Winchester's .270 WSM Is My Next Rifle Caliber
By Charles Smith
I read recently on a hunting blog that there was no need for the Winchester Short Magnum (WSM). I think not! I really have to question this statement. The WSM is no mere commercial wildcat. It is a cartridge whose time has come. We enter the 21st century with advancements in bullet design, smokeless powder, and rifle making. Therefore, the WSM is today's magnum for the long range hunter. The .270 WSM fills the long neglected gap between the .270 Winchester and the .270 Weatherby Magnum. The .270 caliber has been well established as an excellent caliber for North American big game. Now, the .270 WSM extends the range of the .270 Winchester without the extreme recoil of the .270 Weatherby Magnum.
Winchester Model 70 Super Shadow .270 WSM
Jack O'Connor would have appreciated the new .270 WSM. The renowned senior shooting editor of Outdoor Life and one of the most widely followed and significant firearms gun writers of all time, Jack O'Connor spent most of his career popularizing the long-action .270 Winchester. O'Connor regarded it as the best all-round cartridge ever designed for all North American big game and African plains game. The .270 versus .30-06 debate he created still goes on today; however, there is a new .270 in the field.
The WSM .270 contains all of the positive qualities of the original .270 design and much more. In my analysis the .270 WSM is even better than the original .270 Winchester, for the same velocity and energy reasons that Jack O'Connor liked the 270 Winchester. The .270 WSM, as Winchester states, packs 200 fps more velocity and 15 percent more energy than the standard .270 Winchester behind all equivalent-bullet loadings in a half-inch shorter case that will work in a standard-length short-action bolt mechanism. My favorite factory .270 WSM load is the Winchester the Super-X category with 150-grain Power-Point bullets. They produce sub-MOA at 100 yards from a Winchester Model 70 Shadow. The load was developed for deer and hogs. The .270 WSM fills an important void between the .270 Winchester and .270 Weatherby Magnum.
The .270 Winchester is also one of the world's most popular cartridge calibers, with tens of thousands of rifles and shooters around the globe. Until 2002, the only other commercially load .270 was available only from Weatherby; therefore, the .270 Weatherby Magnum, and the original .270 Winchester remains the only truly non proprietor commercially available .270 big game cartridge. There have never been any other .270 commercial long-action loads, either standard or magnum, and, until 2002, and no commercial .270 short-action loads of any kind. Some fellow shooters have reminded me there is the 6.8SPC which is a .270 built on the AR platform which can be used for varmint to deer. But the 6.8SPC has limitations on big game and long range ability. Therefore, I stand on my statement until 2002 the only commercial .270 big game cartridges are the .270 Winchester and the .270 Weatherby Magnum.
By Charles Smith
I read recently on a hunting blog that there was no need for the Winchester Short Magnum (WSM). I think not! I really have to question this statement. The WSM is no mere commercial wildcat. It is a cartridge whose time has come. We enter the 21st century with advancements in bullet design, smokeless powder, and rifle making. Therefore, the WSM is today's magnum for the long range hunter. The .270 WSM fills the long neglected gap between the .270 Winchester and the .270 Weatherby Magnum. The .270 caliber has been well established as an excellent caliber for North American big game. Now, the .270 WSM extends the range of the .270 Winchester without the extreme recoil of the .270 Weatherby Magnum.
Winchester Model 70 Super Shadow .270 WSM
Jack O'Connor would have appreciated the new .270 WSM. The renowned senior shooting editor of Outdoor Life and one of the most widely followed and significant firearms gun writers of all time, Jack O'Connor spent most of his career popularizing the long-action .270 Winchester. O'Connor regarded it as the best all-round cartridge ever designed for all North American big game and African plains game. The .270 versus .30-06 debate he created still goes on today; however, there is a new .270 in the field.
The WSM .270 contains all of the positive qualities of the original .270 design and much more. In my analysis the .270 WSM is even better than the original .270 Winchester, for the same velocity and energy reasons that Jack O'Connor liked the 270 Winchester. The .270 WSM, as Winchester states, packs 200 fps more velocity and 15 percent more energy than the standard .270 Winchester behind all equivalent-bullet loadings in a half-inch shorter case that will work in a standard-length short-action bolt mechanism. My favorite factory .270 WSM load is the Winchester the Super-X category with 150-grain Power-Point bullets. They produce sub-MOA at 100 yards from a Winchester Model 70 Shadow. The load was developed for deer and hogs. The .270 WSM fills an important void between the .270 Winchester and .270 Weatherby Magnum.
The .270 Winchester is also one of the world's most popular cartridge calibers, with tens of thousands of rifles and shooters around the globe. Until 2002, the only other commercially load .270 was available only from Weatherby; therefore, the .270 Weatherby Magnum, and the original .270 Winchester remains the only truly non proprietor commercially available .270 big game cartridge. There have never been any other .270 commercial long-action loads, either standard or magnum, and, until 2002, and no commercial .270 short-action loads of any kind. Some fellow shooters have reminded me there is the 6.8SPC which is a .270 built on the AR platform which can be used for varmint to deer. But the 6.8SPC has limitations on big game and long range ability. Therefore, I stand on my statement until 2002 the only commercial .270 big game cartridges are the .270 Winchester and the .270 Weatherby Magnum.
