Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles 270 cut down for suppressor

Hello everyone,

Kind of an add question here. Ive got a savage 116 (with a backwards bolt) thats currently threaded at 22" for my suppressor - which adds 8" on to it. Ive been keeping an eye out for a take off 260, creedmoor or 7mm-08 stainless for a while but im just not having luck.

So Im starting to heavily consider cutting the barrel down to 18" or under to see how ot does. Most of my hunting in FL is under 100 yards and i mostly head shoot hogs, and for longer shots i have a 7mag with a theeaded 24" which is just ridiculously long...

So, how would a 16.5-18" 270 do with a suppressor? I know shorter rounds are more effecient, but ive working with what i have right now. Im not worried about the velocity too much, its still gonna be more than enough to shoot inside 300 yards. Should i keep looking for a short action and keep butdgeting for an aftermarket barrel if one doesnt come around?

I have never gone that short but I have a 19" barrel on a .270 win and it still gets 3000 fps with 130 grain bullets ordinarily. Why do you need a suppressor ?.

It's not that i need a suppressor, just rhat i like the hearing protection offered.

Thanks for sharing the data from the 19"!

I have no experience with 270 because I am straight, but I run 8.5" or 9" cans and have been chopping all my barrels to 18". I am seeing about a 50-75fps loss with 6mm and 6.5mm bores, but the balance of the rifle makes it well worth the velocity loss. With sleek projectiles the loss in velocity only translates to about 0.2 mils in a 10mph wind at 1000 yards, which makes it negligible at game-shooting distances.

I think the question is, why don't you need a suppressor? Not to speak for OP, but less noise, less recoil, last blast, and a more enjoyable shooting experience isn't enough?

To add to that we have noticed that when suppressed rifles are used to hunt with on our property, animals are a lot more calm at the end of a season than when letting clients hunt without suppressors. Even if the suppressor do spoil the feel of the rifle a bit I would choose that any day before scaring the s..t out of a herd of animals 100 times a season. It would however be a different situation when a property limits the amount of hunting but this is not always the case.

I would cut down to 18" easily as even then you will be able to reach out really far.

This. I don't particularly want to be deaf when I am 65 and I've been hunting for 55 of those years. I do also agreed is much easier on the wildlife. I hunt pigs a lot, so will be nice not to scare off a whole herd every time I shoot.

I can see absolutely no draw-back to having a suppressor and can only see benefits. And (and this is important) I'm not "just sayin'" like some people. I actually mean what I post.

I can see a couple.

First, there's no way I'm going to shorten and/or thread one of my nice old rifles for a can. Second, cutting a barrel can cause a considerable loss of performance which may be a factor. Third, a can, even on a short barrel, changes the balance and handling, which for some types of hunting could be an issue. It's been years since I fired more than one shot at a deer and that amount of noise exposure pales in comparison to the other work and recreational abuse I've done to my ears.

On the other hand, for stand hunting in some semi-rural places (including my new hunting spot) a suppressor makes a lot of sense from a social perspective and to reduce the impact of shooting on game movements in the area. I must say that that second point might be less a factor than one would suppose, as a number of times deer have shown little alarm after a shot, unless one of their pals falls over dead or they see or hear the hunter. If Congress ever drops the restrictions on cans, I'll likely pick one up for deer hunting and some range work.

You raise a lot of very good points. I would not cut down a nice old rifle either, but I'm cutting down my modern stainless hunting rifles. I mostly stand hunt but sometimes I trek it, for walking around here I have a 1951 336sc in 35 rem. The rifle I am cutting down will mostly be used in a hunting stand and at the range.

I'm one of those people that I don't see many drawbacks to a suppressor, I see a lot of positives.

You certainly do lose some performance when you cut down the barrel, but I don't think it's as big of an impact is most will make it out to be. There are plenty of people shooting out of 15 inch pistol barrels that do amazing. It's not for a 7 Rem mag, but for most non-magnum cartridges I don't think it's that big of a deal personally

If I were to do that for some reason, I stand corrected, and would consider that a draw-back and dumb move on my part


If I failed to take that into account in determining the barrel length and performance in advance, I stand correct, and would consider that a draw-back and poor planning on my part.



