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.270 AI owners sound off ...

When my .270 Win Rem 700 BDL '72 model needs a new barrel I'm seriously thinking about putting 270AI on the old girl but with a different twist for the heavier bullets.
I think I'm of the same mind. When the 'old' .270 Win starts to show it is time for a new barrel, why not 'upgrade' to the AI and gain some velocity without having to change the magazine or bolt face? Plus, a different twist rate will allow the use of the higher BC bullets available now. Other than having to get some new dies, I'm not seeing the down side here. Especially when the gun can still safely fire 'regular' .270 Win ammo.

As to those that seemingly just dropped by to 'troll', I guess I could go .280 AI. I could get a whole new gun and go .270 WSM or .270 Weatherby. But...why? I already have a gun I like. I have reloading components for the caliber already. And just as some are 'gaga' over 6.5 CM stuff, I'm a fan of .270 Win stuff. It just appeals to me. But I want the velocity it was originally introduced with, not the watered down version we get sold today. The .270 AI gives me that.

In the end, I could do a lot of things and some of them might even be more 'clinically logical' than a .270AI. But I'm curious about the round and tapped into this thread to hear from people that are using it to find out what they like, dislike, and have learned about the round. What velocity are they getting with 130 grain, 150 grain, 160 grain (Nosler Partition!), and 170 grain bullets (Berger). Maybe there are other bullets I wasn't even aware of (like the Matrix) that people like.

If there is something "wrong" with doing a .270AI, I'd like to hear that, too. Why does it make 'no sense'? I'm not seeing it yet. But we'll see as this thread progresses.
 
That's me I'm the one who built the Ruger's in .270 AI. Dennis Olson built the rifles for us at the beginning of the year. <SNIPPED STUFF> We've (my son and I) have been playing with the 35 Whelens and the .358 Winchesters getting ready for our annual bear hunt in Maine; leaving this coming Saturday for a six-day hunt.
First off, good luck on the bear hunt. That is great you get out to do that with your son. Memories to live off in times to come.
Secondly, I'm looking at converting my Ruger 77 'tang' model at some point, so looking forward to hearing more details when you are done bagging 'Yogi' and get your dies in and have more time to fool around with your newest creation.
 
I think I'm of the same mind. When the 'old' .270 Win starts to show it is time for a new barrel, why not 'upgrade' to the AI and gain some velocity without having to change the magazine or bolt face? Plus, a different twist rate will allow the use of the higher BC bullets available now. Other than having to get some new dies, I'm not seeing the down side here. Especially when the gun can still safely fire 'regular' .270 Win ammo.

As to those that seemingly just dropped by to 'troll', I guess I could go .280 AI. I could get a whole new gun and go .270 WSM or .270 Weatherby. But...why? I already have a gun I like. I have reloading components for the caliber already. And just as some are 'gaga' over 6.5 CM stuff, I'm a fan of .270 Win stuff. It just appeals to me. But I want the velocity it was originally introduced with, not the watered down version we get sold today. The .270 AI gives me that.

In the end, I could do a lot of things and some of them might even be more 'clinically logical' than a .270AI. But I'm curious about the round and tapped into this thread to hear from people that are using it to find out what they like, dislike, and have learned about the round. What velocity are they getting with 130 grain, 150 grain, 160 grain (Nosler Partition!), and 170 grain bullets (Berger). Maybe there are other bullets I wasn't even aware of (like the Matrix) that people like.

If there is something "wrong" with doing a .270AI, I'd like to hear that, too. Why does it make 'no sense'? I'm not seeing it yet. But we'll see as this thread progresses.

Other than the expense and the long wait for dies, I like the cartridge. To me that's the only down side that I can find. But....it's like any wildcat cartridge, if you want something different it is going to be a bit expensive. I did get 3350 out of my Ruger 77 with the 26 inch Lilja barrel, but....that load was as stiff charge and I won't be using that load again; the brass took a beating. I bought a bunch of R-P once fired brass, wouldn't do it again. I figure that because the wildcat reloading is all new to me, fireforming, neck turning and everything else that goes with learning the process, quality brass is not a priority as of yet! But I have been looking for some quality brass and having some trouble, maybe FEENIX can help out with this one, I'm having trouble finding good .270 Winchester brass??
 
First off, good luck on the bear hunt. That is great you get out to do that with your son. Memories to live off in times to come.
Secondly, I'm looking at converting my Ruger 77 'tang' model at some point, so looking forward to hearing more details when you are done bagging 'Yogi' and get your dies in and have more time to fool around with your newest creation.

