Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters 100 yr. .270 birthday- lots of .270 stories?

There is your meat & taters. Aint gotta be a 270 pushing it.

I bought my first 270win when I was a new 1LT in 1973 while assigned as an infantry officer on ft. Richardson Alaska. A new tang model ruger in which I shot factory 130 gr corelokts. Had the gunsmith who worked at the Muldoon Pawn shop full length bed the stock. That combo killed a couple moose, at least 9 caribou, a mtn goat, a dall sheep, and a few deer on kodiak island. That 270 was my primary big game rifle up until I retired in 1996. Sadly I sold the rifle in 1996 after I retired but replaced it with a mk2 also in 270. Switched to 150gr partitions and killed a couple elk with it in past years. Gave that rifle to a son in law and bought myself a South Carolina FN model 70 Super Grade also in 270 win. Used it on w

Whitetail in 2023 and will use it in 2024 for New Mexico elk. IMO the 270win is a superb hunting cartridge, easy to shoot, kills extremely well, and ammo available everywhere. Great “first big game” cartridge for anyone. What’s not to like?

What in heck is a band-wagon cartridge? I'm into cartridges that work, low recoil, flat trajectory, ammo everywhere here and internationally, reloading components very available, reasonable recoil, shoots fast, accurate, and punches well above its weight(.270 Win). Examples are .375 H&H, 9.3 x 62, 30-06, 7mm Rem Mag, .280 Rem, .270 Win, 6.5 x 55 SE, 7 x 57 Mauser. Bullet placement closes the gap between calibers. The most heavy game(non dangerous) I've killed is a big giant Eland that supposedly weighed over 2000lbs.(.270 Winchester). The 9.3 x 62 bagged a cape buffalo and elephant in Zimbabwe(one shot each). I've used the .270 Win., 30-06, 9.3 x 62 and .22 long rifle most of my life. I've killed ground hogs, deer, and black bear with the .22 long rifle. Jack O'Connor, Finn Aagaard, and today's John Barsnes..... All have told us shot placement is the most important feature of hunting. I agree because I have experienced good shot placement equalling good results. Of course I've screwed up a few shots with poor results. This is America. With favorite caliber in hand, go forth and hunt with confidence as I realize the .270 Win is not the only caliber that is excellent. I really love the 30-06. If forced by the govt to have only one rifle...i would choose the 30-06. I'm at the age where I know what I like and feel there isn't any new stuff that will change my life. There is just so much stuff out there that really works very well. Shoot straight and happy hunting!

First .270 I ever bought was one that I got for my son when he was around 10 or 11. He'd been pestering me for his own deer rifle and I'd given him a bunch of work to do to earn it, and he had. On a Saturday, we went to a gun show, and walking across the parking lot, I spotted a kid, about 20, toting a bolt action rifle all wrapped up in camouflage tape. I asked him what he had there and he said it was "just an old Sears rifle", but I'd already spotted the telltale flat, checkered bottom of the bolt handle knob, sure sign of an FN Mauser. I asked to see it, and got permission to peel off a little of the tape. I peeled enough off the barrel and forearm to see "J. C. Higgins" and ".270 Winchester", and could tell it hadn't been shot much and saw no rust or wear anywhere and bore and muzzle looked perfect. The kid only wanted 200 bucks for it, so it went home with us, along with a good scope, mounts, sling, dies, reloading supplies, and some factory ammo. We made it a father-son project getting all that blasted tape and then the adhesive off the rifle, cleaning it up, refinishing the stock, glass bedding it, cutting the stock down to mount a recoil pad, mounting the scope, and loading some reduced recoil ammo. Then I taught him how to sight it in. And I was amazed how well he could shoot it, from the very beginning. He quickly learned to appreciate the quality of FN Mausers. He's 36 now and it's the only big game rifle that he cares to hunt with, and he's deadly with it.

The second .270 I bought was when I asked my daughter what she wanted for her 21st birthday. And my jaw dropped when she said a .270, like her brother's, but it didn't have to be "fancy" like his, as long as it was accurate. We went gun shopping and the one she picked out was a new Stevens 200, which she liked better than the others we looked at because it's light and fits her well. I put a decent scope on it, gave it a trigger job, slicked up the action, worked on the stock, and she loves it. She's 38 now, married to a Major in the Army (as a Captain, he did two tours in Afghanistan as a company commander in the 101st Airborne), they have two sons, and she gives her husband a ration of crap because she, using her .270, can out-shoot him using his .30-06. He just looks down, grins, and shakes his head. And I laugh. They're raising their boys right. I've started the oldest one on a Browning Micro Medallion in .257 Roberts with reduced recoil handloads.

