One of the most controversial cartridges ever is the .270 Winchester. Its fans feel it's the best thing since sex or apple pie and ice cream. It's detractors think it's a waste of time. One of the biggest gripes you hear from the antis is that it's bullet choice is too limited.

For a long time all you could find were 100 grain, 130 grain, and 150 grain. Nowadays you can find a few more choices such as a 90 grain someone makes, the 140s, and now there's 160s and 170s available for it. There's been some heavier bullets in the past but they have always been round nose made for hunting at closer ranges in thick cover.

I believe the .270 was designed around the 130 grain Spitzer. In my opinion it's the ideal whitetail cartridge. With MVs of 3000-3100+ FPS it does everything I've ever ask of it with a 130 grain SGK or a Nosler BT. In fact, it's been 20 years since I've bought anything else but those two, with a couple of exceptions, one being when components and ammo were scarce during Obama's stint as Prez and couldn't find what I wanted and all I could find was a box of Remington 150 grain Round Nose, and also one experiment with 140 grain bullets.

Now I don't hunt elk and if I did I wouldn't use my .270 because I have better choices. I have a couple magnums that are better suited for it. However, I believe it would do the job and evidently does considering the number of people on here that use it for elk. If I needed to do so I would simply load up some 150 Nosler Partitions. I would feel very comfortable with that arrangement. I've found that in my experience 130 grain SGKs work very well on deer size game, and they've worked better than any other.

You want to shoot Speed Goats (Prong Horn) use the same medicine you use for whitetail. It will reach out and get them. You want elk, stoke that dude with a serious 150 grain and go forth. Just do your home work on Bullet Placement. You will succeed.

However, if you want to shoot 100 grain bullets there's several out there. Some people use their .270 for varmints with 100 grains. they can start 'em off at 3400-3500 FPS. I don't varmint hunt with mine because I have dedicated varmint rifles that have less recoil and will reach out and touch Wiley Coyote from afar. But the 100s in an accurate .270 will do a number on them.

No, the .270 is not the most versatile cartridges out there but I feel for what it is and what it's meant for it's more than plenty good. I've had one since August of 1966. I bought it for deer and for deer it's perfect. So why do I need a dozen different bullet weights for deer? One thing, about every bullet manufacture makes .277 bullets and in several different construction designs. So even if there was only the 130 grain it would still be a great choice for deer. I prefer the Game King but there's many different bullets in that same weight. I also have shot 130 and 140 grain Ballistic Tips in it. But I always default to the 130 Game King.

So my question is what's the real beef? What's not to love about the .270 Winchester? Or is most of the hoopla just a joke?

OK, so you like the 270.

Not that there's anything wrong with that ...

I guess .270 is okay....not that I’d want my brother to use one...

I truly have more rifles than I need, I have always had at least 1 270 Winchester in my safe. If the detractors don't like it that is their problem.
On several hunts I have been on even if my 270 was not my primary gun it was there as a back up. I killed my first coyote with a 270.....I think my first deer and antelope also, nothing wrong with a 270 it's just that in todays climate if it does not say crampmoor on it people think it is too old school to be good.

In real, practical terms the 270 is an excellent rifle for deer. That said, if someone wanted to hunt deer and didn't have/want a 270 already I'd recommend a 6.5 Creedmoor to them.

So boatanchor, I think mathman proved your point:

"nothing wrong with a 270 it's just that in todays climate if it does not say crampmoor on it people think it is too old school to be good."

"mathman said:

"That said, if someone wanted to hunt deer and didn't have/want a 270 already I'd recommend a 6.5 Creedmoor to them."

All jokes aside, mathman, I don't like to trash other people's choice, because it is just that, their choice. I only posted about the .270 Win. Because it is a favorite of mine and I'm new here and want to get a feel for what different people think about the things I like. That's only human nature. I'm sure that if I ever get a 6.5 Creedmoor, knowing me and having a real good idea of what it is, I'll fall in love with it.

