Ode to the .270 Winchester...

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Years ago, a writer for Rifle magazine (Wolfe Publishing) wrote an article about a rail rifle he built in 270 Winchester to see if it were precise or not. He used the usual tricks and the result was it shot groups were nearly as tight as those from any benchrest caliber of the day- I think group sizes were within .010" of an inch. Not competitive at the highest level, but hardly imprecise.
 
Ode to the .270 Winchester...

"No, I just saved perhaps the best for last.
When in doubt . . . get a .270 Winchester!"
- Ross Seyfried -

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"The most successful African Safari I ever guided was shot with a .270 Winchester loaded with 150 grain Nosler Partition bullets.
The rifle was ancient and worn, a pre-war Model 70.
The “driver” was past 70 years old and this was his only rifle;
a rifle that he has used for many decades in most of the hunting grounds of the world.
He shot two extremely tough animals, a zebra and a wildebeest, first.
Each fell to a single shot, as did a huge lion.
He broke a sitatunga’s neck (that was the only target) offhand, in the wind, at 300 yards.
An elk-sized kudu bull tumbled when the bullet hit the point of his shoulders.
There was no real magic; just a great rifle, fine bullet and unimaginable skill on the part of the rifleman."
- Ross Seyfried -


"Truth is incontrovertible.
Panic may resent it. Ignorance may deride it. Malice may distort it.
...But there it is"

- Winston Churchill -



GR




 
Garandimal, you’re a hard guy to figure out. You post this thread that says the 270 W is the greatest round ever, but on another thread you just started you discuss the 6.5 CM and 140 gn Bullets being considered for your next rifle because it has 25% less recoil than the 270. About a week ago you started a thread about the 6.5 CM and 125 Partitions and said the CM and 140 gn bullets was inferior to the 270.

What are you trying to say?

That different hunting rifles - lend themselves to different cartridges.

- For a general purpose 7 lb scoped medium game rifle, in non-dangerous game fields - the .260 Rem/125 gr. is Outstanding.
- For a general purpose 7 lb scoped medium/large game rifle, in non-dangerous game fields - the .260 Rem/7mm-08/140 gr. is Outstanding.
- For a general purpose 8 lb scoped medium/large game rifle, in non-dangerous game fields - the .270 Win/.280 Rem/150 gr. is Outstanding.
- For a general purpose 9 lb scoped medium/large game rifle, in dangerous game fields - the .30-06/180 gr. is Outstanding.

- But the .270 Win/130 gr. will do what the .260 Rem/7mm-08 will do, as good or better.
- And the .270 Win/150 gr. will do what the .280 Rem/30-06 will do, as good or better.

So, for a general purpose 8 lb scoped medium/large game rifle to do it all?


"No, I just saved perhaps the best for last.
When in doubt . . . get a .270 Winchester!"
- Ross Seyfried -


"Truth is incontrovertible.
Panic may resent it. Ignorance may deride it. Malice may distort it.
...But there it is"

- Winston Churchill -




GR
 
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I like the .270 because it is the only modern bolt-action deer-hunting rifle that I own.
I got it cheap, ammo is cheap and plentiful, it's accurate enough and it's simple to reload.
If I ever go hunting again I'll probably be carrying my old Savage .270.
Other than that, modern civilian rifles don't excite me.

Edit: I do own a couple of .30-06s - an Interarms Mark X and a Sears Model 53 - but I usually don't think of them as hunting rifles. To me they are historical objects and range toys, not something that I would drag through the forest... .
 
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So, for a general purpose 8 lb scoped medium/large game rifle to do it all?

From all the ballistic research and practical shooting I've done, there are only two true "do all" calibers.

The .270 Winchester and the 7mm-08 (substitute the 7x57 if you prefer)

We can argue until we all die which one is better and we still won't get anywhere. But those are the two. In my experience, they stand alone in their efficiency and effectiveness and if I had to pick the more efficient of the two, it would be the 7mm-08.
 
What most people don't consider, is that most of these cartridges are basically the same thing with different names.
.270, .280, and 30-06 especially.

Indeed. The .270 with 220s is every bit as good as the 30-06 and the .280 is really non-pareille as a varminter. You’ve nailed it.
 
Indeed. The .270 with 220s is every bit as good as the 30-06 and the .280 is really non-pareille as a varminter. You’ve nailed it.

Who has 220's in .277? I know Hornady makes 220's in .308, but I recall Jack O'Conner talking like they weren't truly necessary.
 
Ammo may not be as readily available for the .280 but my friend and neighbor is a reloader who has had a .280 in the past with a pile of brass left over. I bought the bullets, he supplied the brass, powder and primer and loaded at least a lifetime supply of ammo for my .280.... enough to fill a 50 cal. ammo can plumb full with some left over.
 
I hunted pretty much exclusively from 1972 to circa 2004 with a 700 ADL in .270. A 30-06, .308, .280 or 7mm-08 would have served just as well but not better.

My .270 to this day is very accurate. Maybe I just got lucky.
 
