Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters 100 yr. .270 birthday- lots of .270 stories?

I have a 2 270 Win. One was my first rifle. I have used it for most of my game. My other 270 Win I have not had it on a hunt yet. I have been well please with the result of the 270 Win.

I;ll relate to you guys a good 270 story. My uncle did two safaris in the late 60s to Angola and Mozambique. Took two rifles, both model 70s, a 458 and a 270. He took his elephant with the 458 and Winchester factory solids, everything else, to include two lion and leopard he used his 270 with old fashioned 130gr Silvertips....

I went to buy my first bolt action centerfire rifle, and wanted a 25-06 as I had a new place to hunt that shots could be out to 300 yards (this bas back about 1983) Up till then, I hunted with either a lever action 30-30 or 444 Marlin and wanted something flatter. I went to the local gun store and they did not have a 25-06 but the guy said "we do have a 270, which is better anyway due to more ammo being easier to get". I did not know anything about a 270 at the time but I bought one and went hunting. First deer I shot dropped right where it stood, as well as the second and third deer. I have been sold ever since.

I wasn't there when this shot/kill took place, but 2 men that hunted with Dad were and both have told me the same story.

Dad had eyesight like and eagle and was from all the stories I've heard, an exceptional shooter. I only saw him 'show out' 2 times, but the stories from my Granddad, uncles, and friends that hunted with him when he was a young man, make the shot I'm about to tell, rather tame.

Anyway, Dad mule deer hunted in Co. back in the mid to late '50's. At that time, lots of hunters were still using 30-30's and Dad had to borrow one the first year he went there. After the first year, Dad was hooked on the hunting up there and some how scrounged enough money in 1955 to buy a Win. model 70 .270. Why a .270, I dont know. He hunted one year with open sights and the next year Mom surprised him on Father's Day with a Weaver K-4 Scope. I remember being mesmerized, just looking at that rifle and scope.

Back to the story.... From what I was told, the men would still hunt for a few days and if that wasn't working, they would make drives. One day, after a drive had been made, Dad and one of the men were talking, when they saw a good deer standing on the side of the mountain, 'a long ways off'. Another of the men in the group walked up and they stood there for a minute or two, just wishing they were close enough to take a shot. Dad said he'd shoot the deer and they all laughed. Dad stepped up to a rock for a rest and shot the deer. I knew both of the men that were with Dad that day. One said the shot was at least 1/4 mile (440 yds) and the other guessed it a little further, maybe approaching 500 yds.

As CRS stated, these distances are common these days for target shooting, and some hunters can make this kind of a shot, but 65ish years ago, this was quite a feat.

I don't use my .270 Win. anymore. I bought a compact .243 Win. now. However, the gun store bought a whole bunch of bullets from a guy who died. I saw 50 .270 Hornady 140 gr. an old box of .270 150 gr. round nose still un opened. Also some Speer 150 gr. .308. All for 10 cents a piece or less. One box was 5 bucks for 57 .270 bullets . or a dime a piece I bough them.. If I never use them , so be it. Cant go wrong though. We only use the .270 Win. for bear now days.

i've used and killed many deer with '06, but i like the 270. i bought the secondhand Savage m110 in 270 Win. i bought some 130gr Hornady SP and IMR4320. i killed several deer but i had to sell for a divorce lawyer (i sold a pile of guns). one day, when my dad (RIP) and i were coming home from camp, there was a sign that said gun show and we decided to go in. i wanted a Ruger no1 in 7x57 in the worst way. i dreamed about that rifle. we go inside and i go thru the tables looking for the 7x57. at the last isle there was rows of Ruger no1 rifles. i looked thru hem and they didn't have a 7x57. but they had a beautifully stock 280 Remington. while i was going over it, a voice says "that one is sold, would you like something else?" i said, yes i would, do you happen to have a 7x57? "no.....but there is a 270 Winchester." we took a few steps and then he hands me the Ruger no1 in 270. it was a plain stock (compared to the 280) and it was topped with 4 - 16x Bushnell. while i was looking at it, he goes he will take off $100 if i purchased it. i looked at the tag and it said $400 and i was reaching for my wallet. i bought the rifle in 2005 and it has a place in my safe till i die.

the first thing i did was to clean it and take 4-16x off and put on an old 3-9x Swift (over the counter warranty, not mail it in and then charge me to fix it and send it back warranty now). i have 270 Winchester brass and reloading dies and powders. the next step is to buy 130gr Nosler BT (100 pieces, not 50 pieces). i then loaded them up with IMR4320 and i shoot bug holes with it. i took her out hunting and i killed many deer with it.

[img]https://i.imgur.com/FP1RbOG.jpg?1[/img]

left group, 4 shots at 100 yards, 130gr Nosler BT and IMR4320
[img]https://i.imgur.com/iHeWUMa.jpg?1[/img]



[img]https://i.imgur.com/gOJ9dF3.jpg?1[/img]

'06 cases necked down to .277"

The old 270 is still my favorite. No idea why but from a young age latched on to it. Shot my first deer - a fat old doe with 150 gr corelokts. I have drank the koolaid and went through all the different phases and trends including current fast twist high bc hooplah. I truly like and enjoy hunting with them all. However the old 270 still strikes a balance for hunting that appeals to me and still not found anything better for that purpose

Lou

I really like the 85 TSX loaded down to around 243 speeds and comparative powder charges for teaching new shooters.