Actually only two 6.5s really get my interest. One of course is the ol' Swede, x55. The other would be a 6.5x57 built on a Yugo 24/47 action which unlike most short actions, Rem. 700 and such, is long enough for the longest bullets seated out to the max, being it's on a midsized action.

Love the 270 here.

Like my 6.5’s, they always seem to be easy to tune and turn out great speed with book data and anyone can shoot a decently stocked 270 without feeling like he went a bunch of rounds with a UFC fighter. Paper ballistics are cool but under 500 or so for me and I have 0 qualms carrying one of my 270’s.

I have only one .270, although I have owned probably half a dozen... But it is one of my favorites.. I have killed everything from gophers through elk with it. I have three favorite calibers, but right now it is close to replacing my the .25-06 as my middle caliber.. I like the 06 for coyotes, not that the 270 doesn't work, but for game larger than old wiley, the .270 is getting the nod more often!!!

The 270 has served Grandpa Dad Myself and my kids well. With proper bullet selection and placement it always does it's job

Only have 2 big game centerfires anymore. A 25-06 and a 270. Like them both but if I had 2 get rid of 1 it would be the 25-06. I've killed over 200 deer and 6 elk with a 270 and 130 gr. partitions. I've had a bunch of others but I only shoot 4 to 8 rds a year. with deer and elk in mind. Before I went to Africa I shot a 375HH over 1500 times. I also shoot several thousands rds. a year at p-dogs.

I have had one 270 for 40 years and have not felt under gunned with a good 130 grain bullet for anything.

The 90-100 grain regular make a mess of deer no mater where you hit them.

When i first got it i had some 170 grain Federal ammo and just shot it up for brass.

It recoiled a lot harder than the other weights i have tried.Still come back to a good 130 grain bullet,Hard to improve on it's success.

Not at my house..... it has stood the test of time......something a lot of other rounds have yet to do.....it remains among the most popular rounds used for north American hunting and likely will still be among the most popular a century from now.....the creeds will be barreled by then!!!!!

These pretzels are making me thirsty

I grew up reading Jack O'Connor. I don't think I could keep house without a .270. I currently have five, but the right answer is two or three, depending on how well a new to me one shoots and how long I want to keep a safe queen around (although I at least shoot said safe queen.)

Mule Deer has pointed out the .270 is a bit "undertwisted" for long, super high BC bullets, mostly due to when it was designed. But he has also pointed out that is can be made to work about as well as anything in its weight class up to 500 yards.

I might own a 6.5 Creedmoor someday, if for no other reason a "cheap" one for practice to save wear and tear on more expensive rifles. But I'll always have a .270 around.

Logistics is what really makes the 270 shine. All during the B H O shortages I could still get brass and loaded ammo. And the only thing more American than a 270 is a 30.06. I love the 270, mostly because the cool kids disdain it any more and I feel like I got something special! Ha! And another thing... buy a rifle, buy a box of factory fodder and go hunting... without hassle. Love the 270...

I started hunting big game in Montana in the late 1960's, when just about every elk hunter firmly believed the .30-06 with 180's was the absolute minimum. This was due to, of course, cup-and-core bullets. Nosler Partitions (the only "premium" back then) weren't available in factory ammunition, except Weatherby ammo.

Started handloading Nosler Partitions in the mid-1970's, and Barnes X's around 1990. Neither my wife Eileen or I ever had any trouble killing big game larger than deer with the .270 using either. In fact, in 1989 Eileen drew a bull moose tag here in Montana. We found the bull she wanted on opening morning, quartering away at around 125 yards. She aimed at the far shoulder and pulled the trigger. The bull too a step and a half an folded, dead, still the quickest kill I've seen on ay moose with a pure lung shot. The bullet ended up just ahead of the joint of the far shoulder, under the hide, at least 30" of penetration.

Have killed, and seen killed a bunch of other big game taken with the .270. It works very well, any in my opinion anybody who still thinks the .270 ain't enough for game larger than deer is....well, I won't say it.

