Anyone use the .270 Winchester?

[sgt_zim]

that is one cartridge that practically screams "premium bullets only." I know lots of deer and pigs have been taken with 130 cup and core, but I've never seen a close shot that didn't have a fair bit of blood shot meat. And under the right conditions, those 130 and 150 cup-and-cores won't stay together.

If the bullet isn't made by Barnes, Swift, Nosler, Woodleigh, or Norma, I wouldn't shoot it out of a 270. YMMV

I recently bought a 280 AI. I suppose if I couldn't have that, or a 308 or 30-06, or a 257 Roberts or 25-06, or my 6.5x55 Swede, i'd probably get a 270

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

that is one cartridge that practically screams "premium bullets only." I know lots of deer and pigs have been taken with 130 cup and core, but I've never seen a close shot that didn't have a fair bit of blood shot meat. And under the right conditions, those 130 and 150 cup-and-cores won't stay together.

If the bullet isn't made by Barnes, Swift, Nosler, Woodleigh, or Norma, I wouldn't shoot it out of a 270. YMMV

I recently bought a 280 AI. I suppose if I couldn't have that, or a 308 or 30-06, or a 257 Roberts or 25-06, or my 6.5x55 Swede, i'd probably get a 270

@sgt zim
I love your selection of calibers before the 270 especially the two 25s and the 280AI.
Bob

 

[rdog]

I have 2 270 Winchesters an old Remington 700, & a rifle built on a Weatherby Vanguard action with a Shillen no4 26 inch barrel & an Bell & Carlson stock its an under 1 moa rifle any day with Nosler 140g ballistic tips, & ADI AR2213 short cut powder, its my belief that 22 inch barrels on a 270 is too short for max performance. both rifles have accounted for many pigs, wild goats& red deer. The 270 Win is a good flat shooting cartridge& mild to shoot i also have a 270 WSM it is just a little bit better Ballistically but in the field you are hard pressed to notice the difference .My 2 sons both have 270s so we have had years of use in the field. mostly on Australian wild pigs out in open country some shots are over 300 meters the 270 knocks them down with a good hit. I think using premium bullets on pigs is not justified as in a two week hunting trip you may fire over 100 rounds. the 130 grain Speer hot core also does a good job.

 

[Labman]

Largest animal I've shot with my .270 Win. is an Eland. Nice bull. He dropped just as quickly as the ones shot with my .338 Win or my 375 H&H. Used a 150 Gr. Nosler Partition.

 

[colorado]

The 150g Partition is my goto bullet for the 270. I use Rem brass, Federal 215 (magnum primers) and lots of H4831SC. I get 3020 fps out my 22" barreled BDL. It's hell on deer, elk and black bears. I favor the A-Frame for my 375 Weatherby and the TSX for my 500 Jeffery.

 

[meigsbucks]

My experience with a .270 started in a unique way. I was in my mid 20’s and a friend from work whom hunted deer with me, wanted to go to Montana with me. Two weeks before we were to leave, he told me he didn’t have a rifle. A big box store had Savage 110’s on sale for $99 In either .270 or .30/06. As I had an ‘06, I purchased a .270 and told my buddy he could borrow it for the hunt. He missed a mule deer on that Hunt.
After that I upgraded the scope and eventually added a synthetic stock. I’ve taken five mule deer, two antelope, a couple of whitetaila and a black bear.
Most we’re taken with a 130. Gr Sierra GameKing but a couple were taken with the 130 gr Barnes TSX. The Sierra came apart on the bear and a mule deer.
My opinion of the .270 is that with the proper bullets it is excellent for anything up to ~500# and adequate for game up to ~800#, although I think there are better choices for the latter, within reasonable ranges. Put a good bullet in the right place.

 

[hawkeyesatx]

I do know that the older Savages, just like my Savage 110E, preferred the heavier bullets (e.g. 147’s to 150’s)! That’s not actually bad, because it should guarantee deeper penetration on bigger animals.