The the third .270 I've owned is a Ruger M77 MkII All Weather with the "boat paddle" stock, and lord have mercy is it ever a shooter. I reworked the trigger, stoning it lightly, replaced the trigger spring, and added an overtravel stop screw. It now breaks very cleanly at 2.5 lbs, which is as low as I want on a big game rifle. It just has a Nikon Prostaff scope with the BDC reticle on it, but it's proven deadly out to a little past 700 yds. In Missouri a few years ago, we had to cull 26 deer off of our farm and adjoining family farms because of CWD. And we helped some non-family neighbors fill their cull quota. Most of the farms were laid out in square 40 acre, or rectangular 80 acre fields. With that rifle, I killed so many deer all the way across (440 yds) and diagonally across (622 yds) those forty acre fields and further, with witnesses, that family and friends started calling me "Forty Acre Baker". I used two loads: one that I got from JB using H4350 and 130 gr BT's and the other that I worked up using Superformance and 150 gr Interbonds. That rifle is definitely one of my favorites and is for sure a keeper.

I have been inspired to dig my 270 from the dark recesses of the safe and get it ready for this season. It has languished far to long.

GSPfan, that's what I'm thinking too.

Cool write up. I got a Ruger 77 300 Win when I got to Pendleton in 97. Worked for a lot of hunting for a long time.

I’ve been pulling out my old faithful rifles to try Hammers this year for deer, elk and bear. The 270 P64 FWT, 7 Mashburn and 338 Alaskan have been getting a good workout. The ol 270 and H4831 ain’t doing too bad.

Well said!

I've had the pleasure today of reading this thread and extend gratitude to those who've contributed.

Many years ago my grandfather, a Win 70 30-06 user often suggested that the 270 WCF would be a good choice for me to move towards as a boy. However, back home it was considered more "cannon" than necessary, Dad, a confirmed 222 and 6mm Remington guy... Ended up with a 22-250 at 11, then a 7 RM at 14 (of my own choosing) never getting into a 270 until much later in life, although I read O'Connor and remembered what gramps said. I like many cartridges, finding fault in the 270 Winchester in preference of others is mostly in one's head I've concluded. It's a splendid hunting cartridge.

By gawd I don't think I've made a kill with one yet! I have a Kimber of Oregon Mod 89 BGR in 270 which is dear to me, of the vintage I was working in their stock shop about 1990. I've never really moved beyond tinkering with it, many here have provided assistance. I recall BobinNH helping me with loads more than once. RIP. Yet, I'm still getting around to it, probably best with 140gr bullets and moderate ranges. It's now wearing a simple longtube Leupold 4x, a Montana sling and needs to get out!

I had the pleasure of interacting with a man of means who spends a fair amount of time in Africa. Speaking of "what works" he said many 100s of culls were simply via the 270 and Privi 150 gr SPs. A very typical combination used by the locals.

More recently, just a few years ago, I put a dandy little parts rifle together, Rem 700 Mtn rifle in 270, BDL format and, uhhh, well, I went and toasted the barrel doing some lathe practice - threading the muzzle a couple of months ago, not attentive enough. No 270 SBR needed. Dohhhh. Soooo, I have now that action and another and have acquired two 7 twist 277 barrels. Hopefully I'll be able to get those running for the Centennial! It's really a cartridge that makes sense with the typical hunting opportunities in Montana and I plan to promote it despite all the others. Yes, 150 grain solids as mentioned previously in this thread definitely make sense with the fast twist and SAAMI chamber. Should be powerful medicine.

Thanks again for the stories.

I grew up reading JOC's accounts of hunting with a 270. Around the 1978 time period he wrote about the new Remington 700 Classic rifle and how good it looked. So, I bought one in 270 very shortly thereafter. In almost 60 years of hunting whitetails, I have never seen a better combo for them than the 270 Win. and a good 130 grain bullet. The fastest and quickest kills I have seen have been with that combo.

I have since moved on to other cartridges, not because they are better, but just because I like using different guns. But, if if I were to ever find myself in the position of having to kill a deer or else, or say going on the deer hunt of a lifetime, my 700 Classic 270 is the rifle I'd choose.

My great uncle talked about one of his friends buying a Winchester M54 in 270 WIN when they were kids. Everyone was envious of that rifle, as the rest of them used Winchester 94s that they borrowed from their fathers and nobody really had much money at the time to spend on the latest new rifles.

I am really late to this thread but would like to add my thoughts on the venueable 270. I purchased my first , a model 70 standard, because Otto Corbin of a Bottineau ND did not have a feather weight in stock , the summer of 1957, the year I graduated from high school. That model 70 represented many hours of picking rocks, humping 60 lb hay bales, milking cows, and cleaning stalls at 75 cents an hour. Now after over 65 years I still cherish that as much today as I did then Though, like many of you ,I’ve owned literally hundreds of other over the years. I can’t imagine how miles I packed that 9 1/2 lb rifle over forest and prairie up steep mountains and through the muskeg of Canada and Alaska. That ole rifle has bagged me the grand slam of sheep, mountain goat, elk , deer , antelope, caribou, black bear, a variety of African plains game, and 100’s of small game, along with a mind full of wonderful memories. Long live the 270 Winchester.