270 vs 7mm vs 308

[geronimo509]

I want one rifle, was thinking of a rem. 700 cdl. Which is the overall better round? applications would be small game, and big game. turkeys, coyotes, rabbit, deer, boar. you name it. I was told that you could use light and heavy loads with the 7mm and it would work for all applications. I was also told the the 270 has a straight bullet flight (i think there is a term for it but I dont remember it) and that the 308 bullet travels up and down, even out to 150-200 yards. so I would have to change my point of aim for a 50 yd shot and a 150. And I would not for the 270, maybe. I dunno if its true but that is also a question. I'm leaning towards the 270 or 7mm. Any comments whatsoever. I need some feedback. I will explain any questions you all have the best I can.

 

[Shawnee]

The .270 has long been described as "flat-shooting". That came about because when the .270 was introduced (1925) other calibers were slowwer and thus had more rise and fall in their trajectory. The term is less significant today because many calibers shoot as "flat", or more so than the .270.

However the difference in "flatness" is almost a moot point today because so many calibers (incl. the 7mm and .308) shoot so close to the .270 it's all academic. The .270 and the 7mm Mag. will shoot slightly flattter than the .308.

NONE of those three calibers are small game calibers. they all will take any game animal on the continent. The 7mm mag. will be loudest and kick the most. The .270 will be a bit quieter and kick much less. The .308 will be in between. Of those three, the .270 is the best choice simply because it is much easier to shoot well due to the lesser kick and blast.

The Rem. 700 CDL is a most excellent rifle, and has been for decades.

HTH

 

[geronimo509]

Thanks for reminding me of "Flat" and trajectory, I swear a knew them but just couldnt spit them out, so to speak. lol. So Not even if I use a lighter load on a 270 for smaller game?

 

[Horsemany]

Shawnee

I agree with everything you said but.....I thought you were a Savage lover.

 

[geronimo509]

one more thing, any comments on the rifle, I have only heard good things about it

 

[IdahoLT1]

i say the .308.

The .270 is basically a necked down .30-06. If you use a 150gr. bullet in a .270 and a 150gr bullet in a .308, with the rifles being same brand/make and same weight, the .270 will kick more.

I load 110gr. bullets for hunting ground squirrels with my .308. You can buy mil surplus ammo cheaper than the other 2 calibers youre considering. The .308 will kill any animal in N. America, although the 7mm will let you take larger animals at longer ranges than the .270 or the .308.

Recoil wise 7mm>.270>.308. I have gone through ~110 rounds in my .308 in a 3-4 hour period while shooting ground squirrels, without even stopping to think if my shoulder was sore. and i weigh 160lbs.

EDIT: im assuming he means the 7mm mag in everything i said.

 

[woof]

I got the impression that by 7mm the OP meant 7mm-08 not mag. Either way, you don't shoot rabbits or turkey with any of them. Unless you plan to hunt in western states any of those is probably more than you need. Something like a .30-30 is great for whitetail deer. The 7mm-08 has a great managed recoil load that exceeds .30-30 ballistics with less recoil.

Let me add that no-one has one rifle . Unless you have plans to hunt anything larger than whitetails in the immediate future, I would buy the rifle that is right for here and now. Why? Because if you do travel to hunt larger game you WILL end up buying another rifle for that. And for smaller game, you need to be thinking .22 or shotgun.

 

[rangerphil]

Shawnee pretty much sums it up....for the types of game you anticipate hunting, a .270 would be an excellent choice.

 

[geronimo509]

thanks

 

[Shawnee]

As Woof (et al) opine... the small game is pretty much 20ga. shotgun territory. It really doesn't have to be fancy or expensive either.

As Horsemany points out... Savage has made many good rifles over the passed century and rightfully enjoys an excellent reputation today. Their models 110 and 111 are certainly of substantial quality.

HTH

 

[ArmedBear]

There's an old traditional way of sighting in a big game rifle called MPBR or Maximum Point Blank Range. Usually it's expressed with a number, like ±3" MPBR.

What it means is this: if you sight in the rifle so the bullet never goes more than 3" above or 3" below the point of aim, how far can you shoot without holding over the target?

The premise is that you don't need more than ±3" accuracy to shoot a deer, and chances are you can't shoot any more accurately than that in the field anyway. So why not sight in the rifle so that you don't have to worry about the trajectory? Just aim and shoot.

What you find is that the ±3" MPBR for spitzer rifle rounds ranges from a bit over 260 yards for the ancient 7x57 Mauser all the way up to 322 yards for the ultra-fast, super-flat-shooting, expensive .240 Weatherby Magnum. The .270 and 7mm Rem Mag come in just above 300 yards; the .308 drops you all the way back to 285 -- just 20 yards different!

What does that mean? It means that there's not a helluva lot of difference between a flat-shooting round and a not-flat-shooting round .

Furthermore, in the field I can't accurately eyeball the difference between 285 and 305 yards, and if I have the time to use a rangefinder, I can adjust for bullet drop anyway.

If you're hunting at 200 yards or less, there's no difference, regardless. Even the 150 grain Wal-Mart special .30-30 has a ±3" MPBR comfortably over 200 yards, to say nothing of the new Hornady stuff.

Look for yourself: http://www.chuckhawks.com/rifle_trajectory_table.htm

Go here: http://www.chuckhawks.com/index2d.rifles.htm and scroll down to Tables, Charts and Lists. Chuck Hawks may piss some people off (like any gun writer in every medium), but his compilation of numbers here is really useful and will help you understand what you're really looking at (and paying for). He also has a table of recoil. That, too, matters. For hunting deer at under 200 yards, I'd be much more interested in a light, low-recoil rifle like a 7mm-08, or a generic easy-to-find round like .308, than some heavy, expensive and fatiguing Magnum.

