Is .270 wsm good enough for LRH?

jbcarter88

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I am one of many new guys on this site trying to squeeze some knowledge out of you cagey old veterans out there. I was hoping you may share some of your experience with me. I have a new Winchester Mod 70 in .270 wsm that I won last year. I put a Nikon 3-9x40 on it and was able to get some nice groups out to 300 yds. I am shooting 140 gr nosler accubonds. Is that okay for whitetails at 300+ yds? I would like to increase my effective range but don't wanna waste alot of time and money punching paper if it's not gonna bring down a whitetail at 500 yds. I would rather get a better gun so I can shoot paper and still be able to reach out and drop one. Hope I don't sound like an idiot but I won't know if I don't ask
 
I'm shooting one in a Savage model 12 with 140 Bergers and 140 Accubonds and it will smoke a deer or an elk for that matter at 300 yrds, 500 yrds same thing, I'm working on making a kill out in the 800 yrd range which I'm feeling is about where things get iffy. After I screw on a new barrel that is set up for the 169.5 gr Wildcats and I lay in a supply of them then the range should be comfortably in the 1000yrd range. I'm pushing the 140's fairly hard, up in mid 3300's fps and Magpro may let me run right around 3400. I'll work on a big 338 from there.
 
Thanks bigngreen. I really like the .270 wsm since I have racked up alot of whitetail kills this year on our crop damage permits on our farm. I've just balked at any shots over 300 yds because of the unknown. I plan on building a nice LR rifle once I do alot of research and find the right smith to help me out. I wanna know that the .270 wsm is a good platform to build on. Thanks again for you help.

P.S. I really like your FENCE philosophy. It's spot on
 
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140 gr. Accubond at Muzzle Velocity of 3300 ft/sec and 5000 ft of altitude...
There is no dear in North America that can not be killed with it at 1000 yards
if you can hit them in the right place just like with any other caliber.

That'd be close to 1000 ft/lb energy! :)

...and enough velocity left for the bullet to expand!!
 
140 gr. Accubond at Muzzle Velocity of 3300 ft/sec and 5000 ft of altitude...
There is no dear in North America that can not be killed with it at 1000 yards
if you can hit them in the right place just like with any other caliber.

That'd be close to 1000 ft/lb energy! :)

...and enough velocity left for the bullet to expand!!


Thank you. My confidence is building for this fat little cartridge. I thought the ballistics were pretty good but you just don't hear much about it. This will primarilary be a deer gun but also alot of time on the range. Bigngreen said he has killed elk with his so I'm feeling a little better about putting some time and money into it. Thanks for your help with this.
 
jb,
The .270 Short Mag is a great cartridge. I think it has more to offer, in caliber, than the other two short mags. I had one in the Win70 Coyote but traded it for another rifle. I have compared the ballistics on it and it is closer to the .270 Weatherby than the .270 Winchester. If you compare the .270 Weatherby to the 7mm RemMag you won't see alot of difference there either. What this means to me is that the .270WSM is close on the heels of the 7Mag with only .007" of bullet diameter. There's not an animal alive that will know the difference.
Some say the .277 caliber suffers from lack of bullet selection. How many does a person need to shoot? Stick with the 140 or 150gn AccuBond or Berger VLD and watch the bang-flops! Good shooting :) JohnnyK.
 
Good point. The .007" is not much difference to the animal if it is a well placed shot. Which is what we are all shooting for anyway. Thanks JohnnyK
 
If a 270 Win will do a deer in with confidence, and it will and does, the WSM will most assuredly likewise do so to or a bit beyond the 1K mark.

Reaching much more than you are now doing may warrant a more suitable LRH scope.
 
You guys are a huge help. Next on my list was to upgrade the optics. I hear alot of good about Berger bullets, but I'm not a handloader just yet. Do any factory ammo use Berger? Thanks for all your help on this, you guys on this site are great.

P.S. I don't really like the winchester action that I have now. Any suggestions on actions, barrels, etc? I have some money now to get started on building one and a good gunsmith. Thanks again for your help guys.
 
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You guys are a huge help. Next on my list was to upgrade the optics. I hear alot of good about Berger bullets, but I'm not a handloader just yet. Do any factory ammo use Berger? Thanks for all your help on this, you guys on this site are great.

P.S. I don't really like the winchester action that I have now. Any suggestions on actions, barrels, etc? I have some money now to get started on building one and a good gunsmith. Thanks again for your help guys.


What don't you like about the Winny action? If you have the money to build, you have the money to get it lapped, trued and an after market trigger. This might save you a little money in the long run to upgrade those optics. As far as barrel, should look at one in a #4 or #5 contour at about 26". A one in 1:10 twist should work just fine for about anything you want to feed it that is available on the market. Talk to your barrel maker that you choose and they should be able to guide you in your decision. Just try and give them a tenative bullet you want to use and speeds your thinking about.

Tank
 
One more example to help with your confidence and this cartridge....

I shoot the 270 WSM in a Mod 70. I was in the same boat as you last fall about taking shots beyond 300 yds, only because of not being sure how the gun was shooting and my own ability. I had a shot on a caribou at 350 yds and was indecisive when i put the crosshairs on it. I got on him and everything just felt right so I took the shot. By the time I shot he was at 370 yds. I was shooting a 150 gn MRX at about 3050 fps. The caribou was quartering away and uphill slightly. The bullet went in at the last rib and went through the far front shoulder. Complete pass through shot and he just dropped on the spot. If that combo can do this at 370, I believe it still has a lot more effective distance left in it.

good luck on your build!
 
You guys are a huge help. Next on my list was to upgrade the optics. I hear alot of good about Berger bullets, but I'm not a handloader just yet. Do any factory ammo use Berger? Thanks for all your help on this, you guys on this site are great.

HSM offers there long range ammo for the 270WSM with a 130 Berger, it seems decent and the numbers they give for FPS are accurate. The only problem is they don't load it hard, it's running at 270 win levels which is a waste.
You really need to look at reloading this cal to maximize it's potential, I can push a 140 gr Accubond over 3400 FPS when I'm running near max pressure but I get accuracy at 3341FPS and with the 140 Berger 3300 FPS. I'm hoping with a new barrel set up for the 169.5 Wildcats that I can run them around the 3000 FPS mark which will out run all but the biggest 7mm's!:D
One thing a guy has to look at with the WSM's is mag length, you want room to get long range bullets seated out and get your barrel chambered accordingly. I would go to the gun store and measure actions and mags to find the most room or build it on a long action.
The cow elk this year just over 300 yrds and it didn't just kill her it smoked her, I used to shoot a 300WBY for elk and for me the 270 WSM does a better job, the thing just hits hard!
This would be my build list, of the top of my head: Savage short action, Timed and Trued, leave the Accutrigger and adjust or mod to specs, ground lug, McGowen barrel , twist would depend on bullet but 1-10 or faster, 28in long #6 contour. CDI bottom metal to make it a higher capacity repeater. Bed that in a B&C Medalist and top with a Nightforce 5.5-22x56. It would weigh in the 13 lbs ran but man it would reach out and touch them!
 
Here's 1 (a buddy's gun actually)-- Nesika Action, don't know the barrel, McMillan stock, Leupold Vari-X III 8.5-25x. This is a 775-yd. mange coyote using the Nosler 140 BT. Killed this dog outright even at that range--


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