put up his "old friend" on an "honored" spot on the wall, and switched to a different rifle? Maybe one of them doesn't shoot so well any longer and simply needs a good copper removal and cleaning of the bore?
The cartridges' ballistics overlap by a huge amount. Did grandpa reload for each, or only some, or did he find factory ammo that worked well in each? Did he "buy" all three, or did he win one or two in a raffle, and put them on the rack, and kept shooting his favorite? Maybe he started with the .270, and switched to the .25-06 to reduce recoil as he got older..., and the 6.5 Swede was a raffle prize? Maybe one or two were bought as the price was amazing, or he was helping out a friend, or perhaps one or more were gifts?

A lot of what if's..., but I don't think any of them from what you wrote, are "bad" choices.

The .25-06 Remington you don't hear about much these days.., but it's been around for more than a century, it's older than the .270 Winchester AND the manufacturers are still offering it in rifles. There must be something to it...

LD

Gun condition being equal, I don't think you can screw up no matter which you choose...

kamufc2 said:

All the guns are in excellent condition.
25-06 is brand new, it actually showed up at the FFL the morning he passed away. Scope is new in the box.

The 6.5x55 looks to have been shot very minimal. The clips doesn’t even show any wear marks from being load. I believe he bought it because he lived the Swede round, I think he mostly shot the FN that he had chambered in the Swede round with the same Leica scope.

The 270 has the oldest scope on it with it being a Swarski Nova. It seems to have been shot more than the others based on wear.

He never hunted with any of the rifles, he would do some target Shooting. He would always refer back to when he was in the army and how he would earn marksmen awards, and that he always loved shooting long distances.

I should add that I also have the option of purchasing all of his reloading equipment (new in the box) and supplies.Which includes all of the dies for 6.5 a lot of 6.5 bullets in lapua, and serria along with probably 200 casing. He did not have any of the dies for the 25-06 or 270.

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Then I'd say swede

My choice would be the 25-06. It will make a fine deer rifle. The 270 ammunition will be the easiest to find at a local retail store, but the 25-06 is also often found there too and is easily found on almost all hunting retailers' web sites.

New rifle, new scope, and a classic cartridge.

While I would take the Swede first because I had one and know what it can do when reloaded, if you do not reload, take the 270

Just about any Mom and Pop general store will have .270 Win. ammo. Not as likely for the others. The .270 is good for varmint to big game with the right bullet. The .270 would be my choice.

Sounds like a dilemma any of us would like to have.

I think Olympus said it best.......

Olympus said:

You're not going to see any practical difference on Indiana deer from any of those 3 calibers. Get the one that speaks to you the most and enjoy it!

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Iffin you have to ask the opinion of strangers which is best for you.......odds are it won't matter.