Bought a .270 Today

[jbur13]

Here's my Remington 721, .270 Win, made in 1951. It shoots sub .500 MOA, and it's taken a few critters for my dad. Setting it up for my grandkids to use now, it is a 4th generation family rifle. I just replaced the 70 year-old factory rubber recoil pad with a Limbsaver. The original pad was pretty much like concrete!

Thats the same one I have and it still shoots great! I haven't reloaded for it yet but I will be trying a few recipe this winter. What's yours like as a load?

 

[Treeslug]

What's not to love about the 270, unless you think you need to be kicked around a little harder with a monster-sized rifle to justify the killing of a little deer or elk or moose if it bound out in front of you while you were out in the wilderness hunting. And come on Butterbean. Tell us how you really feel about the new darling of the shooting world, the little Needmoor.

 

[30calyooper]

I tend agree I was looking for a first generation Sendero in 25-06 when I ran across the 270 and I haven't looked for a 25-06 since

Agree 100% - have had that discussion more than once with 25-06 fans. Not knocking the 25-06 but when I asked "Tell me one thing it does that a 270 cannot do better?" the answers were pretty similar to the look of a doe in the headlights.

Also - if for whatever reason you need to pack a light rifle for long hikes, but still want the accuracy and power to go after longer shots, the 270 is a pretty solid choice. Maybe not as much power as the various magnums but if you've ever fired a 70 featherweight in 300 winmag you'll know why I'm saying this. I'm not recoil-shy but being ready for a follow-up shot is a good, too.

 

[rbTanzan]

The Tikkas are often shooters right out of the box. Definitely check it out before thinking of a re-barrel.

As for bullets, I've found three that are especially worth checking out for the 270 and work with 10" twists:

The 118 HammerHunter .277" does consistent sub-MOA at 3300fps in my wife's 270.

The 127gn Lehigh Defense Controlled Chaos looks like a winner. It does sub-MOA and about 3180fps.

The Barnes 129gnLRX should always be considered, too.

All three of these are "all copper", should someone be interested.
More importantly, the first two use the newer technology of casting off petals with a flat-nose remaining cylinder producing devastating wounding and deep penetration. They would be great for mule deer and I would gladly use any of the three for elk if my 338 were not around.

 

[jfloyd]

I've got a Winchester Stainless Classic with BOSS too!! Great gun, still don't know why I sold it other than the muzzle blast but I got it back in trade from my buddy that I sold it to. He got the Conventional Recoil BOSS for it to boot. I'll never miss that Glock 19!!!

 

[BJKHUNTER]

I've always been a fan of the .270 but haven't owned one in years. I've been piddling around my Hornady Ballistic app and comparing the .270 vs my 6.5 Creedmoor. One thing I've always liked about the .270 is how much performance it delivers for a semi mild recoil. I like the numbers a little better than the 6.5 CM. Plus the Tikka T3x Forest was being sold at cost so I got a deal. I also like the Tikka has a 22" barrel so good for the box blind and tree stand.

Anyone else a .270 fan?

First gun was a 270 bought from an uncle but was worn out. Second one as well, a brand new Smith and Wesson 270 bolt now 35 years old. Great gun shot alot of whitetail and some mule deer.

 

[wnyhunter]

Great to see all the positive feedback on the 270. My first centerfire rifle was a 270. I have 2 of them. They have been the freezer filler for me. I no issues grouping at 300 with it.
Easy to hand load, lots of Bullet and powder options. Enjoy!

 

[ZAK13]

I have one, and it's been my go to rifle year after year. It just plain works.I've never felt under-gunned with it either, I've had a few tell me it's a bit light for certain game and each time I've proved them wrong.

 

[corsair4360]

I have a 270 WSM and a 338 Win Mag. Elk hunting in Northeast Utah, I have usually taken the 338, I guess next year I'll take the 270. Messed up and did not get a elk permit this year (always more takers than licenses for the open areas near my brothers home). My reservation using the 270 is has a wood stock, the other is stainless and plastic. We hunt in open meadows and thick lodgepole pine forests.

 

[RAGGED EDGE]

Some cartridges in the modern firearms world have been over hyped & over popularised through modern media exposure but there is nothing failing in the older sporting cartridges other than the fact they dont suit the "cool" new kids on the block attitude.

End of the day cartridges like the 270W, .243W .22/250REM still rock & are still heavily used in the everyday hunting world.

If you seperate military cartridges from sporting I think the 3 above would still be the 3 most popular cartridges in the world???

