270win is more accurate than a 308 not the other way around for one it is faster , so it will spend less time in flight for two it will drop less and the BC on the same weight bullet is better for the .277 but the op didn't list a 270win (or that would have been my pick)To the original poster i'd be curious to hear your reasoning to already eschewing the 30-06?
I'm not interested in changing your mind, i'm just curious as to your thought process? For all practical purposes the .308 does everything the 06 will do with less powder, and a shorter action. both bonuses in my mind. I can't imagine any deer or elk being able to tell the difference between 30 cal bullets when one is traveling just 100 fps or so faster.
A good case can be made for the .270 for sure. Jack O'Conner proved that. Personally I prefer the bullet selection the .308 cal provides over the .277 and as you will use this as a range gun as well you are more likely to get better accuracy out of a .308 than a 270.
I'd not consider the .243 for your stated purposes. I'd consider it a bit under powered for larger game compared to the other two.
270win is more accurate than a 308 not the other way around
You can buy 30-06 or .308 hunting ammo at the gas station in Moose Drool Saskatchewan if you have too. Oh, the general store has it too.
the .30-06 would get the nod.
You can buy 30-06 or .308 hunting ammo at the gas station in Moose Drool Saskatchewan if you have too.
Oh, the general store has it too.
Don't bother to ask about many of the other calibers mentioned in this thread!
This is where the .30-06 and .308 shine.
agree 100% I thinking about takeing my Rem 141 pump out this year , it is a 32rem!! go find that ammo !!!lol,,,Choosing a rifle because ammunition is available at Walmart is about the silliest thing I've ever heard. Life is too short to hunt with what everybody else is using.
Putting in another way, I do not believe the 7mm RM has a range edge in power over the 30-06 when hunting deer....
Choosing a rifle because ammunition is available at Walmart is about the silliest thing I've ever heard.
Life is too short to hunt with what everybody else is using.
30-06 is still the best all around North American rifle for one reason, it is the most versatile high powered rifle ever made. Accurate, powerful and ubiquitous. Being able to secure ammunition is absolutely an important aspect of being the most versatile rifle available.
Dear McGunner,If the .30-06 had never existed, I'd still have killed all the game I've shot in 50 years, because for some odd reason, I've never needed a .30-06 for hunting deer or hogs. Odd, seeing as it's the only rifle ever made that is good enough for some folks here. Any other caliber seems worthless in comparison.
Of course, this is off the OP's topic. .30-06 isn't even a consideration, only 3 cartridges were posed originally. Of those three, I think there's a consensus on the .308.
Not really what I was stating. The .308 is not considered a bear defense gun with many experts placing 30-06 as the minimum at about 3000 ft-pds of muzzle energy. That is one reason why the 30-06 is considered an all around cartridge competing even with the big magnums. Many guides will allow a 30-06 up in Alaska but I don't believe they will allow many folks to take a .308 instead. That would be a bit of a stretch in my opinion.Mmm, well, a .308 AR10 would be a pretty forceful deterrent to a bear attack, I'd think. That's more an argument for a semi auto than for the caliber, i suppose. Not too many Kodiaks in my neck of the woods. Come to think of it, no black bear here, either. Just as likely to get trampled by an elephant. Guess I need a .600 NE for that, are some elephant up in San Antonio....Breckenridge park.
Okay, getting silly. I mean, choose what ya want, I just like to argue and I do honestly think the supposed superiority of the .30-06 is quite over-blown. I've already mentioned the 7 mag recoils the same and carries more energy farther. There are others, short magnums, .338 magnums, etc.
Oh, yeah, I know, Podunk, Alaska's hardware store only carries .30-06 cause no one owns anything else.
Bear defense, another thought...
I was in Waco a few weeks back dove hunting and my friend breaks out this AK with a funky sliding stock on it. He proceeds to explain, you place your trigger finger across here, push forward on the forward grip, and it's a full auto. Well, it was kinda fun and, yeah, it fired at a full auto rate even though the sear is an un-modified semi auto unit. It's completely legal, all modifications are actually to the STOCK, not even the action of the gun. It was controllable. I filled the center of a 55 gallon drum with lead from about 25 yards quite easily and the 20 round mag was empty, seemed, before I even got started good. LOL! I was thinkin' about practical applications of this thing, 50 round drum mag in bear country. Hmmm, 7.62x39 ain't the worlds hottest round, but if you hit a bear with 50 of 'em, it's gotta hurt just a little bit.
But, alas, to practice would mean I'd have to spend a LOT of money on ammo. LOL!
Off topic...okay, shut down all ammo production and convert to .30-06 production and declare it the only legal centerfire rifle ammunition...case closed. But, one request, could we keep rimfire production lines going, please? Might not be the answer to bear defense in Alaska, but it sure is fun to shoot and I cannot roll my own.
.410 and .450 in the same gun is versatile for sure.Hmm, well, 7 mag 3300 ft lbs at the muzzle and it distances the .30-06 the further off is the target, all for the same recoil force.
Chaching....money in the bank. My original argument.
SOMEone on this board had a .450 marlin? He lived on Kodiak Island? The gun had been converted to fire a .410 as well as the .450 round and he'd had a TC contender external choke threaded to the barrel for use with .410. Man, THAT gun sounded versatile!!!!! Not only bear defense, but you could shoot grouse with it, too.