I got interested in the 300 WSM a couple years ago and have since owned a couple. I really like them, more so than my other .30 cals.

I'm thinking about giving the 270 WSM a try but am curious what peoples thoughts are, particularly those that have experience with both, as to whether there is much of a difference especially in recoil. The intended use for the 270 WSM would be deer and antelope, where the 300 WSM is for larger game, and the purpose of using the 270 WSM instead would be for something with lighter recoil.

I have a spare action that I could rebarrel to 270 WSM but before I drop a bunch of money into it... want to get a feel for whether the difference is worth it or if the difference is negligible.

I started with a 30-06 back in the 1970's because the guy who owned the hardware store where I bought the rifle said it was the best cartridge. It's hard to go wrong with my choice, but as I've gotten older I've discovered that there are other very good choices including 270. But I could never justify both a 30-06 AND a 270. They are just too close in performance and the difference between 300 WSM and 270 WSM is about the same.

I have and like the 300WSM.I personally would rather go with a 7WSM over the 270WSM,better bullet selection.

I have both, both Rem 700’s. They are both great! I load 140’s in the 270 and 150’s in the 300. I don’t think either one has much recoil. No more than a 7 mag. If I had to pick one, I’d pick the 270 WSM, with a good bullet it will kill anything in North America. I personally like a 7 mag better than either one of them.

For deer & antelope I’d drop down to the 7mm-08 or so, plenty for both. If smaller ‘Southern’ deer, the 6.5 Swede or Creedmore would be fine too, as would the 243.

He cant justify it but I can. I have the 270, 30-06, and 7mm mag. And my eyes are open for the right .300 Win.

How big (field dressed) is 4.5 + year old buck up there ? Just curious ....

Do it of that's what you're interested in. Who cares if there's overlap. Ive got so much overlap in my arsenal it's stupid. If it were me I'd probably look at the 6.5 PRC instead though.

I've had all WSM's but the 325 WSM at one time or another. I still have 2 -300 WSMs and a 270 WSM. I am not a .270 Win fan, but I like my .270 WSM over the 300 WSM. I can usually find 300 and 270 WSM ammo at any store here in SC AK, but I can't say the same thing about 7mm WSM.

How big (field dressed) is 4.5 + year old buck up there ? Just curious ....[/quote]


I have hunted MS & GA when I lived down South. Now it’s mostly QDM property in IL or public land in MI. In Illinois the majority of the bucks we shoot weigh right near #200 lbs(or more) dressed at the processor, no guessing. In my experience, the average deer down south averages a fair bit lighter.

Not trying to fuss over deer weight, I’ve gravitated to lighter recoiling rifles over the years.

I have a 270 WSM M70 in an edge stock a friend has a 300 WSM in a T3 light. The 300 is unpleasant to me and my friend eventually put a brake on it making kick less but more unpleasant to shoot. The M70 is a few ounces over 7Lbs say 7.5 all up with full magazine and I hardly notice the recoil with 140 grain bullets, with 110s it feels about like or just slightly more than a 25-06 or no significant recoil. I would say the 270 WSM would be a good pairing with the 300. The overlap is a good thing to me for a back up or pair of rifles. I am sure stock fit as well as weight played a part in the perceived recoil of the 300 WSM but I have no issues with a heavier 300 WM.

Your 270 WSM set up is similar to what mine will look like. My 300 WSM is a M70 action in a bansner stock and I'd do the same with the 270 WSM. I don't mind the overlap at all... but I've read other reports that the recoil on the 270 WSM is equal to the 300 WSM. It's not terrible but if it's the same or close to it, I don't want to spend the money on building a rifle. Based on what I'm hearing from you and others, the difference is enough. I think I'll go for it.

Case capacities are similar so your recoil reduction will primarily come from running lighter bullets. Good thing about rebarreling your action is you can spin the twist a lil faster than 1:10.

Yeah, I guess that's what I'm driving at. Case capacity being equal, is there that much of a difference in recoil with lighter bullets. I'd probably go with 130 grainers in the 270 WSM... maybe 140. At a minimum I use 180 Sierra GMKs out of my 300 WSM.

Rifle recoil is the result of the conservation of momentum, momentum is the product of velocity and mass. A 180gr bullet at 3,000 fps carries about 20% more momentum than a 140gr bullet at 3,200 fps, even using the same powder charge, the .300 is going to have significantly more recoil.

I thought my .270 WSM had pretty reasonable recoil given the velocity, very loud but not too punishing at the bench. The recoil of my 140gr load at 3,200 fps struck me as similar or sightly less than full power 180gr .30-06 handloads, and the calculators back that up.

I've had a couple of each. Last one was a Kimber Montana in 300 WSM that I killed several nice elk with. Usually shot 165 Barnes Triple Shocks in it. Also had a Kimber Classic (wood) 270 WSM that I shot 130 Triple Shocks or 150 Partitions in. I like the 270 WSM with the 130 Barnes Triple Shocks the best and have killed several nice mule deer and tipped over a 340 bull quartering toward me at 150 yards using that load.

I like the 270WSM

+1

the 270 WSM is a great round, best of the WSM’s in my opinion!

Two thoughts: don't go too short on the barrel or too slow on the twist rate. There are more and more high BC .277 bullets each season and the EOL 170s might be interesting for killing rocks way out there. I also think a recessed 11 degree target crown helps direct noise away from the shooter. Hammer bullets has some interesting 270 bullets that require a faster twist too.

My only reservations on the 270 WSM is the noise level and it doesn't feed quite as smoothly as the 270 Win. But I have never had an issue with feeding.

