Used 4 different 270's and had trouble holding them on the spot.....
What does this mean?
BobinNH
It means unless I head, neck, or spined the deer with the shot they took off running. Yes they died soon but still always ran a distance. I hunted with a Sako first, then two pre-64 Fwt's, then a standard grade 270 with the 24" barrel to see if that helped. Same results. Tried different 130Gr bullets then went to 140Gr. Same results. Bought a Rem 700 BDL-SS mid 90's in the 280 and had been using it till last year when I got a Cooper 280AI. I had the same results with the 280 TILL Hornaday came out with the 139SST. I have had more DRT with that combo than any other rifle I have hunted with in the last 51 Years. Perhaps had Horn. introduced the SST back in the early 90's when I was using the 270 my results would have been the same as with the 280.
Most all of us know that the 270 and 280 are 6 of one, half a dozen of another. I just prefer the 280 after my experiences with the 270. Sorry if I offended your favorite cartridge. Like a fellow told me one time "The only reason the firearms manufacturers make so many different calbiers is so we can set here and argue about them." I think maybe he was right. You have a Merry Christmas hunter718
Hunter,no problem..Merry Christmas to you,too!
..you didn't offend my favorite cartridge at all...in fact I really don't have a "favorite"...having gone the same path as many others here,as well as you have, I have just never noticed a great deal of difference between a 270,280,7x57,7/08,30/06, 308, etc....and when it comes to deer sized game you can toss the 280AI and the 7mags into the pile as well.....I frankly have not had the pleasure of seeing a big difference in terminal effect with any of them.I think any difference lies more in the hunters head than anywhere else....and my experience has been that it doesn't matter what cartridge I use...I get about the same result with all of them....
Using any of them, I have not had deer go anywhere....but mostly down...that said,no cartridge and bullet can be relied upon to drop deer DRT every single time.....searching endlessly for a carttridge that always gives DRT reminds me of Don Quixote jousting with windmills or Jason seeking the Holy Grail.
Rather than confuse my life with a bunch of duplicitous cartridges that do the same thing(BTDT),I mostly just shoot a 270,because it is precisely the same as a 280 and 280AI...I could live my hunting life just as happily with a 280 or 280AI,but not because they kill any better....the people I know with a lot of experience with the 270 and 280 sorta stifle a yawn,thier eyes glazed over,when someone starts a rant about the supriority of one over the other.And how a 270(used by thousands of elk hunters every year;used by many Africans to shoot a LOT of plains game),can be a punk whitetail cartridge at the same time,is pretty humorous.....
So when I read accounts of deer running off as if stung by a bee after taking a solid hit from a 270(or a 280,7x57, etc), or that 280's drop 'em right there,while 270's let them run off, I have to consider it a fairy tale.....I ask myself "What's the liklihood that this guy has discovered something that hundreds of thousands of other shooter/hunters have missed"? Not too likely...
And sorry to differ but I seriously doubt that all these cartridges were worthless deer killers before the SST came out....I mean,think about it...
