New Guns & Ammo mag showed up with today mail. Boddington wrote an article about sheep hunting with the 270. It is both well done and complimentary. But... anyone that actually hunts a 270 would expect that. Better than average issue.
Imagine your grave on a windy winter night. You've been dead for 70 years. It's been 50 since a visitor last paused at your tombstone..... Now explain why you're in a pissy mood today.
If I'm not mistaken he is a fan of the 270 Winchester as I am.Which he has leaps and bounds more experience than I. Really now that I think about it (I've been selling some guns and buying different ones) I'm down to two 270 Win., two 35 Whelens, 22 LR and a 12 guage. Also a 375 H&H on the way. Not a new cartridge in the bunch.
Last edited by raybass; 02/27/09.
JOC was right. The 270 Winchester on a Model 70 is a great combination as is the 30/06 and 375 H&H
IMHO, the .270 Win is the perfect choice for sheep, caribou, etc. here in AK. Been using it for 40+ years with no problem. Bear in Fairbanks
"Unless you're the lead dog, the scenery never changes." Amazingly, I've lived long enough to see a President who is worse than Carter. And finally, Gun control means using two hands.
I grew up reading Outdoor Life. I have had at least one 270 for the last forty years. It is the classic sheep cartridge but I have never taken a sheep. I look forward to reading the article.
Boggington only got religion for the 270 about 5 or 6 years ago after finally hunting a killing a big bull elk with one in NM. He wrote as if it was totally unbelievable, at least to him. Prior to that experience, he insisted that the 338WM was the best elk rifle. The 30-06 was only a "minimum"!!!
I like the guy and his writing and I've met and talked with him at a couple shows here in Denver, but I think he's been heavily infected with SCImagnumitis.
Besides, he's also a Marine!
"Whether you think you can or you think you can't, you're right." Henry Ford
I know a guy who used to harvest an elk every year, out of Atlanta Idaho, with a 243 Winchester chambered rifle. I've never owned a 243. I'm not recommending using one on elk, but it has been done.
Between the 303 British, the 7mm Mauser, and the .30-06 I think everything on the planet has been hunted. If Craig Boddington has not recommended a 270 till recently, fine...
I prefer writers not make a recommendation till they try it first. Maybe he'll use a 7x57mm/7mm-08 or a 6.5mm Swedish Mauser/260 Remington next time. I hope so.
he does use a 7x57, he has a gorgeous Todd Ramirez Mauser in 7x57, that has been photographed and written about many times. I love the 7x57 and have a number 1 A rebarreled to read "275 Rigby". just cause I like the Nostalgia. I also love the 270 and 30-06, while I own several other calibers it seems those three get the nod most of the time
Boggington only got religion for the 270 about 5 or 6 years ago after finally hunting a killing a big bull elk with one in NM. He wrote as if it was totally unbelievable, at least to him. Prior to that experience, he insisted that the 338WM was the best elk rifle. The 30-06 was only a "minimum"!!!
I like the guy and his writing and I've met and talked with him at a couple shows here in Denver, but I think he's been heavily infected with SCImagnumitis.
Besides, he's also a Marine!
IIRC he stated that was the fastest he'd had an elk go down and they had explain why that was. I don't mind his articles but I've always seen him as a mag head but maybe he's had his eyes opened a little to the 270 and it's effectiveness.
I read in American Hunting Rifles by Boddington that early in his hunting career he had a bullet failure with a .270 and admitted he blamed the cartridge when the bullet was at fault. About that time he was trying to break in to gun writing and figured JOC had said about all that could be said about the .270 and he had to write about other calibers to get noticed. The only cartridge I recall him not being a big fan of was the 7MM Rem Mag. because it didn't gain that much over hand loaded .280 Rem.
Ever wonder...what a 270 does to big game when you're in your 50's or 60's,that it did not do when you were in your 20's or 30's?........
Isn't that the truth! I was sitting in my stand after dropping two nice bucks in an hour last fall with a M88 .308 WIN and factory ammo. I got thinking that I used to research so hard trying to ferret out why the .270 WIN was better/worse than the .308 WIN, 30-06 SPRG etc., and why a bolt was better than a lever due to finer accuracy, etc. Now I realize any adequate round, in any reliable rifle, with any decent bullet will kill 'em dead if I do my part in bullet placement at a reasonable range. What I used to think were huge differences in performance now I realize are just shades of gray. Odessa
One of the sanest, surest, and most generous joys of life comes from being happy over the good fortune of others. Archibald Rutledge
Odessa: That's right...my"shade of gray" is a 270.Many others work ,too.Certainly as well but no better.So why have a bunch of cartridges....? (Rhetorical question)
Boggington only got religion for the 270 about 5 or 6 years ago after finally hunting a killing a big bull elk with one in NM. He wrote as if it was totally unbelievable, at least to him. Prior to that experience, he insisted that the 338WM was the best elk rifle. The 30-06 was only a "minimum"!!!
Besides, he's also a Marine!
Actually if you've really read much Boddington his idea of the ideal elk gun is the 8MM Remington Mag.
(Rhetorical question)