The .270 Winchester in Africa

[Art Lambart II]

@Quaticman, As I said earlier the 270 is a fine round and should be fine for all the PG you listed. My concern is not the game but the shot presented and the distance of that shot. If you PH puts you on a 60" Kudu at 200 yards quartering towards you and your carrying a 270 would you shoot or would you work for a better shot. If you or your son would work for a better shot I would recommend a larger round like your 9.3x62 or a 35 Whelen. If your comfortable using a 270 for that shot then stick with the 270. The only person that can answer that question is you and your son, the rest of us can only give advice and opinions.

Personally for potential PG rifles I own a 270, 30-06, 300WM and a 35 Whelen, I have been to Africa twice and I've never considered taking my 270. The 270 I used on my first safari belonged to my PH, I had to barrow his rifle because Delta left my rifles in ATL.

 

[Nyati]

Will work fine on just about anything with premium ammo and proper shot placement.

 

[Von S.]

Range finder, shooting sticks and a heavier bullet that won't blow up or won't open at all, and practice with the same loads that you are going to hunt with.

If you are capable of ,400 yard shots then practice at them. Make a cheat sheet, lamanate it and tape it to your stock.

Don't be pressure into taking shot you're not comfortable with.

You'll do fine.

 

[BeeMaa]

My wife is taking a 270 to Africa next year for Kudu and Sable.
I spoke with our PH extensively about this caliber for this game, and he said to use Swift A-Frames.
That said, she is capable of shooting my 375 if the shot needs to punch through some brush.

 

[Roatmtn]

My son and I are planning a father/son plains game hunt. His only centerfire rifle is a Mauser chambered in .270 Winchester. I will be using my Mauser chambered in 9.3 x 62. We will be hunting Springbok, Warthog, Gemsbok and Kudu. Will the .270 with premium bullets such as the Barnes TSX or Swift A-Frame do the job or should my son consider upgunning?

Hello...My reply is late as I just joined this forum. I used the .270 Winchester in Africa in September 2003. The bullet was a 140 gr. Barnes XBT at 3,150 fps. This was with a 26 inch barrel and 58 gr of rl22 powder. All were one shot kills except one screwed up shot on a big water buk. I shot him a wee bit too low. One more shot took care of the problem. From tiny Did Dik to Eland, a one shot kill was what I saw with the .270 Win. I have long been a Finn Aagaard fan of the NRA's American Rifleman Handloader Magazines, and Rifle Magizine. He was a PH from Kenya of Norwegian ancestors. He had vast experience and had a vey clear, logical mind and was a master of the English language. He believed that bullet placement was 90% of killing power and 10% was the unknown. He also stated that he had seen more one shot kills with the .270 Winchester in Africa than with any other caliber. Why? Low recoil, high velocity, great accuracy=good placement=quick one shot kills. Finn died from cancer. I still miss his writings and mastery of the English language.

 

[Firebird]

Welcome to the forum and thank you for your input. Elmer Keith shared those same thoughts about the .270 (though he used others including .30-06 and .375 h&h) and his writings are also wonderful. And Barnes bullets are very good also-as is your English!

 

[colorado]

270 Win is a great caliber. I've used it on javelina, deer, black bears and elk all one shot kills Take your time, place your shot and use good bullets

 

[Roatmtn]

Welcome to the forum and thank you for your input. Elmer Keith shared those same thoughts about the .270 (though he used others including .30-06 and .375 h&h) and his writings are also wonderful. And Barnes bullets are very good also-as is your English!

Thanks very much!

 

[Roatmtn]

270 Win is a great caliber. I've used it on javelina, deer, black bears and elk all one shot kills Take your time, place your shot and use good bullets

Exactly! The .270 just works! What many people are not aware of is the .277 caliber bullet is a 7.04 mm bullet vs the ,284 caliber(European 7mm) and the .270 is therefore a 7mm bullet. itself. It just plain works.

