Resurrecting the 270 Win

[Dr Ray]

Hmm. It'd be a specialist tool though. 180s will need a 1-8 twist barrel I would think, and probably an abnormally long throat, which immediately makes it a custom job, and you'd probably need a 26"+ tube to have any chance of hitting 3000. Even 2800 is shifting some with a 180.

As a dedicated comp gun (Practical or maybe even F class or the like) it'd be possible and probably fairly competitive, but when you're spending big bucks on a custom rifle, why limit yourself on projectiles, sacrifice a bit of BC and lumber yourself with an inefficient, old cartridge with a substantial powder load?

Don't get me wrong, I love the .270win. It was my first rifle, I do all my hunting with one and to this day I shoot 100+ rounds of it a month, but if I was building a LR comp gun? Not a chance. Even .308 is probably better in that arena, let alone various 6.5 and 7mm options.

My view, appreciate the .270 for what it is, a brilliant, flat shooting, mild mannered hunting cartridge for medium size game. Don't try and make it something it was never designed to be, it'll always just be a compromise.

Well said and in my opinion. The 270 is a cartridge that I classify as a specialist one. Reason - hunting cartridge - flat shooting, more energy delivered than 308 or 30/06.
I have used 270 in competitions but feel there are better cartridges for competitions such as 6.5C.
And; I’ve had 30/96s and 308s. My latest Sako 270 s/s is my fourth rifle in 270.

 

[bruce moulds]

how do you define better?
it is slightly less fast and uses less powder and has more barrel life and less recoil
just a lovely versatile round.
the 7mag probably has greater availability of factory ammo and shoots a little flatter.
it also is a fine round.
bruce.

 

[Kawshik Rahman]

how do you define better?
it is slightly less fast and uses less powder and has more barrel life and less recoil
just a lovely versatile round.
the 7mag probably has greater availability of factory ammo and shoots a little flatter.
it also is a fine round.
bruce.

Bruce Moulds
I am very tempted to try a .280 Remington cartridge someday now . Thank you so much for making me aware of this beautiful cartridge.

 

[Dr Ray]

Bruce Moulds
I am very tempted to try a .280 Remington cartridge someday now . Thank you so much for making me aware of this beautiful cartridge.

I think you’ll be pleasantly surprized with the 28 caliber

 

[Kawshik Rahman]

I think you’ll be pleasantly surprized with the 28 caliber

Dr. Ray
I look forward to trying it .
During my time , as a professional Shikari in Darjeeling , India from 1962 to 1970 , the most popular calibres in the " light medium " range brought by my clients were :
.243 Winchester
.264 Winchester
7 millimeter mauser
7 millimeter Remington magnum

 

[ldmay375]

I am not sure where the 270 Winchester fits in, or the other .277 cartridges. Other than they apparently work well for many people.
Judging by the amount of the many various ammo loads on shelves, it is popular here in Alaska.

I know people that use it successfully for moose and others that use it for elk without complaints. My personal preference ideal use would be for caribou and under sized game.

My son has a 270 Win, M70 Classic stainless and have shot it and others. I have never owned a .277 caliber until the other day. I bought a M70 classic stainless in 270 WSM. I foresee little hunting difference between it and the 270 Winchester.

 

[Mr. Zorg]

Bruce Moulds
I am very tempted to try a .280 Remington cartridge someday now . Thank you so much for making me aware of this beautiful cartridge.

You may also want to investigate the 7X64mm Brenneke cartridge if you're interested in the .280 Remington. It predates the .280 Remington by a number of decades.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/7×64mm

There has been a surfeit of used Zastava rifles & carbines recently for sale in the USA market. Typically, there are relatively few 7X64mm rifles here in the USA, but now many more than usual have been popping up. Here is my latest acquisition, a full stock 7X64mm carbine with 20" barrel.

https://www.gunbroker.com/item/845909106

Ammunition in 7X64mm is no longer loaded by large name US manufacturers except Remington with 140 grain Core-Lokt bullet only. But Sellier & Bellot, Prvi Partizan, Norma, Geco, and RWS 7X64mm ammunition is available here in the USA by searching around, as well as vintage Federal ammunition loaded with 160 grain Nosler Partition bullets. If you have access to rifle ammunition loaded by European manufacturers, you may find 7X64mm ammunition more readily available than .280 Remington ammunition.

