270 versus 308

[Fire/hunting guy]

I am wanting to buy my 16 year old son a new deer rifle for the upcoming season.  He has outgrown his youth 243 single shot and I have a younger son who is getting into hunting that he can hand down his 243 to.  I am looking at the Ruger American rifle.  It has great reviews and comes in both the 270 and 308.  Does anyone have any knowledge of the Ruger?  My son is 5'10" and probably 175 pounds, so he's not to little for either of these rifles in my opinion.  Any thoughts?

[RED333]

I vote 308, I have 3 rifles in 308, handles small tree limbs well.

[TNFlyer]

I'd go with the .270.

But, either will do him fine. My reason for the .270 is that if we have another big run on ammo .308 may be hard to find. But, it seemed like I could find normal hunting calibers where ever I went.

[~48_South~]

 I personally like 308 for various reasons that arent really applicable here so that being said 270 tends to have a little better ballistics than 308 at range so thats what I would go with in your situation. But that also depends on if he will be mostly hunting in the woods or hunting a nice field. The higher velocity 270 tends to fly a fair amount flatter but the lower velocity often heavier 308 will likely do better in light brush.

Edited August 13, 2013 by ~48_South~

[DaveS]

I have a Ruger in .308 and I absolutely love it! I know a few people who have a .270 and neither has much nice to say about it.

 

DaveS

Edited August 13, 2013 by DaveS

[ShaunM]

I've owned both and I liked the 308 better. They will both kill deer.

[Smokin45]

I have both and used them for deer hunting no problem with either. If you reload the 308 has more of a range in bullet weights than the 270.  Reload for any type of hunting. Good Luck

[nightrunner]

.270 requires the long action whereas the .308 utilizes the short action. .308 will be slightly lighter.

. 270 will recoil more and shoot flatter.

Id suggest .308

[Lumber_Jack]

I'd choose .308 for the reasons nightrunner stated. Short action is better for follow up shots, the bolt generally works quicker. It's a good round for long range.

.270 is generally more available in panic situations but hopefully that won't be an issue again soon

[Caster]

.308 hands down.

Ammo? You should be loading it anyways! Now, I can make 308's from .270 brass but you can't go the other way around.

[JohnC]

.270 all the way!

[gregintenn]

In practical hunting situations using the right ammunition for the conditions, you will never see a real difference between the two. Were it me, I'd get the 308, but I have a couple of boxes of ammo laying around and no 308 rifle.

[R_Bert]

The only thing I have shot both calibers is in a 15" Thompson Encore pistol.  In that case, there is significantly more recoil .270 vs .308.  Enough that I flinch big time on the .270

 

Like a few others, I know more folks that have shed the .270 than kept it, especially for deer hunting in TN.  If you want big...go with the .338 Lapua. Otherwise, stay with .308 Win, .30-06, or upgrade to a semi-auto in .243 Win (plenty big enough cartridge) or a nice lever action.

 

B. 

Edited August 14, 2013 by R_Bert

[whiskey]

If it were my son, I'd buy him the .308. Short action wins first in my book. Second, I believe that the .308 is a more versatile round. Regardless if you load or buy your ammo, there is a wider variety of loads for the .308. There are also lots of choices for other fantastic short action calibers if he ever wanted to rebarrel the gun.

.270 has killed lots of deer. Nothing wrong with that caliber for straight up deer killing.

I am certain that which ever gun you choose, he will love it and develop a fondness for that caliber. Best of luck.

[peejman]

Why not stick with .243?  Same ammo for both guns.  Light recoil, flat trajectory, ... dead deer. 

[Jonnin]

I would say 308 because the ammo is more common. 

 

I am a little bigger than your boy (6 foot and 185) and I admit it: full 308 loads (factory) in my lever action (same would be true of a bolt action) is stout recoil.  Its a handful to practice with (shooting many times).  A box of 20+ is a good chance for a very sore shoulder the next day.   270 is worse.   Neither one is suitable for long practice sessions, then --- if you want to shoot a lot, keep him on 243.  

 

308 and 243 may be able to share some of the reloading dies, not 100% sure.  243 is based off 308 case I think.

 

That rifle looks like a good one.   I thought it came in more calibers than that???

[Fire/hunting guy]

That rifle looks like a good one. I thought it came in more calibers than that???

It does, it comes in a 30-06, 270, 308, and I think one of the 7mm flavors. It's got great reviews and was one of guns @ ammo top ten deer rifles for under 500 bucks. They go for about 335 at cheaper than dirt.

[Fire/hunting guy]

Looks like I'm going to go with the .308. Thanks everyone for your opinions. This should be an exciting deer hunt coming up this fall, lots of deer running around our neck of the woods.

[nightrunner]

If you could find ammo for it where you are, 7mm-08 would be a good compromise. Bullet diameter at .284 is bigger than the .270 but a bit smaller than the .308 and will shoot flatter than the .308 and still retain the short action. 7mm bullets have an excellent ballistic coefficient as well.

[whiskey]

If you could find ammo for it where you are, 7mm-08 would be a good compromise. Bullet diameter at .284 is bigger than the .270 but a bit smaller than the .308 and will shoot flatter than the .308 and still retain the short action. 7mm bullets have an excellent ballistic coefficient as well.

I hunt with a 7mm-08. Great gun. Limited store bought ammo choices compared to many others though. Mine happens to shoot the lighter weight Fusion rounds into a one shot group. I think they are 120gr.

[DaveS]

I hunt with a 7mm-08. Great gun. Limited store bought ammo choices compared to many others though. Mine happens to shoot the lighter weight Fusion rounds into a one shot group. I think they are 120gr.

That's what we were hog hunting at Jason's with. That 120 grain (Jason had reduced recoil ammo) was knocking hogs down like nothing. Even that big behemoth looking thing I killed hit the ground kicking! 7mm/08 is a damn fine hunting round!

 

Dave

[10-Ring]

I'm partial to .270 and inexperienced with .308.  I could buy .270 even at the midst of the ammo shortage, .308 couldn't be found.  In my experience .270 is about a perfect round for TN whitetails.  I've killed dozens of deer with a .270, I've lost 2 in that time, never had one run more than 30-40 yards and more than half dropped in their tracks.  While being an effective round it isn't bad to tear up too much meat, of course I always aim right behind the shoulder where the only meat getting hit is rib meat anyway.

[Patton]

. 270 will recoil more and shoot flatter.

Id suggest .308

I can vouch for .270's heavy recoil. A .308 may recoil as much, I don't know. I went from a 30-06 Rem 742 to a Rem 700 in .270, and the .270 kicked more. Really though, it shouldn't matter. Why not another .243?

[Fire/hunting guy]

I can vouch for .270's heavy recoil. A .308 may recoil as much, I don't know. I went from a 30-06 Rem 742 to a Rem 700 in .270, and the .270 kicked more. Really though, it shouldn't matter. Why not another .243?

The 243 he had was a youth rifle that he had outgrown pretty much. I wasn't opposed to another one, but when your 16 and youre "stepping up" from a gun you've been using since you were twelve, well I think you see where I'm going with this. We found a great buy on a Browning A-bolt 7mm08 that we've both shot, great gun!

Hey, was that a remington woodmaster that you used? That's what I hunt with, I love it! Awesome rifle!

[gregintenn]

I'm 40 and still do a lot of hunting with a 243.