For big game hunting (elk, deer, moose) would a 270, 308, or 30-06 be better?

[Steve in Virginia]

I own and use rifles chambered in .308 and .270 the most, but if I had to have only one for the game animals you mentioned, 30-06 is probably the most versatile choice. You have a wide range of ammunition options to choose from, and can probably find a box of shells if you need one in any gun store on the globe.

[any270willdo]

i believe in the kiss program.
keep it simple stupid. it works for me. first thing to do is pick the weight of a bullet u want to shoot. then pick a cartridge to put behind it. i shoot to kill an animal humanely (sp?) with little meat damage. the best bullets for 264 are 140, 270 150, 7mm 160, .308 180-200. the best cartridges are the 308, WSM, 30'06, 300 Win Mag. i prefer the 270 bullet. have gone to 270 WSM in 6.2 lb Kimber rifle. shoot 150 bullets. only shoot hunting bullets. 150 Nozler Partition, 150 Fusion. going to try 150 nozler accubond LR to see how they perform.
don't get to shoot a lot of ammo. animals seem to go down w 1 shot with the 270.
love the 6.2 lb Kimber in 270 WSM. has a long range w low recoil. love long shots. dropped a moose at 400 yds+.
the 30 caliber has more bullet weights available than any other caliber. in between the lines this translates into the 30 caliber shoots more bullets poorly than any other caliber.
the guys that complain about the 270 don't own one. i own a 30'06 and 300 Win Mag.
all my guns are inside a quarter at 100 yds. the 30 caliber does too much meat damage for me and doesn't have the penetration(sp?)
270 w 150 gr Nozler Partition or 150 Fusion works on lung shots or shoulder shots at close range or long range w minimal meat damage.

[Guest]

30-06 is the best of these three for your requirements. It is a very flexible cartridge and you don't have to shoot moose loads all the time so you can temper the load to your specific recoil tolerances. You can shoot small 125g to 150g bullets for deer, the 168g Barnes for deer, elk and even moose. The 180g and above are there if you need them for moose and elk. When I first started hunting, I feared the recoil of the 30-06 but later discovered that it could be shot at the same recoil level of the .308 if desired. I even shoot varmints with mine now using 110g bullets with light recoil. It is a flexible cartridge indeed but with the most power for your specific needs. After shooting all these for the last many years, I regard the .270 as the nastiest recoiler using heavy loads. It just seems like a real fast shot to the shoulder to me but they can all be reloaded for your needs and recoil tolerances if desired.

Never shot a .270 that didn't kick like a pissed off mule. I've got one '06 I would shoot off my nose, the other seems to kick a little harder. The lightest one (Remington 700 ADL), seems to be the lightest kicker. Go figure.

[DeerSlayer001]

Any of them will work for deer. But the .30/06 is no doubt the most versatile one of the three. If you are smart about what loads you are using it will get it done. I have used the 3006 for all of my deer.

[357]

I would split it between 30-06 or 308 and spend a lot of time practicing i've never been a big fan of the 270.

[AlaskanExile]

You can't lose with any of these calibers. Find a rifle you like. If I were truly pressed, I would say the 30-06, just because it has 110 years of use, there are endless sources of ammo, lots of cheap surplus ammo to practice with, ammo in lots of choices for hunting. You can't lose.
AKX

[Capt1340]

If you will go for deer also then i would go for the 308...that does all...but for moose 30-06 is very popular in my area....both are easy to find all kinds of bullets u like ...my first rifle was a 308 savage lever action (very nice) about 30 years ago . since a few year i hunt moose with 7 mm rem mag for long shot, and 30-30 for deer..

[Jason Sparkman]

The reality is all 3 will do for non dangerous game. I consider Brown Bear dangerous, and possible bull moose during the rut. I prefer a 30 cal for bullet weight on bigger game but with todays bullet tech I don't think penetration is going to be an issue with either. I get kinda stumped when I see comments on how an 06 is better than an 08 because it can handle heavier bullets up to 220 grains. That would have mattered a little say 30-40 years ago when someone was more likely to use cup and core bullets on 1500 lb animals, but most knowledgeable hunters are using bonded cores, partitions, and similar. The need for anything heavier in 30 cal than say 180, simply isn't necessary. Given that, the 08 and 06 have at most 100-150 fps separating them, so I say if its between those two, go with either one, elk, moose, deer, black bear isn't going to know the difference. With the 270, there are countless success stories, its quite capable, I wouldn't hesitate to pop moose with it using the right bullets. I have owned a 270, 300 Weatherby, 3030, 308. My "opinion" is: given recoil, practicality, rifle weight, killing power etc, the 308 had the advantage, I found the weatherby to have no advantage because most hunters aren't accurate enough at very long range to take advantage of what it offers over the 308 and 3006, up close there is no advantage. Substitute an 06 for it if you like, it really is just personal preference at that point.

[Tom Huber]

Dropped plenty of deer with my Remington 700 .308 and one elk. I did jump up to a 338-06 for Africa - dropped six species with it and then another 2 with a 30-06. If you told me I could only have one, I'd go with the 308, but acknowledge that's largely driven by having sent more rounds down range with it, dropped deer in some quick decision moments and am comfortable off handing an apple at 200 yards with it; can't say I've got that comfort with the others . . . yet :-) Pick one and practice, practice, practice in as real of a shooting situation as you can find.