Saw a Gunbroker add for Tikka T3's in LH .270 Win for $325 (a few years ago) Son is LH so I bought one. I never have had a 270, went straight to 30-06. I wanted a longer range rifle than I have now, looked long and hard at ballistic tables etc. 6.5 Creedmoor and PRC versions. The 270 does not give up much, that and I found a NIB Sako 85 for less than $900, I have dies, brass, bullets, and about a dozen suitable powders reloading for the son's rifle. SO there is now a 270 Winchester in the safe. The bullet and powder companies are also bringing new long range bullets and less fouling powders/higher velocity for the 270. Not worried about having a "gay" round..

270 was my most favored cartridge since I started hunting big game in early ‘70s. Killed my first elk with one with a handload using the old style 150 NPTs that were made on screw machines. Many deer and antelope as well as several more elk have been taken with the cartridge over the years, and since that very first one I’ve never been without at least one rifle chambered to it. In the late ‘80s I hitched my wagon to the 300 Win mag and it quickly became my favorite hunting round because it’s trajectory was much like the 270’s, but it uses heavier bullets and just put heavy game down with more authority. If deer and similar sized game were mainly all I hunted the 270 would be #1 but I’m still an elk hunter first and foremost and for me the 300 is simply better on bigger game.

https://www.gunsamerica.com/digest/ross-seyfried-busting-the-magnum-myth/

Ross is spot on when he says practice a lot with your chosen rifle and if you can’t handle it get something you can! Precise bullet placement with a good bullet of sufficient weight and diameter always trumps poor bullet placement. As someone famous once said, “a man’s got to know his limitations”!

I got my first .270 around 60 years ago. For many years it was my primary big game gun. Before long I started using 150 gr. Partitions and found they worked well for everything I hunted. Eventually I acquired other calibers just because I wanted to try them out. I have collected more moose with this caliber than any other at ranges out to 300 yards and it has always worked well.
Presently I no longer have one having given my last one to the son of a friend a couple of years ago. While talking to him a couple of nights ago he said he has already taken 4 whitetails with it.
Still have a bunch of .270 bullets sitting on the loading room shelf so who knows, maybe one day I will have another one.

Jim

One of my favorite cartridges. Have had one as long as I can remember. I don't hunt anything larger than whitetails but for my experience with the 270 is all good. I will always have at least one in the safe. I don't have a problem if someone else doesn't like it.

The 270 is only controversial for those that are so ignorant as not to use it.

MM

What mathman actually said:


Saying something is excellent would be a strange way of saying it's too old school to be good.

Hey dude, I agree with you. I was only having a senior moment with my WEIRD sense of humor. There's lots of great deer rifles. The Creedmoor has to be an excellent choice for deer and hogs. I also think the .260 is a great choice and the differences between it and the Creed are minimal and if you chamber a rifle that has a longer action than a Remington or some of the other short actions it would outdo it. But for those of us that love the 700 SA the Creedmoor gives the edge.

Do you know if there is a 7mm Creed and would it give the same benefit as the 6.5 Creedmoor in a short action?

However having said all this, I still prefer my ratty ol' .270 Win. because I can't argue with success.

Have had a 270 in my safe for about 40 years. Even though I own and hunt with other calibers, 270 remains a favorite. Also had a 270 Bee built, like that too. Do not own any 6.5's and no burning desire to either. I do not shoot over 500 yards and quite honestly there is just not enough of an advantage under 500 yards to justify one.

I am unaware of any controversy surrounding the .270Win other than questions of its sexual preference found here at the 'fire.

I must really be getting old because all this who-struck-John about cartridges is staring to wear on me about like Russian Collusion (apologies to John Haviland).

They all work just fine.

The End.

Thank you .270 Winchester. I think I read that a while back but forgot about it. It's a great article and not only points out some good things about the .270, but also some fundamentals to successful hunting no matter th rifle used.

