Author Topic: 7.62 X 39 versus .270 Win.? (Read 6617 times)

His lordship. · « **on:** September 04, 2009, 06:54:22 AM »

Thinking about getting a bolt action rifle for more hunting opportunities and have been shocked at the cost of ammo recently. I have used 7.62 X 39 for many years in my SKS and AK, but am now down to just a minty unissued Yugo SKS that I keep more for investment reasons, and don't shoot much. 7. 62 X 39 is alot cheaper than .270 Win.

Considering a Ruger Hawkeye in .270 or another type in 7.62 X 39. I am more comfortable shooting around 50-200 yards, maybe 300. Most of my hunting is varmint type, but would like the option of going after deer if the chance comes up.

With the 7.62 X 39 I could practice more, but with the .270 there would be the option of taking a chance at something "way out there". What would you guys recommend?

hunt-m-up · « **Reply #1 on:** September 04, 2009, 07:25:21 AM »

.270 all the way and don't look back, you can still buy all of the Rem,Win,Fed basic soft point ammo and kill all the deer you want without breaking the bank. Would you want that once-in-a-lifetime shot at 300yds to be with a .270 or or the 7.62x39? It won't matter what you spent on ammo at that point.

boaman88 · « **Reply #2 on:** September 04, 2009, 10:57:41 AM »

Not even a contest, go with the 270. If its just a matter of cost there are some pretty nice budget rifles out there now like the Marlin XL7. You can get one for under $300. You can also buy cheaper ammo for practice online from sites like AIM Surplus & Sportsmans Guide . Wolf and Privi Partisan both make soft point 270 Win for less than $20 a box. Keep an eye out at Walmart, they get cheap Federal ammo in on a regular basis. Its usually less than $20 a box too.

bart74 · « **Reply #3 on:** September 04, 2009, 11:45:36 AM »

.270 hands down 130 gr winchester power points

R.W.Dale · « **Reply #4 on:** September 04, 2009, 10:34:50 PM »

Quote

It won't matter what you spent on ammo at that point.

I disagree

If you can't afford to practice and get proficent the flattest shootin cartridge in the world won't help you make that 300yd shot

I'm gonna suggest a compromise. Forget the 270win and buy a 308 or 30-06, both these cartridges have fairly inexpensive practice loads available in steel cased Russian flavor or surplus and quite frankly there ain't a damn thing a 270 can do that a 308 or 30-06 can't do just as well or better

sbuff · « **Reply #5 on:** September 05, 2009, 03:29:34 AM »

Well I never have used a .270,but my Ruger mini 30 in 7.62x39 has killed many deer for me.Ammo price's are up all over,I don't like to put a price on a round if I don't have to.I would say what ever works for you and your most comfortable with.

Where we hunt in NYS most shots are way under a 100 yards.

Steve

lostintexas · « **Reply #6 on:** September 07, 2009, 05:52:35 PM »

.270 the 7.62x39 will work but the .270 is a much better caliber

torpedoman · « **Reply #7 on:** September 07, 2009, 05:58:31 PM »

buy a 762x54 mosin nagant same as 308 tons of money left over for ammo to practice with. most are accurate if not shot out.

hunt-m-up · « **Reply #8 on:** September 08, 2009, 07:09:21 AM »

Quote from: krochus on September 04, 2009, 10:34:50 PM

Quote
It won't matter what you spent on ammo at that point.

I disagree

If you can't afford to practice and get proficent the flattest shootin cartridge in the world won't help you make that 300yd shot

I'm gonna suggest a compromise. Forget the 270win and buy a 308 or 30-06, both these cartridges have fairly inexpensive practice loads available in steel cased Russian flavor or surplus and quite frankly there ain't a damn thing a 270 can do that a 308 or 30-06 can't do just as well or better

Why shoot surplus that doesn't match your hunting loads ballistically or isn't as accurate when you can buy factory for $16-18 per 20 and take the same load hunting for deer? Shooting a lot of inaccurate ammo doesn't make one proficient. The OP mentioned a Ruger Hawkeye so he isn't completely on a budget, that's Stevens or Marlin territory. I agree the .308 or 30-06 would be very fine choices as well.

