Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Winchester Collectors Speaking Of Winchester Featherweights In 270!

I may have told this story on this forum before but if I did, its been a long time.
"BkinSD's" post about his wonderful shooting pre-64 Winchester Model 70 Featherweight reminded me of this "humbling" encounter I had with a 270 Featherweight a LONG time ago.
The year was 1968 and I had bought one of my first NEW Rifles. The Rifle was a BEAUTIFULLY stocked Ruger #1-B in caliber 6m/m Remington. I will never forget that Rifle, it had serial number 1,300!
I had to put it on lay-a-way and make payments on it. Finally I got it home and mounted a Redfield 4x12 variable scope on it and began load development.
That Rifle shot REALLY well right from the start.
I was in my local sport/gun shop bragging about its accuracy when along comes a fella I knew to be a "serious" Varmint/predator/big game Hunter.
His name was Rusty Watson, for any of you out in the Pacific Northwest, where I lived at the time.
Rusty grins at my wallet bound grouping and relayed how he had a Winchester Featherweight in caliber 270 Winchester that could "out shoot it/me"!
Well being young (21) and dumb at the time I challenged Rusty to a shoot-out - much to the hoopla and amusement of the shops countermen and other customers.
I challenged and he set the terms for the contest. 3 shots from a cold gun at 200 yards group size NOT score was to be the winning factor.
Two hours later we meet at the Renton Fish and Game Club Range which was very well protected from the wind by tall trees all around.
We were to shoot side by side on adjacent benches. The target was the official benchrest type. I was so proud of my target/group which turned out to have the 3 shots there at 200 yards in just a hair over 1.00" - alas, and to my chagrin, Rusty put his 3 shots into just a hair over .500" grouping there at 200 yards!
I ate some humble pie that day - I was so sure my amazingly accurate Ruger #1-B would outshoot that "old-timey" light/short barreled Rifle.
Lesson learned.
I recall specifically that Rusty's Rifle had a Bausch & Lomb 3x9 variable scope with the tapered crosshairs on it. He was shooting the then newish Sierra 90 grain H/P bullets in his Featherweight.
I don't know if that grouping by my then new friend was a fluke or not but he did not seem overly excited about that really nifty performance that day!
Long live the Riflemans Rifle.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

Ha that's awesome. I love that story

Great story. My smith, who also lives in the PNW, swore that the 270 winchester pre 64 model 70's were some of the best shooting rifles he's ever owned. He used to tell me he did not know what all the hoopla was over the 308 win because the majority of 270's he's owned would outshoot a good 308. Now does that mean they are "inherently" accurate or what??

I really need to start handloading for my 270 fwt, but I just have not had the time lately. I did throw a load together for my 1953 std wt though. That rifle and the fwt look damn promising. 2 of my best purchases of the year:

Bsa1917hunter: Nice shooting there - no that is NOT compliment enough, GREAT shooting there - and another endorsement for the wonderful 130 grain Nosler Ballistic Tip .277 bullets.
I know several Hunters that use these and all are happy with them.
What power scope do you have on that pre-64 Winchester Standard Rifle?
I retired my pre 64 Winchester Model 70 Standard Rifle in caliber 270 Winchester a couple decades ago - it had simply harvested WAY more than its share of Blacktailed Deer, Mule Deer, Antelope, Whitetailed Deer along with a few Black Bear, Elk and a Mt Goat. My Standard 270 had/has a Leupold 3.5x10 with A/O on it.
My long time friend and Hunting partner Louie from Maple Valley, Washington used a Standard weight 270 for decades - he and I were sighting in one day and I saw him shoot a five shot group at 100 yards that measured just at .350" - this with the 130 grain Nosler Ballistic Tips as well.
I thought that was "maxed out" (accuracy wise) til I saw your grouping!
Again great shooting there.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

Impressive shooting for sure. I'm often left with the realization that my rifles shoot better than I can. Thanks for the vote of confidence in the 130NBT's. I was glad to hear that. I have a pile of them and some 130NAB's also, hoping to find they shoot to same POI. I don't see any reason they shouldn't

Thanks VG. I wanted to keep this rifle looking more vintage, so I put my nicest gloss Leupold on it. It is a Vari-xIIc 3-9x40. It actually has pretty good glass for an older scope. Because it does not have my normal ballistic plex reticle, that I have become very accustomed to, the rifle will stick around the 100 yard and 200 yard range. I know some of you guys hate that, but I just don't like taking pop shots (using Kentucky windage) on game anymore. This STD wt will get babied, until it finds a new home. It's really a nice looking rifle, however the stock is not original it has grown on me. The grain in the wood looks like it's on fire sometimes when I look at it when the sun is shining on it just right. It's a cool rifle. The fwt is going to be the eye opener though, once I start handloading for it, as I have a proper "hunting" scope on it with hash marks for yardage. Simple yet effective:





Groups no where near as good as the rifle in your story, but not too bad for a 270fwt.

Surprisingly, that was fired with factory ammo:


Not even a sleek bullet, but I guarantee I'd use it on deer and elk out to 500 yards.

I was hoping others would add their experiences with their 270 fwt's. The 270 is a sweetheart for sure, even though we've all joked about it being gay.

Also as luck would have it, I was at the lgs today looking at a very nice older Ruger #1 chambered in 243. I'm doing some research on it right now to find out what model it is. Maybe #1-A? Sweet rifle with a target crown, but it's not a varmint or target profile????



I might buy the rifle, sans the scope. That rifle deserves a nicer scope on top. Shop offered it to me for $950 out the door.

The beauty of a 270 is if sighted in to hit 3 in. high at 100 yards with a 130 gr. bullet its point blank out to 300 yds. Have hunted with a 270 for 40+ years and just have to center the crosshair in the boiler room and shoot. Simple.

That is the easy button, MPBR, but I like better precision than that I guess. Like I said, some of you guys would not like what I wrote. Was tagging the steel yote at 400 yards a few weeks ago with the girlfriend and the SKS, but I'm not going to take that out hunting either.


I've seen a lot of idiots miss the "boiler room" shooting that way too.. and yes, I guarantee most guys can not make consistent shots on a volley ball at 400 yards with a simple duplex reticle.

Where do you aim?

bsa1917hunter: I am glad you had fun with that foreign made slam-banger but I think it was a major faux pas for you to include a picture of "it" here on the "Winchester Collectors" forum - that I instigated some years ago.
Seems "unseemly" to me?
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

Ha I think he made his point quite well.

To get us back on track, I pulled my first 270 FW out of the safe a couple of weeks back. 1986, push feed, schnabel fore end. It was my first rifle, the only one I had for 15 years at least. I had forgotten what a wonderful trigger it had. Wow. Its got a Vari-X III 2.5-8 on it and still a damn good rifle for a lot of what needs doing. I need to pull the trigger on a live round soon.