25-06 or 270 in a marlin xl7

i will only be hunting whitetail deer my dad shoots a 270 and loves but all the ppl iv talked to (besides him) hav said to go with the 25-06 cause it has about the same drop power on a whitetail and that it has a little bit longer range so ill hav to look at a little bit more but im leanin towards the 25-06

I love the 270, but if you are looking for some thing the same but for longer shots I would get a 308. Also, the 270 and 308 rounds are way easier to find most of the time.

I just looked up the balistics; and the 270 is flatter shooting and carries more energy than the 25-06.

 I've shot deer, pigs and antelope with all the calibers suggested, plus elk with the 270 and 308. First question is how far are you shooting? 200+ yds over fields? Brushy areas with large meadows? Dark timber? Do you EVER think you will come west elk hunting?

 Since you said you've been hunting with a 30-30 and it won't reach out as far as you want I'm figuring hunting over fields or something like that. 25-06 or 270 will be your best bet and in my opinion I'd go with a 25-06, it shoots a bit flatter than the 270 and will drop any deer in it's tracks shooting 100-120 grain bullets. The thing with the 270 is you can shoot anything from 130-150 grain bullets so it is more versatile than the 25-06 in that the heaviest bullets it typically shoots is 120 gr. If you ever plan on hunting out west go with the 270.

 I've shot deer and antelope from 55 yds out to just past 400 with the 25 and it is a bit more destructive than the 270 at close range due to lighter bullets and higher velocity. The 308, while a great caliber (my favorite) is not in the same league as either the 25-06 or the 270 when it comes to longer range shots. Heavier bullets and less case capacity limit it when shooting past 300 yds.

 Also, like Eric stated, 25-06 can be a bit of a challenge to find at the ammo counter. That being said I would still go with the 25-06 over the 270 (I did). Either way you will not be dissapointed.

The 270 is one of the finest hunting cartridges that has ever been made, you can down load it with 90gr bullets for hunting coyotes or drop in a premium 160 gr bullet and go after elk. There is not a animal in the US that a 270 will not work just fine with.

One of the problems with the 25-06 is that the rifles using it are for the most part set up as varmint rifles with a fast twist for light bullets, you do not have the option of setting up a bullet heaver than 120gr, that will limit you capability to hunt larger game.

I would like to comment on your choice of rifle. Marlin has made leaps and bounds in the over all quality of their bolt action rifles in the past few years, but they still come up short.  actions are still a bit rough and even the new LBA trigger is one of the worst triggers on a factory rifle today.

You could do much better for a few bucks more by looking at a Tikka T3 or a T/C Venture, both are extremly accurate, have great triggers and butter smooth bolts that make Remington shooters drool with envy. You can pick up both of these for under $500, they are really the deal of the century when it comes to affordable rifles.

The big question now is that you have a great rifle, so what scope are you going to use? A common rule is to spend the same on your optics as you did on your rifle, after all it dosen't matter haw accurate your rifle is, if you can't see the target your never going to be able to hit it.