I like mine just fine but if I wanted another fast 270 I might go Weatherby or Nosler. But with 7 & 300 Magnums I will probably go the other direction to smaller cartridges instead.

Hard to find fault with near 270 Wby ballistics in a 3-inch action.

Even if you just run 130s and 140's now, I would encourage you to twist the barrel fast enough to run long heavy bullets. A few years back I bought a Kreiger barrel in .277. They were like, you want it faster than 1:10? I was like, nah, I have my 7mms and 308 bore rifles to shoot long range.

But now I'm like, [bleep] it I should have gotten a faster twist. Probably within the life of your rifle and barrel, we'll see long skinny .277 bullets that will match the long heavy .308 bullets. Same reach, less recoil.

You asked about recoil and my shoulder finds the recoil to progress in these stair steps 30-06, .270 WSM, 7 RM. 7 WSM, .270 Wby mag, 300 WSM noticeably more but OK with a quality pad, then the bruiser and uncomfortable to me 300 Win Mag.

Regarding your original question the 300 WSM is noticeably more than 270 WSM.

I have both the 300 & 7 WSM’s. No use for a 270 anything.

In the discourses of 270 vs 280 vs 30-06, if you have one you have the other. It extends to the WSM’s too.

Once your bullet weight exceeds 150 gr’s the recoil is exponential no matter the cartridge.

I bought a 270 WSM in 2007 after looking at the ballistics of all the WSM's. Of the bunch, the 270 WSM gives the most improvement in performance over its "parent" cartridge, with the least recoil penalty. The 300 WSM is the best of the bunch for overall performance, IMHO, but you do pay for it at the shoulder. I've had several of both calibers, as well as a 7mmWSM. I have a pair of 270 WSM's now but sold the others.

I've killed more medium game with my 270 WSM's since 2008 than all my other rifles combined. If I didn't have a 338 Mag, I'd probably have kept the 300 WSM, but for the increased recoil and weight I might as well shoot the 338 and hurt myself properly.

Have killed a bunch of big game, up to around 750 pounds live weight, with both the .270 Winchester and .270 WSM.

The WSM doesn't shoot significantly flatter out to 300-400 yards, or on average kill any quicker. The biggest difference is it kicks a little harder.

But hey! We all need some sense of adventure in our lives.

I’m a 270 WSM lover

It’s actually a true step up from the 270 Win and bridges the gap between the 270 Weatherby Magnum.

I agree that 7WSM reloading bullet selection will be better, but the 7 and 300 WSM’s are very similar to its cousins.

As far as 270 WSM recoil... doesn’t bother me honestly. Of course the vast majority of my hunting rifles weigh 7 pounds all up (no brakes).

I have a Browning Ti and a Kimber Montana both wear the same scope (Leupold VX3i 4.5-14’s.

I have and currently own several WSM’s. I currently shoot 130 and 140’s out of all of my 270wsm’s and 150 or 165’s out of the 300wsm’s. I don’t notice a difference in the recoil of the 2 calibers but I am 300lbs + and have shot magnum calibers all of my life, mostly 7RM. Then again I sight them in and hunt with them. I don’t shoot hundreds of rounds with them target practicing.

Over the last 2-3 years my Sako A7 Stainless fluted 300wsm (acquired from Sako76 on here) has easily become my favorite and go to rifle. I can’t pin point an exact reason but when I go in my hunting room that’s the rifle I pick up 9 times out of 10. Maybe it’s just a confidence thing with it. I know it’s not killing whatever is on the other end any more dead than any of my other rifles.

If you’re looking for something with significant less recoil than a 300wsm with a short action I would give the 6.5PRC a good look. Nosler is coming out with 2-3 factory loads this year so Hornady will no longer be your only option that way and there’s plenty of 6.5mm projectiles to chose from if you handload/reload.

Good luck with your decision.

I sure like the short action and lighter weight of my 270 wsm, hanco.

I have a light weight Nosler Custom 270 wsm rifle with 24 inch tube, MD and I feel it kicks less than my significantly heavier Weatherby 270 Wby Japanese gun with a light 24 inch bbl.

The Rem 700 30-06 seems to kick more than them. The 300 Rem Ultra mag is not fun on the bench and is worse than the lighter 300 Wby lightweight with fluted bbl, even with the softer add on Rem pad.

Threads like this give us subjects to fuss and discuss. I’ve been giving some thought to a 280, never owned one.

When the WSM cartridges came out, I was not impressed. The 300 WSM is "almost" as powerful as the 300 WM, the 7mm WSM is "almost" as powerful as the 7 Rem Mag. BUT! The 270 WSM is a keeper! It is considerably faster than the 270 Win, and tends to be quite accurate in most rifles. I have a 270 WSM built by Bill Wiseman, the TSR (Texas Safari Rifle) in that caliber, and it is a laserbeam.

I settled on a load for my 300 WSM shooting 155 Scenar's. I won't likely shoot any other bullet in it for the rest of my days. That would include Elk if I ever get to hunt one.

The 270WSM is a great round. But, for your intended purpose, it may be too close to a 300WSM to justify the cost of the 270WSM.

Since you already have a 300WSM for larger animals, and the intent is for something with less recoil for smaller animals, my personal thought would be to go to a 25-06. The 25-06 would be great for open country deer and antelope (probably not the best choice for close-range heavy-cover hunting, though), and has low recoil, shoots flat, and hits'em hard. That'd be especially true with a good 100gn all-copper bullet.

JMHO

The 25-06 is a great round, but I'd probably go first with a 243.