Home Forums Hunting & Shooting General Big Game The Cult of the 270

My first rifle was a .270 but now I have many others to choose from. Somehow I always go back to the .270 when I reach into the gun safe. I guess that puts me in the "CULT"....

30-06 improved... Now that's funny..

Yeah, I know nothing about grizzlies...

1

I have a few .270s and use them more frequently than anything else these days.
I was well aware of Jack's writing, but the real reason I started with a .270 was my old uncle in Colorado recommended it to my dad for me when I was about 14. And I guarantee my old uncle never heard of Jack, but he killed piles of elk, deer and bear in Colorado with his Model 54. He was right. BTW, he did it all with 130 gr Winchester ammo - Silvertips by he time I knew him.

I've mentioned my uncle before (great uncle, actually), but as a partial tribute I'll say again, he was a fine hunter and a great horseman

This was my first 270 and one of the first bucks I killed with it. (1980)


I killed a bunch of deer and other critters with that old Rugger and finally shot the barrel out of it. I wish I'd had it re-barreled and not traded it off. I've owned four other 270's since that one. Still have two in the house right now.

I like to play with other cartridges but a 270 always goes along on a hunt. It's not only my back up rifle but it's the one that gets used when tags need to be filled and there is no tomorrow.

Dam, I was a handsome fellow in 1980! What the hell happened?

For some reason, I like to be a little different. I dumped all my bolt actions and went to Ruger #1s for hunting. I grew up wanting a .280, becuase 30 years ago, it was a lot different than owning a .270 or 30/06. And, if I were to own a bolt, it would be becuase the walnut on it was a real attention getter. To cut to the chase, the last thing I would ever want was a stainless steel bolt action rifle with a no-character, non-wlanut stock and chambered for the go-with-the-crowd .270 Winchester. Well, for our first anniversary, my wife went and bought me a left-handed Ruger - their stainless model with a laminated stock. Chambered for...you guessed it...the 270 Winchester. My wife said to take it back if it wasn't what I wanted, but I read between the lines and realized that would be a foolish marital move. Then I started to shoot the thing. And even though I'm not really big on ballistics, when one looks up the numbers on the .270 and compares it to everything else out there, I believe this cartridge is really hard to beat when it comes to hunting the lower 48. In fact, the more I shoot this cartridge, the more I like it. I hope to never have to give up the Ruger #1s I have left, but if someone were to tell me I had to spend the rest of my life carrying just that .270, I would be just as content as can be. Of course I couldn't give in all together. When most would probably put a 3x9 on this type of rig, I fitted mine with a matte finish, straight 4x Leupold. There, now it's cool enough for me to carry.

yup. got a 270 and a 270wsm. LOVE them both! my 270 is my most important gun

I live outside of the unincorporated little "town" (not even a gas station) of Elmira about 25 miles west of Eugene, just for the record... but Eugene is the economic lifeblood of the area, to be sure!

Heck, I like Eugene. Wacky, fun, stoopid Eugene. Gotta love a fun west-coast college town, right?

Notice how I'm not even pointing out the obvious superiority of the 30-06? I am SO polite. Like any good Eugenian, I believe in diversity and political correctness. So you .270 guys, I FEEL you! I know in my warm fuzzy heart that YOUR way of thinking, (however wrong), is right for YOU! And your self-esteem is what's most important.

-jeff

Nice late 70's haircut! I remember those. I was only 15 in 1980...

:-)

-jeff

Hmmm, killed my first game animal with a 270. A black bear outside of Quesnel, B.C. One is all it took....

Since then, I've graduated to 7mm's and .35's, but both kids have their own 270's, loaded with 130 gr. TSX's. Hard to argue with success, plus used 270's are a dime a dozen, since it apparently just isn't the cartridge it used to be........ JMO, Dutch.

PS, Jeff, Class of '86. Liberal girls are easy......

270GUY knows better than I do how many 270's I've owned because he is my long-time friend and gun dealer, but if I were to guess I'd put the number at around 20+.My first one was a Ruger M77 that I used on my first western hunt to Montana in the early 70's for mule deer and antelope, and I've used the cartridge regularly since then just about everywhere. I suspect the number of rounds I've fired through them numbers way up in the tens of thousands, and I've lost track of how many barrels I've cooked.

I've used a good number of other calibers as well over the years, and seen a good bit of game killed with the cartridge, and although I'm an equally big 7 mag fan, I'd have to say that I cannot see a big difference between it and the 270 on any animals I've shot or seen shot with both.I'd just as soon use one as the other on about anything; for that matter the 270 does about as well on anything as the 30/06, also, provided bullet structure is equal in both.The 30/06 can use heavier bullets, but when was the last time you saw anyone loaded up with 220's?The 280 is the same as the 270, but no better.

As someone else has pointed out, the problem with the cartridge is that, once you've used it a good deal it becomes difficult to justify getting anything else in the same category. I think Kutenay hit the nail on the head when he says that a 338 and a 270 makes about the best big-game combo package for a guy who wants an all-round battery for North America.

I'm down to a paltry 4 270's right now;this needs to be fixed...

Bob - that number of 270s that you have (4) is really too low. No one in the "cult" should ever let the number slip below 5 at a minimum. See me at the shop and we will take care of this problem.

OK!

i started with a 270 in 72' in alaska, shooting 130/150 corelokts and some 150gr partitions. over the years that gun took moose, caribou, black bears, dall sheep, mtn goats, and deer. i shot that same tang ruger for the next 25-30 years, with no regrets. replaced her with a 24" ss model 700 in an hs precision stock that is used only for whitetails these days. there is just something special about the 270 win.

I guess you could say it's one of my favorites. I've owned several, down to one now but it is only because a lack of green backs. My two favorites are the 270 win. and the 35 whelen. I have to say that classic in 8X57 is in there though. I'm really wanting a new 270 now since the CDL SF ones came out. The ruger stainless I have now is a shooter though. But I like wood and blued. I know the SF isn't but it still looks good.

I call BS on that statement 270 or 7 mag, what's the difference?
I would not feel one bit better with a 7mm anything over a 270.

Jeff, What's with this 30-06 stuff? I thought you were 358 cultist?

I am a recovering 270 cultist as I have become very fond of my 338-06's, 416 Rigby and my soon to be built 9.3x64 Brenneke. I also shouldn't forget my 22-250.

But I'll never be without a 270.

You might not feel better,but the extra 300ftlbs of energy provided by the 7mmremmag over the 270win would make me feel a little better if facing a grizzly.The extra 900ftlbs of energy produced by my 7mm stw over the 270win would make me feel better yet in that situation.
For the record,I have been charged by a grizzly,so I do know how it feels to be in that situation.The grizzly is now a rug in my home.

Well, I have to agree with Stubby on a preference for a larger cartridge when hunting in Grizzly country and BC has the largest number of bears anywhere. I don't know that a 7Mag is really better than a .270 for this use and I sold off my 7mags over 25 years ago, after one Grizzly encounter at Whitswan Lake in '79.

A .270 WILL drop a Grizzly, I have witnessed this and also a 7Mag. However, I really do think that .338s and up are better for Elk-Moose hunting when you are backpacking your meat in Grizzly country...why not, if you have a bigger gun use it, IMO.

But, I have and would hunt anywhere/thing in BC with a .270 or .280 and feel OK about it.

Count me in on the cult. Although I don't knock anyone if it's not their favorite (it's not my dad's)!

Bill

I agree 100% with that statement.