Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters .270 Winchester: What is the best big game for this cartridge?

Well then.... set to music

"rifles for sale or rent, ammo 50 bucks, no returns",
Satisfaction will put a smile on your face.

Obviously I have way more cal/cartridges than I need. NOT NOT NOT

I figure loony-ism dun got us... how many more cartridges do I need? Just a few more... !

When a good buddy of mine who was recoil averse & very practical in his approach (read: NOT a loony) asked me what he should get as a first centerfire rifle I said not an '06 because of recoil, and not a 270 cuz then you'd DEFINITELY never need another rifle.

He has a 700 CDL in .270 Win as his one and only and hunts confidently using reloads I build for him using 130 gr Interlocks & 4831.

efw -

I used to think I needed at least 3 (MINIMUM) cals.

Apparantly -- ONLY 2.

That AIN'T no fun!!

Well, since you asked....

Just an ADL I tossed into a Ti stock and found shot 130gr PP and Fusions into 3/4".
I popped this 48" beastie off hand at about 125yds through some short alder with the Fusions.
It was the 40 something animal I have used the .270 on and its live weight was over 1000lbs. Its four quarters added up at the scale over 650lbs.
Feeds a family of 6 quite well.
When I think of the .270 I think of MD Bucks stotting through bluffs in the coulees and dry land field of southern Alberta. Where I grew up and started hunting with a .270 of course

rem 338win -

Very Nice Good Shooting Meat in Freezer.

You should CHANGE your handle here to 270 Win BC

Only 3?

I figure everybody's gotta have a coupla 22 CFs (an AR & bolt at min), a 6mm target rifle & varmint rifle (those are worlds apart and must have one rep/ea), a couple of quarterbores (I'm a ho when it comes to those!), a 6.5mm something for gravitas (Swede) and LR, a 7x57 for gravitas & 7 mag of some kind as all-round...

you get my drift... but I may have missed a few in there...

270 140 grn does a fine job on bear. it didn't do bad on my last 250 whitetails either

Geez People.... Personal preferences aside is there anyone who thinks there is enough killing performance difference between the 280, the 270, and the 30/06, to buy one over the other?

Oh, now you went and did it.....:




Talk about pissing in everyone's cheerios.....

For most hunting, no, but why own just one of the three?

I do think the .30-06 is more gun than the other two when loaded with 200+ grain bullets. Even then its advantage only shows up in relatively rare instances.

I could go with that:

270 --- 160 or 180

.06 --- 180 or 200

Both's ammo readily available IF needed.

Both get the job done.

You pays your money you takes your pick.

Hmmm. that's an interesting concept...Kind of like these?:

http://www.midwayusa.com/product/87...eter-180-grain-protected-point-box-of-50

.270, .280, .30/06..........everyone should have one of each....just because.

Dave -

Yep, IF I had started yrs ago with a 280, I may not have owned a 270 and if I did, I would not have needed it.

jwall,

Guess I'm failing to understand your point. If you could provide some field examples with all those loads, might be able to comprehend it.

The question was...."What is the BEST big game for the .270?", not what CAN it be used for. The .270 CAN be used (particularly with modern "premium" bullets) on any animal in North America, but that doesn't make it the BEST choice for all game.

The .270 is at it's best when used on relatively small big game at extended ranges in open country. That includes pronghorn, whitetail and mule deer (and possibly "some" instances on sheep).

When ranges are shorter (250-300 yards or less), the .270 has no advantage over multiple other rounds. In heavy cover, the bigger bore rifles do a better job of stopping quickly and leaving better blood trails. When game size goes over about 250 pounds, the .270 just isn't as effective (in EVERY instance) as bigger rounds. It CAN be very effective at close range, in heavy cover and on larger game when proper bullets are used and placed correctly.....but it is no longer the "best" in those instances.

It is NOT the perfect all-around rifle for all game. That title would likely go to the .30-06, 7mm Magnum, .300 Magnum or even the .338 Magnum if the focus was on truly larger game. However, when used at longish range in open country on game in the 100-250 pound range it is hard to pick a better rifle than the .270.

Texas Rick,

As with jwall and the .30-06 with 200+grain bullets, I'd love to hear your experience with the .270 on a wide variety of big game.

JWALL I had an '06 in high school. Mostly I used it to shoot jack rabbits by spotlight....I was pretty fast with it because of the peep sight. When I graduated, I traded it for my 1st FN Mauser .270...loved that rifle and wish I still had it....37 years later I still regret not keeping that .270. I then had a .280 on a VZ24 Mauser. I wound up shooting a bunch of gophers and 4 deer with it. Worked great for both jobs. I was back with an FN Mauser '06 which I still own but don't use much because it weighs about 10.5 lbs ready to go. The go to '06 is a Husky '98 Mauser with a skinny factory tube in a Rimrock stock with 4x Leupold. I have a JC Higgins FN .270 that is going to get a new suit of clothes.....my first Micky Edge.....I'm going to like it a bunch when it's done. I want to spend more time with the .270.

All this to say....I like the 3 sisters....270, .280, .30/06.

I see your point JB... However I bet you'd rather be using your 9.3x62mm instead of a 30/06 with that 200 grain bullet on that Bear!

Nice...I'll bet you are going to love that micky edge...I really like the one on my Extreme Weather...turned that rifle into a totally different animal...