I've had a 270 for about 40 years. For 25 or so of those years, it was my one and only choice as a whitetail cartridge, and it performed perfectly. I began to experiment with other cartridges, and over the years I've developed quite a love affair with short action rifles, and the cartridges designed for them. I've only had a 6.5 CM for a few years, but have gained a lot of respect for it, and find myself hunting with a 243 just as often as not.

With that being said, if I were to draw a Kentucky elk tag, the 270 is the rifle I'll take. If for some reason, I decided to start selling off rifles, the 270 would probably be the last to go. It will do anything I need it to do, and is deer cartridge supreme, taking a back seat to none other. If you are fan of cartridge history and development, the 270 was the original long range cartridge, and is just as good today as it was almost a 100 years ago.

Rubbish.

Pronounced "bullshit".

There's as many .270 proponents here as there are detractors and jokers. I say jokers because on my forum I have lived on for 12 years there are a lot of jokers about the .270. However, there are 4 or 5 true believers that the .270 isn't worth the time, that there is no justification for it, and it should never have been made a legit cartridge by Winchester. But I feel that most of those guys have never even shot one and have no first hand knowledge of it.

As for no justification for it, I will say the reason Winchester went with the .277 diameter rather than the true 7mm is in my opinion, is that it came out when, in 1925, 7 years after WWI. People in the late teens and twenties in this country were strictly anti anything German.

My German ancestors landed right here on Matagorda Bay on the central Texas Coast at the old town of Indianola TX as their point of entry into the US. They, like most German Immigrants wanted to assimilate into the culture and be Americans. However, at home they still spoke in Deutsch and ate their Kraut and Schnitzel.

However, when WWI came about, it suddenly got real unpopular to be anything German in the US. So my family quit speaking German and started blending in even at home. I had an old maid great aunt that I was raised around that would even deny her German heritage and only acknowledge her mother's side of the family which was English. That was in the 50s through the 70s.

So the prevailing mood here around the time the .270 Winchester was conceived was anti German and probably anti anything European. So I doubt that Winchester wanted anything MM referring to their products.

I think that Winchester didn't want a bunch of cheapskates re-chambering various 7mm Mausers, especially 93s and 95s, thus killing their market and maybe blowing themselves up occasionally as well.

Germany, as you may recall, used 7.9x57 rifles. Never heard anyone call,the 7x57 the 7x57 German Mauser.

You think not? Go to the G&A Forums and start raving about the virtues of the .270 Winchester. You'll get laughed out of the room! Even right here there's a few. But there and a few more forums and you'll find that it's a majority.

You're right about that. It was probably a combination of those two. That would have been dangerous for sure, chambering a high pressure cartridge, equal to the .270 Win. which is a 65,000 PSI rated cartridge, in one of the weaker older Mausers. About 35 years later Remington brought out the .280 and thought about another potential and an even more likely scenario of chambering a true 7mm in a .270 Winchester and got around it by increasing the length of the case from the base of the cartridge to the shoulder .050 longer so it couldn't be chambered and the bolt closed in a .270 Winchester.,,

Good...go there and join them you halfwit.

i've had a few and i'm always on the look out for another one. i know we give the old cartridge a bad time, but we like to tease some old fart that likes leopard undies's, by the way where is that famous guy!

Where ever Ingwe is you can bet that he is doing it in style.

I use a .30-06 mostly, but also use .270 Win. sometimes. If a .30-06 wasn't available my next choice would be .270 Win. The next would most likely be .308 Win. If it is .277 through .308 caliber and accurately achieves 2800+ fps without punishing recoil it is good enough for me. I have shot magnums and don't see the need, but then I don't go to Africa and don't often take a shot over 350-400 yds. Most are closer, as is probably the case with the huge majority of hunters.