Hawk

 

[hawkeyesatx]

The 150g Partition is my goto bullet for the 270. I use Rem brass, Federal 215 (magnum primers) and lots of H4831SC. I get 3020 fps out my 22" barreled BDL. It's hell on deer, elk and black bears. I favor the A-Frame for my 375 Weatherby and the TSX for my 500 Jeffery.

Holy cow!
That’s really good velocities using 150 gr NP’s!
If the .270 performs the way others have said on here, I just may use it as my “light” rifle


Hawk

 

[sgt_zim]

Holy cow!
That’s really good velocities using 150 gr NP’s!
If the .270 performs the way others have said on here, I just may use it as my “light” rifle


Hawk

280 Rem or 280 AI would be more versatile.

 

[Lee M]

Over 3000 FPS with a 150 gr heavy for caliber high BC/SD bullet. From a Trajectory standpoint that sure leaves Bobs 35 Whelen in its wake. LOL. Just stirring the pot a little.

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

The 150g Partition is my goto bullet for the 270. I use Rem brass, Federal 215 (magnum primers) and lots of H4831SC. I get 3020 fps out my 22" barreled BDL. It's hell on deer, elk and black bears. I favor the A-Frame for my 375 Weatherby and the TSX for my 500 Jeffery.

@colorado
Before I rebarreling my Savage I used Federal brass, H4831SC, standard rem primer and a 130gn ACP similar to the Barnes tsx in a 22 inch barrel for 3,160fps. Worked well on sambar deer and shot 1 and half inch groups at 200 yards all day. That rifle loved the VMax and would consistently punch 5 shot .3 inch groups at 100. They were devastating on pigs up to about 150 pounds.56 grains of CFE223 or H4350 worked well with the VMAX
Bob

 

[PHOENIX PHIL]

@PHEONIX PHIL
Th ones that died when she took the 243 out more than likely died of laughter. I'm not underestimating her shooting skills but I don't reccomends the 243 for anything.
Bob

I didn’t recommend the 243 and I promise you this little lady killed a ton of deer and elk with it. She did however lose an elk that she hit with it and moved up to the 270 where her elk serial killing continued.

 

[PHOENIX PHIL]

that is one cartridge that practically screams "premium bullets only." I know lots of deer and pigs have been taken with 130 cup and core, but I've never seen a close shot that didn't have a fair bit of blood shot meat. And under the right conditions, those 130 and 150 cup-and-cores won't stay together.

If the bullet isn't made by Barnes, Swift, Nosler, Woodleigh, or Norma, I wouldn't shoot it out of a 270. YMMV

I recently bought a 280 AI. I suppose if I couldn't have that, or a 308 or 30-06, or a 257 Roberts or 25-06, or my 6.5x55 Swede, i'd probably get a 270

Does caliber matter when the bullet does the killing?

I’d sooner shoot a Cape Buffalo with a 200gr A-Frame or Northfork out of my .300WM then a 500gr old DGX from a .458 Lott.

 

[Wheels]

Does caliber matter when the bullet does the killing?

I’d sooner shoot a Cape Buffalo with a 200gr A-Frame or Northfork out of my .300WM then a 500gr old DGX from a .458 Lott.

 

[sgt_zim]

Does caliber matter when the bullet does the killing?

I’d sooner shoot a Cape Buffalo with a 200gr A-Frame or Northfork out of my .300WM then a 500gr old DGX from a .458 Lott.

I didn't say I wouldn't ever get one, just that it's way down on my list is all. Right in front of 243/6mm. And @Bob Nelson 35Whelen got nothing on me when it comes to despising .24

 

[Ragman]

My buddy’s wife shot this bull with her .270 at about 90 yards. One shot and the bull made a very short run, spun around twice and hit the dirt. Fantastic caliber that I wouldn’t hesitate to use (if I had one).

