270 Wsm or 270 Wby

[BoarHog375]

Looking buying one of these in the near future. What's your honest opinions? Also if theres something that would be better than these two im open to suggestions. TIA

 

[Finprof]

6.8 Western. It is a 270 WSM tweaked to take higher BC bullets. You might have a problem with 270 WSM ammo availability in the future. It never caught on. The 270 WBY is also one if the least popular WBY calibers.

 

[Hififile324]

I have both, and a regular .270 Winchester. .270 WSM Brass and factory ammo is very hit and miss for availability. Forget about finding it in South Africa. .270 WBY is sometimes found there.

Now the reality, I load for all 3. You burn more powder, get more recoil, shorter barrel life (if you shoot a lot), for a whopping 100 to 150 fps over the .270 Winchester. In the grand scheme of things it means very little. You also gain an extra round or two in the magazine with the original .270.

Most folks have read the advertising of 200+ fps over the .270 Win. Those numbers are in a test lab, test barrel, controlled conditions. In the real world you can expect maybe 100 fps. gain which does not mean much at hunting distances.

One benefit I have gained with the .270 WBY over the .270 WIN is the ability to move the 160 grain Nosler Partition at 2900 fps. That puts it right there with a 7mm rem mag. I do like the WBY over the WSM.

Finprof's advice on the 6.8 Western is sound. You can shoot heavy long bullets with the 1:8" twist.

Maybe you should just get one of each!

 

[Bob Reed]

Hello,

Since you're open to suggestions, I also recommend the original .270 Winchester Cartridge, especially if cost and (more importantly) being readily available are a concern.

 

[deewayne2003]

I have both, and a regular .270 Winchester. .270 WSM Brass and factory ammo is very hit and miss for availability. Forget about finding it in South Africa. .270 WBY is sometimes found there.

Now the reality, I load for all 3. You burn more powder, get more recoil, shorter barrel life (if you shoot a lot), for a whopping 100 to 150 fps over the .270 Winchester. In the grand scheme of things it means very little. You also gain an extra round or two in the magazine with the original .270.

Most folks have read the advertising of 200+ fps over the .270 Win. Those numbers are in a test lab, test barrel, controlled conditions. In the real world you can expect maybe 100 fps. gain which does not mean much at hunting distances.

One benefit I have gained with the .270 WBY over the .270 WIN is the ability to move the 160 grain Nosler Partition at 2900 fps. That puts it right there with a 7mm rem mag. I do like the WBY over the WSM.

Finprof's advice on the 6.8 Western is sound. You can shoot heavy long bullets with the 1:8" twist.

Maybe you should just get one of each!

I have owned all three but stuck with the original .270Win for the same reasons listed above.

FYI I have found the 140gr Accubond to be the best all around .270 bullet and the 140gr Hornady BTSP is a great practice, hog and whitetail round.

 

[BoarHog375]

What about the 7mag as an option?

 

[deewayne2003]

What about the 7mag as an option?

Certainly a capable round but if your going to deal with the recoil, why not just go with a .300win and have infinitely more bullet options?

 

[Ndczerwinski]

I was a big 270 win guy that also had a 270 WSM but moved to the 6.5 PRC.

Ammo is easy to find and ballistically it’s very similar at normal range and once you get to long range it’s superior due to higher BC bullets and the ability to shoot heavier bullets.

 

[Bob Reed]

What about the 7mag as an option?

Hello,

If you're wanting to stay with a .270 or 7mm chambering with more readily available ammo and you need (or simply just want) 150gr. 7mm bullets flying at 130gr. .270 Winchester velocities & trajectories - then the 7mm Rem Mag would be an excellent choice. Then of course, you also have the heavier 7mm Rem Mag loads as well, which might be a big plus depending upon your plans...

 

[Red Leg]

I do not own one, but have used a .270 WSM a good bit in Spain. The longest shot I have made with it was an ibex at 300 yards. It was absolutely lethal. However, at the same distance, any of the four .270 Win's I own would have accomplished exactly the same thing.

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

Looking buying one of these in the near future. What's your honest opinions? Also if theres something that would be better than these two im open to suggestions. TIA

@BoarHog375
Depends on how much you want to spend on ammunition.
The Weatherby is an excellent round and when loaded with heavy bullets leave little to be desired
But
Expensive to feed.
Dick Euson in the northern territory uses one loaded with heavy bullets for buffalo with no problems and loves it. He also uses a 444 marlin for backing up others on hunts. He is a bushman par excellence tho.

The 270WSM isn't far behind the Weatherby. One of the hunters in our group used one to great effect on PG.
Advantages
Can be had in a lighter package
Cheaper to feed
Good deals can be found on the used gun market
A tikka in 270WSM will give you a light, accurate and reliable package. So will the Browning A Bolt.

The choice is yours but I do like people who want something different.
Bob

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

6.8 Western. It is a 270 WSM tweaked to take higher BC bullets. You might have a problem with 270 WSM ammo availability in the future. It never caught on. The 270 WBY is also one if the least popular WBY calibers.

@Finprof
As long as you can source 300WSM brass you will always be able to make 270WSM, so that's not an issue.
Also when you find ammo for the oddballs STOCK UP as much as you can afford.
Bob

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

What about the 7mag as an option?