Geeze Louise there is a lot of "back biting" in this thread, the only "deer rifle" i own is in 270 Win but i'm not going to get all "bent out of shape" defending the 270 Win, it's a good caliber for hunting, but that can be said about a lot of other calibers, however the 270 is quite ubiquitous, there is almost no place that sells ammo that doesn't stock 270 Win.
 
“Different hunting rifles - lend themselves to different cartridges”. Then why keep repeating the same 270 stories over and over? Three threads in a week.
 
Draw your own conclusions...from someone else’s conclusions. :D

https://www.snipercountry.com/270-vs-308/

https://www.snipercountry.com/270-vs-30-06/

https://www.snipercountry.com/7mm-08-vs-270/

I couldn’t find a .270 vs 6.5 Creedmore test in Sniper Country
https://ronspomeroutdoors.com/blog/6-5-creedmoor-versus-270-winchester/

I have owned rifles in .270, 30-06 and .308.
I hunted with them but never got a deer so I have no experience in that way. Hunting deer in SoCal with limited time off and a serious lack of deer is more like camping with guns. That was years ago.
My experience with these rounds was mostly target shooting and plinking.

Out of those 3 rounds I had my best luck in regards to overall accuracy and longer range shooting (past 200 yards) with the .270. But my favorite round out of the 3 is the .308. But only because of nostalgia (Shot this round in the Navy) and familiarity (put more down range).

I no longer own guns that fire any of these rounds but I plan to remedy that soon. Heck, I might just get a .243. Who knows...

I have to laugh when someone praises a round or a gun in these shooting forums and in the real world and there is no shortage of people to step up and either parrot what they are saying or kick them in the proverbial shins. Sometimes to the point of serious insult. Not sure why...human nature? Anyway, I look at it this way - There’s a reason ice cream and guns come in so many different flavors. :)
 
I have to laugh when someone praises a round or a gun in these shooting forums and in the real world and there is no shortage of people to step up and either parrot what they are saying or kick them in the proverbial shins. Sometimes to the point of serious insult. Not sure why...human nature? Anyway, I look at it this way - There’s a reason ice cream and guns come in so many different flavors. :)

Well said. I have rifles in five different calibers and I like them all. I plan a hunt and I pick the rifle that most fits the situation. I don't own a rifle in another caliber, however, that is more accurate than my 270 Winchesters with 130 grain bullets.
 
Seams like a lot of people think it is "as good as a 30-06" makes me glad I own more than one of the 270s "parent". I have 30-06 from 55gr accelerators to 220gr, are there any other cartridges that have that big a spread?
Maybe the 270 will always look up to its parent :)
 
I hunt with a tang safety Ruger M77RL in .270. When it came time to get my daughter a rifle, I bought her an accutrigger Savage in 7mm-08. What does that say about me?

I've killed a lot of deer with that .270. 130 Sierra Game King, Winchester brass, 54.9 gr IMR 4350, WLR primer, neck sized. It just worked so well for me I quit trying other loads.
 
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I always knew of the .270 from readings and from other hunters, but never jumped on the bandwagon. I never really considered the .270 for my uses at all...….until the 6.8spc came about, now it is my favorite caliber.
 
To say a 270 is inherently inaccurate is nonsense. Its no more or less accurate than any other cartridge in a sporter weight hunting rifle. I own 1 and handload for 3 others, and all of them are sub moa guns.
 
Nothing wrong with a 270 - if a body could only have one rifle, that’d be a solid choice. In fact, I’ve made that same choice for decades.

But if a body can have two rifles, I’d pass by the 277 and use a 25cal and a 30cal.
 
I bought mine when I was 16 yrs old, I’m now 46 so it’s been my go to rifle for 30 years and has always done well for me. I currently run 140 gr. Berger vld’s And they are 1/2 moa to 500 yards out of this cheapo Remington 700 ADL. I will say though, on bigger bull elk, I feel like I could use more gun! They still die, just takes longer than I’d like it to sometimes.

Also I found when working up loads for my son and his 7mm-08 that I could push the same 140 gr. Bullet to the same speed but with close to 15 gr. Less powder. Now that is efficiency !

270 Win is a great cartridge , but so many others are too.
 
Ode to the .270 Winchester...


Bond+Lion.jpg
"The humble .270, with 150 grain Nosler Partitions in the hands of the finest game shot I have ever known flattened this big lion with a single shot."
- Ross Seyfried -



"Truth is incontrovertible.
Panic may resent it. Ignorance may deride it. Malice may distort it.
...But there it is"
- Winston Churchill -



GR
 
I like my Kimber 270 WSM as well as my Ruger Hawkeye stainless 270. The Kimber has a little shorter LOP or fits me better, but for a long action the Ruger is great and balances well: it is my favorite long action rifle. In my two rifles you can tell that the WSM has a little more spice to it. My loads run about 6.5 gr. more powder in the WSM.
The 270 has too much going for it to ever try and be a detractor. I would take a smaller rifle if I knew coyotes were the primary game, and would be tempted to take my WSM if I were going Elk hunting. But that is not to say that the 270 can't do either. It is a heck of a plains cartridge for sure.
Most of the "truck gun" I grew up around were of the 223, 243 variety, but a 270 carries much more punch if something bigger is on the menu.
 
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