 

[johnnyblues]

Ok gents, I won’t pretend to know a rats butt about reloading or terminal performance etc etc etc. But I will tell you I started many years ago with a Winchester 270 semi custom built by someone in Seattle... It was a tack driver and practically become a third arm for me.I only shot Federal 150 grain Noslers with that gun. Back in those days and I’m going back to the 80’s and 90’s I shot everything from antelope to moose to caribou ,deer sheep mtn goats tahr chamois well you get the picture. With well placed shots made nothing ever moved. My moose shook in his place and dropped right there. I recently took it to SA and Namibia with excellent results shooting 140 grain accu bonds. Every caliber has its place in the field, and yes you should choose wisely your caliber and bullet. I back in the day was completely at ease shooting that caliber/bullet combo with zero regrets with everything I hunted with it. Bottom line the right bullet and shot placement for a particular species should be paramount.

 

[Dr Ray]

Bruce Moulds
Someday , l hope to . Is it better than the 7 millimeter Remington magnum calibre ?

I would suggest that the 7 magnum is in a different category akin to the 300 Winchester.
I had a 7 mm and it particularly liked the heavier Bullets.
The 270 is an ideal plains rifle/cartridge!

 

[Kawshik Rahman]

You may also want to investigate the 7X64mm Brenneke cartridge if you're interested in the .280 Remington. It predates the .280 Remington by a number of decades.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/7×64mm

There has been a surfeit of used Zastava rifles & carbines recently for sale in the USA market. Typically, there are relatively few 7X64mm rifles here in the USA, but now many more than usual have been popping up. Here is my latest acquisition, a full stock 7X64mm carbine with 20" barrel.

https://www.gunbroker.com/item/845909106

Ammunition in 7X64mm is no longer loaded by large name US manufacturers except Remington with 140 grain Core-Lokt bullet only. But Sellier & Bellot, Prvi Partizan, Norma, Geco, and RWS 7X64mm ammunition is available here in the USA by searching around, as well as vintage Federal ammunition loaded with 160 grain Nosler Partition bullets. If you have access to rifle ammunition loaded by European manufacturers, you may find 7X64mm ammunition more readily available than .280 Remington ammunition.

Mr. Zorg
Thank you so much for your in depth explanation . RWS is a very good firm . I remember clients bringing 9.3 millimeter mauser and 7 millimeter mauser cartridges in paper boxes . It was an excellent brand for the continental European cartridges.

 

[Kawshik Rahman]

I would suggest that the 7 magnum is in a different category akin to the 300 Winchester.
I had a 7 mm and it particularly liked the heavier Bullets.
The 270 is an ideal plains rifle/cartridge!

Dr. Ray
I am inclined to agree . You can imagine my level of surprise , when one of my clients used a 7 millimeter Remington magnum calibre Remington model 700 bolt operation rifle to kill this leopard with one cartridge five decades ago .

 

[Mr. Zorg]

Kawshik,

The .280 Remington and 7X64mm Brenneke are "standard long action" cartridges along with .270 Winchester & .30-06 Springfield, but not Magnum length cartridges.

The 7X57mm Mauser is a shorter cartridge case than .280 Remington and 7X64mm Brenneke, but not as short as .308 Winchester. There is a 7mm-08 catridge that is part of the .308 Winchester case progeny. The 7mm-08 & 7X57 are ballistically similar using 160 grain and lighter projectiles. For 7mm bullets heavier than 160 grains, the 7X57mm doesn't suffer the case powder capacity loss the 7mm-08 does keeping the overall cartridge length within specifications.

The .280 Remington has an Ackley Improved variant, the .280 Remington AI, which ballistically is closer to the 7mm Remington Magnum than .280 Remington while using a "standard long action" non-magnum rifle action. Norma & Hornady offer factory loaded .280 Remington AI cartridges in the USA.

I don't think the 7X64mm Brenneke has an Ackley Improved variant.

