Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Why Has the 270 Winchester Fell Out of Favor?

In the real world the 270 hasn't fallen out of favor. It's only here on this site, mostly by guys that wear their hair in a bun

Wrong. The anti-270ites are led by a guy who wears a leopard print thong. And his followers are of a certain age to not have enough hair to wear in a bun.

I have 10 270's in the house right now. Would like to get down to 4 or 5 but have separation anxiety.

Post partum syndrome isn't a women-only issue

I've owned/used/played with a total of 13 .270s through the years. I have never killed but 1 jackrabbit and helped to finish off a Spanish goat my Godson shot. I just seemed to have something else in my hands when Game was spotted, ha. My last one was a Kimber 84L Classic that turned out so well I gave it for my youngest grand daughters future use ( her dad is a Marine). They are still very much in use and popular out here. If I see another one I "just can't live without, I'll get another .270 in a heartbeat, ha.

Lots of good points here. In my opinion, the 270WCF is still the king of cartridges for deer sized game, hunted under typical conditions. The blend of velocity, recoil, trajectory, and availability is really as hard to beat now as it was 100 years ago.

The reason why it's not the "go to" for so many these days is that it isn't a great dual-purpose round for those that are part-time shooters and part-time hunters and aren't interested in having a safe full of different rifles. Guys used to would have their 270WCF for killing and other rifles for their range days and varmint time. The younger crowd want's to do it all with one chambering and today's marketing tells them they can. They want to go shoot the longer range steel with moderately-priced, higher-BC ammo and also be able to go hunting the next day. Many (but not all) young guys that are just hunters don't care as much, but they see how their buddies are having good success at the range and in the field with their Creedmoors and .308Win rifles, so when they buy something new, they often figure that they might as well go that route, both to take advantage of all the ammo and because those chamberings are available in all the new rifle models. That begins to weed out the purchases of some of the older, more traditional, big-game rounds, especially those with slower twist rates.

No kidding!

We have used our 270's from gophers to elk and most everything in between. Have shot 85gr TSX's to 180gr Woodleigh bullets through them.

Here is a list off the top of my head.
Gopher, Prairie Dog, cottontail, jackrabbit, squirrel, rockchuck, rattlesnake, beaver, coons, fox, coyote, hogs, turkeys, TX rams, blackbuck, axis, pronghorn, whitetails, mule deer, bighorn sheep, black bear, caribou, and elk.

The newer hunters/shooters look straight at the Bullet's BC to see what is best. Most of us older hunters know that the majority of our shots on big game have been 300 yards and less, so the BC issue is moot.

Guys that hunt in horrific winds of the Western Plains want BC and Speed, and they need all they can get.

I still have two of the 270's with 10" twists, and both of these rifles love the 140g Nosler ballistic tips with 58g of H4831. My 280 Rem custom, 8.75T with 180g ELD-m's(.796 BC) at 2700 really shows up the 270 at 300 yard, and at 400 yard targets, my 140g 270 loads suck hind tit. So, I tried the 145g Hornady eld in the 270, but so so accuracy was all I could muster, barrels will like what they like. I need to re visit the 145g Hornady's in the 270, BC and speed without accuracy is a waste, and I test my loads at the 300 and 400 yards, with a final test at 550 yards.

There are the Expectations for the Hunter to shoot further with today's high quality bullets and scopes. As the 270 barrels get shot out, faster twist barrels with longer throats will allow HIGH BC bullets to be used in the 270 for special purpose, long range rifles.

I have hunted Mule Deer where we shot ridge to ridge, and also hunted antelope in the 30 mph winds at some distance, with wind and elevation doping a given.

Early on, we learned to put a bullet where it is supposed to go and animals die quickly. I hunted cow elk with a Ruger 243 with it's skeleton stock shooting 100g Partitions, never had a problem. We rode mules and horses, and usually did not have to shoot over 150 yards on elk.

I don't have a man bun, but if you are killing deer 450 yards and over, you can see some difference with higher BC bullets, but it has to be a MUCH HIGHER BC....think .625 and better.

The Vast majority of hunters do not shoot over 200 yards, and for those hunters, the 270 is darn near a perfect fit. The 160g Partition in the 270 is very, very accurate with decent speed in both of my rifles. In fact, I found the 160g partition to be an easier bullet to tune vs the 150g partition. Noslers accuracy load for the 160g partition is VERY accurate, I just tweeked the seating depth for each barrel and got 1/2" groups at 100 yards.

