Got my first .270 Win a little over 44 years ago as a birthday gift from my father, who was a .30 cal guy. My uncle, who was a very central figure in my hunting education, was at the same party and gave me 200 rounds of Winchester 130gr factory loads. He was also a .30 cal guy who to this day has never hunted with anything other than a .30 cal of some flavor. Given his age, he never will.
Over those years, I’ve had a few .270 Win rifles and a couple in .270 Wby Mag. Two finer hunting cartridges do not exist. Piles of deer, elk and Pronghorn and have never taken more than one shot at any of those animals.
As Brad said, you’d be hard-pressed to find a better cartridge for Western hunting. The .270 Win is still what I recommend today, in fact.
I think the real argument in American shooting lore is over which is the greatest military cartridge used for hunting, the .30-‘06 Springfield or the .308 Winchester. I think there really is no doubt the greatest American hunting cartridge of all time is the .270 Winchester.
Winchester Model 70 in .270 Winchester. The rifleman’s rifle, indeed.
What could be a sadder way to end a life than to die having never hunted with great dogs, good friends and your family?