At the time Winchester brought out the .270 in their Model 70 it was the Creedmoor of the day. It was designed from the start as a hunting cartridge though, not a competition cartridge. Most people who wanted something to hunt with used the 30-06 and it did a decent job. you could get decent factory loads for it and if you handloaded you could do better. As time went on better bullets came out. It was the favorite whipping boy for the Elmer Keith crowd. It seemed like there was a huge following of the "big bore boys" that had a field day bitching about it. It's the same today and you can add the Creedmoor to it. It seems like people just can't resist the opportunity to defame anything they don't use.

I have had quite a few .270's in different actions and have hunted and handloaded for it for quite a few years. It has done well and I have no complaints about it. I use other chamberings as well because I pretty much like them all.

Damn! dude, who stole your puppy? What a warm way to treet a newby?

I know what you are...ignored.

Actually Rainshot I'm more like that too. I have several deer rifles in many different chamberings and I like them all. But since I have had the .270 longer and have some sentimental attachment to it, after hunting with it for 52 years, it is pretty much my go to hunting rifle. I usually start the season hunting with it but after I kill something with it I will take other rifles with me the rest of the season.

This is as non partisan as it gets. I like the 270 and don't really care what others feel, that don't like it. On it's merits alone, the cartridge will last for another 100 years regardless of what people say. Most people that shoot these guns don't belong to a internet forum to find out if it will work...

I have no problem with the 270 Winchester. I would never say it is a good choice for women, kids, or others lacking in testosterone. It's good for anyone who is smart enough to use it. Bullet placement tops all else,bullet construction appropriate for the task req'd is next. People like to bad mouth things they don't have or have not personally experienced. All that really shows is a petty narrow minded attitude. We are supposed to be gunowners and should stick together instead of making petty snide remarks about what you don't have. I could easily use one for the rest of my life for what hunting I'm likely to do for what's left of it. Variety is the spice of life, use what you want and have enough grace to extend that courtesy to the next person without a bunch of bullshit remarks. Lee J. Hoots entered his writing career with Wolf Publishing with a bullshit diatribe against the 270 as a mule deer cartridge now I can't read anything he says objectively, Jap O'Connor promoted it so hard it damaged his objectiveness. Elmer hated it because of the incompetents using it ineffectively that were inspired by JOC. It will get the job done every time when pointed correctly with $11.97 Federal blue box ammo from Wallyworld. Tell me again how the f**k can you hate that? Can't believe this sh*T must be cabin fever. MB

The 270 stands on its own, not necessary to make case for it.

Hard to beat a 270 WCF.

dave

I have used the 270 a lot, in fact it was the second big game rifle I owned. I also was a follower of Cactus Jack and loaded my rifle hot with 130 gr. Sierra Prohunters. Pretty destructive as a close range east Texas deer rifle but as a coyote and jackrabbit rifle it was awesome! I took my first Mule deer with it and just generally shot it a lot. Till the barrel went bad anyway. I traded it for a new Ithaca shotgun and a well worn M28 Smith & Wesson. Wish I had kept it and had it rebarreled, a 1972 Remington BDL that was a born tackdriver. After that I picked up a custom Mauser in 270 and my Springfield 30-06 was finally finished after 6 years I used them for much of my Wyoming hunting. No matter what new cartridges come out those two rounds can still do it all.

My only complaint about hunting with the 270 is the larger freezer required to store the meat harvested with it.

5 pages and nobody mentioned the 270 Improved (the 280)...

oops, it was mentioned. my bad.

I speculate that if a bullet company did the r&d to make super high b/c target and hunting bullets for the 270 they would never keep up with demand.

I had a 270 many years ago. A PH 1200 SC. It wasn't what I needed. It was the same for most hunters where I lived. There were several factors that made it a bastard stepchild around here.

Where I hunted, the terrain didn't call for it. For most of us, it was a LR cartridge. Whether it was deer, bears or moose, almost everyone thought of it as a silly cartridge to own unless you lived on the prairies. We wanted a good 200 yd cartridge.

No one thought of it as a varmint cartridge.

Jack O'Connor's writings about sheep, goats or deer didn't apply to us. But he wrote about the 30-06 as well. Those articles seemed more sensible. There were a lot more bullet choices too.

