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This is a thread for discussion of the article, Winchester's .270 WSM Is My Next Rifle Caliber, By Charles Smith. Here you can ask questions or make comments about the article.
Winchester's .270 WSM Is My Next Rifle Caliber
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paphil
Well-Known Member
I just put a scope on a customer 270 WSM tika and was really impressed. I used 150 bergers and got 2950 fps and very good groups. It was also very comfortable to shoot and did have a brake. It had not been bedded or acurized but still shot well for a factory gun.
timberman56
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I have just purchased a Featherweigtht Model 70 in 270 WSM(unfired) and plan to reload for it and my son's BAR. Any favorite hunting(deer, antelope) and/or target loads you can recommend?
Cthemfly25
Well-Known Member
Got this caliber in A7 Sako before last season and decorated it with a Conquest. Still playing with commercial loads, distances, etc. Fun to shoot. Got the gun for the same reasons discussed in the article.
I bought a Model 70 in 270WSM when it was first introduced and hunted with it for about 5 years. It was a solid 600-700 yard rifle producing .5MOA with 150 gr bullets at 3100FPS. I eventually switched to a 6.5x284 due to the availability of high BC 140 gr VLD's that got me to 1000 yards and have been with them since. The recent 165 Matrix sounds very appealing and I have been considering giving them a try in the 270WSM. My only hesitation is the 1:10 twist common in the 270 barrels that may not stabilize the longer bullet.
Cthemfly25
Well-Known Member
Greyfox---it's a good point. I don't reload and I'm assuming with the bullet weight the Matrix is a longer bullet. I just bought a box of Barnes triple shock and while Only 140 it looks to be a longer bullet. It will be a few weeks but I'm curious how it will shoot.
The bullets that I used most were Nosler 240 Accubonds and for longer rage work, the Hornady 150gr SST's BC .525. They performed well at all ranges out to around 600-700 yards and were very accurate.
Evans25
New Member
got a 270 wsm in a savage weather warrior. really like this caliber 140 gr bergers with 62.5 grains of r17 very deadly in this gun.
FAL Shot
Well-Known Member
When those young brainwashed guys with muzzlebraked short magnums and ultramagnums quit threatening my hearing and can actually print a group at range that beats my modern fast twist 7x57mm Mauser, I will concede the new short magnums and ultramagnums are something more that a gun rag solution waiting for a real world problem to solve. Speed (from a slow twist rifle) soon fades, but BC (and accuracy) are forever.
When those young guys see the results the "puny" 7x57mm creates, they ask what kind of rifle it is. I reply, "It's a caliber of rifle that had killed more elephants in Africa by the end of the 1920's than your ultramagnum ever will no matter how long it stays around....which might not be all that long after the gun rag writers start pushing the next new thing on you".
Admittedly, the rounds I shoot are not commercially available as I shoot exclusively handloads on game, and they would probably blow up an old Mauser 98 or Mauser 95 in short order. It just shows you what is available in the "old" cartridges with modern powder and bullets. If you want something more powerful, the 7x57mm AI is available, and is a more reasonable upgrade that unfortunately for commercial gun rags does not sell new advertising.
When those young guys see the results the "puny" 7x57mm creates, they ask what kind of rifle it is. I reply, "It's a caliber of rifle that had killed more elephants in Africa by the end of the 1920's than your ultramagnum ever will no matter how long it stays around....which might not be all that long after the gun rag writers start pushing the next new thing on you".
Admittedly, the rounds I shoot are not commercially available as I shoot exclusively handloads on game, and they would probably blow up an old Mauser 98 or Mauser 95 in short order. It just shows you what is available in the "old" cartridges with modern powder and bullets. If you want something more powerful, the 7x57mm AI is available, and is a more reasonable upgrade that unfortunately for commercial gun rags does not sell new advertising.
carpetman2
Well-Known Member
I recently purchased a series 2 weatherby vanguard, put it in a hogue overmold and commenced working up loads. I get pretty consistant 1/2" 3 shot groups with RL22 and 150 SST's, and RL 19 and 140 Berger VLD's. I get 3/4"-1" using RL 19 and 140 Accubonds. Al are over 3080fps with the 140's reaching close to 3200fps. As for recol, it's just a litle more than my 7-08 which my 14 yr old daughter shoots extreamly well. She seems to really like the 270 wsm and thinks she can take her buck this fall over 500 yards if given te chance. We shall see.
In a nut shell, this gun has become my favorite for under 700 yards...and all for less than $600 with the new hogue stock. I love it!
In a nut shell, this gun has become my favorite for under 700 yards...and all for less than $600 with the new hogue stock. I love it!
bigngreen
Well-Known Member
That happened a long time ago, look up all the records held by the 7mm WSM and the 300 WSM!! As far as hearing, if you not using hearing protection your the one damaging your hearing not everyone else!!!
