Explain this: 270 wins the poll

[Jhsmith]

I saw the video a few nights ago and I too was surprised. Surprised as I hear nothing but bashing and bloviating on many platforms about the inadequacy of the .270. However, I've killed everything from jack rabbits to moose with the .270 AND properly chosen bullets. I've killed about 80% of my game with the .270.

Not surprising to me, my growing favorite is the 280 Ackley Improved.

One of about 20 elk killed with the .270
View attachment 708595

What bullet do you use for Elk in a 270?

 

[Kevin375]

I own neither a .243 Winchester nor a .270 Winchester, but I like these calibers.
In my country, the .243 Winchester is quite popular among roe deer and fox hunters during summertime. A buddy who guides several hunters every year for roe deers told me he saw many Blaser K95 in .243 Winchester in hands of roe buck addicts. He also loans a Winchester XPR in this caliber for people who don't have their own gun.

The .270 Winchester is a bit less popular, but not rare. Many mountains hunters still use it in rifles like Tikka, Blaser (R93, R8 & K95) and others. I also saw some Browning Bar's in this caliber for driben hunts, but far less than the .300 Winchester magnum.

In UK, the .243 Winchester is also very popular for deer hunting. I hunted muntjacs, chinese water deers and fallow deers with it with several rifles chambered in this caliber.

In Namibia, the .243 Winchester is very popular in the southern part for springboks, bul also gemsboks, even if most of farmers shoot them in the head.
I had the opportunity to use it during a springbok culling. The farmer gave me his rifle that was a Brno ZKK 601 rebarreled with a heavy stainless barrel in .243 Winchester. Ammunitions were loaded mainly with Nosler BT 80 gr and it was incredible how effective was this combo, even above 300 meters.

The .270 Winchester is also appreciated in the southern part of this country. I bought a Tikka in this caliber to a Namibian girl ans she has hunted many animals with it.
I saw another girl hunting many animals up to a big waterbuck bull with her Tikka and Hornady CX 130 gr. She had a full success and I also had the opportunity to use this rifle on a young blue wildebeest cow shot at around 200 meters. Dropped on the spot. It won't be my fist choice for a big eland bull, but with a good quality bullet, I won't hesitate to use it again on all plains game.

 

[CBH Australia]

7x64 is the European equivalent of a .280 Remington/ 7mm express
Which imo is an underrated cartridge ( .280 Remington) I don’t know why more people don’t use it for plains game ?

Because the .280ai looks so much cooler.

After reading every comment and @Creigh opening post Bob is the only .243 hater I know, and I know him. We talk often.

But, I think the .243 has a place in Australia. Plenty like the .270

I watch Backfire on YouTube and I’m pretty sure I watched the episode and my thoughts haven’t changed.

I seem to like the 7mm. I was enlightened to the .280ai and I think it’s neat. My 7mm-08 came first as I always thought it would be good.

My wife has a 7x64, and a uhh, .243

To cut to the chase I like what I like. I have never owned a .30-06 or .270 but have owned a few .308s and shot others

There are latest and greatest cartridges out there but with careful consideration and shot placement most work.

 

[Wyatt Smith]

A 270 is probably not 'the best' cartridge for any given situation. There's always a specialist tool that's better for any given shot.

I don’t think a whitetail hunter could do any better than a 270. I believe it is the best tool for that job.

 

[Mark Clark]

What about 9.3X62?

 

[mauser98]

I don’t think a whitetail hunter could do any better than a 270. I believe it is the best tool for that job.

Agreed, I also think its pretty much the perfect mule deer cartridge as well. Especially out west.

 

[HuntingGold]

I

What bullet do you use for Elk in a 270?

Over the last 30 years I've used all kinds, usually in the 140 range, and I haven't truly settled on a favorite. I'll be moving to the 150 grain partition in the near future and I'm excited to work up a load. On the down (?) Side is that I've picked up several new rifles the last 8 years and I want to try them all. This coming elk season I have a 280 Ackley that really wants to go. I may take my 270 as backup, but I've also been shooting a .308 ALOT the last six months with 168 Gold Dots. That one may actually take the backup position this year.
If I had to sell all my guns tomorrow and narrow it down to just a few, I'd be "happy" to keep my .270, my little .22 rifle with open sights, and a 12 gauge Wingmaster. Those are the 3 that carried me most of my life. Gladly, I don't have to and won't anytime soon.
If God spoke and said the .270 must go, I'd likely be just as happy with a 280AI. Just a neat cartridge.

