Which Rifle 270 or 300 win mag?

[Guest Grizzly Johnson]

Looking into buying a deer rifle to last me for a while. I would hunt mostly in woods but sometimes in large open fields. I am torn between a Remington 700 or a Browning A-Bolt with BOSS in either a .270 or .300 win mag in a stainless finish. I want distance and plenty of knock down power if needed out to 500 yards. Not that I would shoot a deer at 500 yards but I do hunt the occasional coyote. My scope choice is probably going to be somewhere in the 4x14x40 or 4.5x16x42. Recoil is not an issue as I regularly shoot a SP-10 ga waterfowl hunting.

[Rightwinger]

.300 Win Mag will do what your looking to do with that extra kiss of "oomph" over the .270

[Im Neero]

Between the two I'd go with the .300 mag. I like 30 caliber rounds for deer, but the .270 should be fine too. Maybe see which one has cheaper ammo.

[andersmg]

If you are gonna have the boss system you might want to go ahead and get yourself some ear protection that you can hear with but that also shuts off at a certain decibel because you may go deaf shooting without ear protection. Just my two cents...

[Guest 2HOW]

Thats a no brainier, the 300 . what dont you understand about ballistics?

[Rightwinger]

If you really want to twist your tail....get what I drag out once in a while to impede the earth's rotation.....my .340 Weatherby Magnum. If you hit em right you don't have to field dress em!

[Guest jackdog]

Sorry to disagree guys but a 270 is one fine deer rifle. Remember it's a deer not a bull moose. My uncle bought me a 270 when I was a young man and I still use it for deer hunting, with no problems at all

[Rightwinger]

Nothing wrong with a .270

Its just not a .30 cal. Heck you can knock em down with just about anything. My 10 year old got his first this year with a .223

[Guest TN.Frank]

The 300Win Mag is way too much for deer. The 270Win will work on deer out to 500 yrds all day long and won't beat ya' to death either. Heck, with a 150gr bullet the 270Win would also make a fine elk rifle too.

I don't understand why people feel they need a cannon to kill a little ol' deer. Heck, they've been dropping from the 30/30Win for over a 100 years just fine, don't know why you'd want anything more.

If you just have to have a 30cal. then get a 308Win or 30-06, both are fine deer ctgs. that'll work great if you do your part.

Another thing, ya' don't need a 4-14x scope at woods range either. Standard rule of thumb, 1x/100yrds. Get a good 2-7x and be done with it, and make sure you don't get those stupid "see thru" mounts. A scope should be mounted as close to the rifle as possible and if you keep the lower power number at 2x you can use the scope and won't need iron sights.

[et45]

+1.What Frank said

[Guest TN.Frank]

Also, if you want a good rifle that'll work on deer and coyotes then give a 25-06 a look. With a 120gr bullet it'll take deer out to 350-400yrds and it'll play heck on 'yotes out to 500 yrds. with some of the lighter bullets.

[Im Neero]

I agree with frank, btw. 30-06 is my favorite deer cartridge, but the choices mentioned .300 magnum and .270 as options, so between the two I picked the .30 cal just because I like heavier bullets better.

[Rightwinger]

The 300Win Mag is way too much for deer. The 270Win will work on deer out to 500 yrds all day long and won't beat ya' to death either. Heck, with a 150gr bullet the 270Win would also make a fine elk rifle too.

I don't understand why people feel they need a cannon to kill a little ol' deer. Heck, they've been dropping from the 30/30Win for over a 100 years just fine, don't know why you'd want anything more.

If you just have to have a 30cal. then get a 308Win or 30-06, both are fine deer ctgs. that'll work great if you do your part.

Another thing, ya' don't need a 4-14x scope at woods range either. Standard rule of thumb, 1x/100yrds. Get a good 2-7x and be done with it, and make sure you don't get those stupid "see thru" mounts. A scope should be mounted as close to the rifle as possible and if you keep the lower power number at 2x you can use the scope and won't need iron sights.

Poking holes

Any caliber, if you like it and put the right bullet combination on it can and will kill a deer. Like I said previously, my son knocked one down this year with a .223 Rossi single shot, 55 grain Remy PSPs. I have shot deer and coyte with my .340 mag and there is just not that much difference from my 30-06. The reason I have it is because frankly I can! Also because I can change the bullets to TSX or Nosler Partition or Hollow Point and do as much or little damage as needed. I can always drop down the speed and bullet weight. You can't move up much once your locked into .20 calibers.

