Explain this: 270 wins the poll

[TOBY458]

One of my dream guns is a .280 A.I.

If I ever have a custom deer/elk rifle built, it will probably be a 280 AI. Just seems fitting to chamber a custom rifle in that caliber. Near 7mm Rem Mag performance from a standard caliber.

 

[CBH Australia]

I really don’t understand why bullet makers don’t provide a .277 bullet in 170 or 175 grain weight?

I suspect factory rifles are not well suited. That’s why some of the modern cartridges use High B.C. Bullets etc as the twist and chamber are optimised for longer heavier bullets for calibre. As @Rocked and Loaded has written.

My understanding is that the twist on most 270 win barrels won’t stabilize bullets over 150 grains very well.

I think it may exist but I’ve never even seen 160 gr ammo for sale.

if it’s on the point that most factory rifles are not going to stabilise a heavier bullet it’s time to step up to the plate.30-06 which can cover a different range of weights and could be loaded accordingly

 

[CBH Australia]

@Wyatt Smith
Woodleigh make a nice bonded 160gn round nose for the 270 as well
Bob

I think they would be on the back burner as they are filling orders on larger calibres first.

7mm projectiles have not been available since the rebuild.

It's not in their current catalog as far as I can tell.

link: https://www.woodleighbullets.com.au/bullet-lists/traditional/264-333-list

They do list a 6.5mm/.264" 160 gr RN SN.

Cheers! Bob F.

I don’t think they have a full range of anything available at this point

One of my dream guns is a .280 A.I.

It is a sweet cartridge. I have never owned a .270 or .30-06, no reason it’s just others were added first to suit my needs of the time.

My .280a.i. Is a rebarelled Tikka and I think it bridges the gap between .270 and .30-06 not that it’s a huge gap but I seem to like 7mm cartridges and without going and buying more for the sake of buying more it will have to do for me.

I haven’t tried the full weight range of projectiles but the options are there if I need to develop a load.

One of our states has a .270” minimum diameter requirement to hunt certain deer species. This exceeds that and has sufficient power drive some bigger bullets if required.

It’s a happy median for me.

 

[TERMINATOR]

If I ever have a custom deer/elk rifle built, it will probably be a 280 AI. Just seems fitting to chamber a custom rifle in that caliber. Near 7mm Rem Mag performance from a standard caliber.

That’s exactly why it my dream gun

And why it is Kenny Jarrett’s favorite when building his “Beanfield Rifles”…which is the full definition of my Dream Gun

A Kenny Jarret Beanfield Rifle in .280 AI

 

[sgt_zim]

If I ever have a custom deer/elk rifle built, it will probably be a 280 AI. Just seems fitting to chamber a custom rifle in that caliber. Near 7mm Rem Mag performance from a standard caliber.

If you look at Nosler's load data for 280AI vs 7mmm RM, MV overlap is nearly 100% for every weight bullet. Course, Nosler used a 26" barrel for the 280 loads and 24" for 7mm RM loads. If you build a custom AI, I'd definitely go longer than 22" to take full advantage of H1000/RL26/etc. Even IMR 4831 seems kinda slow for full burn in 22" - I get accurate loads with it for both my 280 AI and my 6.5x55, but nowhere near published velocities.

 

[TOBY458]

If you look at Nosler's load data for 280AI vs 7mmm RM, MV overlap is nearly 100% for every weight bullet. Course, Nosler used a 26" barrel for the 280 loads and 24" for 7mm RM loads. If you build a custom AI, I'd definitely go longer than 22" to take full advantage of H1000/RL26/etc. Even IMR 4831 seems kinda slow for full burn in 22" - I get accurate loads with it for both my 280 AI and my 6.5x55, but nowhere near published velocities.

Yes sir. Would definitely want a 24” barrel on the 280 AI. But I have been shooting a lot of suppressed rifles lately, so would be hard to not go a little shorter for that purpose. But at that point , I may as well just keep shooting my 270. lol!

 

[CBH Australia]

Yes sir. Would definitely want a 24” barrel on the 280 AI. But I have been shooting a lot of suppressed rifles lately, so would be hard to not go a little shorter for that purpose. But at that point , I may as well just keep shooting my 270. lol!

They came up with a better mouse trap for that.

The 7mm Backcountry cartridge still gives good velocities in shorter barrels using suppressed rifles.

I don’t doubt the technology but I don’t feel the need to run out and get one.

We can’t access suppressors as hunters in Australia anyway

 

[TOBY458]

They came up with a better mouse trap for that.

The 7mm Backcountry cartridge still gives good velocities in shorter barrels using suppressed rifles.

I don’t doubt the technology but I don’t feel the need to run out and get one.

We can’t access suppressors as hunters in Australia anyway

Yes. I’m not going out and buying one either. All these new cartridges seem to have a way of going away pretty quickly.