Thanks for the good words about our hunt. I've bagged 4 for 5 so far, this will be my sixth year. We don't talk about "BooBoo" though. My son told me that he had a great pelt, that I made a perfect shot, and.......I get the precision shooting award; and....still a lot of BB on that one;):rolleyes:. And....yes you are correct about making great memories with my son; I've been around the son 72 times!! When we are bear hunting we are planning next year's trip! We start reloading a shooting months before the trip and I've always got a new rifle or bullet or something of interest brewing in the background. This year we built a Ruger 77, tang safety that I bought for $300 on GunBroker. It looked like it was mounted over a fireplace and the stock got scorched, put behind a truck and dragged a few miles down a dirt road. We refinished the stock, glass bedded and pillar bedded the rifle, floated the barrel, worked the trigger a bit. The rifle shoot MOA consistently. I was going to send the rifle out and have it rebarreled and blueprinted, it's in the safe waiting for a bluing job.

I feel like I am hijacking this thread? I looked long and hard to find a gunsmith who would work on Ruger 77s, many of them just don't like working on them or are not tooled up to do them. I found a gunsmith who specializes in Ruger 77s, Dennis Olson in Plains, Montana. We discussed cartridge quite a bit, he too liked the .270 Ackley and that's where we went from there. I had to wait about 3 mos for a Lilja barrel, however he will use any barrel that you'd like. I also asked him to blueprint the action, he said that he would check the rifle out and do what was necessary to the rifle, he said sometimes the Ruger 77s are quite close from the factory. He lapped the lugs, trued the action, glass bedded and pillar bedded the stock and did a trigger job using the existing trigger, installed and contoured the 1-10 barrel to the Ruger barrel. Dennis said he has used his .270 AI hunting in Alaska. Using a 130gr bullet going 3300fps and a 200 yard "0" and plugging the numbers in to the Ballistic AE app the cartridge is quite impressive. I'm still plugging away with fireformed, neck sized cases right now, and have only used RL19 for load work. When we come back I will try a ladder load test. If you would like more information PM me.
 
@John Polk, I thought you were going to move on...yet you stay and provide nothing constructive. This site isn't like others. The administrators will remove trolls. We get it. You see no point in the .270AI. Thanks for that input. Please, go start your own thread for whatever it is that DOES interest you. Thanks!

I created one for them >>> https://www.longrangehunting.com/threads/270-wbty-owners-sound-off.225616/ but they have yet to take advantage off as they did here.
 
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While I have several 270's, currently, I do not own the AI version, but many years ago, I had a 270 Gibbs. I guess you would call that a super AI, for it had the 40degree shoulder pushed forward leaving a .250" length neck. At the time, we used a 1/10 twist for the bullets of the day, 130-150gr, so I never had the current availability of the heavier and higher BC designs. In my 24" tube and with powders back then, I found I could increase 130gr velocity 200-250fps faster than the standard 270, which allowed me to have 270WbyMag velocity without the issues of that case design nor mag action. Accuracy was excellent, and while today the 270WSM is a simpler solution, one day when the wildcatting bug bites again, I would love to play with another Gibbs or AI in an 1/8 twist in a 26-28" tube. YMMV

I considered the Gibbs and the ICL at the time but went with the AI. Like you, I will explore them again some day.
 
Has anyone here used their 270 AI on elk yet? I originally was going to build one and in reality still could. I have the barrels, actions, and brass just sitting around. All I'd need really is to set the barrels back and purchase the dies. The dies are expensive but heck, I already have everything lol.
 
Has anyone here used their 270 AI on elk yet? I originally was going to build one and in reality still could. I have the barrels, actions, and brass just sitting around. All I'd need really is to set the barrels back and purchase the dies. The dies are expensive but heck, I already have everything lol.

Just deer and antelope for me thus far. Every time I take mine for a walk, the wapiti god is not very cooperative. :D

IIRC, @Big Jake Duke nailed a nice bull elk with his. Hopefully, he'll chime in.
 
I just remembered both of my barrels are standard 1-10 twist. But the guys over at Rokslide shot the 165's and 170's and have done okay. Maybe if I find some AI dies for cheap I'll pull the trigger, so to speak ;)
 
Has anyone here used their 270 AI on elk yet? I originally was going to build one and in reality still could. I have the barrels, actions, and brass just sitting around. All I'd need really is to set the barrels back and purchase the dies. The dies are expensive but heck, I already have everything lol.

About $400+ for a set of custom dies and a hydra form die from Hornady.
 
I just remembered both of my barrels are standard 1-10 twist. But the guys over at Rokslide shot the 165's and 170's and have done okay. Maybe if I find some AI dies for cheap I'll pull the trigger, so to speak ;)
If I read this correctly, you are saying the guys at Rokslide are shooting 165 and 170 grain bullets from the 1-10 twist?
 
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