I have used a 270 for 54 years and I highly respect it's capabilities on all game I have hunted with it, however I don't see bore size as a representation of religious worship. So a short action 270 is nothing I see a real need for because we have the 7-08 now. There would be nothing wrong with one, but nothing "more right" either.
I owned a 270 Win Short Mag for several years. Worked great. Just like my standard 270. But from the kills I made with it on deer, antelope and elk, I can't say it did anything any better then my 270 Winchester. And 2 of my 270s were more accurate then my Short Mag, so gaining a bit more speed didn't actually correspond with "longer range", because my 2 Mausers in 270 Winchester both shoot about 1/2 MOA. My Benelli 270 Short Mag shot well, but not super well. It gave me about 1-1/4 Groups with its best load. Clearly good enough for all the shots I ever made with it, but not as good as my standard 270s. Killing elk with my Short Mag, it did fine, but again no better then I have done for the last 50+ years with a regular 270 firing the same bullets.
So if I want similar ballistics in a short action for any reason I would be 100% happy with a 7-08. .284" is close enough to .277"that I doubt the game animals would know much difference.
Heck, Winchester INVENTED the 284 Win for the exact purpose of getting as close as they could to the 270 Winchester from a short action. Seems like lots of folks love to wildcat the 284 Win, but just as it is, there is not a darn thing wrong with it.
I for one see NO advantage in the real world for a bolt action made strictly for a short cartridge. Nothing wrong with them, but nothing "more right' either.
The short action was a craze told to us all that it was "more accurate" but today when we look to the 1000 yard champs a LOT of them are back to long and very long shells. As a custom gun maker having 51 years of experience, I have never seen true proof that the short shells were "better" then standard ones for hunting rifles and now we see they do not have a monopoly on accuracy in the bench rest fraternity either, especially when we look to 600 yards and farther.
But that's just how I see it.
Others may love short brass and would love to try a short 270 and if so, more power to them.
Last edited by szihn; 03/15/22.