I agree. See my above responses and I will admit, if I did not take that in to consideration, that may be a drawback and therefore, I stand corrected again.

Perhaps I should have typed, assuming one uses one's head for something other than a hat rack and plans accordingly, I can see no drawbacks. It would have been better for me to have stated, "In my opinion, the benefits outweigh the drawbacks that may occur, in most cases".

I have a 17" suppressed 270.
Some loads through this rifle include:
85 TSX @ 3460 fps
110 TTSX @ 3050
130 Partitions @ 2930
145 ELD-X @ 2850
Swaged down 162 Amax @ 2750

Something to realize when going with shorter barrels is that regardless of the round, you're going to lose velocity. So you need to look at what kind of performance window you'd like, then essentially step up in cartridge until you find a round that with a shortened barrel will get your intended velocity (Figure 25 fps of loss per inch of barrel).

So if you want 260/6.5 Creedmoor book performance and a 16-18" barrel, you'll have to start out with a larger round to get there. Say something like a 6.5-284 or 6.5 SAUM.

Just wondering. Not that I'm going to go the suppressor/can route what ballpark cost figure are we looking at to put one on my 17 1/2" bbl'd .30-06.

Figure on $700-1000 for the can, $200 for the tax stamp, and ~$100 for barrel threading.

Those are some great numbers! A 260 would fit my window perfecrly woth a 16" barrel, as would a 270. Youre the first i know who has done this with a 270. What is it like without the can on it?

The rifle is quite loud without a can. Muzzle psi as measured by Quickload is similar to a 24" 257 Weatherby, though obviously that noise is closer to the ear. I don't hunt the rifle without a can, but have considered doing so for carry in a kayak, in conditions where I wouldn't shoot it but once or twice on big game.

Often, a can is like adding back barrel length, with regards to velocity...It can increase a bit, over your 16" bbl alone. I'd look to 6.8 spc bullets and velocities, and you'll get to 300 even more quitly and with less fuss....But I've never downloaded the 270...Should be same as doing it with an '06 though.

So I thought I would post my findings for any people who might be looking to take a similar endeavor. I've been out a few times with a chronograph and measured the following results with a 16 1/2 inch barrel shooting 140 grain Accubond. Obviously, you should not rely on my load data as a determination of safety as my rifle may be able to handle more pressure, but i am staying within Nosler load data using RL22. Each group is an average of 5 shots with several minutes between each shot and cleaned between each grouping. The rifle os a savage 116 in 270, lefty. My ogive is measured outside saami spec since my rifle has a long lands, i will not post that number as I believe you need to measure for yourself - my lands are very long for a 270. I shoot 5 shots, one to foul and 4 to group. The gun tends to shoot the first shot after cleaning an inch to the top right everytine at 100 yards

55.5g 2788 fps - my best grouping at .4 moa
56g 2751 fps - my worst group at 1moa
56.5 2758 fps - 1 moa with all bullets in a single straight vertical line. I imagine with more cooling it would be one ragged hole
57g 2821 fps - a hair over a half moa, and likely the winner due to pattern. 3 were touching with one just outside the clover

Im extremely surprised to get these numbers with rl22 in such a shlrt barrel. It produces signifact muzzle blast without the supressor on it. With the supressor it is noticeably louder than my 7mm rem mag at 24" using the same can. I imagine the rl22 is not getting full burn and a faster powder would be much quieter. With that said, its still about as loud as a 22lr semi auto.

The 7mag with 160g accubond at 60g shot 2810 fps for comparison.

All in all, i am extremely impressed with the 270 and a 16.5" barrel. Its very easy to carry around even with the can on it.

You have a 140gr bullet moving along north of 7x57 velocity with half MOA 4 round groups. Time to hunt...

Oh, trust me - she has already taken a 225lb hog with the 16.5" - none with the can yet, though. But soon! Ive always used partitions, but i have say the accubonds shoot better accross the board and their performance on hog skulls is outstanding!