@BoarHog375
The 7mm REM mag ain't doubt nothing the 280AI won't do with more class.
If I ever had to get a 7mm it would ALWAYS be the 280Ai.
Just ask @CBH Australia how good it is. He has one and by owning and using it it has elevated him to the elite hunter club with class
Bob

 

[CBH Australia]

@BoarHog375
The 7mm REM mag ain't doubt nothing the 280AI won't do with more class.
If I ever had to get a 7mm it would ALWAYS be the 280Ai.
Just ask @CBH Australia how good it is. He has one and by owning and using it it has elevated him to the elite hunter club with class
Bob

Yes Bob it is a sweet looking cartridge. From the data I compared online nearly 5 years ago it comes close to 7mmRm ballistics with less recoil and mine is a lightweight rifle so it suits.

I tend to think 7mm is the sweet spot for an all round Aussie calibre. My 7mm-08 seems just as effective as my .308 and the CTR platform made it ideal from the vehicle.

There are numerous projectile options in 7mm and it’s nice to be spoilt for options.

The downside of the .280ai and 7mm-08 is the availability of factory ammo in Australia for these factory or saami approved cartridges. They just don’t have the following of the Man Bun cartridge or the .308.

Strangely I have been dragging my daggy old .308 out for my most recent hunts and it’s still accurate and has not been displaced by a new iteration of another calibre.

 

[Flbt]

270 wsm
In a browning blr ss takedown

 

[Doug Hamilton]

Looking buying one of these in the near future. What's your honest opinions? Also if theres something that would be better than these two im open to suggestions. TIA

I would be far more inclined to go with a 7mm Rem Msg. Loaded ammo and components are much easier to.come by and will.be for years to come.

 

[RedTag]

What about the 7mag as an option?

The 7mm Remington Magnum can be an outstanding choice if you: A. Hand load, and B. Happen to have a rifle with a consistently fast barrel. Otherwise it’s only marginally more powerful than a .270 Winchester while being more expensive to shoot and less magazine capacity. Factory ammo for the 7RM is generally loaded very far below the actual capability of the cartridge. The original specs when Les Bowman developed the cartridge was a 160 grain bullet at 3,150fps. You’re lucky to get 2,950 with 150 grain bullets in factory ammo these days, often getting far less In actuality. I understand that in the 1970s there came an understanding that some 7RM rifles were getting too much velocity, too much pressure, and the factory loads were tuned way down. The problem here there were also very slow barrels that now get velocity below that of a regular .270. Hardly anyone had chronographs so people developed strong opinions on the cartridge based on their personal or observed success or failure. I believe Speer detailed this problem in some factory rifles shooting up to 300 fps faster than advertised with a particular load while others shot down to 400 fps lower. A huge span of 700 fps. This is based on my own research. My own 7RM rifle, sample size of exactly one, exhibited some interesting results over the chronograph. Some factory ammo shot 100-150 fps below advertised while others shot 100-150 above advertised. This is the only rifle I have experienced anything like this with. This experience is what prompted me to do some research and find the aforementioned information. Considering the cost of factory ammo, I wouldn’t recommend the 7RM to anyone who isn’t interested in judicious hand loading, in which case if they are then I’d recommend it. True the .280AI will do most of the what the 7RM will do (maybe more if we’re talking factory ammo) and with less powder, but as usual the magnum will give us an advantage with the heaviest bullet weights. Normally I lean towards magnum length cartridges in caliber .30 and above as the extra length gives greater flexibility with heavier bullets while keeping up the velocities, but the 7mm weight class crosses into the realm of diminishing returns with cartridges like the RUM and STW. For what it’s worth I’m thinking about getting a .270 Weatherby myself.

 

[1dirthawker]

i owned a 270 wsm for a while, ammo was hard to find and expensive. ballistically, it was a laser. i sold it and bought a 3006- it shoots 130 gr barnes bullets at 32/3300 fps too. and, can find ammo.

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

Yes Bob it is a sweet looking cartridge. From the data I compared online nearly 5 years ago it comes close to 7mmRm ballistics with less recoil and mine is a lightweight rifle so it suits.

I tend to think 7mm is the sweet spot for an all round Aussie calibre. My 7mm-08 seems just as effective as my .308 and the CTR platform made it ideal from the vehicle.

There are numerous projectile options in 7mm and it’s nice to be spoilt for options.

The downside of the .280ai and 7mm-08 is the availability of factory ammo in Australia for these factory or saami approved cartridges. They just don’t have the following of the Man Bun cartridge or the .308.

Strangely I have been dragging my daggy old .308 out for my most recent hunts and it’s still accurate and has not been displaced by a new iteration of another calibre.

@CBH Australia
Chris
As long as they make 398 and 30-06 brass you have an endless supply of 7-08 and 280/Ai brass.
The latter may have to be fireformed but you still have the brass
Easy mate just think out side the box
As long as they make 303 brass I can feed my 25.
Bob

 

[7mmFan]

7mm rem mag for the win!! I have .270 win and .270 wsm rifles as well but come rifle season I always reach for the 7mm.