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

I have killed more game with the 270 Win than anything else but only deer and antelope, perhaps 20-30 or so but...presently own a 270 Wby and 30-06 in that category.

I do believe it-the 270 win-is balanced about right along with a couple of others perhaps considering the physical laws governing ballistics and with an appropriately built rifle is admittedly hard to beat for NA game esp the medium game.

But I've never been one to hold on to firearms until now in the middle ages, having traded or bought this or that to try many. It was Hagel and later Seyfried who got me started on the 340 but have also come back to the '06 and milder cartridges like the 6.5x55.

My Dave Gentry 270 Wby in a 700 aside from needing at least a 24" tube is almost like and as light as a moderately heavy 270 Win at 8lbs with a Leup 4.5-14 and while the Win is flat the Wby is almost laser flat. Recoil for me is just to the left of a "normal" '06 and I think it is a highly overlooked cartridge. I included these comments because the thread title mentioned "270", not specifically the Win version although I'm sure it was meant.

Gdv

I like the .270 win. Used it alot more when I was younger. Now I only carry it when I am covering a large field (s) or powerlines or something when a far shot is a good possibility. Other than that it's my 35's in the woods. There really is no need for anything else with this combo.

Goodnews: The 270 Weatherby is hell on wheels! It really is a fabulous cartridge; and is very accurate and flat shooting. I built one...please don't ask what happened to it........

You traded it off on a 308 win, come on Bob we know you did

Powerguy: Ha, ha, ha......very funny!...............how'd you know..............

The 308 win is fine but.....I feel your pain!

Gdv

I LIKE that 270wby!
Mine is just a garden variety Weatherby ultralight.
It shoots the 140gr TSX @ 3300fps with under 1 inch groups common when "bozo" can remember how to pull the trigger!


I guess this is a one load rifle, you might say.
~grin

Goodnews: I didn't REALLY trade it for a 308.........

Actually, it was a caliber-reduction move. With my handloads in the 7 mag, I get 3250-3300 with a 140 gr bullet; it was so similar to a 270 Weatherby I could not see having both, so I sold the Weatherby.Drop to 500 yds was about the same, etc. Course, this does not mean the 270 Weatherby is not a fabulous round, cause it is. Just too much overlap with the 7 rem mag...

270guy: I have several Hunting Rifles in caliber 270 Winchester. I used a 270 Winchester on Big Game for the first time more than 45 years ago!
I have used the 270 Winchester to harvest Antelope, Mule Deer, Elk, Black Bear, Whitetailed Deer, Mt. Goat and Blacktailed Deer!
No problems so far, at all!
This is one caliber that definitely "gets better with age"!
Todays powders, bullet selection and accurate Rifles only enhances this already very fine cartridge.
My latest 270 Winchester calibered Rifle is an ultra-accurate Remington 700 Sendero with a heavy 26" barrel! With it and 130 gr. Nosler Ballistic Tips I have killed a 6x6 Bull Elk, numerous Mule Deer, numerous Antelope and two Whitetailed Deer!
I have killt Antelope out to 450 yards (Leica Laser ranged!) and Mule Deer out to just shy of 400 yards with this Rifle/bullet combo - as well as a couple of Mule Deer at less than 100 yards!
I have 4 pre-64 Winchester Model 70's in caliber 270 Winchester at present - one that gets Hunted with on occassion and three in my collection (Supergrade, Standard and a Featherweight, all of which are in mint condition). I also have Remingtons in Model 700 BDL and 722, in caliber 270 Winchester, that see action from time to time.
Yes indeed I am a member of the 270 Cult - a founding member!
Long live the 270 Winchester!
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

Send me that Fwt., I NEED two more to pair with my four .338 Alaskans!!! Good stuff, stout fella!!

Kutenay: You are a M70 maven......

Guess i'm a member of this cult too. I bought my first 270 back in the early 80's and have had one ever since. I've shot lots of deer, whitetail and muleys, a bull elk, sheep, black bears, caribou, and 1 grizzly using 150 grain NP's and it do get the job done. I'll be using it on a couple of caribou come this weekend and maybe a sheep and a black bear come September.

I grew up reading JOC, and bought my first 270 in 1983 when I was 18 years old. I was lucky enough to buy my second 270 the following summer. A 1957 M70 standard rifle, it was a hell of a lot of money for a kid working for 4 bucks an hour. It shot my early, clumsy handloads better than I had any right to expect, and is still in the family all these years later.

I used it exclusively until my father decided he liked it better than I did, so I gave it to him. He considers it a deathray on deer, and still uses it as his open field deer rifle.

Since then I've owned a bunch of 270's, although I must admit I don't own one at present. That said, my pet sheep rifle has 280AI marked on the barrel, but I chalk that up to the gunnut disease. It works almost as well as my 270's did!

Rick: +1....

Can't say as I'm a member here... but my roots are firmly planted in .270 soil. First big game rifle was a .270 Browning A-Bolt. That rifle beat my a$$! Killed one spike Muley with it and traded it down the road for a .25-06 Ruger. Never owned another one, never will... but what I shoot now isn't much more, .280AI. ~JT

Hate to be boring...have not much else to say other than my ol' .270 is the gun I usually reach for out of the safe when I want to fill tags. Am a big fan of the bang flop and have had that happen more often than not when pulling that trigger. Just picked up another that will go to one of the boys when he's old enough. He probably won't hate me for it, I'm thinking.

Count me in as a 270 fan. Speaking of whitetails only - it works.

I've had the same one for 27 seasons and believe that I've killed at least one deer with it every season. That said, I'm going to take a little "internet license" and say that I've killed "dozens" of deer with it and it has been almost totally unremarkable. Unremarkable being a good thing. Shoot 'em through the ribs, they go a ways, then tip over.
The remarkable one has nothing to do with the caliber, rather the deer its self.

I could go on more but it would be more of a commentary about the rifle and scope I'm using rather than on the cartridge.

Mine may miss this season, an 11 yo has his eyes on it to shoot his first deer using some of the reduced recoil loads. I'll gladly use something else this year based on that consideration. Otherwise, I can't think of a good reason to grab anything else for deer hunting.

How could anyone find fault with the .270 Winchester? The round shoots a bit flatter than a 30-06. Hits a little harder than a 7x08 and can be used to take any non-dangerous game in the lower 48 at a range longer than most of us have any business taking a shot.

The .270's recoil is about as much as most shooters can handle without it affecting accuracy.

The .270 Winchester is almost boring because it has been so effective for so long.

In my humble opinion...the .270 WSM and the Weatherby magnum is largely unnessesary needed in those very rare instances for that extra long shot....and only if that rifle is capable of sub .5" MOA and a hunter who can shoot .5" MOA out to extreme ranges.

We are talking about that 1 in a 1000 shot with that 1 in a 1000 rifle not to mention the rare shooter who can make it happen.

In all other instances....the .270 Winchester is more than capable.

Well said.

[quote=AkMtnHntr, 1 grizzly using 150 grain NP's and it do get the job done. [/quote]


Just curious.........where was shot placement?How many shots needed?How far did he go before dying?Did bullets fully penetrate?