R.W.Dale · « **Reply #9 on:** September 08, 2009, 07:21:02 AM »

The kill zone on a deer is actually a rather large target at over 8" so again I disagree cheap ammo can serve a purpose if it allows you to get off the bench and actually practice enough shooting in field positions. Surplus and steel cased is more than accurate enough for field shooting practice. Something that in my opinion requires at least 60 rounds fired before season. So you'll spend well over $50 just to practice for the season with a 270win......Unless you're one of those hunters who pride themselves on shooting the same box of "shells" for 20yrs.

Quote

Shooting a lot of inaccurate ammo doesn't make one proficient.

It goes a lot father than not shooting ANY expensive ammo. That practice you got on trigger and muzzle control with the cheap stuff doesn't go away when just before season you "sight in" your gun for your favorite hunting load

The slob hunter merely insures his rifle is still "sighted in" a real hunter takes the time and expense to make sure HE'S still sighted in as well. One only takes 3 or for shots, the other......well

Also don't make the mistaken assumption that cheap ammo always = inaccurate

123 grain Monarch FMJ steel cased 7.62x39mm purchased at under $4 a box

rawhidekid · « **Reply #10 on:** September 11, 2009, 04:58:31 AM »

If you check the ballistic charts you will see the 7.62X39 matches up to the 30-30. The 7.62 X 54 matches the 30-06. With the same weight bullets the 308 should rival the 30-06. The 308 was developed by shortening the case to match powder level of 30-06 in WWII, to save weight carried by GI's.

KAYR1 · « **Reply #11 on:** September 11, 2009, 08:15:19 AM »

As a hunting round, there is no contest between the 7.62x39 and .270. THe .270 is more accurate, powerful, and equipt with much better hunting bullets. I know you can kill game with the 7.62x39, but that doesn't mean it is the best choice. Just my 2c

SHOOTALL · « **Reply #12 on:** September 11, 2009, 10:05:10 AM »

You are kidding right ?270 !

mrbigtexan · « **Reply #13 on:** October 11, 2009, 05:01:33 PM »

regardless of any caliber, i would not practice with any ammo that you are not gonna hunt with. find one that shoots great and only buy that one. only shoot that one. the ones you buy looking for the right one you can save for your friends or family to go plink with. practice at several different yardages, from several different positions. run around and do jumping jacks and get your heart rate up, hold off on peeing till you have to cross your legs, and then practice holding still and making a great shot. regardless of caliber, just be great with it. also i recommend keeping a log on what you have tried and how well it performed out of your rifle.

Big Nasty · « **Reply #14 on:** October 15, 2009, 11:32:04 PM »

All rifles even the exact same rifles shoot factory or any ammo different. If using a scope stay with what you are going to hunt with. If you change ammo you really need to go re-zero. I am no nature Nut by any stretch of the imagination, but you owe it to the critter you are shooting to give it a clean ethical kill shot. If your thoughts are as long as I get it I don't care where I hit it, then you need to hang it up.

nodlenor · « **Reply #15 on:** October 18, 2009, 03:53:08 AM »

This is like comparing apples to watermelon.

JASmith · « **Reply #16 on:** October 18, 2009, 06:33:38 PM »

Several posts suggest that the .308 or 30-06 will do better than the .270 in many respects. They neglect to mention that the 130 gr .270 bullet has about the same sectional density as the 165 gr .308 bullet. This translates to a slightly flatter trajectory -- this will help keep your point of impact within a deer's vital zone with a single aim point out to nearly 300 yards.

.270 doesn't kick as hard!

SHOOTALL · « **Reply #17 on:** October 19, 2009, 09:29:29 AM »

nor does it hit as hard .

Mohawk · « **Reply #18 on:** October 19, 2009, 01:25:54 PM »

7.62X39 can never compare to a .270 if this is the basis for extended range shooting. A better comparison would be with the 7.62X54R as to the .270. A moderate powered cartridge is not a FULL power cartridge.

R.W.Dale · « **Reply #19 on:** October 20, 2009, 09:13:48 PM »

Quote from: JASmith on October 18, 2009, 06:33:38 PM

Several posts suggest that the .308 or 30-06 will do better than the .270 in many respects. They neglect to mention that the 130 gr .270 bullet has about the same sectional density as the 165 gr .308 bullet. This translates to a slightly flatter trajectory -- this will help keep your point of impact within a deer's vital zone with a single aim point out to nearly 300 yards.

.270 doesn't kick as hard!