 

[Dr. Tad Hussein Winslow]

Yeah, Shawnee summed it up well. There is no "best". Pick one. I like .270. I have owned three 7mm rem mag rifles, because the ballistics look so good on paper, and they are so popular around here. But sold all of them, because there's nothing that the 7mm will do which the .270 won't, and the .270 has less recoil. If you were gonna build a precision long range rifle the 7mm rem mag has it's advantages; In a hunting rifle, it doesn't matter - they will all 3 hit within 1.5-2.0" of one another at 300 yards with the same or similar weight bullets, and who's gonna ever shoot past 300 yards hunting? No one that's ethical, absent very special/unusual circumstances.

 

[jimmyraythomason]

Which 7mm?

Since the OP doesn't specify which 7mm cartridge is being considered,I will assume the 7mm Remington magnum is the one in question. The 7mm Remington mag is a long range,big game cartridge and is a waste of energy under 300 yards. Cartridges available in 7mm cal. include the 7x57 Mauser (my favorite),7mm/08(also a favorite),.284 Winchester magnum (excellent cartridge but a bit much for an "all game" caliber,on a par with the 7mm Rem.mag) , .280 Remington aka,7mm Rem. Express, or 7x63 or any of a number of cartridges with .284" bullets. Of these choices, I personally would choose the 7mm/08 Rem in an "all game" Remington Model 700.

 

[Ridgerunner665]

Put a 125 grain bullet in it and a 308 shoots pretty darn flat...Put a 180 grain bullet in a 308 and it will also knock a moose "flat".

 

[whited]

.

Judging by the uses you listed, it seems to me as though you need two rifles.

 

[homers]

OP "applications would be small game, and big game. turkeys, coyotes, rabbit, deer, boar. you name it."

I'd suggest looking at the 243

 

[hossdaniels]

Judging by the uses you listed, it seems to me as though you need two rifles.

Sort of true. But a 270 will do all of the things you need it to do. The flat shooting part is true, but for all practical purposes your looking at/past 300yds for it to show up, and by 600 yds you are running out of gas in a 270. The others are probably better if you want to go any longer than that on game. The 7mm is faster and a 308 is heavier, both help farther out. I never could hit anything past 600 yds(much over 500 honestly), so I went with a 270 and love it.

 

[IndianaBoy]

Get the 270.

Don't expect to eat a rabbit shot with a 270.

For a North American hunter going after anything but great bears, the 270 is excellent. The 7mm magnum requires something along the lines of 20% more powder to move a bullet 6% faster than the 270.

 

[jbech123]

Put a 125 grain bullet in it and a 308 shoots pretty darn flat...Put a 180 grain bullet in a 308 and it will also knock a moose "flat".

yep, and there are factory 110 grain 308 load that shoot around 3100fps.

 

[Big Bill]

I'd personally buy a .25-06. It will do everything you mentioned; and, you'll hardly notice the recoil. Buy a Ruger M77 with a 24" barrel - you won't regret it.

Available in three stock configurations including the newly designed, slimmer walnut stock with wrap-around checkering on the fore grip and ergonomic contours along the barrel, on the bottom of the stock and top of pistol grip; a Green Hogue® OverMolded™ stock; a Brown Hogue® OverMolded™ stock

** New and improved Ruger LC6™ trigger for smooth, crisp trigger pull.

** Non-rotating, Mauser-type controlled-feed extractor, the most positive case extraction system ever invented, and a fixed blade-type ejector that positively ejects the empty cases as the bolt is moved fully rearward.

** New red rubber recoil pad for more effective perceived recoil reduction features Ruger logo.

** Hinged steel floor plate, with Ruger logo, features patented latch flush with trigger guard to avoid accidental dumping of cartridges while allowing quick unloading of the magazine.

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** Easily accessible three-position safety that allows locking the bolt or to load and unload with the safety on. Available in right and left-handed versions for standard length action (such as .270 Win & .30-06 Sprgfld).

** Studs for mounting sling swivels.

http://www.ruger-firearms.com/Firearms/FAProdView?model=7106&return=Y

 

[ArmedBear]

The only bummer with the .25-06 is that, in some places, you'll hardly notice any ammo for sale, either.

Given a good source of it, you're right on, though.

 

[hossdaniels]

Quote:
Put a 125 grain bullet in it and a 308 shoots pretty darn flat...Put a 180 grain bullet in a 308 and it will also knock a moose "flat".

yep, and there are factory 110 grain 308 load that shoot around 3100fps.

This is just a question, because I really am not sure, but wouldn' the bc on 110g .308 be so low that the flat shooting part becomes worthless?

 

[Mike2]

If times were "normal" I'd choose the 308 because of ammo availability but nowadays with things the way they are who knows, I would give any, many, miny, mo a go and see what happens.

 

[IndianaBoy]

This is just a question, because I really am not sure, but wouldn' the bc on 110g .308 be so low that the flat shooting part becomes worthless?

If there is any wind, yes. Also if the shot is going to be any distance more than 100 yards, the 110 will shed velocity so fast you would probably be better of with a standard weight bullet.


I loaded some 110 grain bullets in my 30-06 thinking they would be deadly coyote medicine. They shot to a COMPLETELY different point of impact to the extent that it took me a while to get them on target.

I pulled the rest and gave the projectiles away.

 

[slzy]

i have given up.even have a plastic striker fired pistol.

if you are buying new,at least look at the new,short fat cartridges.