It didn't help that there weren't a lot of .277 bullets or factory loaded ammunition to be had where I lived. As I recall, there were only 130 and 150 gr.bullets. There might have been 160 gr. Noslers as well. With the exception of the Partition, there were no premium bullets that I remember. There were more 311/312 bullets available, both loaded cartridges and bullets for reloading.

I don't think we ever thought of the 270 Winchester as inadequate or under powered. It just didn't seem practical. And I believe we weren't the only region of North America that thought the same way. For example, how many 270s were used in the NE US woods? Not many, I bet.

But times and thinking change. The numbers and types of bullets increased - copper, bonded and even more cup and core choices. In the late 1990s, the Internets came along, and we had access to stores all over where we could buy what we wanted.

Steve, you seem to have forgotten the 160 gr. Dominion Kling Kor. They worked just fine. I live in southern Ontario and have known .270 users around here for years. Your being confined to army camps must have affected your exposure to the cartridge.
Jim

I wasn't always in the army. I lived near Sudbury before I joined the service. There weren't many 270s around. I can't think of anyone where I was that owned one. That probably explained why CDN Tire and the hardware stores didn't carry much 270 ammunition.

Edited to add: My future FIL owned a 30-30 lever. Most of his family owned different cartridges. Several 340s in 30-30. Some 99s/94s in either 300 Savage or 30-30. Some 303s. My family had a 30-06 and some 303s. We used to shoot at a 'dig out' ( a local area used by people for sand). Almost nobody there reloaded. I used to pick up all the brass, even the stuff I couldn't use. At Crean Hill, there were some reloaders. That's where I learned about the Lee Loader.

Have you ever noticed that most of the time when there is a discussion comparing calibers of rifles, it's likely to go something like this..... the 243/6mm is a better varmint rifle than the 270, because its flatter shooting and there is a variety of lighter weight bullets available. Or, the 257 is better at this or that, than the 270.... or, the 25-06 or 6.5 is better than the 270 for whatever reason. Seems like everyone wants to compare their caliber to the 270. Why? Could it be that everyone knows the 270 has set the bar awfully high and the only way to get credibility is to say they are just as good or better?

I'll be the first to admit that there is no caliber that is perfect for every situation. I wouldn't advise shooting elephants or rhino's with a 22 and it would be slight over kill to shoot pd's with a 477. However the 270 is likely to be one of the most versatile calibers there is, being used to shoot pd's on up to elk and moose. The fact that lots of calibers are compared to the 270 just proves how good it actually is.

Comparing cartridges is rarely a good thing because of the large area in which the membership here is located. Just think, many regions of North America and the world come to this forum. The animals that are hunted, the topography and cartridge history/popularity are vastly different.

These debates are worth the cost of admission just for their entertainment value. Close your eyes and pick something and I bet you can kill a lot of stuff with it.

I thought this would be Pelican vs. SKB?

While the .270 has its followers I'm not one of them.

I wish I could have used those but I have only been using the 270 Win the last 4 years or so. I'm not sure why whoever has the rights to all the Dominion/Imperial brand doesn't offer those bullets again. I have two great loads though using the same components including the exact same powder charge, the only change is one uses the 150 gr Ballistic Tip and the other the 160 gr Partition. Have shot game with both and am pleased with how each performs.

Good point. Never having hunted out of the continental US, I was thinking of the game animals and varmints found there when making my statement. I also probably should have added that most calibers are used for a variety of game animals and varmints, and do a good job.

When you get right down to it, a lot of these comparisons are just 'splitting hairs'.

No, this is "groundbreaking."

Yep. But it passes the time in the evening.

Better than drinking. (But sometimes drinking helps.)

So we're agreed then. Some ale, and trade off your guns for some quality 303s. Quality would be 1895s, or No4 Lee Enfields made by Long Branch Arsenal. I would also accept a No. 1, and selected drillings. The rest are "also rans".