 

[Mr. Zorg]

In general,

7mm-08 = 7X57mm < .280 Remington = 7X64mm < .280 Remington AI < 7mm Remington Magnum

 

[Velo Dog]

Dr. Ray
I am inclined to agree . You can imagine my level of surprise , when one of my clients used a 7 millimeter Remington magnum calibre Remington model 700 bolt operation rifle to kill this leopard with one cartridge five decades ago .
View attachment 316483

Hi Kawahik Rahman,

Your client shown within your photograph here is, I believe the USA Gun Writer, Colonel Charles Askins (now deceased).
I’m quite sure if it, not that it makes any real difference.
It’s only worth mentioning for trivia sake, not much else I guess.

Cheers,
Paul.

 

[Kawshik Rahman]

Hi Kawahik Rahman,

Your client shown within your photograph here is, I believe the USA Gun Writer, Colonel Charles Askins (now deceased).
I’m quite sure if it, not that it makes any real difference.
It’s only worth mentioning for trivia sake, not much else I guess.

Cheers,
Paul.

Paul
You are correct. His name was a C. Askins . However , l did not know that he was of celebrity fame in the United States of America . When did he pass away ? I am saddened to hear that he passed away as l have not seen him in more than five decades.

 

[Mr. Zorg]

I Googled up his Wikipedia page. He passed away in San Antonio, TX - where I currently live.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Askins

 

[Terry Blauwkamp]

I've killed a lot of plains game with the 270 Win using 130 TTSX, 140 TSX, and 140 Swift A-Frame, and it continues to surprise me how well any one of them kill.

 

[John Camp]

But this. Today the antiquated round did it again , and with cheap Privi soft points.

 

[CBH Australia]

At that velocity, might as well shoot a properly shaped solid - or just throw them.

I’m reading this with interest as the .270 has a good reputation within Australia.
It has been highly regarded by gunwriters and hunters for years.
It is also a minimum legal calibre for some deer in some states.
Red Leg I realise the quote is made in jest but when I started researching reduced loads for low recoils loads I found actual subsonic loads use a heavy for calibre projectile. In fact they produce heavy projectiles designed to expand at the lower velocities. With suppressors being restricted in Australia there a few exceptions to use them and some agencies can use them for pest control in populated areas (Deer included). The Bullets that are designed for this purpose were probably designed for other applications. I’m not sure a solid is suited in that situations but I guess it will get penetration over expansion.

 

[CBH Australia]

I "grew-up" with a .270.
Pigs, goats and 6 species of deer plus Chamois & Tahr.
A magnificent calibre when the operator is up to it.

I shot so many rounds through my .270 that when it was time to replace it, it was virtually unusable.

I then moved up to a 30/06.
Another fine performer. Hit hard and did the job every-time I used it.
Again, I shot hundreds of pigs, goats, Chamois, Tahr and 6 species of deer and used it in Africa as well.
The only time I had problems with the '06 was directly due to the projectiles I was using and not the calibre.

Now, in my fourth decade of hunting I have a FN Mauser in 7x64 and I am absolutely tickled pink.
Kind of like a hybrid of the .270 and 30/06 after a wild night of drinking.
Flat shooting, like the .270, and hard hitting like the 30/06.

Yes, you can have your cake and eat it too with a 7x64mm.

Not as "wild-cat" as several years back with several commercial manufacturers of factory ammo and cases from many makers readily available.

Certainly nothing wrong with the .280, or the .270, or 30/06 for that matter.
Just load them right !
The cartridge stays in the chamber !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It's the PROJECTILE that does the damage !

After starting a thread on the 7mm calibre I learned a lot.
I always had a feeling the 7mm-08 maybe a great all rounder for Australia.
I own one but it’s not a hunting rifle (Tikka CTR)
I read some about 7x57, Karamojo Bell, Boers and how good it i. That may be the classic rifle and classic chambering I would look for in an old Mauser. I missed out on a take down $1250
I’ve never owned a .270 but never discounted it
The 7x64 has me interested . I see Tikka offer it
Was thinking to get a .300wm or a 7mmRM but the 7x64 sounds good.
Can’t buy many more guns so I’m thinking hard. I think I’m using a 7mmRM in Africa soon, he has others but I haven’t used one before and I’ve done plenty with .308