Does anyone have the old article written by John Jobson in which he discussed the 270 Win. It was published in Sports Afield around 1963 or so. In it he mentioned “mystic killing power” for the first time.

I want to read it again.

HA! You gave me the darn magazine Rick!

I wished I could dig it up, but I am away from them right now.

Scotty
I’ll be darned. I have been looking for that article for years. I remember reading it while waiting in my barber’s shop. One of two things I saw in a magazine that changed my life. The other was in Playboy. Wasn’t about hunting rifles, that one.

I remember reading a similar article by him in Sports Afield, but it was more like 1974, maybe a re-print. Good stuff.

270 Winchester makes a decent coyote rifle

I'll wash your mouth out with soap!

LMAO ROTF

I read and reread that same article by Jobson no less than 20X.

Bob was the first to bring him to my attention and when you passed me those boxes I scoured them for my favorites and that was a favorite. Like you, I have moved a few times, so they are stashed somewhere, but I don't and can't put my hands on them without a lot of searching right this second!

Elmer Keith described the .270 Winchester as a "damned adequate coyote rifle.

And O’Connor chuckled!

I have his book. I will check it when I get home.

jwp475
I got to spend time with Mr Keith. While in college I had a summer job in Salmon ID. I called his home and he invited me to visit. He and his wife were very welcoming to me. Really nice.

That is a wonderful experience that I'm sure you treasure

I wonder if one could find it on the way back machine ?

Lots of things I would do with a way back machine

Sorry, no chapters specifically about the .270 in "The Best of John Jobson"

A great read. One of my favorite books.

I have been meaning to reread my copy for some time now. This thread has provided a timely nudge and rekindled many memories...

Didn't O'Connor give Jobson an Adolf Minar (sp) stocked rifle? Can't remember the details.

I have killed a couple with the 270, it worked just fine.

StG
JOC and Jobson were good friends, both enjoyed having a drink or three together.

I met Jobson while enrolled in Univ of Utah. He lived about an hour north of SLC.

I believe there were at least two occasions on which JOC sent very nice rifles to Jobson. I believe one was either a Linden or Biesen 98 Mauser 270. I have handled it but can’t remember the specifics. I think it now lives in SLC.

On Jobson’s 375 he and Biesen both explained how it came to be. Pre-Jobson just about all Biesen 375’s were build on the factory M70’s which had 25” barrels. Biesen cut them to 24” and then stocked them. Now remember those were pretty heavy barrels.

Anyhow Jobson wanted a lighter and trimmer and shorter 375. He had Biesen cut the barrel to 23” and also recontoured it to remove weight. Biesen took some coaxing to do it the way Jobson wanted. However once completed it became the new standard. Many referred to it thereafter as the Jobson style 375 H&H.

Really nice and lively in the hands.

Sadly I only got one evening to visit with him.

Seems like a perfect rig actually.

Phil Shoemaker 458 Win has the Minar stocked 30/06 that Jack knocked Grizzlies over and Jobson searched the world for and eventually purchased. Somehow Phil found it and pounced.

That’s just uncalled for JWP!

My great uncle

Indeed. And a puny 140 gr TSX at 250 yards.

Thanks for the info and lucky you to handle it. Yeah, it might have been a Linden stock. Nice that the rifle stayed out west. I also remember a picture of Jobson's truck. It appeared to have a log cabin camper on the back. Must have weighed a lot! Art

I sound the 270 Win a bit much for red squirrels, porkies and fox, but about perfect for
deer and elk.
Highly under rated caliber in my opinion. My first serious center fire was a R77 in 270
back about 40+ years ago. Still my go to gun, well one of them.
O'Conner to blame for the acquisition.

Knowing this makes me feel a bit better about the world

I need to get my 270 Winchester ready for deer season. It is a M-70 with a 29" Krieger match grade barrel. 140 Tsx and H-1000 gets 3140 FPS

Thanks for the update. It's in good hands. Art

I’m not enough of a scholar to know if there was a golden age of rifles, shooting, and hunting, but you all certainly are describing much of what I would say qualifies.