Muzzle loaders are .45 and .50 caliber for a reason. They work. All the reasoning above is good and valid and the OP wanted opinion. He's sure getting them.

Now where is that .458 Socom ammo, I'm feeling the need to make holes.!

Edited February 16, 2008 by Rightwinger
spelling

[Guest gcrookston]

Although I have hunted deer in the past with both .300 and .264 WM, my preference is 270. I have taken a few deer with .270 out to 400 yrds and antelope 500-600 yrds without a problem

[Guest TN.Frank]

If you want a nice, "normal" caliber get an '06. It's killed everything in North America including large brown bear. Likes been said, proper bullet is more key then caliber. I had plans on using a Ruger .220 Swift until I sold it to a buddy and I'm sure it'd have worked just fine.

[Guest woodsltc]

Between the .270 & .300mag for deer. I would opt for the .270.

.300 mag is simply over-kill for deer. A good compromise would be a .30-06.

Don

[Guest TN.Frank]

Someone on here had a Mossberg rifle in '06 for $225, that'd be a heck of a good deal if you put a decent 2-7x scope on it.

[Guest someguy12341]

Speaking only for myself, why would someone feel the need to hunt with a 'cannon' (i.e., .308?) 'Cause I can afford exactly *one* really nice rifle set up exactly how I want it, and it needs to be able to do pretty much anything...

But then, there's really no wrong answer to a rhetorical question, right?

[Rightwinger]

No love for the big guns:(

[Guest cap4004]

why would someone feel the need to hunt with a 'cannon' (i.e., .308?)

.308 = cannon ?

[Guest TN.Frank]

A 300WinMag is total overkill on deer size game. If you want one rifle that'll do it all then get an '06. You can kill anything you'd care to hunt in N.America with one and it won't beat ya' to death either. IF you must get a Mag of some kind then one of the short mags in 270 or 7mm would probably be your best bet as they'll offer balistics in the 30'06 range along with about the same recoil.

You won't believe all the guys I see trying to sight in their 300WinMags(and sometimes even larger guns) each deer season over on Genisis Rd. and they all are scared to death of the rifle, flinch all the time and NEVER get a decent group with the gun. Get a gun you can shoot well and don't worry so much about caliber or "Power", a .223Rem with proper bullet and a well placed shot can and has brought down many deer. Personally, if I were looking for a deer rifle I'd get a .243Win or find an old Savage 99 in 250Savage and be pleased as punch.

[Im Neero]

I wouldn't consider .308 a cannon by any stretch. .300 mag, maybe.

I like the bigger, heavier 30 caliber bullet over the .270 because most of my hunting is done in the woods, and the bigger, heavier bullet stands a better chance of not being deflected than does a smaller, lighter bullet in .270 or 7mm or what have you.

[Guest TN.Frank]

You know I read a study on bullet deflection when hitting brush in a Gun mag where they tested all manner of rifle and the 6mm Rem did just as well if not better then a 45-70Gov't. It's because the smaller bullet could get thru the brush without hitting it where as the larger bullet hit more brush. There is no such thing as a "Brush Gun", it's a myth. Besides, a person shouldn't be shooting at game unless he's got a clear shot.

http://www.hunting.net/forum/tm.aspx?m=2582071

http://books.google.com/books?id=I2A50VngxgQC&pg=PA27&lpg=PA27&dq=the+myth+of+the+brush+gun&source=web&ots=cXBkbO4_eR&sig=GReNpbyU4IRYmn_Jk_zXdBurnXw

http://www.huntingnet.com/forum/tm.aspx?m=2582071&mpage=2

[molonlabetn]

Sectional density, structural integrity and stability play a much larger role in bullet penetration than does caliber or energy.

I could see a 'brush gun' being a valid definition for a short-range heavy-hitter used to put down dangerous game when a clear shot is not assured (wild boar, etc...)

[Guest jcramin]

Extra power with deer isnt always good. My dad used to hunt with a .300 Weatherby. He used it for MOOSE too. BUT after hitting a deer and the deer not droping he was very unhappy with it and sent a letter to Weatherby and there response was. The 300 weatherby bullet goes so fast and is so hot it can sometimes go right thru something like a deer and seal the wonds on the way. He switched to .270 for deer.