Best economy 270 WSM and scope

[cpolson.CP]

I am about to be in the market for a 270 WSM and obviously a new scope for the rifle.

What are the most economical rifles chambered in 270 WSM with awesome performance?

What is a decent but economical scope to put on a 270 WSM that will allow a good variance in distance shots? I would like to ability to shoot between 500-700 yards if the opportunity presents itself.

 

[roninflag]

CPOL- I shoot in a lot of long range competion. 500, 600 ect. i have never shot against a .270. i have never shot against an A-BOLT. i would like to help. rifles that have decent accuracy at 500-700 generally are not "cheap" though . so i am strugling with your post. roninflag

 

[bigngreen]

I would look at the Weatherby Vanguard and the Savage for a budget 270 WSM. I'm running one out of a Savage that has been great out to a 1000 yrds but I've shot it out to 1450 with good results. I've got my eye on the Vanguard for my next one while the Savage gets a new barrel.

 

[rscott5028]

Price goes up relative to "awesomeness."

Many feel that a rifle that shoots MOA with a high BC hunting bullet is adequate for some long range hunting. Most of your name brand rifles today should meet that standard although you may need to hand load to acheive consistent long range results.

Savage, Win Mod 70, Rem Seven or 700, Sako 85, and Weatherby Vanguard should all be capable.

If you are set on 270WSM with out of the box long range potential, I strongly suggest you look at the Winchester Model 70 Coyote as that is the primary design objective of that rifle much like Remington Sendero and Savage Long Range Hunter, neither of which come in your specified caliber. And, the price is not bad either.

If you want to customize it yourself, then Savage.

If you want a smith to blueprint the rifle, then Rem 700.

Use a 20 MOA picatinny rail such as EGW and tactical rings such as Burris XTR. That will give you a solid mounting system for your optics and plenty of elevation to reach out to 1k with no disadvantages for close range.

There are many optics choices depending on your budget. Nikon, Vortex, Bushnell are some that come to mind with 14x or 18x being adequate for top end magnification although some choose 20x or more power for a rifle that is predominantly for long range and/or target.

Search these forums and you will find lots of discussion about scopes and choices. I think there's even a special forum here for optics.

Unless you shoot targets at a range with known distances, then you'll need a range finder that's up to the task. The Leica 1200 crf is a good example. But, searching these forums will give you lots of info.

Good luck and let us know what you choose and how it works out.

Regards,
Richard

 

[ICANHITHIMMAN]

Weatherby Vanguard (HOWA) or TIKKA. Horus Vision HAWK scope zero cant base and nightforce rings. If you shop around you could do it all for under 1200 easy.

Jon

 

[Dr. Vette]

Least expensive?

Savage Model 10, especially if you watch Gunbroker for a used one. I had one in 270 WSM (wood/blued) with AccuTrigger that was easily a sub-moa rifle with factory ammo. I sold it (cheap; no one here on this site wanted it) to a friend who shot a nice 8 pt whitetail here in MI this year. And, it shot this well un-bedded, un-tweaked, out of the box.

Cheap scope? Find a Nikon with a BDC reticle, possibly like this one:
4.5-14x40 Side Focus Matte - Buckmasters® - Riflescopes | Nikon Hunting
My Dad has taken antelope at 512 and 816 yards with this reticle.

$450 or less for the rifle, $300 for the scope.

Good luck!

 

[Magnum61]

First off you'll have more options in every aspect going to a 7mm WSM over the 270. 270 is a token round because people like it for things other than the realty of true performance off and on the bench. You can see that clearly on this forum, almost no one runs a .277cal bullet but there is hundreds of flavors of 7mm.

Second, you're pretty much stuck in the $700-$900 range for a complete bargain set up that will do the job. From my experience I've spent hundreds of dollars trying to make something work and in all honesty I could've purchased my dream rifle from the money I spent trying to cut corners.

Do your self a favor. Save some more money and get what you want. I finally did it and now all I do is think about how much I flushed down the toilet.

If you need ideas of how to put a gun together by pieces for the lowest you can then ask that. I'm sure you'll get tons of help of how to do that.

 

[bigngreen]

First off you'll have more options in every aspect going to a 7mm WSM over the 270. 270 is a token round because people like it for things other than the realty of true performance off and on the bench. You can see that clearly on this forum, almost no one runs a .277cal bullet but there is hundreds of flavors of 7mm.

