So through a series of events I am likely getting a Ruger tang safety chambered in .270 Win.
The rifle has no sentimental value at all, and for a number of reasons I have no desire for a .270 Win. I like Ruger 77s, and I like tang safety ones quite a bit as well. I want to keep the rifle, but I am looking for ideas on what to rebarrel it to.
I don't need another .30-06 so that is out. Nothing sounds interesting. Maybe its a case of rifle looney doldrums...

If you were in my boat what would you rebarrel it to?

35 Whelen or a .22-6mm

I've thought about the .22-243 Middlestead. Twisted fast to shoot the heaviest of .224 bullets.

The .22-6mm is an easy cartridge to make and load. Take a 6mm Rem case lube neck,pass through sizing die and your done. This is my .22-6mm,killed the coyote with a 55 gr NBT at 30 yds,the bullet was going 4000 fps at muzzle. Hornady has loading data with 55 gr and heavier bullets IIRC.

Surely you can think of something more arcane than that.

or a fast twist in 6 mm Remington can be a lot of fun....especially on a long action....

bullets available in weights from 55 to 115 grains....

throated to allow cartridges to magazine length, it will equal factory 240 Weatherby ammo all day long...

I shoot 75 grain HPs or V Maxes at a respectable 3700 to 3750 fps...

25-06 or 6-06

9.3X62 or 6-06 would be my picks.

Both excellent choices. The newest edition of Handloader has data for the 22-6.

I would take a 22-6 anyday over a 22-243 Middlestead, especially since no fire-forming is needed with the 22-6.

Tom

How about a 375 Whelen? Maybe 400 Whelen?

6.5-06

That would be my three choices.

Thanks for mentioning the Handloader info. I think I will snag a copy this evening.
.22-6mm could work.

Dave, I thought about both of those almost first thing. I don't know that I would use either of them much since I already have a 450/400 Nitro and that .444 rimless from Ken Howell.

I think I might be leaning towards a sporter weight .22-6mm or maybe a 6-06

John Haviland wrote an article on the .22-6mm in the March-April 2003 Handloader,that is the article that made me want a .22-6mm. The name of the article was "Faster than the Swift" IIRC.

8x57 is next on my list, great old round and it would be a real dandy on a Ruger 77...

35 whelen, 9.3x62mm

9.3x62 if you go big, 6.5-06 if you go flat

I see you live in Az . What do you hunt and what do you already have?

Would sell it and buy a tang in the chambering of your choice I think a 77 Tang lightweight in a 250 Savage is about the cats A$$ in factory offerings...

Or rebore to a 9.3

W

Load it with 85TSX as it sits, and pretend that it's a different chambering.

I'd rock it as is in 270, but I've been told that I'm gay like that.

.338-06

I would go 9.3x62 with a 24" barrel. It is right between a 35 Whelen and a 375 H&H and is a fine caliber for NA big game. My 9.3x 62 is one of my favorites.

6.5x55 Swede.

25-06, 270, or 30-06. I'm really, really boring.

I hunt just about everything...
I have rifles in .223, .223ai, .243, 6.5x55 Swede, 257 Wby Mag, 300 Wby Mag, .30-06, 450/400 Nitro Express, .444 Rimless Howell, .303 Brit



I cant abide a .270 Win.
Years ago I had one that was a nightmare. It would shoot anything well ever.. you would think it was worked out and then it would go all to hell again. I went round and round with for too long out of stubbornness before I sent it on its way.

I see a gap from 6.5 to 30. A 280 AI would likely fill it.

True rifle nerd logic there!

You might be onto something...
It certainly is a tempting cartridge.

Sound like you had a rifle problem,not a cartridge problem.

Based on what you already have, I'd leave it 270 or make it a 280.

I am sure you are correct. It was a nice looking customized Mark X, but I think it just multitudes of problems throughout.

Likely....a pal had a badly behaving 280 made of great components,but badly assembled...it shot like crap which we would not expect from a Krieger barreled M70.

It was given to a good smith,stripped down and rebuilt with the same components...problem solved.He calls it Lazarus because it rose from the dead.

It's all in the assembly

6.5-06 or 35 whelen ack imp

After looking at what all you have it looks like a 280....338/06....35 whelen....9.3x62. Or just put it in the safe and use it as a loaner for a while.

Shod

Surely, the magic is in the magician and not in the wand.

If I were in Thomas' shoes, I think I'd have an 8x57 barrel put on, with a 280 barrel being a close second.

I rigged one of those for my BIL years ago. Knocked .the sharp edges off the stock, floated, bedded, and refinished it. We left it as a .270. It got named "death ray" because every time he pulled the trigger, something died.

Your battery could use that caliber. Or as someone suggested, 6.5-06 or 9.3. Lots of room there to the .450-400.

Your previous experience was with a rifle, not the cartridge. I have a pre- war 70 that has been consistent for some fifty years. A scope went south on it years ago, but that is no reflection of the rifle or cartridge.

Jack

I vote for a 9.3, as well. The 9.3x62 is a killer, usually accurate in a good rifle and it doesn't waste a lot of powder getting the job done. Downside: it's not arcane or exciting, just a reliable workhorse.

Hey hey don't try bringing logic to this...
The more I think about it the more in undecided I become. I might just let it sit in the safe for a bit, until I come to my senses.

.22-6mm it's calling you.

7x57AI

Due to the gap in your arsenal, I say buy a bunch of 85 grain TSXs and some RE17. Load to 3700-3800 fps, and lay a path of destruction.

If that gets boring (not likely), buy some 150 grain ABLRs and a Nightforce or SWFA 3-9, and put all the 280 AI custom rifle posers to shame with a Ruger.

280 AI maybe?

I'd go 7X57 or 280.

35 Whelen

Well whatever you decide on Thomas.. I sure look forward to your post on the finished product...

just remember, barrels are easy to swap out on a Ruger... so if you are torn between a couple of chamberings...you can have your cake and eat it too...

I have to admit, after going thru the thread here... my personal choice would be two barrels.... the 6mm Rem, and then on the other end of the spectrum, the 9.3 x 62....

I shoot a 338/06, but the one I'd love to try beyond that is the 9.3 x 62....

best of luck regardless of your final choice/choices...