RinB, do you need hard copy? If you searched and found electronic version, would that suffice?

I have stated this before, but when getting started in life a 270 was the only centerfire rifle I owned. Have loaded 85gr to 180gr. Used it on small game, predator, and big game up to elk with no issues.

If there was a Golden Age of Hunting, then it was the time between WWII and September 11, 2001. The US dollar was strong, the American government was feared/respected around the world, and air travel made it possible cross oceans in hours instead of weeks.

The Golden Age of Rifles is probably right now. You can still get classics like the Model 70 Winchester and the Model 700 Remington, along with plenty of newer, cheaper, more accurate designs. There's also plenty of innovation coming out of the companies that flourished during the GWOT.

The Golden Age of Shooting relied on cheap ammo. One of them ended when COVID hit. There could be another if the shortages ever stop.


Okie John

The Golden Age of Hunting would depend depend more on the location and the amount of game. Here in BC, it is well passed . I would suggest the 1980s as the golden age of rifles, they had hit the high point with well polished blueing and fine walnut stocks on everyday rifles like Model 70 and Model 700. Yeah, my stainless and injection molded plastic stocked rifle is practical and shoots OK, but I'm not going to bring it out to show.

Akbob5
I would prefer a hard copy but electronic would be welcomed too.
Rick

I’d love to save that article myself if you find it.

Same here. A .270 push feed FW, a gift from my parents at my HS graduation. I dug it out of the safe last night and reminded myself what a fantastic gift that was.

https://www.outdoorlife.com/jack-oconnors-perfect-model-70/?amp

https://www.americanrifleman.org/content/the-270-winchester-cartridge/

Enjoyed reading those, JWP. Thanks for posting them.

I read where O'Connor swapped the alloy trigger guard on his number 2 Featherweight for a steel unit. I know he often mentioned 8 lb as the weight of his No. 2 Featherweight, I just wonder whether this was before he swapped to the steel unit or after. If before, then his number 2 would weigh a little more than 8 lbs. Can anyone shed any light on this please?

Wasn’t the trigger bow completely redone by Biesen when he restocked the rifle? If so, I imagine that it was steel from day 1

I just re-read what he said in the The Sheep Rifle and also .270: Old-Timer with a Wallop. You are correct, the first of his Model 70 .270's weighed 7 1/2 pounds with scope and the second 8 pounds after the steel floorplate and triggerguard was installed by Al Biesen.

I just read a second version of .270: Old-timer with a Wallop! in 45 Worldwide Hunting Adventures. The weight of O'Connor's first Model 70 .270 is listed as 7 3/4 lbs whereas in the same article that appears in Hunting on three Continents it is 7 1/2 lbs.

Great articles, and a fine thread. As far as the .270, I never wanted one. My '06 Mauser, bought in 1974, is still a go to , and I'm up to three 7x57s. Never saw a need for a .270. And now there are two, both Rugers. First was a Number 1 bought at Walmart in 2006. It had been there for nine years, priced at $705. The beginning of that year, they marked it down to $550. Then in June, to $500. I offered $500 out the door but the manager wouldn't bite. In September, I went in for oil and a filter and saw it marked down to $450. Done and done. The other is a tang safety 77 bought from the widow of Dad's good friend, neighbor, and drinking buddy. Both have only seen 130gr Hornadys with 60gr H4831, and both will average around an inch at 100 yards, although the 77 required bedding, free-floating, and trigger adjustment to get there. Nice rifles, easy to shoot, not so heavy as to bother, and in my limited experience compared to most of you, do nothing any different from the 7mms or the '06. Or the .257R, .25/06, Creedmoors, Swede, or even the .300 Savage. If I aim right, the work then begins. But I'm still glad to include the .270s in the group.

JJ’s article: If it’s the one I’m thinking of, I remember one thing the most - he sites his 270 in 4” high at 100!
My hero JO’C always did 2.5”-3” high at 100.
Strange what we remember🤔

A 270 Winchester works just fine. It's not a 6.5. I'm going to catch heck now.

In fact, I'm looking to build me one.