 

[Roatmtn]

Welcome to the forum and thank you for your input. Elmer Keith shared those same thoughts about the .270 (though he used others including .30-06 and .375 h&h) and his writings are also wonderful. And Barnes bullets are very good also-as is your English!

Did you intend to refer to Jack O'Connor and not Elmer Keith. Elmer really liked large calibers. Just saying, you know. However, both guys in my opinion wrote very good stories. When I first saw a elephant in the wild, I wondered. Elmer Keith, you are right about wanting a larger caliber. I was really impressed with the huge size of the wild elephants. Wow!

 

[Dr Ray]

My wife is taking a 270 to Africa next year for Kudu and Sable.
I spoke with our PH extensively about this caliber for this game, and he said to use Swift A-Frames.
That said, she is capable of shooting my 375 if the shot needs to punch through some brush.

The 270 is a great cartridge (within sensible limits of course)

 

[Rum Runner]

Barnes TSX reviews/question

Ah, just use your .338WM with 225gr Core Lokts or the 225gr Power Points I sent you. You can kill any of the PG in the Galaxy with those, including whitetail. Save your time, energy and consternation for rebooking your flights to Africa! Ha! Ha! The irony!! I literally just said I was planning...

www.africahunting.com

 

[Firebird]

I did intend Mr Jack and not Elmer-I think Mr Keith would have preferred a handgun

 

[BeeMaa]

The 270 is a great cartridge (within sensible limits of course)

Sensible limits - I very much agree. For large game animals from 400-600# with proper shot placement and premium bullets. But if the angle isn't right, there is too much wind, or it's a longer shot...you would be wise to let the animal go and stay within the "sensible limits".

My wife took a Savage 270WIN to Africa and harvested a Kudu with a high neck shot at 100 yards. It never took another step and piled up right there. No blood, no mess...just a one shot kill with a Swift A-Frame 150 grain bullet to the neck. Our PH about crapped his pants when she told him that the high neck is where she was aiming. He would have preferred a heart-lung shot, but conceded the point because the bull was on the ground. In truth, she had that kind of confidence in the rifle, cartridge and herself after more than a year of practice.

I know I'm bragging on her, but there was a time when you rarely saw wives of hunters (or females in general) with their own game animal. In recent years (thankfully) it has become much more common to see proud female hunters with a harvested animal. The 270WIN is a great hunting cartridge for anyone with a smaller frame or limited experience. But proper practice counts, and it counts big time. It's also possible to use the 270WIN as a stepping stone to the .30 calibers and beyond.

My wife decided to move up to a 300WM as her light caliber rifle and now uses a 375H&H on a regular basis as well. Of course it's taken time and lots of practice for her to get there, but it all started with her first centerfire rifle cartridge...the 270WIN.

 

[Tra3]

My son’s .270 win R8 is in the rifle case right now for our flight on Tuesday. 130 grain Barnes TTSX. That gun is accurate and the recoil is reasonable. I have a goal on this trip to take a couple birds. That will be the rifle I reach for to head shot a bird.

 

[Cervus elaphus]

My son and I are planning a father/son plains game hunt. His only centerfire rifle is a Mauser chambered in .270 Winchester. I will be using my Mauser chambered in 9.3 x 62. We will be hunting Springbok, Warthog, Gemsbok and Kudu. Will the .270 with premium bullets such as the Barnes TSX or Swift A-Frame do the job or should my son consider upgunning?

I don't see any problem with your son taking a rifle he's familiar with, in fact I think it's a good thing. If it comes to that, you could always swap_a_rifle seeing you're taking the 9.3

 

[Roatmtn]

I did intend Mr Jack and not Elmer-I think Mr Keith would have preferred a handgun

I am laughing over your comment about the handgun! YES! Elmer was a hand gunner of great abilities. As he once said, "Hell, I was there!"

 

[KiwiHunter]

From personal experience with 270 on Kudu, Black and Blue Wildebeest, Nyala and smaller antelope, the 270 will be fine for most PG with correct bullet placement