How could anyone say a 270 is controversial? It’s been around since 1925 and is the most popular big game hunting round in history that didn’t start as a military round.

I’d hunt ANY animal in NA with a 270 and just about anything in Africa.

Seems like there was a fairly famous writer who killed. Schidt ton of game animals of all sorts with a 270 and 140 partitions

It makes a good argument for itself and my main Bighorn/ Elk chambering. I send a 150 Nosler at 3000 fps plus out of a 22" tube in a light compact mountain rifle. It is smooth chambering and I can extract it with my baby finger.

That’s moving. I can get 3k out of a 24 inch tube...what’s your powder?

Quak-, reloaded 26. There was a good Muledeer/ JB thread here that put me on to it

Got a couple of pounds of that, but may never try it in my .270. I had good luck with 7828 and 150gr Sierras I bought for practice and maybe deer, but my goto powder is the discontinued W780 with 160 NPs. Prints just below the 150s and has killed several deer very much dead from the pre64 I gave my son. The 26 has been good with 100gr .243 bullets. Waiting for 6mm Creed data. C'mon Nosler and Alliant; get the lead out!

What he said!

I think John meant a 303 British. LR hunting with a pointy 180 gr. bullet. shorter ranges (to 200 yd) any 215 gr. RN bullet. 215s were premium. That is, bullets of higher than usual quality.

And if you can't be with the gun you love, love the gun you're with...with apologies to Stephen Stills.

So on this forum the tried and true ol' .270 lives on. Makes me love this forum even more.

Count me as a big fan of the 270 Winchester!

I'd like to get AOC's opinion of the .270 .....

Got one. It's OK.

I like the 270 Win. At this time, I do not have one. I have been thinking of a Fieldcraft in a 270 Win. That would work for me.

Take care.

My wife seems to like hers

-Jake

I hate ‘em, that’s why I have three. Especially ineffective shooting 150 gr Partitions at over 3000 fps (w/ RL26). They bounce off game animals.

Thread titles can be so confusing.....I thought the OP wanted a suggestion on preferred brand of brass (cases) for the .270 Win. Actually, we have a couple in the family, they’re great for starting the kids and grandkids on a centerfire rifle,once they reach puberty......we get’em a hunting rifle! memtb

I'm a fan of the .270, but I don't use it much anymore. I've got too many rifle options and caliber choices in my safe I guess. I did load up 100 rounds of .270 last year. Hornady brass, 140 grain Hornady BTSP, 53.2 grains of IMR 4350 and a CCI 200 and my old Browning A-Bolt Stainless Stalker will put them under .5 MOA all day. I've killed a schit ton of animals with that gun and the caliber has accounted for my largest west Texas muley to date.

I'm on my 3rd .270 rifle. I purchased a Remington 7400 while in college and right after I got married. It was the most accurate semi auto I've ever had. I traded it off for a used Remington 700 ADL that had an absolutely beautiful wood stock with a high polished finish. It was super accurate with 130 grain Speer Grand Slams. I just HAD to have the new Browning A-Bolt Stainless Stalker when they came out so I sold the ADL and bought the Browning. I haven't found any bullet that it can't shoot accurately. I wish I'd never gotten rid of the others now.

I grew up reading Jack O'Connor's writings. All of his sheep hunting exploits and using his old .270 convinced me that it was the best all around cartridge. I'll probably drag mine out and use it on some pigs and sheep this off season.

Anytime I see .270 in a thread I look in. It is my default chambering, I try a few others and migrate back to the wcf. Not many others outperform it from a 22" barrel .I am a sheep hunter first but have killed many bull elk with it too. With Reloder 26 and 150 nosler partitions it is new age.Cheers

I can tell you how good the .270 is..... Ingwe, the Poo-Bah, even has one!!!!!

And if he has one, you know it's gotta be good, cause Poo-Bah only has the best. Best liquor, best guns, best wimmens!

