Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles 26" barrel on a .270 Win ???(why / why not)

I have a 29" 270 that gets 3140 FPS with 140 grain TSX bullets with published load data

Prezactly. A 26" tube on a .270 ain't exactly my cup of tea but I'm not the one that'll be drinking said tea. If it makes your socks go up and down, have at it!

I concur....!

How's ya feeling...commin' around?

Our Rem 700 BDL 270s have 22" barrels but I've always thought of going to 26". The stock barrels just shoot so good, I can't replace them until they're worn out. As far as working in the thick cover, just came back from a hog hunt with my 500 Jeff with it's 24" barrel, killed my hog at 8 feet in thickets where 15 feet was the furthest we could see ahead of us and usually less. The 24" barrel was no hindrance.

If the brush is so thick that a rifle is a problem, then I suggest one choose a handgun

Swampman700 Mine been moving also from standing to falling on the ground with 270s and the rest of my guns

Over the past 40 years, I've exposed my ears to tens of thousands of unshielded muzzle blasts while out in the field hunting. Of course I use ear protection while practicing or when I can, but for most of my hunting, I dont. A 26" barrel will produce a lot less felt muzzle blast and noise to the shooter. Especially from prone. All of my coyote hunting rifles have barrels at least 26"(no brakes)and some are longer for that very reason. Not for the velocity gain. With the scopes I use on these rifles, 50 or 60 fps is a non factor.

I've said it before and will say it again.... seems funny to me that a 26" barrel works well on a shotgun but a 26" rifle barrel is too long. When I was a kid and we had a shotgun here in Minnesota, it had either a 28 or 30 inch barrel and we used it for waterfowl and grouse hunting. The grouse hunting was in the same brushy stuff as we hunted deer in. I hunted grouse many,many days with a shotgun with a 30 inch barrel and never gave it a thought that it was too long to work in tight cover. I have hunted deer with a rifle sporting a 26" barrel on several occasions in the heavy cover here. I didn't and still don't see a problem using that length of tube. And trust me, we have some thick brush here. By the way, I have a 270 with a 25" barrel that work just fine! As others have said, it boils down to what you like, and a 270 with a 26" barrel would work just fine, if that is what you want.

Good points MMGravy and exactly what I've found!

Being from NE MN I know what you mean about thick brush too!

+1...........

+1.........

I put a 28" barrel on a .375/.416 Rem Mag with a muzzle brake on the end of it. I intentially took it to the woods to see if it would catch on things. After several days I finally felt it bump on something. I stopped right there check how much I would need to cut off to miss the obstruction. All I needed to do was take off the brake.

I am now convinced, from reallife testing, the idea of a short barrel for woods hunting to clear obstructions is based on ignorant prejudice.

If I can hunt woodcock with a 26-28 inch barreled shotgun in woods so thick that a rifle with a bayonet on it would be scarcely less useful than it for deer hunting, the question of a 26 inch barrel on a rifle for any kind of remotely normal work is patently ridiculous.

If you like a long barrel shoot a long barrel. If you don't, then don't do that! Anywhere a rifle with a 26 inch barrel would be a problem, the sight you'd use to take advantage of the barrel would certainly be a bigger problem.

Dumb ass question. Dumb ass argument.

Exactly......

from Miles58 - "Dumb ass question. Dumb ass argument."

This statement is un-called for. What is this forum for, except to share ideas, information, experiences, and opinions.


Scenarshooter made a very good point here in my opinion regarding perceived noise. I have noticed that I can shoot my .222 with 26" bbl with comfort sans hearing protection, whereas a .223 with shorter barrel is uncomfortable for me to do the same. Im sure the .223 has more muzzle blast, but it has always been my theory that the longer barrel helped with this. Also, Ive heard avid duck hunters express distain for sharing a blind with someone shooting short barreled shotguns because of the loud muzzleblast that accompanied it. I was hoping the 26" barrel on a .270 might make shooting it a bit more pleasant. Just a thought.

pharmvet..............You have gotton alot of opinions for sure. What barrel length you settle on will be based on your own hunting preference. Nothing wrong with a 26" barrel, or a 24" barrel, nor even a 22" or even shorter using the 270.

Personally, when I know I`ll be hog hunting or hunting other game in much thicker terrains, I first prefer using my 35.5" long 300 WSM compact or secondly a 40.75" long Ruger Alaskan vs my 48.5" long 28.5" barreled Weatherby.

Is that to say that I or anyone else is going to have trouble getting tangled up with branches, twigs, bushes etc? No it doesn`t. But what it does do, is reduce the odds with less liklihood of doing so.

All the disagreements, the agreements, plus everything else discussed on this thread with regards to rifle balance and muzzle stability, is all subjective and is really a judgement call by the user.

Trial and error for yourself out in the field is really the best experience.

Good luck.

.............Having shorter barrels requires trade-offs. Certain things ya gain while certain things like more noise and blast you must be able to tolerate and be comfortable with.

Hi powered cartridges fired from shorter barreled rifles are certainly not for most. I have two of them. Bought them for me and not for anyone else`s consideration. I duly warn those around me before the fun begins, and then they can either do their due diligence or not.

Nothing wrong with a 26" tube at all.

All my weatherbies have one and it never felt out of place, even in the timber.

No kidding.. I've gotten several deer with offhand shots - no support, no sticks, no nothin'....

I had my Ruger Hawkeye rebarrel to a 243Win wit 24" length in sporter contour. I like the way it balances and like scenarshooter the noise/muzzle blast does seem milder compared to a 22"barrel. To earlier to tell how it handles out in the field yet.

Not sure how a 24" barrel would balance with a long action but one could always go with heavier contour to try to get the balance.