I'm having a hard time following this The 7mm WSM has no brass choices and not even chambered in like one or two factory rifles and will soon go the way of the dodo because it has almost nothing to offer other than duplicating what others can do but maybe in a short action.
While the 270 WSM is on every shelf and chambered in most factory brands and has good brass support. Bullet selection is coming around and is not as bad as some like to make it out to be. The 270 WSM is offering a performance improvement over the 270 Win to near the 270 WBY level all in a short action, the 270 WSM is delivering in the field quite nicely IMO.
The ballistics between the 270 WSM and the 7mm WSM are very close, especially in a hunting situation why not get the one that you have a choice of rifles in and that isn't going to die out in the next couple years.

 

[Magnum61]

I agree with all of the outcomes youre posing but if this shooter posing this question is getting into LR shooting its a totally different game than "typical" shooting theories and cartridge needs.

I would say that most reload here and most aren't worried about "off the shelf needs".

And to be honest we are all Tweakers of some sort with our gear and typical needs do not apply.

But to be honest, a .277cal is a token purchase if ballistics are thought through, as of now the 6.5mm and 7mm own that size category.

We really need to hear the exacts from the shooter to find out where this is going. And what his needs are.

 

[rscott5028]

It's interesting how and why we fall in love with specific cartridges.

The reality is that most of them are probably "good enough" for most people.

...unless
you have a desire to compete
plan to hunt large or dangerous game
expect to be proficient at long range hunting (500+)

The word "economy" in the title says that he's not yet addicted. So, any number of cartridges and MOA rifles will work fine. Once hooked, he'll be looking for a semi-custom 6.5mm, 7mm, or 30 cal and he'll still have a handy 270 WSM.

--richard

 

[Magnum61]

It's interesting how and why we fall in love with specific cartridges.

The reality is that most of them are probably "good enough" for most people.

...unless
you have a desire to compete
plan to hunt large or dangerous game
expect to be proficient at long range hunting (500+)

The word "economy" in the title says that he's not yet addicted. So, any number of cartridges and MOA rifles will work fine. Once hooked, he'll be looking for a semi-custom 6.5mm, 7mm, or 30 cal and he'll still have a handy 270 WSM.

--richard

Exactly, I just wanted to make sure someone put a non-generic reply. I hate it when you ask a question in a thread and no one gives you specifics or reasons for their decisions when that was what you wanted in the first place so you could compare and contrast to mak a decision of your own.

 

[ICANHITHIMMAN]

Well Im not the bigest 270 fan I dont own one but latley I have been rethinking my stance. I was looking at a 6.8 barrel for my MRP which got me shopping around and looking at bullets alot. What I found is there are tons more bullets with high BC out their for the 27o than I thought there were.

I dont feel the 270 falls in to a "TOKEN" catagory at all in fact like Bigngreen said the bullets just keep getting better for the 270.

 

[cpolson.CP]

Thanks for the responses, guys. Let me add a little more info. I already own a 7mm REM MAG. It was impulse buy when I needed a rifle relatively soon when I was stationed in Alaska. So I just bought a cheap rifle that would do the trick. It's a Savage 111 package that came with a cheap simmons scope. I have since then replace the scope with a Nikon Prostaff 4-12X40. I also had a 2 inch muzzlebreak fabricated and added to it, in attempts to convince my wife to shoot it. The are only a few small problems that I have with that rifle. Lack of having Accu-trigger, lack of there being an aftermarket triger system for that model(such as a timney), and it's slightly for humping around. Don't get me wrong though, it's a good rifle, and it's accurate. I came destroy clay pidgeons sitting on the ground out to about 350 yards. I am sure that I could do it farther, but the range I was using wasn't big enough.

I don't neccessarily need a new rifle, I more or less just want a new one. I do reload, I just haven't really taken the time to work up and test accurate loads.

I have been doing my research and homework and it seems to me, that 270 WSM is the next ideal round for what I want. It can do what I need it to do at the distances that I need it to do it.

I have looked at all other compariables such as 7mm WSM, but honestly, if I wanted to go that route, then I would just stick with 7mm REM MAG.

I have looked at all the major brands and picked out some favorites. Whatever I buy next will either be a Savage Weather Warrior, a Tikka T3 or a Weatherby Vanguard SUB MOA.

I have been doing alot of looking at scopes as well, there are lots of choices that people usually write off due to namebrand. I will likely be going with a Nikon Buckmaster with a mildot recticle. I am just not sure on the power that I am looking for yet.

 

[rscott5028]

I have been pleased with my Nikon Buckmaster 6-18x40.

The 40mm objective isn't as good in low light as my Leupold 56mm. But, it came at a fraction of the price and is less bulky.

As for the 270. I think Jack O'Connor hunted everything in North America with the 270 Win. And, he didn't even have the powders and bullets or the WSM to compare to at the time. He likely would've been a fan of that cartridge also.

Do it and enjoy.

-- richard