New to the forum need advise on good deer Caliber

[Coltdude84]

Hello all, I am new to the forum and am in the market for a new hunting rifle. I have done my research and have decided to go with the new Browning X-Bolt Rifle, it has all the features I want out of a gun, the main thing I was looking for was a detachable magazine and a tang safety and its got both. I live in North Carolina and have narrowed it down to 2 calibers the 270 win and the 25 06. My father in law has been hunting before I was even born and he swears by the 270. But I am kinda leaning more towards the 25 06 since IMO is a good all around caliber for the game I hunt which includes White Tail, Elk and maybe a coyote every now and then if it crosses my path. All advice and suggestions will be greatly appreciated!

 

[Deer Hunter]

Which can you consistantly place in that sweet spot behind a buck's shoulder?

That should be your choice. There's not enough real world difference between the two rounds for us to tell you which to use.

 

[janobles14]

flip a coin! both are just fine for deer. .270 will be cheaper to shoot and can be used on bigger game if you ever needed it. elk included. the 25-06 is a little light in the butt for elk though imo.

 

[longdayjake]

There will probably be a bunch of people come in to tell you that the .25-06 is too weak for elk, but if you hand load you can definately find the right load just fine. I would hesitate to get the .25-06 if all you are going to do is buy a box of ammo when you hunt. It is more expensive and harder to come by in some stores. My first gun was a winchester model 70 in .25-06. I was 18 when I first got it and thought that it was a piece of junk because I couldn't get very good groups with it. I had a cheap $50 scope on it ad I shot the cheapest box ammo I could find. Now that I handload and put a vari-x III on it I just can't get enough of it. You can really send those bullets out there pretty fast. 4064 powders seem to be what most people like, but I have had luck with just plain old 4895. It shoots those smaller 87 grain bullets so fast that any varmint you hit with it is going to die quick. If you are hunting coyotes for fur, you may want something else, but if you are choosing between the .270 and the .25-06 then .25-06 is the way to go. I love mine and would not trade it for another plain jane .270.

 

[Coltdude84]

Thanks

Thanks for all the replys so far I have had experience with the 270 and am pretty acurate my first deer was killed with a 243 the 25 06 I have no experience with just thought I would try something different, as far as the rifle goes, have I made a pretty good choice? My friend has an A-bolt Browning that he has killied many white tail with and has not had one complaint out of the rifle. From what I have been hearing the X-bolt is an updated A-bolt? And as far as hunting Coyote for the fur, I dont keep the Fur, we just have over 100 acres where we live and we including our neighbors have small livestock and chickens.

 

[ReadyontheRight]

I have the pre-A-Bolt Browning "BBR" (Browning Bolt Rifle) in .270 and I love it. It's circa 1980 or so. Leupold VX2 3-9X scope. I usually shoot 150 grain softpoints at big whitetails in MN and WI. They fall down pretty fast.

I tend to shoot 30-06 a lot more for target shooting just because I do not reload and I buy a lot of military surplus for Garand shooting.

Browning makes a great bolt rifle!

 

[hossdaniels]

Well I love my 270, but I want a 25/06.

For me it was about better factory ammo selection of the 270. Its a good thing because my a-bolt is very picky. It was worth it though, with her favorite hornady's she will shoot under 3/4". Nothing else even close to that. 2nd best was 1 1/4".

So I say if you dont reload get the 270!

If you do reload, or need an excuse to start, get the 25/06!

 

[Shawnee]

Like another poster said - flip a coin.

Whatever you can do with one you will be able to do with the other. The only notable difference between the two is that common bullet selection for the .25/06 runs from 87gr. to 120gr. and for the .270 it runs from 100gr. to 150gr. If you will do a lot of varmint shooting, the .25/06 probably deserves the nod. If you'll do mostly deer and elk hunting, the .270 has a tiny edge.

Either will do what you want just fine because they are both very fine cartridges.

 

[BADUNAME37]

I also say, if you don't reload, or see yourself doing it in the near future, I'd go with the 270. You will have a lot more choices of factory ammo. You need to buy all different kinds of ammo (one box of each) and see which ammo the gun pulls the tightest group at 100 yards with, then always use that exact ammo.

If you should then start reloading in the future, you may be able to make any small groups even smaller as you fine-tune the cartridge to the gun!

The 270 was my first bolt action rifle and killed everything from coyote, fox, many woodchucks, deer and a black bear with it. I used 130 grain Hornady spire soft points and IMR 4350 powder and pulled about 3/4" groups at 100 yards.