Why I Hate the .270
by Bryce M. Towsley - Wednesday, December 6, 2017
Opinion: Why I Hate the .270
Why do I hate the .270 Winchester? Well perhaps for the same reasons I dislike fish dinners, smart cars and rap music—they just are not to my taste.
So he doesn’t like them because he doesn’t like them. Must be some real meat in there somewhere…
First off, the .270 is too popular, and I have always disliked running with the crowd. I usually find the misfits of the world much more interesting, but I can’t make that argument and still talk about how much I like the even more popular .30-06 Springfield without embracing hypocrisy.
At least he admits he is a hypocrite. In my experience, things generally don’t become popular unless they work or fill a need, - which, based on its popularity, the .270 Win appears to do. I’ve always thought it one of the best choices for a dedicated deer rifle - and still do. It makes no more sense to ‘hate’ a .270 Win than it does to ‘hate’ a popular model of automobile.
…
The .270 Win. was an orphan for 20 years. Then for the next 56 years, its only sibling was a stepbrother, the .270 Weatherby Magnum. The latter is a good cartridge, perhaps even a great cartridge, but it has never enjoyed the commercial success of the .270 Winchester.
Based on popularity, I’d say he has it exactly backwards – the .270 Win is one of a few ‘great’ cartridges while the .270 WBY is merely a ‘good’ cartridge.
…
My guess is that if the .270 Win. were introduced into today’s “make-or-break” market, it likely would never have survived. Its eventual success is attributed to the writings of Jack O’Connor, who is often quoted as saying he thought the .30-06 was a better cartridge.]/quote]
He may be right about how the .270 Win would be received today, but there is also more competition from other cartridges than there was when the .270 Win became popular. Still, the .270 remains ner the top of the most popular cartridges based on ammo sales while some of those others are dead on the vine.
[quote]It’s said that foolish people get their opinions from others, but intelligent people form opinions from multiple sources, including their experiences. My experiences with the .270 Win. have not been very impressive.
And then he provides his experiences with the .270 Win, in what – hopes that his opinion will sway other people, who, in his words, would be fools if it did?
The first time …
Years later, …
Several years later…
I have plenty of other experiences with the .270 Win. that were also less than impressive …
I used to do a lot of black bear hunting in Canada …
… I’ve had better luck with a .243 Win. than with the .270 Win. ...
I’m not one to believe in magic cartridges or fairy dust. If a .243 Win can work there is no reason a .270 Win cannot work as well or better if fed with proper bullets.
But maybe such reasoning is old-fashioned and the .270 Win is as obsolete as the .30-06.