FAL Shot
Well-Known Member
@bigngreen
The record held by the 7x57mm Mauser is that by the end of the 1920's it had killed more African elephants than the .270 WSM ever will for an eternity. It also allowed WDM Bell to kill around 1000 elephants without getting charged once, and he much preferred it over his .318 Westley-Richards. He used all the common elephant guns of the day and chose what worked the best in the real world at that time. That is in the real world on real game instead of reading ad copywrite and not just a lot of armchair and target shooting "expert's" opinion. It was so devastating to the US military decades earlier that it caused the creation of the .30-06 Springfield, which is so much like the 7mm Mauser that in today's world the US government would have to pay royalties to Mauser for such a flagrant plagiarism of their design. If I wanted a perceived improvement over the 7mm Mauser I would go there instead of a 7mm WSM.
I use ear plugs AND my Pro Ears muffs when a .300 RUM shows up, and I make my dog get in the truck with closed windows. Still too loud. Until one single person shows up with an ultramagnum that can print better groups at 200 yards than my 7mm Mauser, I'm sticking with what actually works in the field. Also, with a BC of .625, my 162-grain bullet probably packs as much or more punch at 500 yards and beyond. The .270 caliber is inferior in BC to the 7mm caliber. Your .270 WSM probably has NO hunting bullets available that can match a BC of .625. Speed fades, but BC is forever. Besides the retained speed of my bullet, your .270 WSM cannot shoot a 162-grain bullet and has a lower SD for less penetration. Kill 1000 African elephants with a .270 WSM without getting charged even once and get back with me. You will be at a parity level, and we will talk about which is best after that. You have modern optics to help you, which WDM Bell did not, so you will be cheating if you use them. You would also have to use obsolete powders and nothing but FMJ bullets to be at a parity level after killing 1000 African elephants without getting charged even once. Also, leave the modern bug sprays behind and solve most of your physical woes with malt scotch whisky, then you will approach equality to the old stuff with your new and improved stuff.
The record held by the 7x57mm Mauser is that by the end of the 1920's it had killed more African elephants than the .270 WSM ever will for an eternity. It also allowed WDM Bell to kill around 1000 elephants without getting charged once, and he much preferred it over his .318 Westley-Richards. He used all the common elephant guns of the day and chose what worked the best in the real world at that time. That is in the real world on real game instead of reading ad copywrite and not just a lot of armchair and target shooting "expert's" opinion. It was so devastating to the US military decades earlier that it caused the creation of the .30-06 Springfield, which is so much like the 7mm Mauser that in today's world the US government would have to pay royalties to Mauser for such a flagrant plagiarism of their design. If I wanted a perceived improvement over the 7mm Mauser I would go there instead of a 7mm WSM.
I use ear plugs AND my Pro Ears muffs when a .300 RUM shows up, and I make my dog get in the truck with closed windows. Still too loud. Until one single person shows up with an ultramagnum that can print better groups at 200 yards than my 7mm Mauser, I'm sticking with what actually works in the field. Also, with a BC of .625, my 162-grain bullet probably packs as much or more punch at 500 yards and beyond. The .270 caliber is inferior in BC to the 7mm caliber. Your .270 WSM probably has NO hunting bullets available that can match a BC of .625. Speed fades, but BC is forever. Besides the retained speed of my bullet, your .270 WSM cannot shoot a 162-grain bullet and has a lower SD for less penetration. Kill 1000 African elephants with a .270 WSM without getting charged even once and get back with me. You will be at a parity level, and we will talk about which is best after that. You have modern optics to help you, which WDM Bell did not, so you will be cheating if you use them. You would also have to use obsolete powders and nothing but FMJ bullets to be at a parity level after killing 1000 African elephants without getting charged even once. Also, leave the modern bug sprays behind and solve most of your physical woes with malt scotch whisky, then you will approach equality to the old stuff with your new and improved stuff.
bigngreen
Well-Known Member
Bell used the 7x57 because of the reliability of the ammo available at the time, he tried chamberings that he found killed better BUT the ammo would not go bang every time he pulled the trigger so he kept going back to the 7x57. He kept great records of his hunting, every other elephant he shot with the 7x57 took another round to kill it, the rifle did not make Bell the legend Bell made himself and the rifle!!
There are four 270 bullets that out BC and out SD your 162 A-max, so ya I can blow the doors of your 7x57 with the 270 WSM, I don't even need to use the top four to do it!! If I was head shooting animals at close range the 270 WSM would be a waste of powder and lead, shoot an elk at 800 yards and then it's kinda nice to have, shoot an elk at 1400 yards and a 338 RUM is kinda nice!!
Go drop a bull elk at 900 yards with your 7x57 and get back to me on how it's better than my 270 WSM, cause that is what we're doing here not shooting elephants in the head at 30-40 yards!!
I think Bell's typical distances on his elephant kills were more like 10-20 yards. His claim to fame was complete knowlege of the physiology of the elephant's head and the angles necessary to get the long 7mm solid into the brain EVERY time. While I like the 7MM Mauser, I don't think that Bells expoits are in any way relevant to the long range ballistic capabilities of the round. IMO.