 

[matt85]

What about 9.3X62?

A fine old cartridge! Perfect for the thick bush.

It's North American cousin the 35 Whelen is no slouch either!

 

[odonata]

When I say this, Its coming from a guy who grew up having a dislike of the 270 win in favor for the 6.5x55, 7x57, and 30-06. At this point in life, I can see it's merits without the emotions of older men trying to convince me otherwise.

The 270 win is about the most balanced cartridge for non DG hunting in North America.

Use 130,140,145gr for longer shots on deer sized game, 150-160gr for elk/moose and your set.
Its pretty much the American 7mm.

When I was younger, I had an unsubstantiated bias towards the 270 Win feeling that there were better options available. I think a lot of it simply had to do with the fact that no one I knew had one when I was a youth learning how to hunt. I have the 6.5x55, 7x57 & 30-06 just like @mauser98. So having options I really liked all around the 270 Win prevented it from ever finding a slot in my gun safe even though my attitude towards it evolved. I'm absolutely confident the 270 Win could have efficiently killed everything that I've ever put in my freezer. It would just feel a bit superfluous to purchase one now based on previous decisions I've made.

 

[MS 9x56]

Old Jack O’Conner still reaches out from the grave. Honestly though the 270 is a fine caliber with a long history of success. I think with the younger shooters it is probably at about the top end for their recoil tolerance. I have never owned one but have shot them.

 

[CoElkHunter]

I think that the answer to this one is simple: trajectory!
(while delivering medium game killing power)

At a time when laser range finders or even practicable optical coincidence range finders, and reliable external BDC (bullet drop compensator) turrets did not exist -- outside the military -- I believe that the .270 Win offered something rather unique: the ability to deliver medium game killing power out to 330 yards using the redoubtably simple maximum point-blank range (MPBR) method with a 3 inches high zero at 100 yards.

I do not know about your experience, but in mine, which was 100% mountain hunting in the French Alps, this was huge. I rather suspect that this is what attracted Jack O'Connor to it.

Of course, modern opinion polls are bound to reflect the latest fashionable fad of the day, so I fully expect the various Creedmoor, PRC, ARC, SAUM, etc. to figure prominently, but the .270 Win also beat them in another dimension: the test of time. It is my belief that the .270 Win will still be commercially loaded long after the various Creedmoor, PRC, ARC, SAUM, etc. fade into obscurity...

A nearly perfect balance of power, trajectory, recoil, universal usability, and simplicity

As to Africa, 40 years after selecting the .270 Win as a self-evident choice for my first, long and hard earned hunting rifle, I had to come again to the conclusion, after visiting many, many other options, that the .270 Win remains the near ideal caliber choice for my wife's PG rifle, with an additional edge thanks to modern bullet technologies, that where I had to move from 130 gr to 150 gr (both Nosler Partition) when going from Chamois (mountain goat) to Red Stag (elk), she does it all with the 130 gr TTSX, from Impala to Black Wildebeest. The .270 Win has the killing power, the flat trajectory, the low recoil, the quasi universal usability on PG and MG (mountain game) to make things simple and predictable.

As it did for me in the Alps, the .270 Win allows my wife to simply put the crosshair on it, from 0 to 300, and just pull the trigger. To someone not versed into technicalities, this is huge.

And thanks to modern bullet technology, she does not even need to change load and resight between light and heavy PG.

Certainly, the various Creedmoor, PRC, ARC, SAUM, etc. can do the same, although they are rarely used with the MPBR method, but good luck finding ammo for them now in Africa or at the country gun store... and better luck finding ammo for them at all in 5 or 10 years...

First, I like the “MG” (Mountain Game) abbreviation for hunting big game animals in the mountains because there is nothing PG hunting about it. Second, Jack O’Connor and everyone else back in the day used lower fixed magnification (think 4x) power scopes before variable power scopes became available/affordable. MPBR ruled and it didn’t seem to be a handicap within reasonable hunting ranges as you and your wife have found out. Lastly, I personally still use MPBR when hunting with my turretless scopes. I managed a downhill 287yd shot on an impala with my .300WM and the turretless scope set at 7 power on my one PG hunt. I too like placing the crosshairs on target and pulling the trigger using MPBR because often for deer and elk one has only a couple of seconds to decide the sex and or required points depending on your license. And, I still use my 50 year old Winchester M70 .270 Win for deer and pronghorn here.

