I have loved the .270 for a lifetime! I am now 67 and have shot a .270 Win for nearly 58 years. All the Tennessee whitetails I've killed have been with the .270 Win. I also had a .280 Ackley built for my younger son when he was a teenager. BIG,BAD, MISTAKE! Over the years there has been problems with reloading data and no easy available of components for reloading Plus no factory ammo. The .270 components can be had ANYWHERE and reloading data is huge for this All American popular worldwide cartridge.Ammo and components are VERY affordable vs VERY EXPENSIVE. Components for other newer cartridges are, at times, limited and can be Very Expensive.
I hunted in Africa and killed 12 animals with one shot each. These animals ranged in size from tiny Dik Dik to Kudu to Giant Eland(2000 lbs.). However, I failed to place one shot properly on a big waterbuck. We tracked him for a very long, long way. Of the two hunts I was on, both of my ph's told me hunters that used .270 Winchesters always had more one shot kills than others who used other cartridges. Why? Flat shooting, good penetration, and proper bullet placement. Bullet placement was because of the low recoil, according to the ph's. This was my once in a lifetime hunt. I doubt I'll ever do it again.
When I was in college, one of my political science professors borrowed my model 70A .270 Winchester. He and his brother went elk hunting. The ammunition was Winchester brass, 62 grains H4831, CCI primers, 130 grain flat base Hornady bullets. This was a classic Jack O'Connor load. He got his elk as did his brother who used a 7mm Rem Mag. I was told the .270 had the elk down in 20-30 yards and was shot at about 75 yards. The 7mm Rem Mag had the elk down in about 50-60 yards and was shot at about 100 yards with a 150 grain bullet. I see little difference in the time needed to put the elk down here. That following year he killed another elk, refused to let me have my .270 back, and bought me a brand new .270 in model 70A Winchester. That was in 1977.
The .270 Win. and I have grown old together and it has been faithful for me for 58 years.
I grew up in a place named Roan Mountain, Tennessee. A good many of the hunters in this isolated Tennessee mountain community purchased the new WSM cartridges and kept them for a VERY SHORT PERIOD OF TIME. The primary reason for trading the rifles off was THE AMMUNITION COST TOO, TOO MUCH. The older rifles killed deer just as well for only a small amount of money as compared to the new stuff.
Last edited by roanmtn; 09/22/19. Reason: phrasing
