For MPBR hunting it's very difficult to beat the 270 IMO. I've hunted mostly with the 270 for a number of years now.
The big question is then why on earth did I even consider purchasing the 6.5 Swede that I just added to my arsenal. Though I consider myself to be a rifle loony I'm not necessarily the kind of rifle loony that aimlessly goes about purchasing rifles just because I can't help it. I have a well thought out plan and intention for each purchase that I make.
These are my specific reasons for my 6.5 Swede purchase.........
I enjoy shooting and reloading and in fact enjoy it so much I find I'm always at the range sending lead toward a target. In all these years of shooting I began to notice two things.
One, my shooting ability had moved far beyond MPBR
Two, some of the open country that I hunt often presented opportunities at well beyond MPBR
While most on this forum have likely shot far more game than I, I have shot enouph to recognize that the velocity in which my bullet hits the target is important to how well I expect the projectile to do its work. With all the practice and shooting I've found in the last few years in hunting with the 270 that when shooting game at 500 ish yds that I really wasn't seeing projectile performance that I was comfortable with though the critters did die. What I was seeing as far as terminal performance was telling me to back off to 400 ish yds or come up with something different. The logical answer to me was a bullet that didn't shed Velocity and a barrel twisted to stabilize such a bullet.
For me this is where the 6.5 Swede came into focus over my favorite the 270. With the right bullet and twist the 6.5 Swede effectively extended my Velocity range 150 yds. For some of the open country hunts I pursue 150 yds would be a big plus and at the same time my comfort level in making 1st round hits at those distances is not an issue. While I do realize it is true there are high BC bullets now available for the 270 the truth is in the factory rifles I like to use there are no 270s twisted to stablize these bullets with certainty. In the 6.5 Swede you get 8 twist barrels all day long.
This coming hunting season I'll be useing both my 270 and 6.5 Swede for two different hunting situations.
The 270 will be used for a Western Montana elk hunt loaded with a 150 partition and will be likely used at 300 yds or less.
My 6.5 Swede is now topped with a SS 6X42 MQ and loaded with a 143 hornady ELD X at 2790 ish fps. For small game such as deer and antilope in the velocity department I expect to see an effective improvement in game I shoot between 500 and 600 ish yds where I intend to use it this year.
It's been a lot of years practicing and learning to get to where I am but I am more than confident in the ability of my chosen cartridge, rifle, bullet, scope, and my ability to get this done.
The 270 wasn't getting this type of hunting done for me in a satisfactory way unless I were willing to go custom and I wasn't. If I did decide to go custom I would still chose the 6.5 based on the much higher bullet selection over the .277 More options is always a good thing
For shooting elk at 300 ish yds or less. My 270 and the 150 partition will go every time!
For my Eastern Montana open country hunting I think the 6.5 Swede will likely stomp a lung outta the 270
Shod