 

[NIGHTHAWK]

My favorite all around caliber is 7mm Rem Mag. It can do anything up to Eland (although it might be a little light for Eland). The recoil is definitely manageable. It shoots flat and the 7mm bullets are ballistically awesome!!!

It kills Eland just fine. And is one of my All Time favorites…

 

[Muskox]

Not quite, although the cartridge has the same purpose. Its concept is different from the cartridge 270 Winchester. The cartridge 7x64 Brenneke was designed for hunting heavier European game, especially in wooded areas where such game species are hunted in Europe. The classic version of this cartridge was designed with a heavy 175gr TIG bullet and accordingly a shorter barrel twist rate. By the way, the recoil ist a little bit stronger.

This is 100% accurate. The 270 and 280 and 280 Ackley are similar.

the 7x64 is a 30-06 that shoots .284 bullets instead of .308 bullets.

 

[WoodencrossIII]

I don’t know if anyone has stated but the 270 Win is a very great round. In all actuality it’s near a 7mm Remington mag in performance, with less powder if that matters and the difference in bullet size is very minimal and weights are generally the exact same, given all of that the 270 with a faster twist can handle some great bullets but they just now have started to make them and it’s a proven killer on game if all I had was a 270 I wouldn’t be undergunned for most NA big game and for Africa plains game will fall to it. Using good bullets which are everywhere but a good 140 gr nosler partition or Barnes ttsx any of them will kill elk deer bear and I’d use it even on the biggest critters just place your shot where it should be and with a 270 it’s not hard to do its recoil is mild enough and power ratio is good whatever he hits he destroys

 

[DrBob]

My beef with the 270 is that there isn't anything it does that a 6.5x55 or 7x57 doesn't do better. Heavier bullets, better BC, better SD, less recoil, generally prettier guns, etc.

You'd think Jack O'Connor would have known this, his wife Eleanor shot everything with a 7x57 and he should have too!

In O'Connor's writings his wife often used the 257 Roberts ... the necked down 7x57. Yes, I bought a 270 because of Outdoor Life's editor but looking back, the best balance is the 280 Ackley Improved... again 7mm territory. It took a long time for me to buy a 30-06.... but anyway you cut it, Paul Mauser "done good".

 

[rookhawk]

In O'Connor's writings his wife often used the 257 Roberts ... the necked down 7x57. Yes, I bought a 270 because of Outdoor Life's editor but looking back, the best balance is the 280 Ackley Improved... again 7mm territory. It took a long time for me to buy a 30-06.... but anyway you cut it, Paul Mauser "done good".

A 280 is a great caliber, it’s pretty much a 7x64 brenneke. The only reason my son shoots the latter? Prettier guns.

 

[PAUL_MAUSER]

I've read on numerous occasions where people say the 270 is as useless as a 243. Too much recoil for the ordinance sent down range. Hence my surprise at the outcome.

I'm perplexed by this and have honestly never heard that remark regarding recoil regarding the 270. The only reason over here some say they don't like it is because you get more bullet choices with the 7mm .284 calibers.

 

[rookhawk]

I'm perplexed by this and have honestly never heard that remark regarding recoil regarding the 270. The only reason over here some say they don't like it is because you get more bullet choices with the 7mm .284 calibers.

The 270 produces around 19lbs of recoil I believe? Maybe 21? That’s a fairly stout push for what little work it does.

7x57= 13
7x64 = 16-17

 

[Creigh]

I'm perplexed by this and have honestly never heard that remark regarding recoil regarding the 270. The only reason over here some say they don't like it is because you get more bullet choices with the 7mm .284 calibers.

There's an anti 243 thread here, many pages long if you have the time. TBH I thought most of it was playful banter, but anyhoo, much complaints about the 270.

 

[rookhawk]

There's an anti 243 thread here, many pages long if you have the time. TBH I thought most of it was playful banter, but anyhoo, much complaints about the 270.

I don’t hate the 243, but it and the 270 have something in common. They adhere to Roy Weatherby’s ideas “speed kills”. Yes, it does, until it doesn’t scale well. I dislike this mentality when it hits about 300Wby and up.

I prefer the heavy bullet, long throat, “hang time” in animal philosophy. That’s the 6.5x55, 6.5MS, 7x57 ideological camp. That same idea scales pretty well because that’s what the 450,470,500,577 NE do as well.