For the 270 freeks, I urge you to try the 110g TTSX using H4350, IMR 4350, and R#17. In both of my rifles, the 110s outshoot all other bullets in accuracy, and 3300 fps does impress at the 300 yard line, makes you feel like you are shooting a 220 swift when it comes to flat shooting with 1.5" groups(300 yards) in my rifles jumping the bullet .050 off the lands. I have yet to shoot a deer or hog with the 110g TTSX and recover the bullet. The speed of this bullet sets up hydrostatic shock in the animal that just flattens them on the spot, the vast majority of the time. I shot a 140 lb doe straight up the azz with this 110g TTSX and the bullet exited her front shoulder, she was laying in her tracks.

I have purchased a number of used 270's over the years from friends that have "moved on". Please never put WD40 in your rifle barrel, Pitting will be the result.
4 cartridges will outlive all of us, the 270, 243, 30/06, and the 308.

Wow! You could qualify for the Lou and Charlie adventures and hunting stories in FFG. One of them got a polar bear with a 270

moved

The military determined that the 150 gr. @2800 fps M2 ball round was about all the average marksman could shoot accurately, out of a moderate weight rifle, for extended periods and improve over time.

The .270/150 gr. is that round, utilizing a high SD expanding bullet.

An elegant solution.






GR

It hasn't fell out of favor, it's only gotten better with age...110TTSX at 3500 fps or 130 TBT at 3225fps and mild recoil, what's not to like?

I don’t have one because everybody else does.
FTR I think it’s a great round. If it was good enough for Jack O it’s good enough.

I'm pretty darn happy with my 270 and 130gr bullets. I still shoot a lot of other guns, but my 270 isn't going anywhere.

30+ years ago virtually everyone who bought a bolt action rifle bought it for big game hunting. In the last 10 years the number of hunters has declined significantly, while the number of rifle shooters has increased. Most new shooters don't hunt. And the ones who still do hunt spend a lot more time shooting paper and steel at the range. And at greater distances than ever before.

The 270 and 30-06 are undisputedly great hunting cartridges. But for guys who spend most, if not all of their time shooting paper or steel there are better choices that are more accurate, are cheaper to shoot, and have less recoil. The rifles and optics to shoot them have changed as well. Even the guys who still do hunt are going to take the rifle and cartridge hunting that they shoot the best and have confidence in.

Both 270 and 30-06 fell out of the top 10 cartridges some years ago and are now lumped together with "other cartridges" on the lists of rifles sold every year. Several new rifle offerings aren't even available in 270 or 30-06 anymore.

And there is still a butt load of rifles in both chamberings out there. Everyone who wants one, already has 1. Or more. That isn't helping sales of new rifles in those cartridges either.

My first big game rifle was a Ruger M77 MK ii in 270. It killed deer rather handily.

The .270 Win was my dream rifle as a kid. My first hunting rifle purchase (trade?) was for a Parker-Hale .270 Win. Killed lot's of deer with it.
Shop I worked in got some new Parker-Hale's in. I stupidly swapped my original for a new one. Wish I had the old one back, alas....!
When we married, I bought my wife a Ruger No.1 .270 Win.
Wife seldom hunts.
I seldom use the Parker-Hale!
Wish I had purchased another No.1 .270! LOL!

The .270 isn't the do-all, kill-all, be-all, end-all cartridge.

Are there "better" cartridges out there? Probably!
...but the "average" American hunter can't do much better than a .270 Win as a one rifle hunter.

Wonder just how many deer, elk, moose, bear, buffalo, caribou, etc have fallen to the lowly .30-30 Win?

You can only kill 'em so dead!

I'd say the biggest detriment to the .30-06 Spgfld class cartridges right now is the short AR cartridges.
Heck! I even went to the 6.8mm Rem SPC....which IS a .277" bullet!

As a teenager, I was first exposed to Outdoor Life magazines while helping at a church paper sale. I read all the O'Connor articles over and over. It's become my "go to" for years from antelope to elk. While I have deviated and now rely on the 6.5CM, it is really a workhorse for all N.A. hunting including brown bear.

Never been without a 270 I'll die with one. I've only killed 11 elk, 2 with a bow. The other 9, 8 of which all fell to a 130 NPT in front of 60gr. of H4831, all DRT.

The .270 is the do-all, kill-all, be-all, end-all cartridge.