My first rifle was a Remington BDL 270 Win. Purchased it when I was 18.With it I learned to hand load. Shot it for years and killed a pile of deer with it. The rifle has now retired and I haven’t replaced it with another. These days it’s 25’s or 7’s. Whether an old school one or a newer twist one a hunter is at no handicap with a 270.

GreggH

I gave my oldest son an ‘03 30-06 and a newer Mossberg 270 when he started hunting. I gave him a 308 700 Remington earlier, but it was stolen soon after he got it (he did kill a pronghorn with that 308). I don’t recall seeing him shoot the 30-06. He claims it’s because the stock is too nice on the 30-06 - doesn’t want to scratch it. When we hunt together I carry a 270 also. We shoot the same loads.

Only one time was I disappointed with the 270. I had worked up a load that shot accurately in both rifles. It was an early mono bullet. We killed our deer that season, but the bullet performance wasn’t good in my opinion, no expansion. I almost wrote off mono bullets due to that hunt. But have come around. No fault of the 270, BTW.

I think that it is tough to beat a 270 for an all around (pronghorn to moose) cartridge. Though I’ve killed more game with the 30-06 & the 280.

If I had to have only one high power rifle, I think a 270 would be fine. But I’m not likely to ever shoot anything big - a bison maybe.

I’d also be satisfied with a 7x57, a 280, a 30-06, a 7mm RM and so forth.

Who wants only one rifle?

My first big game rifle was a Remington 760 in .270. Killed my first deer and first moose with it. Went on and killed numerous moose with it and other makes of rifles I ended up trying. Early on I tried reloading 130 grain bullets but couldn't find a suitably accurate load for any of them. Switched to 150 grain Partitions and used them exclusively for my moose hunts. Eventually I started trying various other calibers (out of curiosity). My last .270 I ended up giving to a young son of a friend when he started his career. I understand he has taken a few deer with it since. I can't recall ever losing a moose
shot with the cartridge.

Jim

My wife took her Dall ram with my M98 270 at about 30 yards. Highly accurate. It was the back-up rifle.

She was supposed to use her .45 Seneca, but some dumb-ass forgot the Pyrodex, which I noticed at the truck before the 18 mile hike into the sheep mountain, but after a 300 mile drive from town.

A few years later I loaned it to my brother, who shot a deer at about 200 yards with it. All that was "deer" showing above the ridge was from the eyes up.

23 years later he gave it back to me after it "quit shooting". I should have done a bit more in remediation with that barrel (De- coppering, seting it back, rebore? - I did do everything else I could think of) before replacing it with a heavy 30-06 bbl, which puts them into an inch or so at 300 yards.

The 270 was lighter tho.

My 270 Win experience illustrates my 90/10 rule:

You kill 90% of the critters you hunt over a lifetime with your first big game rifle ('cause it's all you can afford), and the other 10% with the 10-15 expensive whiz-bang equipped super slayers that you bought to replace your old antiquated weapon.

My first rifle was a Ruger M77 tang safely 270 Win. I bought it new with the $325 that I was awarded by Utah Game and Fish when I turned in an elk poacher. I scraped up an additional amount for a fixed Leupold 6x scope (second hand). That I did not have to pony up for the rings was a big deal for me back then. At the time I had discovered Jack O'Connor and was heavily influenced in my caliber choice by his writings.

I have lost track of the number of deer, elk, and antelope I killed with that rifle. I still have it. It is scarred and scratched, but occupies a place of honor in my gun safe.

Happy 100th anniversary!!

I just saw the new Christensen Arms Evoke is chambered in 270 Win with 1-7.5”. Now there is another factory fast twist option besides Browning. The old 270 Win is getting modern in it’s old age

Lou

Had one for 5 years or so, collateral on a loan.
Sold it cheap to a young kid.


So now I can say I owned one,
but have never fired one.

Used to dislike them due to so much chatter and a equating the 270 to a few
drunken, city cousins who used it.


Now, I keep an eye out for something interesting, cheap, in 270.
Just maybe, it could be The One!🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

I started this thread and will now add my story. My disabled Tennessee lumberjack uncle loaned to me, at age ten, a pre 64 model 70 Win in .270. It was in rough shape and kicked like a mule with a metal butt plate. While I was in the army, 1970-74, dad sold it to pay mom's medical bills and paid my uncle back. While still in the army, I hunted in the Yukon with a army buddy whose dad bought our hunting licenses for us. We all three got a moose, caribou plus a grizzly for me. I used a borrowed .270 Win shooting 130gr Nosler Partitions. Performance was flawless. I returned home after four years in the U.S. Army and started college on the G.I. Bill. A political science professor asked the guys after a class if someone had a rifle for him to hunt elk out west. He borrowed my model 70A two years in a row. He returned after the second season and told me he had some good news and bad news for me. The bad news was my .270 had decided to stay with him. The good news was he was going to buy me a new .270 Win model 70A. I said ok and we went to Howard Brothers Store near East Tennessee State University and bought me my new .270 and four power Weaver scope. I kept that rifle and it shot 80 whitetail deer.... seventy were killed by family and buddies who borrowed it. In the 90s I customized a new Mark X with a 26" barrel and hunted in Africa on two hunts. A lifetime with the .270 has left me with many cherished memories.My largest animal in Africa was a 2000-2500lbs eland, one shot, at ninety yards...140gr Barnes X, 3150 fps, 26" barrel. It ran about twenty yards and appeared to die in mid stride.

A 2000lb+ Eland is huuuge.

Yeah, the heaviest "officially" weighed eland (whether the "giant" subspecies or others) have weighed a little under 2100.

You've definitely gotten after it with a 270. Great story.

I agree!