 

[Velo Dog]

Ok, I don’t brag, but I know my shooting skills, and hunting skills are higher than the “average joe”, and way better than any gun scribe I know of today that shoots or hunts.
I can sneak up to big game animals inside 250 yds more so than not.
Now, with that being said, I don’t hunt, or condone anyone shooting at big game animals at 1000+ yds, like I’ve seen a lot of YouTube man-bun channels do, while even using lesser cartridges.
I have taken big game animals out to 400 - 500 yds, but I waited, and made sure I could get a perfect, or near perfect broadside shot. Those were antelope, out on the rolling prairie in Wyoming.
Plus, I’ve used cartridges that the gun scribes stick their snooty noses up to using, and they’ve worked way better than they gave credit. Plus, I’ve used a .25-06, and it did it’s job extremely well on varmints and coyotes, but failed horribly when I used it deer hunting, while using 120 gr deer bullets, and getting that bullet into the vitals, and found out later, it didn’t even penetrate, and mortally wounded the poor animal.
Now, my question is this: If I use the .270, will it let me down?
Can I reasonably think I can use it for elk and above using heavier bullets?
I know me. I will put a bullet correctly where it should to ensure a reasonably fast, clean kill.
Is it fair to say, while hearing from you all, that the .270 can do the job I require of it?


Hawk

Hello hawkeyesatx,

Since the .375 H&H is my favorite cartridge for the hunting of so called “plains game” in Africa, please do take my old rifle grump opinion of the .270 Winchester for Africa, with a grain of MSG.

Anyway, the .270 is an excellent cartridge for what it was designed, IE: longish shots at thin skinned game, such as North American deer, caribou, pronghorn and similar sized critters.
Red Leg said it best with words to the affect of: “It is a perfectly balanced cartridge for deer”.
And, I agree with that.
So is the 6.5x55 Mauser cartridge IMO but, that is for another thread.
I expect that the .270 is also an excellent cartridge for similar sized African game, when hunting in more open geography and sparse foliage conditions.

Having said all that, quite a few years ago, I finally got it through my thick skull that, anything I could consistently hit with my .270 and 130 grain bullet, likewise I could consistently hit same with my .30-06 and 150 grain bullet as well.
At that stage I sold my last .270 rifle.
Nonetheless, it’s worth repeating that the .270 is a splendid cartridge.
It’s not what I’d select for elk and heavier animals, including larger African antelopes, especially eland.
That doesn’t mean it won’t work on larger animals.
It just means that I would not use it for those.

Cheers,
Velo Dog.

 

[hawkeyesatx]

Hey everyone!

Here’s the Savage 110E .270 Winchester I was telling you about.
She’s got the regular 22 inch barrel. I took off the crappy Simmons 3-9x32 scope, that was broken, by the way, and put on a Burris Fullfield II 3-9x40 BDC scope I had laying around.
It reminds me a lot of the Savage 110GXP3 I had in 7mm Rem Mag, with a 24 inch barrel.
Aside from having a few scratches on her stock, the bore is almost pristine, and there isn’t anything wrong with the metal, or action.
She’s not a thing of beauty, but I bet she’s as functional and accurate as any rifle out on the market today!

Hawk

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

Hey everyone!

Here’s the Savage 110E .270 Winchester I was telling you about.
She’s got the regular 22 inch barrel. I took off the crappy Simmons 3-9x32 scope, that was broken, by the way, and put on a Burris Fullfield II 3-9x40 BDC scope I had laying around.
It reminds me a lot of the Savage 110GXP3 I had in 7mm Rem Mag, with a 24 inch barrel.
Aside from having a few scratches on her stock, the bore is almost pristine, and there isn’t anything wrong with the metal, or action.
She’s not a thing of beauty, but I bet she’s as functional and accurate as any rifle out on the market today!

Hawk

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@hawkeyesatx
I have a nice plain grey synthetic stock that will fit it.
Bob

 

[colorado]

280 Rem or 280 AI would be more versatile.

I don't disagree. I have a 270 Weatherby Mag in a older Japanese Mark V I bought used. It shoot the 150g Partition at 3300 fps. Don't like it as much (nothing to do with recoil) as my BDL in 270 which I gave (sob) to my youngest son.