270 Winchester, 6.5-06, or 25-06 Fast Twist Deer Rifle

[ILVTOHT]

Sooooo stuck on this, I have a stock, a trigger, and a 06 length action, looking to install a fast twist 26" barrel for long range shooting and deer. I have a custom 300 for elk works, and a 35 Whelen for a timber rifle, looking at 3 long range options, no I do not want a 6.5 CM or PRC ! not interested, but have an associate with a long range 270 win with the new 170 grain berger. Handloads are mid 2900 fps (very impressive!) and he also has a 25-06 fast twist shooting the new 133 grain Bergers at 3000 fps. The ballistics are quite amazing with these slippery bullets, brass is available and standard, even the 6.5-06 is easy enough to work with.......stuck on cartridge selection. Thoughts? and hoping for gents who have these rifles.

6.5-270! Better neck! Or if you don't mind fire forming 6.5 Sherman 129 Accubond Long Range @ 3300+. It's a killer!

 

[JarHeadTim]

280 AI

 

[HNDLDR]

I'm am a 25-06 fan. If it were me the case would be closed.

 

[big johnson]

6.5-06 fast twist set up with Berger 156 EOL's should be killer. I built a 6.5 PRC last year and if I was doing it over I would build a 6.5 -06 imp, wouldn't have to worry about the shortage of brass .

 

[.300 Dakota]

My Vote, of those choices,.. .270 Win., 1-8.5 Twist, launching,. 165 -175's

I would 2nd this. If you twist the .25-06 to 7.5 or 8 and it doesn't like the Berger 133 or they go "extinct," then what? Nothing else you can fund will likely survive or shoot well due to the fast twist/velocity combination. 6.5 long action makes sense except for brass availability or the difficulty in forming it and/or finding dies and time to do so. 6.5x284 is readily available, but it can be a chore to find bottom metal/action lengths ideal for handling the in-between case size. If you can beat this issue out first, then it is about as perfect as you can get for deer and mule deer. Good for elk, too. But the 8 or 8.5 twist .270 will handle all of your 140 - 175gr pills well, there's plenty of brass and bullets, it's a better choice for the large species, and factory ammo is handy, which it isn't for the other choices. The ONLY issue I've run into in planning to build one is finding a barrel available twisted accordingly without a several-month wait. The barrel makers are behind the times or don't want to change their programming, so anything you find ready to ship will be 1:10. Same with the .25cal except there are a few offering 7.5 twists to buy now, but like only 1 with an 8 twist handy. Everything is still a 1:10 on the shelves. Not sure why the barrel makers are lagging behind the rest of the industry here, but they are the rate-limiting step of the process for sure when it comes to .270 and .25 bores. You won't go wrong with any of your choices, but you need to see what parts and components are available for each to fully decide. An 8 twist 6.5x284 in standard long action MIGHT be your path of least resistance to getting bullets on paper the fastest and easiest.

 

[Deerhntr71]

6.8 Western, basically 270WSM with faster twist barrel, shooting heavier .270 bullets.

 

[Deerhntr71]

Otherwise, I would go with 25 06. Shoot my biggest Whitetail deer ever last fall at 273 yards. Dropped right there.

 

[Idaho Lefty]

@ 300 Dakota,..
The OP might call, Ken at, Brux Barrels and "Beg, a Little" for a Shorter Time Horizon,.. He's, a great, Guy !
Brux hold's, the 600 Yard, Record group Barrel ( Last, I heard,. ). And always, Priced "well" !
Worst case Senario, the 1-10 Twist, .270 barrels, will "Shoot", the Berger 140 Classic Hunters ( .528 BC ), pretty Fast and,.. Accurate !
And they, will Kill ANY, Deer,.. way, the fudge, "Out There' !
@ Deerhntr,.. Read Post #1 ,. .06 Bolt Face on action !

 

[JTB]

Taking everything into consideration the 6.5-06 would seem to be the logical choice and we have taken several deer and elk with it without fail but there is something magical about how quickly those 131-135 25 cal pills reach a 1000 yard target from an 06 platform when pushed with RL26 from premium brass. I also hunt regularly with the .277 170gr Bergers and they have been outstanding on deer and elk at extended ranges. All are great options but the 25-06 is just fun to shoot. Preferred barrel has a fairly quick turn-around and are good to work with.

 

[Idaho Lefty]

I love the opinions....however my mind is made up on case style, I am located in Canada, the chances of components being an issue preclude entertaining the 6.5 RPM. 7mm or 280 is out, don't care for it, my choice, 6.5 - 284 thought about but after some contemplation...no will be using an 06 case period. Looked at the AI or improved route but would like to stay with the "stock" case so to speak, again sourcing the specialty items in Canada is a challenge. I looked hard yesterday for components, brass and bullets, 6.5 bullets are plentiful, heavy .277 bullets were non-existent and heavy .257 bullets were non-existent. This is a factor for sure. Don't forget we are the red headed step child in Kanadastan when it come to components.

The,. OP,.. ^^^ .270 Win or,.. 6.5-06 ?????????????
Either, will "work",.. Fine !
And, He AIN'T in,.. America, where we have, MANY,. "Choices"

 

[DWier]

Personally, I would go with a 280 AI or a 25-06 AI.

6.5-270! Better neck! Or if you don't mind fire forming 6.5 Sherman 129 Accubond Long Range @ 3300+. It's a killer!

Or Hammers

 

[xsn10s]

The,. OP,.. ^^^ .270 Win or,.. 6.5-06 ?????????????
Either, will "work",.. Fine !
And, He AIN'T in,.. America, where we have, MANY,. "Choices"

Yup I agree. Any of the three would be fine. Probably the best one would be the one that is easiest available up north.

 

[82Cadi]

Okay, keeping in mind that I haven't read 7 pages of replies, I'm not entirely sure what you're looking for. This doesn't seem like a data driven decision for you so I don't understand asking other people for subjective measures. Every cartridge you listed is going to have basic characteristics like velocity, trajectory, bullet weight options if you reload, factory ammo availability, recoil… if you applied objective measures, most would have about the same total score with slightly different distributions. There are several modern cartridges you've opted out of that would objectively out perform the others when the same scoring is applied.

I'm not being salty or negative in any way and I hope no one reads this that way. I'm just saying buy whatever tickles your fancy. Buy the one your Grandpa used to shoot or the one you took your first deer with. There's nothing wrong with mixing some nostalgia or feeling into your rifle choices. Everything you listed can be exceptional and once you commit to something, it's very unlikely you'll be disappointed.

Just my $.02

 

[sorrelly1963]

I have 2770s and a couple 6.5-06s. One 6.5 is my daughters and she loves it. I load 130s in them at around 3050 and they are nice. I have always been a 270 and 25-06 man so I can see how the choice is tough. I use 25-06 cases for my 6.5-06 with zero problems. Good luck with your decision. I did build a 1000 yd range and enjoy shooting the 6.5-06 at 1000.