I watched hunters migrate to larger chamberings in the 70' s and 80's because most used factory rounds for elk sized Game. The factory stuff could be quite poor performers, often . At that time I handloaded and used Partitions and work as a Guide for the Outfitters around here. Client hunters used this little .270 wcf/Husqvarna instead of their own rifles on occassion....and it surprised those Mark V guys.
These days the little needle gun is even better using the latest Alliant powders. The new wonder bullets and brilliant powders have made those hard recoiling choices redundant, imo. The .270 wcf and the 30.06 rule( inc the .280) in a short , light mountain rifle.
My little old opinion , folks

[Where I hunted, the terrain didn't call for it. For most of us, it was a LR cartridge. Whether it was deer, bears or moose, almost everyone thought of it as a silly cartridge to own unless you lived on the prairies. We wanted a good 200 yd cartridge.

it was the same for me growing up in East, Texas. No moose, of course, ha., only small whitetails and some pretty big hogs. My older cousins husband had the only .270 I ever saw. I was tutored under a gun looney uncle ( who sadly passed when I was 16) who told me "the .270 is too damned fast for the woods"! But, the 30-06 he gave me was "perfect", and I hunted more with a 30-30 than the '06 back then. When I got out of the Army in '73, I had big plans of hunting elk in Colorado, so bought a new BAR in 7mm Rem Mag. I was "hoorahed unmercifully" in deer camp when I took it. Now, 7mm Mags are almost more popular down there than .270s here in Utah! people are strange...

Absolutely a fan. Other cartridges I have had-- left-- returned, etc. eg. at one time I had 5 30-06s then went thru a few years w/o ONE. I have one now and it's a keeper.

OTOH, since 1975 or 76 I don't remember being without at least one 270 W.


Here we go again --- IF, IF I could have only 1 rifle/cartridge.............. I would have a HARD, HARD time picking between 270 W or 7mm RM.
It WOULD be one or the other.

Rock on JOC !!


Jerry

.270 Win. is a fine deer and hog rifle. My daughter has one that she leaves here with me. I usually loan to any girls that show up to hunt and don't have their own rifle. I use it occasionally to keep the dust blown out of the barrel.

What rifle is it in Hastings? I left, as a spare, a like new Remington Model Four, Bushnell 3x9 with my dad down in East, Texas, late 90's. My uncle saw it and I sold it to him, ha. He gave it to his wife ( my step-aunt, I didn't know her too well) but he "was my favorite Uncle", so it went, It was a real pussy-cat to shoot, she loved it. They are both dead and gone now and their Grandson has it, still uses it.

A Ruger 77. An old one with a red rubber butt pad. Shoots very good. We were using 130 SST but the I acquired over 1000 Win. 150 grain power points. I load them with 57 grains of 7828. It now wears a good Burris Fullfield 30MM -- 3.5X10 scope with an illuminated dot in the reticle.

Filaman: Anyone, and I mean ANYONE who tries to denounce, decry, denigrate of deny the 270 Winchester any of its rightful and great reputation IS branding themselves a fool!
I have been Hunting big game for 60 years now and have been an avid enthusiast and user of the 270 Winchester from way more than half a century - I love the 270 and its performance afield.
I have killed all manor of Big game with my various 270's including Elk, Blacktail Deer, Antelope, Mule Deer, Mt. Goat, Black Bear and Whitetailed Deer.
I have retired just two big game Rifles in my career after having used them for MORE than their share of game - one of those retired big game Rifles is a Winchester pre-64 Model 70 in caliber 270 Winchester.
This particular Rifle has killed so much game so reliably and for so long I figured it was time to give it a rest.
Remember, any person you hear or see deriding the 270 Winchester is a fool - and there are several of those that frequent this forum, sadly!
Long live the 270 Winchester (coming up on a century of reliable, efficient and accurate service!)!
The 270 Winchester is even better today than in the past do to the wonderful Hunting bullets in new weights and configurations that have been developed for it.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

Dale
Absolutely right on.

A case for the 270 can be found in a 20 ct box at your local WalMart..