270 Win ?

Gregger said:

Thank you all for your input, i knew it wasn't going to take much to sell me on it. The rifle I'm looking at is the 700 CDL SF. Im a sucker for wood and stainless.

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That is a fine rifle. The 24" bbl is a plus. Ignore the nay sayers. My 1st 270 was a Rem M700 LH BDL. I found the 22" bbl to be very nice for dark timber Elk. My go to load for Elk was a 160gr Nosler Semi Spitzer Partition. Loaded to 2700 fps it was a fabulous close quarters timber rifle.

For mule deer I went with a 130gr SBT. I have complete confidence in the 270 Win and have never felt under gunned.

For 98% of big game hunting the open country shots are taken at less than 300 yds.

deerhunter64 said:

270 is an awesome round. My longest shot on a mule deer (600 yards) was with a 270 with a 130 BT. I have two rifles in 270 Win and they have never let me down. Low recoil, flat shooting, plenty accurate , and a good chunk of oomph ....what more do you need.

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I used the .270 Win exclusively for ov3er 25 years and like deerhunter64 I've taken whitetails, mulies and antelope at distances from literally in my lap to well over 400 yards. Get it and use the 06 for elk or bigger. The 270 will do everything the 6.5CM will do.

A few years ago I purchased a Ruger 77 in .270 Winchester as a donor rifle for a new built. Essentially I stole the rifle off of Gun Broker for $300 and it had a 3.5-10 Leupold scope on it. Once I fired the rifle I liked what I was shooting for accuracy and for felt recoil. When I read the ballistics charts on the new "designer" cartridges that are being advertised/promoted, I always will go back and compare them to the .270 Winchester. And.....for the most part there really isn't enough difference, for me, to get that excited about them. Next time that a manufacturer comes out touting the latest 6000 yard, anti-tank cartridge, that with the right bullet and "with the right shot placement will drop a bull moose with a 90 grain bullet at 600 yards", compare that touted round to the ballistics of the .270 Winchester!! In my opinion for the average hunter who is taking game in the mule deer, white tail deer range the .270 is a tough cartridge to beat and has been around since the 1920s. And I believe that the best all around .270 round is the .270 WSM. I recently built a Ruger 77 in .270 Ackley Improved with a 26 inch, 1-10 Lilja barrel and find it to be a laser round out to 300 yards with 150gr bullets; and.....I suspect that I'll get some flack with this posting on the .270 Winchester.

Google "Jack O'Conner" the 270 Win guru. Lot's of "Outdoor Life" articles on the 270 Win. Great round. I was making head shots on whitetail dear using 100 grain bullets in the 1960's with a Model 721 Remington and maintain a fondness for the round. Gotta admit, my gun safe has more variety now and the 270 and 30-06 don't get much use. Awesome backup rifles if something happens to the specialty purpose calibers. That said, hard to beat the 6.5's and 300's if you want to reach out there. I can't walk fast anymore so I need the shooting distance capability to stay in the game. Enjoy that 270!!

Gregger said:

The question is, if you already have a 30-06 and a 6.5 creedmoor where does the 270 fit in. Rifle would be used for whitetail, woodchucks and coyote since we have all three in abundance on our farm. In a trade that i made i acquired a bunch of 270 ammunition and was thinking i now need to buy a rifle in 270, you know because that would be way smarter than just selling the ammo.

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Of course, this is a tough one, I'd say if you took a .270 Win with a 150gr bullet and pushed it at say; 3000 fps, which it can be pushed too, then use a 150gr in both the .30-06 and the 6.5 Creed I'm pretty sure the .270 Win wins all the way around, not by much, but... it does win never the less, but'..., that may be the only weight bullet that it beats both the others at the same time in. So after that, it's anyone's pick. Just thinking out loud here.

The .270 is a good midrange cartridge and is good at normal hunting ranges. Unlike the other two, it has a poor reputation for accuracy and has never been a successful target round. It does not shoot much flatter than a 30-06 and is less accurate but the average hunter wouldn't be able to tell the difference. I consider it inferior to either. However it is still a popular cartridge largely due to the terrific Winchester salesman Jack O'Conner. The .280 Remington was better but had the wrong name on it. That said go ahead and get a nice rifle in it. It does well out to normal deer ranges.

No love here for 270 either... If you wanted to replace your 30-06 and 6.5 CM I would go with a 7mm Rem Mag.

If you really want sound advice the better question is what is your true objection to what you have and what do you want to accomplish?

For example:
If you want one rifle, don't shoot past 500 yards, pref a shot action and are recoil sensitive go with a 7mm-08 or keep your 6.5 CM.

It's a waste to purchase. Get a magnum to fill that purpose. And yes I own a 270 and a creedmoor.

Everyone needs a .270 Win. That doesn't need 'justified'. Just because you have an Aught Six and a 6.5CM, you still "need" a .270 Win because this is America, by God. The .270 Win shoots accurately. It kicks modestly. It kills amazingly. It is baseball and apple pie in rifle form. Do it! You'll love it.

"Back in the day" Outdoor Life writer Jack O'Connor felt the 270 Ein. was there-all for hunting everything up to dangerous game.

Now with the advent of the 6.5 cartridges like 6.5 CM, 6.5/284 and 6.5 PRC among others the 270 Win. just can't keep up in terms of handling longer/heavier 6.5 mm bullets. I'd say the 6.5 Swede was actually a better choice in the '50s to now IF loaded to modern velocities.

So given that I now have a .5 CM Ruger competition rifle and a 6.5 PRC Browning X-Bolt hunting rifle.
(And I just sold my .300 Win mag Browning A-Bolt B/C the 6.5 PRC does it all here in Nevada - even bull elk within 300 yards.

Eric B.

Owning a 270 wouldnt do anything the 6.5 or the 30-06 wouldnt already do that you currently have. I'd look more to the 280 or 280AI instead of a 270 if you really wanted a superior round. 30-06 can be loaded with light bullets to match the trajectory of the 270, or loaded with heavy, high BC bullets that will really run away from the 270 at true long range where cheating the wind and down range energy is the name of the game. Heck the little 6.5 cm even out runs the 270 eventually and it takes 10-15 grains less powder. 280 could be sent with the 162-168 class bullets for long range performance or loaded down to 140 class which will run with the trajectory of the 270. 280AI would really run away from it with it nipping at the heels of 7mm rem mag performance.

I have 2 270 wins. I was thinking about converting one to a 6mm CR. I may be interested in selling it. Very lightly used Tikka T3. I have images of targets with hand load numbers.

COBrad said:

I can testify from much personal experience and observations that the .270 makes a fine elk rifle. For the majority of "average" hunters it's far superior to any magnum because its easier to master. .02$

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Personally have been using a 270 for over 30 years along with several of my buddies. I have shot numerous moose and bears with this rifle and in my opinion it is one of the best on the market..I am from Newfoundland Canada and have a license almost every year..so dont ever sell th 270 short..oh and have taken animals out to 700 yds easily

I have a friend that lives in Wyoming. He hung up all his rifles and ended up choosing
the .270 with 150 grain bullet. He hunts mostly deer and antelope with it, and it
kills well without blowing big holes in stuff. He also shoots an occasional elk with it.
Zeke