.270 vs .30-06: Which Hunting Cartridge Wins? (2026)
The .270 shoots flatter and kicks less on deer. The .30-06 covers everything through moose. The recoil gap is smaller than its reputation, and bullet selection is where they really diverge.
The Smart Way to Buy Guns Online
The .270 shoots flatter and kicks less on deer. The .30-06 covers everything through moose. The recoil gap is smaller than its reputation, and bullet selection is where they really diverge.
The Savage A22 is a semi-auto .22 with an adjustable AccuTrigger and a flush rotary magazine, from $245.99. We put 900 rounds through one and found the Magnum version costs $250 more for a rifle whose every published dimension is identical.
The Ruger Super Redhawk weighs 53 ounces and that is the whole point. We put 400 rounds of .44 Magnum through one, and found that the twelve cheapest listings online are used guns whose titles never say so.
The Taurus 942 is an 8 shot .22 built on Taurus’s small frame .38 chassis, from $290.99 against a $497.99 list price. We put 600 rounds through one and found the Ultra-Lite version costs three dollars more than the steel one.
The Charter Arms Bulldog is the only affordable double action .44 Special revolver still in production, from about $350. We put 300 rounds through one and counted what else the market actually offers in this cartridge.
The .223 wins on recoil, capacity, weight and cost at roughly a third the price per round. The .308 owns deer, big game and long range. Barrel twist decides how far a .223 can actually reach.
The 9mm wins for carry, defense and practice volume. The 10mm owns hunting and bear country, but only if you buy ammunition loaded to full specification rather than the downloaded factory loads that fill most shelves.
The Charter Arms Undercover is the cheapest name brand .38 snub, from about $235. We put 400 rounds through one and found that Charter sells a 14 ounce aluminum version and a 17 ounce steel version under exactly the same name.
Which Mossberg 500 parts actually fit, and in what order to buy them. A Mossberg 500 cannot take a magazine extension and the Magpul MOE forend is a 590 part, so we lead with a light, a shell carrier and the SGA stock.