Examples of some favorite factory ammunition for the .270 Winchester and the .30-06 Springfield in foreground, left to right, .30–06—Federal Premium 180-grain Nosler Partition; . 270 Win.—Federal Premium 130-grain Trophy Bonded tip; .270 Win.— Nosler 130-grain AccuBond, and .270 Win.—Winchester Supreme 130-grain XP3
Photos & Report by Buck Pope, Contributing Editor
I have no idea how many times the question comes up when talking hunting: What is the best caliber, the .270 Winchester or the .30-06 Springfield? Even today, and as long as these two calibers have been out, heated discussions often arise over which is best.
I started off hunting with the .270 Winchester at a rather young age and have never regretted that choice. I was 13 years old and saving my money from doing a paper route. I had saved enough to buy my own deer rifle. Living in the west had narrowed my choices down to either the .270 Winchester or the .30-06 Springfield. Back in those days we didn’t have all the calibers we have today; much less to choose from. I was a big fan of Jack O’Connor and as most know he had a passion for the .270 Winchester.
I did go through the decision making process, which to pick? I talked to my dad about it and to my surprise he suggested the .270 Winchester, as I thought he was a .30-06 man. I even wrote Jack O’Connor about caliber selection and optics for the rifle. The decision was made, it would be a .270 Winchester and now I had to decide what kind and make of rifle to buy. I already knew I wanted a bolt-action type as they were by far the most popular type action for hunting in the west.
I had narrowed my choices down to either a Remington Model 721 or a Winchester Model 70, both bolt-action rifles, both very popular. The price was a big factor, as the difference was over $30, the Remington listed for $88.35 and the Model 70 Winchester was $120.95, according to my 1953 Shooters Bible. As I also would need to buy a scope and mounts, I chose the Remington rifle. It was a good decision based mostly on funds available; later on I wished I had worked another month or so and got the Winchester. Later I bought a Weaver K3 scope and Redfield mounts. I also selected the Western Super X 130-gr. Silvertip for my ammunition.
I did kill a fair number of deer and several elk with that rifle, finally parting with it about 15 years later. Looking back, I now I wish I had kept it as it was my first big game rifle which I bought with my hard earned money. At that time my big game hunting was almost all deer, some elk and if a bear came along I carried a tag. Several years later I was hand loading for my rifle ammunition but I continued to use the130-grain Silvertip bullet. It was my choice for a number of years.
The .30-06 Springfield came to be in 1906 and was developed as a military cartridge. The name came from the caliber—it was .30 caliber—and the date of its origin in 1906. It has been one of, if not the most, popular calibers we have ever had in this country. Even today with the number of different calibers, the .30-06 still remains a top seller. Why is this? Very simply, it’s tops because it works. It is a large enough caliber with a great variety of bullet weights to hunt about any big game animal in North America. The bullet weights range from 125,150, 165, 180, 200-grain to a heavy duty 220 grains for the very large big game animals. Easily the most popular weight bullet is the180-grain followed by the 150- and 165-grain bullets.
To be honest I have hunted very little with the .30-06 Springfield over the years, probably not taking more than ten or so head of game. My game has been deer and elk, also. I never lost an animal to this grand old cartridge. It may not have some of the glamour that other calibers have, but it kills with authority. One of things that makes the .30-06 Springfield so popular is its availability and variety of bullet weights and types of bullets to pick from. You can go to any backwoods the world and they will have ammunition.
I happen to like the 165-grain bullet for mule deer and other similar size big game animals. It shoots a bit flatter, more like a .270 Winchester, and has more than enough energy to get the job done. For elk, the 180-grain is the load. For bear I also like the180- grain, but might go even heavier like the 200-grain if my shooting is close in and we’re looking at big bears. Bullets like the Nosler Partition, Federal Trophy Bonded Bear Claw, Swift A Frame and Barnes Triple Shock come to mind as very reliable deep penetrating bullets.
Kimber Select Grade Model 84L in .270 Winchester topped with a Leupold VX-1 4-12x40mm scope. Rings are Leupold.
I consider the .30- 06 Springfield a 350-yard cartridge for most applications. It has one disadvantage and that is it’s not as flat shooting as others, but if you limit your range it isn’t an issue. The cartridge is naturally an accurate caliber, a great choice for most hunting in North America and truly a can’t-go-wrong selection.
The only exception is the big bears of the North Country, where larger calibers have an advantage. It is also the mother case for a number of other very successful calibers such as the .25-06 Remington, 270 Winchester, .280 Remington, 338-06 ASquare and .35 Whelen. The .270 Winchester was born in the year 1925 and was introduced in a brand new Winchester Model 54 rifle. It was offered in a 130-grain bullet with a velocity rating of 3,140 feet-per-second (fps).