 

[pc3]

.270 too much recoil .....LOLOLOL

My son juts used his .270 in Africa....the 150gr Hotcor's we use in it were excellent. Wildebeest at 310 yards quartering shot, full penetration stopped after 30 yards. Finisher was not really needed.

Blesbok at 308 yards DRT.

Last year his Bull Tahr DRT 150 yards...mine was hit well with a 212gr ELDX unlucky it made it down a ravine and could not be recovered.

I have a an appreciation for the .270, early in my life I shot a lot of ferals with it, it just works and maybe a tad flatter than the 30/06

 

[Wyatt Smith]

Yes. I’m not going out and buying one either. All these new cartridges seem to have a way of going away pretty quickly.

If the 280AI goes away (unlikely I think) you can make it out of 30-06 brass. If federal quits loading the 7mm, then what, they say it can be reloaded, but I’m not holding my breath.

 

[coreydb]

the 270 Win shoots a 6.8 (.277) bullet fast and hard. Darn fine round for any plains game animal. Keep in mind the largest game you expect to shoot in your hunt package and take the appropriate caliber rifle.

 

[mauser98]

Speer used to make a 170gr RN that stabilized in the the 1:10 twist rate. They can be found here and there as partial boxes at gun shows or private sales. Had some myself and a friend loaded some up in his tikka t3 and they shot well.

 

[sgt_zim]

Speer used to make a 170gr RN that stabilized in the the 1:10 twist rate. They can be found here and there as partial boxes at gun shows or private sales. Had some myself and a friend loaded some up in his tikka t3 and they shot well.

Are they RN or something? Weight and bearing surface drive twist rate.

 

[NDWoods]

PHs non dangerous game primary rifle in SA was a 270 and he absolutely loved it. It is a very popular cartridge in USA for deer and has been for decades.

When I managed a sporting goods store late 90s when I got out of the Army, 3 out of 4 centerfire hunting rifles we sold were 270 or 30-06. Other than those you had 300 Win mag for guys going out of state for bigger game, 243 for kids, and 30-30 for grand pappys lever hun shooter. Everything else we only needed to keep a few boxes of as specialty calibers. For a lot of established hunters in the USA, it is what they started with back then and still use because they break it out a couple of times a year to go hunt, They are not gun nuts.

I am a bit of a gun nut and love experiencing new calibers and rifle material/build updates, and do not own a 270, but if I did, it would work just fine for my deer and pig hunting,

 

[MS 9x56]

They came up with a better mouse trap for that.

The 7mm Backcountry cartridge still gives good velocities in shorter barrels using suppressed rifles.

I don’t doubt the technology but I don’t feel the need to run out and get one.

We can’t access suppressors as hunters in Australia anyway

A different mouse trap not necessarily better.

 

[mauser98]

Are they RN or something? Weight and bearing surface drive twist rate.

 

[colorado]

PHs non dangerous game primary rifle in SA was a 270 and he absolutely loved it. It is a very popular cartridge in USA for deer and has been for decades.

When I managed a sporting goods store late 90s when I got out of the Army, 3 out of 4 centerfire hunting rifles we sold were 270 or 30-06. Other than those you had 300 Win mag for guys going out of state for bigger game, 243 for kids, and 30-30 for grand pappys lever hun shooter. Everything else we only needed to keep a few boxes of as specialty calibers. For a lot of established hunters in the USA, it is what they started with back then and still use because they break it out a couple of times a year to go hunt, They are not gun nuts.

I am a bit of a gun nut and love experiencing new calibers and rifle material/build updates, and do not own a 270, but if I did, it would work just fine for my deer and pig hunting,

Work's great on elk and black bears too. Brown bears in a pinch

 

[sgt_zim]

Damn I'm good.

Lots less bearing surface on Spitzers or semi-Spitzers.

If they'd have made 270W with a 8 or even 9 twist originally, I'd probably consider them to be something worth owning rather than as useless as teats on a frog. A 170 gr Spitzer in .277 would be quite something, right up there with 175 gr in .284. Which I consider the most perfect small and medium game bullet ever invented, with a close 2nd place to 155-160 gr 6.5 pills.

Were it possible, I hate 270 more than @Bob Nelson 35Whelen hates 243.

 

[CoElkHunter]

If the 280AI goes away (unlikely I think) you can make it out of 30-06 brass. If federal quits loading the 7mm, then what, they say it can be reloaded, but I’m not holding my breath.

Lots of .280 Remington brass available now. Just shoot it through a .280AI chambered rifle and the AI brass is created through fire forming. My father in law does this with his 6mmAI.

 

[roklok]

I like the .270, but love the 280 AI. My 280 Ackley started as a .270 stainless 700 Mountain Rifle, I sent it to PacNor and had them copy the factory barrel profile but with a finished length of 23 inch instead of 22. I couldn't decide between 22 and 24 inch so I split the difference. It weighs 6 pounds even, scoped. I built it for sheep hunting, but it has accounted for a pile of caribou as well.