I'm not planning on buying a new gun soon, but I wanted to hear from you guys. Currently my only rifle is an M&P15 (.223). I want a rifle that I'll be able to hunt elk and other big game down the road. I've been eyeing the Winchester Model 70 at .270. A friend recommended I go with a full size barrel if I'll be hunting bigger game at a long distance. Thoughts?

Buy a Winchester M70 in .30-06 and go hunting. At some point, it's the Indian, not the arrow.

I've got the Model 70 Supergrade in 30.06. It's a better shooter than I am.

If I could only have one rifle it would be a M70 in .270.

That's good advice. But buy the M70 featherweight .270.

My Dad has the featherweight in .270. Another great gun. Depends on how you will use it. My Supergrade is a great gun that is nice looking and shoots well, but it is heavy. For stalking around after an elk, you would be happier with the Featherweight.

I have 5 new haven model 70s they're a great gun.
The caliber would matter of personal preference.
The range and type of game, the famous author Jack O Conner
shot a 270 at all North America game.

The prettiest gun I own is a Model 70 Featherweight 25-06. It was made during the last year of production at the plant in Columbia, SC and shoots like a dream.

It's also my "luckiest" rifle because I always seem to see game whenever I take it, the last being a large boar that I dropped about three weeks ago.

Go .30-06 and you're ready for anything in North America except Grizzly, and 95% of African plainsgame, if you ever get a chance to go.

30-06 Is hard to beat, Wide range of bullet options.

As soon as I started leaning towards one caliber you guys start supporting the other!

I guess I should have asked the pros vs cons of both calibers. Is it just personal preference or does the .06 truly have more stopping power?

If I was planning on going after elk I'd want a bit more than .270 Win. A .270 would do it if you do your part but bullet size and weight count on those beasts.

Stopping power is all mythical nonsense. A big heavy bullet will often carry deeper in large bodied critters and leave a big wound channel. You can load lite for smaller game. Go heavy for bigger game. Lots of versatility.

Really good point there!

Im in with the camp that prefers a .30-06 over a .270..but either would work with proper bullets. I am also of the opinion that the new FN model 70s are as good or better than any that have been produced.

( I know, its heresy to the pre-64 crowd!)

Running for cover!

30.06 over 270 for bigger game.

Throw a 6.8 upper on your AR, for anything in Texas...

I'm in the .270 camp. I'm not a 30-06 fan, I've had one in a model 70 and sold it. The 270 will kill anything just as dead with less recoil and a flatter shooting round.
But I will agree that the new FN rifles are better than the pre-64. I'm sure some will argue but the newer rifles are more accurate and I'm a fan of the MOA trigger.

The MOA trigger is easily fixed ( once you get the glue off!) and seems to be a sound design to me. Yes, a .270 works.

But theres blondes, brunettes, and redheads....

If you read other Forums around the web you'll find that this 270 vs 30'06 argument has been going on since 1925, when the 270 was first introduced.

Looking at the other Sites that have lots of local Elk Hunters, or African Plains Game Hunters, and you'll find that the 270 is and always has been an acceptable shooter on Elk and other thin skinned game animal on both sides of the Atlantic.

Not to impugn the 30'06, but it isn't the only rifle cartridge available that will consistently harvest Elk sized critters IF the shooter can do their part at normal hunting distances...just like a 30'06 can.

Yes the 30'06 has an edge in heavier bullets no question for a One Gun Hunter...but if I felt like I needed a heavier 30 caliber bullet I'd most likely use a heavier powder charge in another 30 caliber rifle to do the job if I also had a 270 to climb hills with...and did for 30 + years in a 300WMg, paired with a 270, and using the same muscle memory almost identical bullet drop #'s that are ingrained in my simple brain in both calibers....as I found that comparable BC's in 130's & 165's, 150's & 180's fly about the same out to about 400 yards.

Bullet placement & construction IMO are bigtime a more important issue.
JMHO & YMMV
Ron

I try to stay out of the caliber debate. If I was going elk hunting in Colorado; fist season unguided, most of the elk taken are
at 400-600 yards.
This is do to hunting pressure, the actual conditions affect the caliber choice . A magnum rifle caliber wou be my choice!
This is just an example, their are allways be exceptions there are no hard rules.
The 270 or the the 30/06 are both excellent rounds I shoot booth for deer and elk

M 70 in /06 using 165 grain solid.

The Riflemans rifle!

The Model 70 is the ultimate mass-produced hunting rifle, and the .30-06 would be hard to beat IMO (on both accounts).

165gr solid? For hunting?

They use solids for Cape Buffalo. Sometimes the first one soft, but after the adrenalin kicks in definitely solids. (Outa something bigger than a .30-06, of course.)

Kinda what I thought... I've killed a lot of stuff with solid bullets, but they were cast bullets out of a 44 or 45 caliber with a wide, flat meplat.

300wsm will do it all with many sized bullets. Have taken mule deer, antelope , elk and bison with 180 accubonds.270 wsm is a screamer with handloads and has taken feral hog, mule deer, antelope, elk and shiras moose all with 140 gr bullets.