Winchester's .270 WSM Is My Next Rifle Caliber - 2
Since 1944 and Roy Weatherby, wildcatters have collectively tried every imaginable caliber-case-configuration combination in the world at one time or another. Just as the .270 Winchester represented a bold step for the long action in 1925; so does the short-action .270 WSM represent an idea that's time has come. The generally accepted rule of thumb is that a deer hunting cartridge should provide 1000 foot pounds of energy at a given. The .270 Winchester is a cartridge that has to be listed in a best deer hunting cartridge list. A little less kick and little more flat shooting than the 30-06, though not enough to really get excited about, makes the .270 Winchester quite popular with deer hunters across the country.
The .270 WSM is a cartridge to get excited about. It outshines the .270 Winchester and 30-06 in flat shooting and foot pounds of energy at long ranges. In 1925, the .270 Winchester amazed the world with a 130 grain bullet traveling at 3000 feet per second (fps). Today, that 130 grain bullet is launched at 3275 fps from the .270 WSM. The .270 Winchester launches a Winchester the Super-X category with 150-grain Power-Point bullet at 2850 fps from a 24 inch barrel on a long action. The same bullet is delivered from the .270 WSM at 3150 fps from a 24 inch barrel on a short action, therefore making the .270 WSM flatter shooting and potent medicine for any North American big game.
Savage Model 10 .270 WSM
As I wrote in, "In Search of the Lunch Box Hunter's All Purpose Rifle", for years the .30 caliber was my go to caliber. However, while testing rifles for that article I discovered the magic of the .270 caliber. Therefore, because of my quest for a light hunting rifle that can be zeroed at 25 yards and shot into a 10 inch target at 350 yards I discovered the .270 WSM could exceed my requirements with factory ammo by 25 yards. Recently, I took this Missouri eight point at 386 yards with my Winchester Model 70 in 270 WSM.
This shot verified my research into the .270 WSM. I was so pleased with the performance of the .270 WSM that I have acquired another rifle in .270 WSM. The new rifle is a Savage Model 10. Am I still saving my pennies for a custom built rifle? Yes! However, when you ask me "What will your next rifle caliber be?" My answer is a resounding, ".270 WSM!" Whether, I hunt the peanut and soybean fields of Georgia, a ridge or grassland of Beartooth WMA in Montana, or a clear cut on an opposing ridge in the Ozarks of my favorite farm in Missouri, the .270 WSM is my long range choice.
Dr. Charles Watson Smith Jr. is an educator and an avid shooter and hunter. As a retired United States Air Force First Sergeant, he has hunted and shot in competition in Asia, Europe, and North America. Charles has four passions: (a) A passion for introducing hunting and shooting to his special education students and young people, (b) Long range shooting, (c) Reloading, and (d) Hunting and shooting with family and friends.
The .270 WSM is a cartridge to get excited about. It outshines the .270 Winchester and 30-06 in flat shooting and foot pounds of energy at long ranges. In 1925, the .270 Winchester amazed the world with a 130 grain bullet traveling at 3000 feet per second (fps). Today, that 130 grain bullet is launched at 3275 fps from the .270 WSM. The .270 Winchester launches a Winchester the Super-X category with 150-grain Power-Point bullet at 2850 fps from a 24 inch barrel on a long action. The same bullet is delivered from the .270 WSM at 3150 fps from a 24 inch barrel on a short action, therefore making the .270 WSM flatter shooting and potent medicine for any North American big game.
Savage Model 10 .270 WSM
As I wrote in, "In Search of the Lunch Box Hunter's All Purpose Rifle", for years the .30 caliber was my go to caliber. However, while testing rifles for that article I discovered the magic of the .270 caliber. Therefore, because of my quest for a light hunting rifle that can be zeroed at 25 yards and shot into a 10 inch target at 350 yards I discovered the .270 WSM could exceed my requirements with factory ammo by 25 yards. Recently, I took this Missouri eight point at 386 yards with my Winchester Model 70 in 270 WSM.
This shot verified my research into the .270 WSM. I was so pleased with the performance of the .270 WSM that I have acquired another rifle in .270 WSM. The new rifle is a Savage Model 10. Am I still saving my pennies for a custom built rifle? Yes! However, when you ask me "What will your next rifle caliber be?" My answer is a resounding, ".270 WSM!" Whether, I hunt the peanut and soybean fields of Georgia, a ridge or grassland of Beartooth WMA in Montana, or a clear cut on an opposing ridge in the Ozarks of my favorite farm in Missouri, the .270 WSM is my long range choice.
Dr. Charles Watson Smith Jr. is an educator and an avid shooter and hunter. As a retired United States Air Force First Sergeant, he has hunted and shot in competition in Asia, Europe, and North America. Charles has four passions: (a) A passion for introducing hunting and shooting to his special education students and young people, (b) Long range shooting, (c) Reloading, and (d) Hunting and shooting with family and friends.