They all rock, but only the .270 stands on it's own. The other two are great spin-offs.

 

[JumpinLegs]

The Tikkas are often shooters right out of the box. Definitely check it out before thinking of a re-barrel.

As for bullets, I've found three that are especially worth checking out for the 270 and work with 10" twists:

The 118 HammerHunter .277" does consistent sub-MOA at 3300fps in my wife's 270.

The 127gn Lehigh Defense Controlled Chaos looks like a winner. It does sub-MOA and about 3180fps.

The Barnes 129gnLRX should always be considered, too.

All three of these are "all copper", should someone be interested.
More importantly, the first two use the newer technology of casting off petals with a flat-nose remaining cylinder producing devastating wounding and deep penetration. They would be great for mule deer and I would gladly use any of the three for elk if my 338 were not around.

For another all-copper round, I've found that the 120 grain Norma Kalahari produces the best groups in my Mossberg Patriot (1:10" twist). Grouping right at 1 moa at 100 yards. Once I start reloading I'm definitely going to be picking up all three you mentioned here.

I'm a big fan of my .270. Currently thinking about dressing it up with a Boyd's At-One Thumbhole stock so that my wife and I can both comfortably use it for pronghorn next year.

 

[epoletna]

Been owning various rifles for over 60 years but never owned a .270 until a couple of months ago. Local guy offered a pre-64 Model 70 in .270, and I, being a fan of pre-64s, picked it up and began to shoot it. So far I haven't found a reliable under 1 MOA load, but I'm getting close. I'm liking the rifle and the caliber, and glad I got it.

 

[Deleted member 115751]

I have a confession to make. If I own almost 10 guns chambered in 270 Win does that make me hoarder or some sort of sicko? I am almost ashamed to admit how many rifles I actually own. I fear I might have some sort of "hunting rifle fever" that I cannot shake. I can't help being attracted to the bolt-action rifles. Mind you I find the AR platform to be a hideous looking beast so I don't own any of them and I only own a single 9mm pistol for home/self defense. Is it possible I may be suffering from some disease?

Is this normal? Am I the only one who has two gun safes?

 

[Alibiiv]

And with all the hype of the new high performance cartridges, if you revisit the 270 with the newer powders it still out-shines most of the new stuff. I have a Mark V Big Game Master on the way in the 270 win to match the 270 roy in the same model. I love the Wby version, but the Winnie is just more enjoyable to shoot and kills stuff every bit as dead.

When I read about the "new" super-long-distance, one-shot, 1000 yard T-Rex dinosaur killers I will always go back and compare them with the .270 Winchester. "Unless" someone has to eek out every foot-per-second out of their round, the .270 Winchester is a tough one to beat!! And.....I am your average deer hunter, shoot quite a bit especially prior to hunting season, if presented I would easily take a 300 yard shot, much further than that starts to get questionable. I suspect that many of the people who are reading this thread will fall within this same category as me if they are honest with themselves.

What got me interested in the .270 Winchester is when bought a Ruger 77, tang safety in .270 Winchester as a donor rifle. I bought the donor because I was going to build a .280 Ackley Improved. The rifle looked like it had been dragged behind a pick-up for a couple of miles down a dirt road. It was in tough shape, but I wanted the action and saved the stock. While I had the rifle I decided I would shoot it until I actually decided what I was going to build. I wanted the .280AI, but was very disappointed with Nosler when they shortened their case up so they could hold everyone hostage to buy their head stamped brass. Anyway I shot the donor .270 and really liked the performance, the trajectory, and.....the recoil. While going through some comments on different threads I read a few replies by a guy named FEENIX, talking about the .270 Ackley Improved. I did some research and could not find much other than P.O. Ackley said it was already too overbore and not worth its weight as an improved cartridge. I wasn't too happy about reading that and then found a few articles about P.O. Ackley's remarks about the .270AI were like 50 years old and with the new powders the cartridge has become a great contender for many of the new "SUPER" cartridges that have been hitting the market. So there are two, .270 Ackley Improved Ruger 77s in the safe (son had to have one too), 26 in Lilja barrels, blueprinted actions, pillar bedded and glass bedded original stocks with trigger jobs on both rifles. These rifles are shooting 150gr ABLRs in the 3300+fps range with no signs of any pressure. They'll shoot one-inch or less, two shot groups at 300 yards consistently, the barrels are original contoured barrels after two shots they're getting quite hot and we'll get flyers.

Good luck with your new rifle, always good to read about someone's new rifle and the excitement that goes along with that gun.