It was quickly seen as a faster and flatter shooting caliber; more ideal for the open long range shooting found in the west. It was made from a .30-06 Springfield case, basically necked down to 0.277. Because it was a smaller diameter the bullet weights were less, however the velocity was greater. It doesn’t have as great a range of bullet weights as the 06 has, but for the right applications it was about ideal for light to medium size game.
Author’s Kimber Select Grade Model 84L in .270 Winchester, using factory Nosler Custom 130-gr. Accubond ammunition rifle, shot a 0.300 inch threeshot group at 100 yards. Rifle weight is only 7¼ pounds with scope.
Today the .270 Winchester is available in a light varmint bullet weight of 100 grain going on up to include 130, 140, 150 and even a 160 grain. The most popular is the 130 grain for deer, caribou, sheep and other similar size animals. The 140- and 150- grain are popular for elk size animals and the 160 grain would be most ideal for big bears. The .270 Winchester has followed the .30-06 Springfield in popularity with the edge almost always going to the .30-06. However in many parts of the west the .270 Winchester is the more popular with hunters. I see the .270 Winchester as about an ideal mule deer, antelope, caribou and sheep caliber. It is a 400-yard caliber and, due to its flatter trajectory, an easier caliber to shoot longer ranges with.
The late great outdoor writer Jack O’Connor was a huge supporter of the .270 Winchester and helped make it as popular as it has become. When trying to decide which is the better caliber, the key to me is what primary big game animal you will be hunting. If the majority of your hunting will be deer, antelope and other similar size animals, I like the .270 Winchester the best. If I am a sheep hunter, the .270 Winchester is very hard to beat.
Now, if I am an elk, bear or moose hunter, and those are my main big game animals, I like the .30-06 Springfield best. As always, bullet type and proper bullet placement is the key to clean kills. In addition several ammunition companies are now offering magnum level performance in these two calibers. Reviewing the ballistic tables shows several of these loads are giving you the equal of an upgrade to 7mm Remington Magnum performance out of the .270 Winchester, and likewise they are getting performance equal to the .300 Winchester magnums out of the .30-06 Springfield in certain bullet weights. The two companies offering this level of performance are Hornady Ammunition with their Superformance and Federal Ammunition with its High Energy Ammunition. However, you must try these loads in your rifle to see if you get the accuracy you desire. Every rifle has certain loads it likes and others that just plain shoot not so great.
Ammunition type and accuracy are vital to making solid kills on your game. It most often takes a bit of research and test firing to get the right load. Today’s premium cartridge makers offer high performance ammunition that is very accurate. The days are gone when you had to handload to get a minute-of-angle or less accuracy with a cartridge.
If you are a handloader, the field of bullets and powders is just huge. Personal favorite bullets for deersize game are the old style Winchester Silvertip, Nosler AccuBond, Swift Scirroco, Winchester XP3, Hornady Interbond and Federal Trophy Bonded Tip. Also the new Winchester Power Max, a bonded bullet, is designed for deer-size animals. For elk and other bigger game the Nosler Partition, Barnes Triple Shock, Federal Trophy Bonded Bear Claw, and Swift A Frame come to mind.
Family of factory calibers that are from the 30–06 case. Left to right: .25-06 Remington; .270 Winchester; .280 Remington; .30–06 Springfield; .338-06 A-Square, and .35 Whelen.
As I mentioned earlier, the beauty of these two calibers is that you can hardly go wrong with either one. Please refer to table below for ballistic examples. Even today with what seems like an endless variety of calibers, these two old veterans, the .270 Winchester and the .30-06 Springfield, continue at the top or near the top almost every time. Age doesn’t seem to matter with these true veterans. I like them both and I can’t see any significant drop in popularity in the near future. With today’s ammunition there is little need to go beyond these two for most any big game animal in North America, with the exception of the grizzly and brown bear.
Ballistics examples for most popular bullet weight in each Caliber
Caliber: .270 Winchester
Bullet Weight and Type: 130 grain Federal Trophy Bonded Tip
Distance Yards Zero 100 200 300 400 500
Velocity fps 3060 2840 2630 2430 2240 2060
Energy Ft.-lbs. 2705 2330 2000 1710 1455 1230
Bullet Drop (inches) Zero +1.4 Zero -6.4 -18.7 -38.0
Source: Federal Premium Ammunition
Suggested Application: antelope, deer, sheep, caribou, elk
Caliber: .30-06 Springfield
Bullet Weight and Type: 180 gr. Nosler Partition
Distance Yards Zero 100 200 300 400 500
Velocity fps: 2700 2510 2330 2160 2000 1840
Energy Ft.-Lbs 2915 2525 2175 1865 1590 1350
Bullet Drop (inches) Zero +2.0 Zero -8.3- -23.8 -47.4
Source: Federal Premium Ammunition
Suggested Application: elk, moose, bear
