Both 270 and 30-06 have the same casing. What is the difference and which one is the better gun?

i never have shot a 270. yet but my grandpas 30.06 is a great gun i love it. i like to shoot the 150 grain. bullents in it. the .55 grains rise and its not sighted in on them, 165. are the next best things i like to the 150. grains, and the 180. grains drop to fast for me but i thing the 180. grains are for hevey cover.

Deer won't know the difference. Both are great and can be found in any store that sales ammo. The only advantage is that the '06 can be found in a variety of bullet weights. .270 shoots flat at a high velocity and the '06 has a little more punch. In most cases the .270 had less recoil. I shoot a .270. The largest game I may one day hunt will probably be an elk and I am confident with my .270.

You will probably have more versatility of bullet weights and applications with the 06. Still, .270 is a heck of a gun. Own a 700 bdl and have never had a complaint except for the recoil from my hopped up loads. Fixed that problem with a Decelerator pad and is just about the perfect gun for me now. Best suggestion is to shoot what you're confident/comfortable with.

I have a 30/06, that I got last year, a pre 63 model 70...too good a deal to pass up, never shot an animal with it, will shoot one this year, but If I had to go buy one, i would go buy a 270....but this is a good question or debate....almost rivals ford or chevy,,,or coke or pepsi.

Leave em both at home and get a 300 win mag.

CAN'T BEAT THE 300 WIN MAG. EVEN IF YOU HIT IT IN THE TAIL IT WILL DROP IN ITS TRACKS.

get a 270. you wont' be disappointed. i primarily hunt deer and with a good scope you can't beat it. shot placement is the key.

This "argument" has been going since 1925 when the 270 was born. A 270 shoots a 130 gr bullet a little flatter than the '06's 150 gr bullet, and with a little less recoil. A 270 in the hands of the late author Jack O'Connor has taken almost every animal in North America successfully. However as other people have noted the '06 offers a wider range of bullet weights and is the most popular caliber in the world for hunting purposes. So there is no right or wrong decision here for using either one in Texas...though I personally prefer the 270 and either the old faithful 130 gr'er but I also shoot some 150's since they carry a little better at ranges over 300 yards on Texas sized WhiteTails. I also shoot a 300WinMg for 165/180/200gr bullet weights and a 338 for bullets in the 225/250gr range. In the Rockies or Alaska for use on critters smaller than Grizzlies I'd opt for the '06 if these two caliber were my only choice and get a little closer for the shot.
Ron

You could poll 1,000,000 people and ask them this question and some would say the 270 is better and some would say the 30/06 is better. However the correct answer is the 300 win mag.LOL Its just like asking who makes a better pickup. Some will say Chevy and some will say Dodge, But the correct answer to that question is Ford.LOL

Ho Ho Ted, either or and then throw the third out as the best. Since we are talking about a round that is based on the 30-06 case, the 300 Win Mag in not even in the picture. However....How about the .280 Remington? Based on the 30-06 case which has been necked down to the 7mm bullet and out performs both the 06 and the .270. I admit they are a little harder to come by, especially in a favorite Ruger M77, BUT well worth the effort needed to obtain one. Just sign me...got mine and darn glad I did!!

Years ago whenI was running a Sporting Goods distributor in Dallas, and still making dealer calls occasionaly on large accounts, I was in Longview at Tony & Margie Valentino's legendary store when this question came up and Tony was having trouble in getting a customer to make a decision between the two calibers in a Rem'Chester of some sort.
When Tony asked me to offer an opinion, I asked the customer where he lived... When both Tony and the customer asked what difference that made I replied... Well if you live in Gregg County then you need to buy a 30/06! And they both went Huh? where would you need to live to buy a 270? Again I replied ...in Smith County (the next county west)...Tony begin to catch the joke and asked well why was that...I replied "because some time in the past 50 or 75 years some old gunsmith here in Gregg County has declared the 30/06 to be the only caliber worth owning, and it doesn't make a hill of beans difference if you have a 270 that will shoot like it was radar controlled ... all your friends and family will make fun of you and life will be miserable until you go buy a 30/06 like they have all owned since Hector was a pup! Tony laughed and said YUP! I sell 4 times more 30/06 ammo than 270 ammo even though I know that 270's outsell '06's all over the country 3 to 1. Times have changed and more people only own one deer rifle now but the adage is the same. Depending on where you live hunt and what you hunt since the explosive growth of feral hog hunting, there is a marginal difference in performance at best between a 270 and a 30/06 at ranges that Texas hunters commonly shoot at. If I lived out West and hunted elk/moose/black bear regularly of the two calibers and NEEDED a heavier bullet than a 270's 150 gr'er I would own a 30/06. But I don't live and hunt in the Rockies regularly so I shoot a 270 and have for 25 years and never had a Texas White Tailed size critter walk away. I like "DRT" Dead Right There calibers, and currently only own 3 calibers that are sized with the size critter and terrain involved I am likely to get a shot at. I shoot a 270 75% of the time, a 300WinMg 20% of the time and have begun to play with a 338WinMg in preparation of chasing 600 lb and larger non dangerous critters...and then I'll pick up a 416 Remington to use on things that want to stomp, gore or eat me first!
Not to add fire to the 270x30/06 argument, which is an unwinnable one, all my old gunsmith buddies have told me for 40 years that a .284 diameter bullet is ballistically superior and inherently more accurate than either the .277 diameter or the .308 diameter, and thats why my grandfather, who had hunted all over North America since the Thities told me in 1965 to go find a 280 Remington rifle and keep it forever. when the first six gunstores I looked at in Dallas said they did not even stock 280 ammo but once a year and then only one bullet weight and style, 150 gr'ers and only Remington loaded ammo for the caliber, I knew Pop Wyatt was way ahead of his time. The 1000 yard Wimbledon Trials however list more 308 Winchester rouds as champions than any other caliber...so go figure. Flip a coin and pay more attention to the brand of rifle being used...or go buy a BIG jug of whiskey 'cause it'll be a long nite in deer camp arguing about 270 x 30/06's.
Ron

Ah NoHeart and his 280. Man it is easier to argue with a woman than to argue with you about your beloved 280.LOL How does Giggles put up with you?

If you're looking at the .270 I might suggest .270WSM much better ballistics than the standard .270

Wiley could not have put it any better....Great Job!! By far, the most important choice to make is how much time you are going to spend with ANY firearm. Enough practice to be able to put your bullet where you want it with hunting extremes will make any caliber the deadliest thing in the county. By the way Wiley, I have heard that now you can live in Gregg County, keep a P.O. Box in Smith County, and be able to buy BOTH guns.

No Heart, since you are located at Texoma do you know if Ray Zipper has reopened his gun range? It looks like we will be moving to the lake house sometime next year and I need a place to practice.
What about hog hunting somewhere on the River??? I talked to Dale Moses last year and he suggested somewhere on Corps Property west of Slickum Slough in Cook County but didn't have a specific spot he was willing to share! LOL!
Ron

Great info... Personally, I would go and buy a 270 for just hunting deer in TX but I shoot a 30.06 since it is a free gun. And a very nice one so I wouldn't want to insult the owner. :grin