If you're gonna miss taking that proverbial 300yd shot I assure you it ain't gonna be due to the MINISCULE diffrence in trajectory betwixt 270 and 308-30/06

JASmith · « **Reply #20 on:** October 23, 2009, 03:46:48 PM »

Quote from: krochus on October 20, 2009, 09:13:48 PM

If you're gonna miss taking that proverbial 300yd shot I assure you it ain't gonna be due to the MINISCULE diffrence in trajectory betwixt 270 and 308-30/06

You're very close to being spot on. Consider the Winchester XP3 loads in 130 gr for the .270 Win. and 150 gr in .308 Win. Winchester's ballistic chart indicates that the 130 gr is 6.5" below the aimpoint at 300 yd and the 150 gr .308 is 7.8" low. This is "slightly" flatter, or miniscule, depending on your choice of words. The difference means that it is a little easier to find a sight-in condition (range and height above aim point) for the .270 where you can use a single hold for a standing deer in no wind conditions from the muzzle out to about 300 yards.

Hornady has a nice terminal ballistic calculator, HITS (http://www.hornady.com/ballistics/hits_calculator.php). Plugging the 300 yard velocities into the calculator shows that the .270 is also a tiny bit harder hitting than the .308 150 gr load at 300 yards.

The .270 still has less recoil!

Arier Blut · « **Reply #21 on:** November 04, 2009, 11:52:12 PM »

CZ 527 comes in x39. Will clover leaf with rem sp factory ammo. Most of the myth of the x39 not being accurate comes from two areas. The inaccurate semi auto military style rifle. And the .308 diameter American ammo being fired in foreign .310 bores. Even silver bear will group under an inch in a cz. And that is .310 ammo in a .38 bore.
Remember short fat cartridges are more accurate than long skinny ones. The bench rest guys taught us that. There are some bench rest and silhouette calibers on the x39 brass for that reason, but 6mm bullets of coarse.

The simple answer to your question 200 yards and under, either will do. You want to stretch further out the x39 gets pretty light on energy and drops quite a bit.

R.W.Dale · « **Reply #22 on:** November 05, 2009, 10:36:14 PM »

Arier Blut while I agree with the general gist of your post I would like to point out a couple points of misinformation contained therein that you may not be aware of

Quote

And the .308 diameter American ammo being fired in foreign .310 bores.

American made 7.62x39 ammo is not and never has been loaded with .308" diameter bullets. You can in fact buy the .310" component bullets and Ive verufied this on pulled projectiles. I don't know where this MYTH got started but myself and others are doing out best to put this one to rest

Quote

Even silver bear will group under an inch in a cz. And that is .310 ammo in a .308 bore.

the CZ527 carbine has a nominal bore measurement of .310" on the bore and .300" across the lands. That old American rifleman article is in error on this point.

for more info please click on my sig links

Swampman · « **Reply #23 on:** November 05, 2009, 11:27:17 PM »

The Ruger Hawkeye is an ok rifle. Why not get a .30-06 and be done with it?

Arier Blut · « **Reply #24 on:** November 06, 2009, 11:46:15 AM »

Quote from: krochus on November 05, 2009, 10:36:14 PM

Arier Blut while I agree with the general gist of your post I would like to point out a couple points of misinformation contained therein that you may not be aware of

Quote
And the .308 diameter American ammo being fired in foreign .310 bores.

American made 7.62x39 ammo is not and never has been loaded with .308" diameter bullets. You can in fact buy the .310" component bullets and Ive verufied this on pulled projectiles. I don't know where this MYTH got started but myself and others are doing out best to put this one to rest

Quote
Even silver bear will group under an inch in a cz. And that is .310 ammo in a .308 bore.

the CZ527 carbine has a nominal bore measurement of .310" on the bore and .300" across the lands. That old American rifleman article is in error on this point.

for more info please click on my sig links

Sorry Krochus, thanks for clearing it up. I will take your word for it since I never pulled a win or rem. This info has been running around since the mini started being made in 7.62x39. I have read it so many times in articles. I thought the cheap ammo ran so well because it was over sized. Turns out it is just such an accurate rifle.

Dave in WV · « **Reply #25 on:** November 07, 2009, 03:37:29 AM »

Chris, if most of your hunting is for varnmits and deer is a secondary quarry how about a .243 and start reloading with a Lee Challenger kit?
A new Stevens 200 .243 can be had for under $350.